Kirsty Mitchell Wonderland©

Today is the March Vernal Equinox which heralds the coming of spring, but for most of us it feels like January. Spring is a temperamental season. Mark Twain said it best. "In the Spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather in four and twenty hours."  Our Favorite Spring Fragrances 2018:

"Varengeville Sunset" — 1899 — Camille Pissarro 

Yes – Parisians flock to Normandy as soon as the murmurs of Spring rouse themselves from invernal slumber, and who wouldn't in their place? That windswept terrain renowned for its apples, cider, cheese (!!!), plentiful cod! Ȇtre en plein air sur la bord de la mer.(Sounds like Massachusetts with a gentler climate <3) Whether one chooses to ramble the countryside and take in bucolic farm landscapes or traverse the long low dunes lapped by the Channel, it's all there in just one spritz: heavenly herbal notes, tender blossoms which offset the former's piquant astringency. The joyful grassiness, nod to the horses and oceanic zephyrs in one breath. To regard the list of notes is misleading indeed because Parfums de Nicolai Week-End In Normandy sings in glorious seamless unison. On my husband, it skews distinctly virile and leathery; on myself, it's far more tenderly floral/herbal, as my skin tends to amplify any fragrance's sweetness. You may leave the confines of the city at any given time you choose with instant olfactory leisure. Notes: bergamot, lemon, galbanum, tarragon, basil, mint, jasmine, ylang, muguet, cardamom, cedar, oakmoss, leather, musk.-Ida Meister, Sr Editor

Diana Vreeland by Andy Warhol©

When I think about the scent of spring, orange blossom is what comes to mind. Is it one of the first fragrant flowers I notice, which tells me winter has broken and the new season has arrived. It’s almost festive the way these orange trees light up with starry white flowers that smell so celestial. Many orange blossom fragrances play on the story of eau de cologne, which tend to be light, clean smelling and refreshing. A current favourite, so perfect for spring, takes the orange blossom note in a different direction. Diana Vreeland Parfums’ Wildly Attractive is an eau de parfum created with Master Perfumer Carlos Benaim. With hints of mandarin and petitgrain, the orange blossom note is paired with jasmine sambac to create a dynamic white floral bouquet. The fragrance settles into a cosy bed of musk with a hint of natural oud oil. This unexpected addition of oud creates a woody depth and soulfulness, which is as vibrant as the legendary fashion editor herself- Guest Contributor,  Clayton Ilolahia

Victoria Frances©

No perfume bottles spring’s jaunty innocence and muddy garden raunchiness more gorgeously than Masque Milano Romanza. Built around that sexiest of April flowers, narcissus, perfumer Cristiano Canali’s Romanza is a dewy, narcotic beauty with heavy-lidded eyes and a dandy’s strut. Bitter notes of absinthe and vetiver undercut the flower’s raindrop sweetness, while a purr of civet brings out narcissus’ creamy, sex kitten voluptuousness. As Romanza expands on the skin, orange blossom, jasmine combine in a heady chorus. The tension between bitter and fleshy notes tinges Romanza’s radiance with a sense of impending decay, the aching smell of a perfect bloom just starting to turn. A masterpiece.-Sr. Editor, Lauryn Beer

Spring in the Pacific Northwest is a capricious and fickle season. One day it may be 59 and sunny followed by a day of snow or rain. It’s always a dilemma whether to put away the winter scents in favor of something light, or power through and just ignore what’s happening outside. Fortunately my two fragrances are eminently adaptable to any weather condition. First up in my favorite spring fragrances is a new release in 2017 from Perris Monte Carlo called Tubereuse Absolue, a sparkling and delightful breath of fresh air perfect for those days when staying inside is a necessity. Created by Robertet perfumer Mathieu Nardin, Perris Monte Carlo Tubereuse Absolue with its blend of white floral fairly dances on my skin, transparent and spacious and backed by the sun-warmed greenish-dry toasted feeling of galbanum and broom. If you have been trepidatious about tuberose in the past, this might just be perfect for you. It is not in the Carnal Flower power range, forgoing almost all indoles and mentholated notes in favor of subtlety and nuance. Bright and happy, Tubereuse Absolue is a spring tonic for a dreary day. Notes: bergamot, cardamom, lavender, galbanum, tuberose, broom, jasmine sambac, gardenia, orange blossom, vetiver, cedar and musk.

I just received my sample of the new Perfumology scent for Nir Guy by perfumer Justin Frederico called Grange, and it has been love at first sniff. Created from Nir’s olfactive memories of youth spent roaming the woods and creeks surrounding the historic Grange Estate in Pennsylvania and Senior Editor Gail Gross has already written a marvelous review of Grange here, so I can only reiterate how magical it is to be swept up in glimmering memories of my childhood surrounded by California Scrub Oaks, Cedar trees and a seasonal creek. Grange is indeed, my childhood bottled. And that is a marvel. Notes: Mexican lime, Sicilian orange, fig, tobacco, oak and cedar. –Robert Herrmann, Senior Editor

Franz Von Struck©

A Vernal Nirvana, Grandiflora Boronia is the latest direction in creative Perfumery from  Saskia Havekes  and Bertrand Duchaufour. Being led by the proverbial ‘nose’ to the very edges of a glade, immersed in the tiniest of blooms mimicking stars, constellations that combine in a Cosmos that exudes the grandest of veritable forested scents. Intoxicating, almost suspenseful, a hovering in the headiness of air swollen with the emanations of this verdant, woody floral, so Antipodean. Less of a floral visual showpiece from its miniscule symmetry pulses a unique fragrance, supported by an earthy, resinous foundation, a mossy bed. Latency is overcome, pierced with warm fecundity as Springtide force of life’s awakening is released from the cocooned tombs of Winter.  Within the suede, tobacco and slightly sweetening creamy caramel evident as it emerges from my skin, Boronia’s residue of Winter’s fires and ashes are born in a verdant Renaissance.-Danu Seith-Fyr, Contributor

La Vie Parisienne 1920s

The weather in March and April can be especially unpredictable. Here in the Pacific Northwest, flowers will be blooming, the temperature 70ºF and the sun shining. Twelve hours later, rain and wind are gusting at 30 mph and temperatures have dropped into the low 40s. When I choose my favorite spring fragrances for the vernal season I usually match or anticipate the sunshine and the scents of the blooming trees and flowers in my garden.  I also like to be prepared with a cozy perfume to counteract any springtime chill.

Ineke After My own Heart – (Ineke Rühland) 2006, is one of my all-time favorite lilac fragrances and one of my favorite spring fragrances. For many of us, the idea of the glorious scent of late spring lilacs has been sullied by memories of overpowering lilac room sprays and car deodorizers. Finding a realistic and at once delicate lilac perfume seemed impossibility until I discovered Ineke After My own Heart. The fragrance opens like new lilacs buds, green and wet with cool morning dew.  This effect is achieved using notes of fresh green leaves, bergamot and just the tiniest breath of sweet, tart raspberry.  At around ten minutes, After My Own Heart begins to bloom on my skin as the buds burst to reveal a natural, cool rendition of lilac. This is not the thick perfume of overblown blooms drooping in vases. Instead After My Own Heart is the transparent, ethereal scent of lilacs in situ floating on a cool breeze, impressions of the flowers sparkling in the bright, spring sunlight. Notes: Bergamot, raspberry, crisp green foliage, lilac, sandalwood, heliotrope and musk.

Atelier des Ors Lune Féline (Jean-Philippe Clermont and Marie Salamagne) 2015: When rains and winds of March and April drive me indoors, I reach for a fragrance that warms and comforts, a light blanket of woods and spices, resins and ambergris to take the chill off a blustery spring day. Atelier des Ors Luna Féline is a powdery gourmand, featuring a delicate blend of spices and cedar, a hint of ambergris, topped off with something fresh and green. As Lune Féline develops on my skin I am treated to a delightfully chewy sweet gourmand featuring vanilla, peru balsam and styrax.  The resinous notes in Lune Féline are never too heavy or dense, but are incorporated into the fragrance in the inviting, ethereal style characteristic of house Atelier des Ors.  The warmth and comfort of Lune Féline linger on my skin for eight hours and more, fading at last to a frothy vanilla, colored with peppered musk. Notes: Cinnamon, cardamom, pink pepper, green notes, cedar, ambergris, woods, styrax, vanilla, peru balsam and musk.-Gail Gross, Senior Editor

If April is the cruelest month, March has been no less here in Italy with the freezing burian wind blowing from Siberia. Unexpectedly, we got snowflakes instead of the yellow fragrant fluffs of mimosa, so in the colder days I couldn’t help but dousing myself in Frédéric Malle’s hypnotic Une Fleur de Cassie, by Dominique Ropion. Ethereal and delicate, its intoxicating smell mixes the sweetness of violet and the ripe facets of jasmine and heliotrope to the cheeky, almost mineral spiciness of cinnamon, cumin and clove together with an utterly erotic leather note. Definitely hot in such cold early spring!-Ermano Picco, Monthly Contributor

Xi Pan ~ Spring©

I had totally different favorite spring fragrances ready for this post, but as I typed, there was a chill in the air, they are predicting snow for tomorrow so my mood was as changeable as the weather. Vero Kern Rubj Extrait wears a Mona Lisa smile. Sweet orange blossom is wrapped in a scarf of changeant mousseline; a kaleidoscope of color, an optical illusion. The yang of musk and the yin of jasmine perform an exotic dance as they worship the Moroccan orange blossom. I smell plums, a hint of tuberose and honeyed liquor. Rubj Extrait is an enigma understood by few. For me,  Rubj Extrait is the nectar of the gods (and goddesses).

When I need an instant dose of sun; I spray Osmanthus by Ormonde Jayne (2006) with abandon. It is not a complicated fragrance, but I am growing weary of complex; I long for simple pleasures and blue skies. Osmanthus is fruity, in a good way, with a bright citrus top of pomelo that brings to mind a glass of iced tea sipped on a porch when the sun is shining. The heart of osmanthus absolue and jasmine sambac absolue is redolent of citrus fruits and apricots. The woody drydown is light and airy. After 6 months of wearing black tights and boots, Ormonde Jayne Osmanthus is the perfume equivalent of wearing a flirty short skirt that bares your legs for the first time in ages.–Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief and Art  Director

Eric de Kolb Behind Flowers©

For our Favorite Spring Fragrances Draw

Grandiflora Boronia photo by Clayton

Worldwide: From the lovely Saskia Havekes of Grandiflora 50 ml of Boronia

Worldwide: Thanks to the generosity of Patricia de Nicolai we have 100 ml of Parfums de Nicolai Week-End In Normandy

Worldwide: Grazie mille to Masque Milano for 35 ml of Romanza

USA, Canada and EU: With Gratitude to Perris Monte Carlo for 100ml of Tuberose Absolue

USA, Canada and EU: Thank you to Linda Pilkington of Ormonde Jayne for 120 ml of Osmanthus

USA, Canada and EU: Merci Jean-Phillipe Clermont of Atelier des Ors for 100 ml of Lune Feline

USA With our gratitude to Ineke Ruhland for 75 ml of After My Own Heart

USA: Thank you to Nir Guy for 50 ml of Perfumology Grange

USA: With love to Alexandra Balahoutis for 15ml of all-natural Aries

To enter  our Favorite Spring Fragrances draw you must be a registered user of ÇaFleureBon. It is simple to do, just follow the prompt here. To be eligible, please leave a comment with what you thought of our favorite spring fragrances choices, the spring fragrances you would like to win that are available (there are 9),  and where you live by  3/25/2018. How is the weather where you are?

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our Site feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.