Three for Saint Patrick’s Day 2024 collage by Michael Devine

“For each petal on the shamrock, this brings a wish your way: good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day.” – Irish Blessing

There’s lot to do in preparation for Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17th! Bagpipers are tuning their drones; pub owners are polishing the brass and my Irish mom is putting corned beef into the slow cooker. Even perfumistas and frag-heads have some planning to do, as choosing the perfect fragrance for Saint Patrick’s Day 2024 is no walk in the clover. Like the petals of a shamrock, good things come in threes. Here is a fragrant trinity of scent suggestions for the jubilant day—and none is Green Irish Tweed, no matter how much we love it!

Kyle Bushnell via Unsplash; Trefle Pur Courtesy Atelier Cologne for St. Patrick’s Day 2024

Trèfle Pur from Atelier Cologne (Jérôme Epinette, 2011) is described by the brand as “a walk in the countryside in the first hours of the day. Through the grass still coveted with dew, a hand gently finds a four-leaf clover. A feeling of luck springs, as you reconnect with the elements of nature.” While it’s all that and more, Trèfle Pur could more succinctly be described as “Green Sanguine,” a sigh-inducing composition that’s all sunlight and no shadow. As radiant notes of petitgrain blend with wafts of dewy grass—reminiscent of sprawling Emerald Isle meadows—Trèfle Pur may remind one of Irish Spring soap, albeit recomposed with top notch ingredients. Perfect for Saint Patrick’s Day 2024.

Trefle Pur Notes: basil from Egypt, freshly cut grass accord, petitgrain from Paraguay, cedar wood from the Americas, wet patchouli

Inis for St. Patrick’s Day 2024, Courtesy Fragrances of Ireland

Inis (pronounced “innish”) was born on a summer day in 1998, on the blinding white sand of Roundstone Beach in Connemara, Ireland, when David Cox from Fragrances of Ireland met with perfumer Arthur Burnham to share his vision for a fragrance that harnesses the energy of the Irish coast. Since then, Inis (Gaelic for “island”) has been a trusted stalwart in small boutiques and seaside giftshops worldwide; it’s even a recurring favorite on home shopping channels, as reliable as the tides. Despite its majestic inspiration, Inis is remarkable in its restrained simplicity. Like a massage in four-star seaside spa, Inis is at once relaxing and energizing. I fully admit to being an Inis addict, even beyond the cologne. The ancillary products such as soaps, candles, diffusers and skincare are, as the Irish would say, “gorgeous.”

Inis Notes: Sicilian lemon, marine notes, geranium, lily of the valley, sandalwood, oakmoss, clove

 

Amy Parkes via Unsplash; Promise Courtesy Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle for St. Patrick’s Day 2024

As mentioned, rather than include the obvious Saint Patrick’s Day champion, Creed’s perennial favorite, the fantastic Green Irish Tweed, I opted for an offering that might be a bit unexpected. While Promise from Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle (Dominique Ropion, 2017) may be part of the brand’s Desert Gems line, to my nose, it captures the smell of a hundred-year-old Irish pub, its wood soaked with the spillage of a thousand glasses of Magner’s hard apple cider. A jammy rose sits at the center, echoing a Wild Irish Rose. A few rounds of drinks and one might wonder if that feeling of sweet warmth is the labdanum or the enduring bonds of friendship forged in shared laughter and fiddle music.

Notes: pink pepper, rosemary oil, apple accord, Bulgarian rose oil, Turkish rose absolute, clove oil, patchouli heart, ambroxan, labdanum, cypriol heart

 “Wildflowers with a View of Dublin Dunleary”, Painting by Andrew Nicoll, 1830, Public Domain

Whether you choose to spend Saint Patrick’s Day on a gentle, contemplative walk through the countryside or gazing across the green-blue waters off Ireland’s west shores or hoisting a glass in boisterous celebration in an old-world Irish pub, there’s a transportive fragrance to take you there and suit this fine occasion. I’m curious to know what fragrance ÇaFleureBon readers have chosen for Saint Patrick’s Day. Please let us know in the comments and have a wonderful Saint Patrick’s Day! Slainte!

Bottles my own, opinions my own

—Michael Devine, Senior Contributor

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