Mother’s Day is upon us, and there is no better way to say ‘I love you and thank you for everything’ than with an impressive gift. This year, I’m recommending a bottle of something delightfully scented and inspired by her fave bloom, as she deserves more than a traditional bouquet.
I’ve rounded-up a virtual bouquet of fragrances pieced together with popular aromas that mum is bound to adore. So, whether the mother figure in your life is a rose fan or a tuberose addict, or perhaps, she’s not fussy and loves every flower, here is a selection of scents based on her favourite posie…
#1 If She Loves Roses…
The rose is a big, showy flower. It demands attention with its vibrant petals in shades of red, pink, yellow or white. Laced together like a perfectly iced confection, the petals of the rose hold an intense fragrance too, with glorious facets of honey, citrus, berries, lychee (and more) coming together in a symphonic haze that is undeniably rosy. Roses are classic, elegant and always beautiful.
If your mother is a rose fan, or as chic as one, then a rose perfume is a no-brainer. One of my recent favourites is L’Eau d’Issey Rose & Rose by Issey Miyake. This delectable treat of tart, jammy roses is modern and stylish, with Bulgarian and Damascena rose essences mixed in a heady cocktail accented by the freshness of peppercorn, raspberry and musk. Rose & Rose is an easygoing, affable rose that beholds a cheeky smile from its rosy red lips.
More rose perfumes…
For a more opulent rose with thorns, Serge Lutens’ La Fille de Berlin is a vivacious vamp not to be messed with. Or for something more lightweight and au natural (i.e. the scent of roses plucked from the bush) Paul Smith’s simplistic Rose and Miller Harris’ dazzling Rose Silence are hard to beat.
#2 If She Loves Lillies…
Lilies have a bad wrap. They’re often associated with funerals and therefore, have a somewhat macabre and melancholy association, but I’ve always seen them as rather lively and joyful. There’s something musical about the lily. Have you ever walked into a room and noticed the choral singing of a vase of lilies? They fill the entire room, amplifying a harmonious tune of salty white floralcy from their impressive trumpets. It’s hard to be in the presence of a bouquet of lilies and not smile.
As for lily fragrances, well, Cartier’s Baiser Vole (Stolen Kiss) is hard to beat. With delicate transparency, Baiser Vole captures the soft, salty scent of hot white lilies, showcases their beauty in its fullness, with leaves, stamens and petals recreated in fine brush strokes. The impression is fresh but also powdery (just ever so slightly) with tinges of vanilla hinting at the warm, waxy and sweet nature of the petals. Baiser Vole sings as lilies do, but whereas a bouquet exudes an operatic area, this single lily goes acapella. More subtle, yes, but equally as haunting.
More lily perfumes…
Of course, not all lilies are as photorealistic. L’Eau d’Issey is a modern classic that celebrates the clean fuzziness of the flower in a crystalline, aquatic guise, while Serge Lutens’ Vierge de Fer dips it in ice-cold mercury. For a somewhat warmer lily, D&G’s The One Essence is a heady elixir that sees the Madonna lily made even more opulent by a veil of vanilla and amber. The lily is anything if not versatile!
#3 If She Loves Peonies…
I always say that peonies are like roses, but cooler. We love roses (see above!), but they are indeed somewhat overdone. I mean, roses for spring, groundbreaking, right?! But peonies have something different about them. Maybe it’s that bite they have – that green, sharp quality that makes one think of a fruity rose that hides perfectly sharpened fangs between its petals. The peony is fresh, crisp and energetic, with a more youthful and bohemian vibe (tinged with just a tiny bit of danger, of course).
Acqua di Parma have perfectly captured the spirit of the peony in Peonia Nobile, a fragrance that glistens like a pink sapphire. Created as a peony soliflore (i.e. a perfume based on one single flower), Peonia Nobile uses raspberry to evoke the juicy, fruity facets of the peony. At the same time, black pepper and patchouli recreate the flower’s signature bite. A cocktail of flowers – peonies (of course), minty-fresh geranium, succulent roses, and stem-like freesias – piece together, petal by petal, the complex aroma of natures floral ingenue. It’s a fine piece of work.
More peony perfumes…
If you want something less literal, Narciso Rodriquez has the beautiful For Her Fleur Musc which uses peony as part of an abstract bouquet elevated by a breeze of musks.
#4 If She Loves Tuberose…
White flowers have to work harder than their more vibrant sisters. They are not bestowed with the beauty of colours and therefore, have to resort to other means to attract the insects needed for pollination. For white flowers, scent is their secret weapon, and this is why they are always more pungent than plants that have an abundance of colours in their arsenal, and no flower is more tenacious than the tuberose. With an erotic, languid aroma, tuberoses have been heralded for their corruptive power for centuries. They smell sweet and heavy, with creamy and green facets, and hints of raw meat. Tuberoses are a little dangerous and therein lies their appeal – yes, they’re beautiful, but maybe, just maybe, they can be deadly too…
The mystique of the tuberose is explored beautifully in Bulgari’s Tubereuse Mystique, which pairs the sweet, headiness of the flower with davana and blackcurrant buds to create a fruity, jammy accord that is beguiling and thrilling. When paired with the sweetness and velvety textures of vanilla absolute and myrrh, this juicy fruit accord brings a seductive, surreptitious personality to the tuberose. The result? A glamorous icon which can be admired from afar but never really known. Is it mysterious? Absolutely. Is it entirely wearable and a killer on a night out? Absolutely!
More tuberose perfumes…
For another fruity tuberose, and one that celebrates the famous bubblegum facet of the flower, Givenchy’s L’Interdit is a modern classic that needs to be in everybody’s wardrobe. Roger & Gallet’s Tubereuse Hedonie opts for a fresher, greener and albeit more transparent take on tuberose (a great choice if you can’t handle all that headiness); while Amouage’s Love Tuberose pours the flower’s white petals into a vat of chantilly cream. There is a tuberose for everyone.
#5 If She Loves Gardenia…
Like tuberose, gardenia is another white flower that has to work for its money. But despite its absence of colour, the gardenia is a beautiful flower to look at. With the texture of perfect porcelain, gardenia flowers appear as if they have been painstakingly piped (like dollops of cream) onto a glossy backdrop of dark green leaves. They are as gorgeous in their scent as they are in their appearance, with a distinct white floral aroma that is evocative of hot summer nights, blending the perfection of citrus and petals with dirty hints of mushroom and blue cheese. That may sound somewhat challenging of an odour and something you absolutely wouldn’t want to wear, but such is the mystery of nature – the gardenia smells beautiful.
Secret Gardenia by Miller Harris (10/10 for that perfect name, btw) aims to recreate the elusive scent of gardenia (the flower yields no fragrant oil so must be pieced together by plucky perfumers). It evokes the freshness of the flower with mouth-watering citrus (yuzu, nashi pear, bergamot) and the richness of the petals with a floral cocktail (jasmine, ylang-ylang, violet), all of which is underpinned by the light, airy quality of driftwood, sandalwood and musk. In Secret Gardenia, the unobtainable and the hidden is presented in its euphoric beauty, preserved as a perfume that is timeless yet contemporary.
More gardenia perfumes…
For a more glam, boudoir gardenia, Cartier’s feral La Panthere is a softly purring white floral with a hot, sticky quality that demands to be worn with a killer black dress and a killer black dress only. For something more modern, Narciso Rodriguez’s Narciso is the gardenia equivalent of a white pantsuit – pristine, finely tailored and blindingly bright. Or for a touch of weirdness, Versace’s Crystal Noir evokes leather and gardenia’s growing in the dark.
Discover More:
isla
Cartier Baiser Volé Eau de Parfum Spray 30ml
This perfume is really very lovely just a hint of lily just delightful,my husband says its gorgeous!
