Fragrances Boutique

To me, perfume has a texture. Some fragrances wear like silk velvet, others like a practical gabardine, and still others — unfortunately — like double knit polyester. In summer, I want to wear perfume that feels like chiffon, linen, the fabric of a well-worn tee shirt, or even nothing at all. Here are the 10 fragrances I’ll be probably be wearing most this summer:

When it’s sizzling out, when lifting the bedroom window feels like opening the door of a convection oven, I want perfume that is crisp, cooling, and effortless. In short, I want perfume that wears like linen.

Christian Dior Eau Fraiche is a perfect linen-like fragrance. I have a bottle more than 40 years old that still sparkles and still has the warm chic of real oakmoss. I can wear it to work, after a bath, or while enjoying a gin and tonic at the neighborhood bar and feel fresh and even elegant, if I have to be.

Annick Goutal Folavril is another good linen substitute…

Annick Goutal will launch Rose Splendide, a new fragrance for women, in September. The perfume pays tribute to the brand’s founder, Annick Goutal, and her love of roses…

Spring! Finally. It isn’t summer, but it’s almost summer, and if, like me, you detest the cold, that’s very nearly the best thing about it. The absolute best thing, of course, is the flowers. My list is heavily weighted towards the “pretty floral” fragrance category, and it’s also heavily weighted towards niche, and expensive. Sorry, it just worked out that way. Hopefully, my fellow bloggers did a better job on the diversity front: see Bois de Jasmin, Grain de Musc, Perfume Posse and Perfume Smellin’ Things for more top 10 lists. Meantime, here’s mine:

CB I Hate Perfume Black March: the smell of spring, and the perfect thing to wear on a warm, rainy April day, although there’s something about it that can tend towards the melancholy. If you can’t afford it, you can make do with Demeter Dirt — someone called Black March the high def version of Dirt, and that’s apt. For an entirely different take on springtime melancholy, there’s always Guerlain Après L’Ondée.

Christian Dior Diorissimo: what is spring without lily of the valley? And what’s the point of wearing a lily of the valley other than Diorissimo? Even if you disagree with me…

More limited edition collector fragrance bottles, with the usual disclaimers: in most of these cases, the juice is unchanged, just the bottle is “special” (or not, as the case may be), and some of these may not be available in the US.

Due to launch in May, new limited edition items for Annick Goutal Petite Cherie will include an Eau de Toilette with a polka dot ribbon, a rollerball, and the adorable solid perfume compact shown above…

More limited edition collector fragrance bottles, with the usual disclaimers: in most of these cases, the juice is unchanged, just the bottle is “special” (or not, as the case may be), and some of these may not be available in the US.

From Annick Goutal, Ninféo Mio (above left) in a limited edition butterfly bottle “which bears images of the Garden of Ninfa, the breathtaking locale from which the fragrance takes its name”. £150 for 100 ml Eau de Toilette at Harrods in the UK…

I’ve been half afraid to seriously investigate the state of citrus these days. Have the new IFRA regulations destroyed my summer favorites, like Eau de Guerlain and Chanel Cristalle? If it turns out that they have — or will before they’re through — Annick Goutal’s new woody citrus, Ninféo Mio, will help to make up my new summer arsenal.

Like Annick Goutal’s last major fragrance release, Un Matin d’Orage, Ninféo Mio was inspired by a garden — in this case, a very specific garden, the Giardino di Ninfa (Ninfa garden) near Rome. The first thing you need to know about Ninféo Mio is that it’s green. Very green, from the start right through to the finish. The opening is sharp green citrus, rather acidic, and more dry than juicy — think Hermès Eau d’Orange Verte with more lemon than orange. There’s a fair amount of lavender in the early stages, and it adds an herbal cast to the scent, but it isn’t harsh or overwhelming; those of you who say lavender is a deal-breaker really ought to give this a shot anyway…

Annick Goutal will launch Ninféo Mio in February. The new woody citrus fragrance was inspired by the Giardino di Ninfa (Ninfa garden) near Rome, and named for a river which runs through the garden.

For me, Christmas should smell like my childhood holidays; it should smell like dessert. My family’s stove was in near-constant use from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day and at least half of its output was sweets. My grandmother, with her arms of steel (she kneaded dough twice a day — all year round — so we could have fresh bread for lunch and dinner), would mix, chop, shave, dice, grate, squeeze and roll her way through pounds of flour, sugar, butter, lard, chocolate, nuts, fruits and spices; her creations would scent the house. Whenever I smell molasses, allspice, nutmeg, or ginger, I think “Christmas!” It’s a wonder I’m not the size of a house since I spent my childhood feasting on cakes, puddings, pies, candy, cookies and jams. But as much as I love to gorge on (and smell) sweets, I dislike perfumes, candles and room sprays with a pronounced “dessert” theme. I’d much rather smell gingerbread baking in the oven than the scent of “gingerbread” emanating from a candle.

To fragrance my home during the holidays, I turn to another favorite category of “Christmas” scents: evergreens…

From Fresh, a limited edition soap trio in Frankincense (”an earthy scent, full of woodsy notes and a hint of exotic incense”), Myrrh (”an uplifting, fruity scent with wild berry notes inspired by the forest”) and Gold (”a warm, soft fragrance that evokes the shimmer of precious metal in sunlight”). Three 250g bars, $45…