Lily of the Valley (1976)
by Penhaligon's

I needed a light fresh and unoffensive scent for an occasion and on a whim decided to give this one a try. I wore it for a week and grew to love it. It is uplifting, uncomplicated but remains elegant and fun, sometimes that is exactly what you want.

3rd May, 2011.

This announces it's intentions right up front with a beautiful, greenish and fresh Lily of the Valley. It must be just like sticking your nose right into the flower itself, including the faintest of rubbery smell that you get from many flowers. I thought this was a beautiful rendition of the Lily, but a clean Lily it is. A rose and jasmine faint floral combo join in the middle, and it stays fairly linear until fading into a soft sandalwood/lily combo, green throughout.
This is a great spring frangrance, invigorating with it's green and natural smell.

31st March, 2011.

It smells very clean and pure, like what you would want your bed linen or washroom to smell like. And yes, if you poke your nose into a Lily of the Valley flower in the month of may this is what it smells like. It has a green, fresh quality to it like the Bluebell, yet it doesn't have that earthy unusualness about it.

There are a lot of takes on this flower out there, and while it is not as good as Diorissimo it fares better than the powdery bloom that Floris have created. The bottle is pretty with its frosted base and cute little green chord, and for anyone who is a fan of the flower it works well. To me however it just doesn't wash as a perfume, and belongs in the household as some-kind of air freshner.

19th November, 2009.

supposedly men can faintly detect Lily - must admit that is me - I think this is quite nice given wife and daughter's reviews

11th August, 2009.

An unsatisfying experience that concludes with a distant shouting match between the rose and ylang ylang. The opening is dry as I expected, but it becomes tart and a touch jarring once the descent into the middle notes begins. The balance of ingredients and concentrations seems wrong, but its biggest failing is that it is simply too dull to hold ones interest.

4th July, 2009.

This is a very good Lily of the Valley scent: very accurate and pleasing. There is a fleeting citrus opening. The Penhaligon site characterizes this as a “sweet, fresh and graceful floral” with a “creamy white heart.” I can’t improve on that description. The muguet is aided and abetted by a charming jasmine note. The dry-down is charming, the florals persist and are supported by light moss and sandalwood. Yes, this is a floral scent, and it is sweet and lovely. As a man, I wouldn’t normally wear this sort of thing (though I’d enjoy it on a woman). But I just love the scent of Lily of the Valley flowers, so once in a while I might put a little on and have a whiff of spring. Those flowers are so lovely, so brief in their season.

9th April, 2008.