Antonia's Flowers (1985)
by Antonia's Flowers

I sniffed this on another woman first. I felt a flashback to licking the ends of honeysuckles as a child, and I simultaneously felt the euphoric rush of falling in love in spring. It's glorious!!!

From the beginning, notes of lemon, bergamot and freesia burst forth! Yes, it does remind me of opening the door and walking into a florist's shop! Fresh, bright and a touch soapy - in a good way! I don't detect any anise here, as others have mentioned. The drying phase brings the most lovely muguet fragrance I've ever smelled...not too sweet, definitely not cloying...the green notes presented here are along the lines of Sheldrake's greens in his wonderful floral creation (for Serge Lutens) A La Nuit. The tenderness of Antonia's Flowers reminds me too of L'Artisan's La Chasse Aux Papillons, extremely polite in it's floral presence. I cannot imagine this scent offending anyone...even those who don't love flowery fragrances! In the category of "fresh/floral" this one ranks right at the top!

I suppose this fragrance can rub people the wrong way but if you love it, you love it -- and I do. It is my all-time favorite floral and for me it is the blast of licorice/anise at the top that "excites" me. So fresh, not at all sweet and very distinctive. I believe it was meant to smell like the inside of a florest's shop, that fern-y fresh spicy something and it does, along with a sort of lemony lavender/violet softness. My only gripe is that on me it has very little staying power.

I had this years ago and it is such a distinctive scent. Its zippy high octane freesia note is not for everyone but then again, this is a unique perfume that is not trying to be all things to all people. It is great in the summertime if you are wearing a crisp white shirt having a margarita (or 2) on a sunny patio somewhere. It is also a v. strong scent so make sure you know that before dousing. The best memory I have of this scent is wearing it when I clerked for a law firm back in the 80's and this mousy nerdy male atty came up to me and told me that my perfume smelled "exciting". (?!?) That's Antonia's Flowers for you!

(note: I have also posted my review on MUA.)

It's a beautiful fragrance. I smelled it on someone and went right out to buy it. It truly smells like the first flowers of spring. However, on me the anise stands out too much and I find I don't enjoy wearing it.