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Which are the most accurate florals?

post #1 of 22
11/4/07 at 7:20pm
Thread Starter 
[ I'm posting this here because there are far more female solifleurs than male, though I realize the gender divide is artificial. ]

I got into a conversation with my mother about accuracy in perfumes. We both agreed that most flowers we'd never smelled an accurate rendition of.
Recently the accuracy of the tuberose in Carnal Flower greatly boosted my confidence in the ability of perfumes to capture the real thing - though admittedly married to a strong green note there - and I thought I'd search out more.
Here are some flowers that particularly catch my interest:

Gardenia: I used to have a lovely Gardenia plant - it died - and this flower is one of my all-time favorite scents.

Tuberose: I've found one nice rendition: are there others?

Rose: I've smelled a lot of nice rose notes, but I'm new in the world of rose solifleurs: any suggestions?

Sweet Pea: Caron's rendition is a nice perfume, but it doesn't smell like sweet peas to my nose. Any others I should try?

Peony: Scented peonies a pretty rare now days, but you never know...

Lily: I know there are lots of lilies out there, but I mean the scented kind you find at florists ( sorry, I don't know my botany well enough here! )

Narcissus: One of the nicest scents of spring.

I'm welcome to any suggestions for other nice solifleurs, especially of the unusual or particularly accurate variety.

Note: Though I have no problem with lavender in small amounts, I'm definitely not looking for a lavender solifleur.
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post #2 of 22
11/4/07 at 8:16pm
J&E Atkinsons I Coloniali Tender Water China Peony is discontinued, but there are a couple of bottles on Ebay (hard to find, just noticed them on there tonight) and that is the most natural pink peony scent I ever smelled. It even has peony petals floating in the bottom of the splash bottle. Beautiful!

(I just ordered a sample of Mediterranean Lily by Renee from Luckyscent, they say it smells like lilies. )
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post #3 of 22
11/4/07 at 8:56pm
Serge Lutens's Sa Majeste la Rose renders the scent of 19th century Bourbon roses very accurately. Un Lys, (also from Lutens,) is a very realistic oriental lily scent. Not a lily "oriental" scent, but the scent of oriental lilies - those big white, pink, or red-speckled lilies that come in many florist's arrangements.
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post #4 of 22
11/5/07 at 8:39am
Thread Starter 
Thanks, both of you! I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for those three.
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post #5 of 22
11/5/07 at 8:50am
Lys Mediteranee is a good lily...although its a combo of many lilies.

Une Rose just smells like roses to me.

CB I Hate Perfume also does very true representations in his "accords".

Diptyque as a Sweet Pea...I forget the name???
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post #6 of 22
11/5/07 at 9:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vibert View Post

Serge Lutens's Sa Majeste la Rose renders the scent of 19th century Bourbon roses very accurately.

Vibert beat me to it. Rose = Sa Majeste la Rose. It's quite unbelievable really.

I will also add:

Jasmine = A La Nuit by Serge Lutens.
Gardenia = Kai by Kai or Tuberose Gardenia Private Collection by Estee Lauder
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post #7 of 22
11/5/07 at 10:00am
A nice Iris scent is SL Iris Silver mist. A more woody Iris that I like is TDC's Bois d'iris.
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post #8 of 22
11/5/07 at 12:18pm
A fresh clear iris note can be found in Cote Bastide Iris.

I don't think you will find a true gardenia note, but some say Yves Rocher has a Gardenia fragrance that smells like a dead ringer. Can't vouch for it, because I never tried it.
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post #9 of 22
11/5/07 at 12:30pm
Marc Jacobs is a good Gardenia...as is Chanel's Gardenia (although it has a lot of tuberose in it as well).
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post #10 of 22
11/5/07 at 12:34pm
Forgot one: Carnation, by CdG. Accurate carnation plus a vanilla drydown.
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post #11 of 22
11/5/07 at 1:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

Vibert beat me to it. Rose = Sa Majeste la Rose. It's quite unbelievable really.

I will also add:

Jasmine = A La Nuit by Serge Lutens.
Gardenia = Kai by Kai

Those are the ones I was going to write about. I have all three and they are absolutely spot on. I'm wearing Kai right now. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!
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post #12 of 22
11/5/07 at 1:21pm
The lily that I found truest to a florist's lily is Penhaligon's Lily & Spice. It does have a bit of spices in it as well as some light patchouli, but IMO adds to the reality of the lily at least while everything is there in the beginning.

Michael Storer's Gardenia based Stephanie is also well worth trying out.
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post #13 of 22
11/5/07 at 2:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

Marc Jacobs is a good Gardenia...as is Chanel's Gardenia (although it has a lot of tuberose in it as well).


I wear Chanel Gardenia and, to my nose, it smells more like the jasmine, orange blossom and tuberose, which it contains. Their interpretation of the flower. Kai might be a good choice to try as mentioned.
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post #14 of 22
11/5/07 at 3:13pm
I was also going to mention Sa Majestie La Rose and Un Lys. Both fantastic.
Penhaligons Elizabethan Rose is also lovely, although it's an EDT and doesn't last as long as the Lutens. I like Penhaligons Bluebell also.

I love Ava Luxe Gardenia Musk, but have not tried many other gardenia scents. I also like her Tuberose Diabolique. I have smelled Tuberose Criminelle (another Lutens) and found it very rubbery. Some people like that, but I don't want to smell like Kwik Fit.
You could also look out for Frederic Malle Carnal Flower. I've heard good things about this one.
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post #15 of 22
11/6/07 at 12:53am
Well, if you're looking for narcissus, L'Artisan's limited Fleur de Narcisse is incredibly accurate and beautiful. *Sigh*...
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post #16 of 22
11/6/07 at 2:45am
Love Creed's Fleur de The Rose Bulgare - sigh!
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post #17 of 22
11/6/07 at 4:42am
Hermès Hiris for the Iris, just slightly more buttery that the real thing, but very good
C&S Neroli for the neroli
Violetta di Parma for Violets
Caron's tuberose, I never smelled it, but I know ladies telling it's unbeliavable.
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post #18 of 22
11/6/07 at 6:09am
Rose - Les Parfums de Rosine Un Zest de Rose is a Tropicana rose after the lemon dissipates. Creed Fleur de The Rose Bulgare is very natural smelling. Also, Serge Lutens Sa Majestie La Rose, which provides a soft, dirty finish.

Lily - Penhaligon's Lily and Spice is my favorite, live-smelling, and attractive on the skin.

Jasmine - Montale Jasmin Full is sweet and rich. Vijay steered me to this one, said it smelled like his childhood memories of the trees, themselves.

Tuberose - Guerlain Mahora. The first tuberose I fell in love with.

Gardenia - I was impressed with Michael Storer Stephanie, which was a whole gardenia plant--flower, leaves, roots, and all. It was sweet and beautiful, but it had a "growning plant" aroma, as if the whole thing had been pulled out of the ground.

You didn't mention it but:
Lavendar - One of the only non-soapy lavendars I have found is Ayala Moriel Lovendar, which segues gently into vanilla. Really charming, and all-natural, too.
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post #19 of 22
11/9/07 at 2:34pm
Lily of the Valley - Borsari
Violet - Violetta di Parma - Borsari
Lily - Borsari
Freesia - Crabtree & Evelyn
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post #20 of 22
11/9/07 at 8:41pm
Oooooooo, I'm glad you reminded me of Lovender, I gotta gotta get that one.

Highland Lilac--the one and only most perfect and lovely lilac on earth.
Bruno Acampora's Jasmin--made me cry the first time I tested it. So strong and lasting it's like a miracle. It's a green, non-indolic jasmine that reminds me of the jasmine note in kai.
Bruno Acampora's Blu -- the best tuberose I've smelled in my life. (Sorry Carnal Flower lovers.) Also incredibly strong as sold. The BA line includes dilution instructions to make an EdP, you must dilute the vial by filling it with water to the top, and then adding 5 vials of pure grain alcohol.

I love Lily and Spice for it's progression, the heart is indistinquishable from Un Lys. But for a pure Lily soliflore, I gotta go with Un Lys.

My carnation vote goes to LV Garafano.

Violet vote goes to DSH Violetta di Murano.

I can't pick a favorite rose, but Creed's FdTRB is certainly a contender.
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post #21 of 22
11/10/07 at 6:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vibert View Post

Serge Lutens's Sa Majeste la Rose renders the scent of 19th century Bourbon roses very accurately. Un Lys, (also from Lutens,) is a very realistic oriental lily scent. Not a lily "oriental" scent, but the scent of oriental lilies - those big white, pink, or red-speckled lilies that come in many florist's arrangements.

I really enjoy Un Lys, as well.

For Tuberose, I enjoy L'artisan's Tubereuse (has a light note of coconut added).

For Lavender (which again, you didn't mention), I like Acqua di Parma's Lavanda Tonica.
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post #22 of 22
11/10/07 at 5:50pm
For an almost uncanny and long-lasting gardenia I will gladly pit ANY other perfumer against my own creation Stephanie Eau de Parfum.

Some of you ladies already know ;-)

Michael
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