Spring flowers courtesy of Fleurage Perfume Atelier

I think it's here. Spring, that is. At least, I think it's here in my neck of the woods. I know what the groundhog said, but I think he may have been joking this year. The grass is struggling to push up through the ground, the Canada Geese have flown back from warmer climes, and I heard the tree frogs in the woods the other evening. As you can see from my picture above, we have achieved crocus blooms. These things all point towards warmer weather, despite the protestations of cranky rodents from Pennsylvania.

I am actually a Winter girl. I like cold. Snow is my happy-maker. I love to walk outside and smell the cold, crisp air and far-off fireplaces burning away. I like shrugging into sweaters, tugging on boots, and bundling up on the couch with blankets. I didn't get much of that this year in Virginia so I'm mad at Winter. Holding a grudge, as I do, I'm ready for Spring.

Part of the season change for me is switching up my scents. That's not really a conscious decision. It's more organic than that. I slowly start pushing my heavy incense scents and my robust ambers and orientals aside. They just don't feel right. I start reaching to the back of the cabinet. I am pulled towards the green scents. The florals. The bright and light. Like the blooms on my favorite flowering plant, the lilac, my urge for florals is usually short-lived, so I try to indulge as frequently as possible while it lasts.

Luckily for me this almost-Spring, I was given samples from a new-to-me botanical fragrance line called Fleurage Perfume Atelier (thanks Monica!). I received four samples (in lovely glass vials!). Two are soliflores, which simply hit the spot right now.

Note: I am the Queen of Google. I naturally went and found Emma's (really beautiful) website ( Fleurage ) and searched for these soliflore scents. Nope, not there. I asked Emma about them, and she told me this:

Image is courtesy of Fleurage Perfum Atelier.

• The Soliflore range began as a custom Bridal Perfume range where the bride could match her bouquet with a perfume. Each scent is one of the most popular bridal flowers chosen. They were so popular though due to being so easy to love and their small volume retro bottles that I decided to make them part of the range but in a limited capacity.
• They are 20ml and coat $89 AUD (around $100 US) 
• The scents are Calla, Tulipe Joyeuse, Daisy Chain, Lilacs, Rosebuds, Honeysuckle Vine, Fleur de Nuit, Gardenia, Magnolia, Plumeria Blanca, Pretty Peony and of course Lily of the Valley. 

Did you see that "in a limited capacity" bit? These soliflores were originally only available in the Fluerage shop, which is in Australia and not terribly convenient for many of us You could also email Emma, if you knew these existed, and order them. The good news is: she's going to start selling them online! If you're interested in them, keep your eyes peeled, because they're going to be on the website really, really soon.

So anyway, let's talk about them a bit...

How pretty are these sample vials? And they're glass, which adds to their charm. It also adds to my anxiety levels, since I'm completely convinced I'm going to smash them with my ham-fisted ways.

Anyway, these are lovely. And the tags are such a nice touch, too, with the little silky ribbons. Very feminine. Very classy.

[image source]

As you see in the picture above, the scents I got to try are Tulipes Joyeuses and Honeysuckle Vine.


I have to admit, I am not so sure how accurate the scents are. Soliflores (scents built to resemble one specific flower) are not always aiming for exactness, but there's always some degree of verisimilitude.


How true-to-life are these? I can't tell you. I don't recall much of a smell from the tulips in my garden. They're not blooming yet, so I can't go test that memory (or lack thereof). It's not unusual for over-bred flowers to lose their scent. The people who cultivate them often focus on the visual appearance and not on scent. My memory of honeysuckle is fond, but it's not really about their scent. I remember plucking them off of the vines that ran along the boundaries of the nearby park and sucking on the sweet nectar.

[image source]

What I can tell you is that these are both incredibly pretty floral perfumes. I really enjoy them both. Tulipes Joyeuses is rich and full-bodied - almost heady. Honeysuckle Vine is lighter and fresher. It is the longer-lived of the two on skin and projects more on me.

Both of these perfumes are distinctly floral, regardless of whether or not they are olfacto-realistic*. There is no doubt that these are pretty flowers, blooming beautifully on the skin. They make me feel like I'm wearing Spring - that enthusiasm, that sense of building energy, that feeling of potential.

*yes, I just made that up.

I identify with the honeysuckle scent a bit more, or maybe it works even better with my skin. What I know is that I actually crave this scent, which is a nice feeling.

These are botanical scents, which does not make them "lesser" than perfumes made with some synthetic ingredients. It does make their appearance on the skin a bit more brief, which can be frustrating for some perfumistas. Once you embrace the nature of natural scents, though, you learn to love enjoying the nuances in the allotted time and begin to even relish the fact that you get to reapply sooner.

I can see why these were so popular for Fleurage that Emma decided to start selling them online (soon). I look forward to getting my hands on her gardenia, lilac, daisy, and peony perfumes. I think they're going to be mind-blowing!

FYI: If you're a Facebook fiend (like me), you can follow Fluerage here.

So tell me:
Do you like soliflores? Which are your favorites? What flowers are you drawn to, either visually or for their scent? Are you a fan of natural botanical perfumes, or do they not work for you?