Tag: lily of the valley

Muguet for May Day

There are few notes in perfumery as quietly evocative as muguet—lily of the valley. It arrives not with drama, but with a soft-focus luminosity: dewy petals, cool morning air, a suggestion of green stems snapped between the fingers. Smelled in nature, it is fleeting and elusive; in fragrance, it becomes a carefully composed illusion, one of the most poetic accords in the perfumer’s palette.

Muguet cannot be extracted in the traditional sense. Its scent is too delicate to yield an essential oil, so its presence in perfume is an act of artistry rather than capture. Perfumers build it molecule by molecule, weaving together materials like hydroxycitronellal, lilial (historically), and newer muguet bases to recreate that unmistakable freshness—clean yet floral, airy yet persistent. The result is less a literal flower and more a memory of one.

Its character sits at a beautiful crossroads. There’s a watery transparency that feels almost like light through glass, paired with a gentle sweetness that never tips into excess. This makes muguet incredibly versatile: it can brighten a bouquet of white florals, soften aldehydic structures, or lend lift to green and citrus compositions. In many classic fragrances, it acts as a bridge, connecting sparkling top notes to a more grounded heart.

Emotionally, muguet carries associations of spring’s first breath. It suggests renewal, innocence, and quiet optimism. Perhaps that’s why it has long been linked with rituals and celebrations—moments that call for something refined yet joyful. In scent, it offers a kind of elegance—contained and refined.

Modern perfumery continues to reinterpret muguet, pairing it with unexpected textures—creamy musks, mineral notes, even subtle woods—to explore new facets of its personality. Yet its essence remains unchanged: a study in lightness and restraint.

To wear muguet is to embrace subtlety. It invites closeness, revealing its beauty in soft waves. Like the tiny bell-shaped flowers themselves, it reminds us that delicacy can be powerful, and that sometimes it is the delicacy that creates the most memorable scents.

Dior Diorissimo, launched in 1956, remains the definitive lily of the valley fragrance. Airy, green and delicately floral, it captures muguet with remarkable clarity. Soft yet radiant, it feels timeless—an elegant whisper of spring that still enchants with its purity and understated charm.

£125 for 100ml eau de toilette theperfumeshop.com

Penhaligon’s Lily of the Valley, launched in 1976, offers a fresh, verdant take on lily of the valley. Crisp green notes mingle with soft florals, creating a bright, airy composition. Light yet charmingly traditional, it evokes springtime gardens with an unmistakable sense of English refinement and gentle nostalgia.

£145 for 100ml eau de toilette selfridges.com

Acqua di Parma Lily of the Valley, launched in 2021, reimagines lily of the valley with a sunlit Italian touch. Sparkling citrus and soft white florals frame the muguet heart, while musk and cedar add gentle warmth. Elegant yet modern, it feels like spring filtered through Mediterranean light—fresh, refined and quietly radiant.

£257 for 100ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com

The Perfumer’s Fragrant Fantasy Palette

The world of perfumery is a realm where science and art intertwine, where the boundaries between reality and imagination blur. While nature offers a vast array of scents, not all can be captured and bottled for our olfactory pleasure. Some plants and ingredients, though beguiling in their natural state, remain elusive to perfumers, their essences impossible to extract through traditional methods.

This challenge has led to the creation of synthetic aroma molecules and ingenious accords of natural materials, allowing perfumers to recreate these tantalising scents. Take, for instance, the delicate aroma of lily of the valley. Despite its enchanting fragrance in nature, this flower stubbornly refuses to yield its essence through distillation or extraction. Undeterred, perfumers have crafted synthetic molecules to mimic its fresh, green, and slightly sweet scent.

 

 

In a fascinating twist, some flowers that enchant us visually remain scentless in nature. This hasn’t stopped imaginative perfumers from conjuring up fragrant fantasies inspired by these blooms. The vibrant bird of paradise flower, for instance, lacks a discernible scent. Yet, in the hands of creative noses, it has inspired fragrances that blend exotic floral notes with hints of tropical fruits and lush greenery.

 

 

 

Famously, Master Perfumer Alberto Morillas dreamed the scent of a poppy (not a fragrant flower in nature) for the iconic Kenzo Flower – indeed, we have a whole feature dedicated to the fragrant evolution of Kenzo’s Flower family, which you can read here.

 

These olfactory illusions showcase the true artistry of perfumery, where science meets creativity to produce scents that transport us to realms both real and imagined. Let’s explore some fragrances that embody this fascinating interplay between nature’s offerings and perfumers’ ingenuity.

 

 

 

 

Ella K’s Camelia K, crafted by the talented Sonia Constant, is a fragrant ode to the camellia flower and its surrounding terroir, for which Sonia used Headspace Technology to capture the air around the wild plant. This scent opens with a crisp blend of bergamot and green tea, evoking the glossy leaves of the camellia plant. The heart unfurls with a delicate floral bouquet, where rose and jasmine dance with the imagined scent of camellia – soft, slightly powdery, with a hint of freshness. As it settles, warm notes of sandalwood and white musk create a gentle, skin-like base, as if capturing the velvety texture of camellia petals and the misty air of its natural habitat.

£215 for 100ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com

 

 

 

 

 

Floral Street’s Sunflower Pop is a vibrant olfactory masterpiece inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s iconic paintings. This fragrance bursts with the optimism of a sun-drenched field, blending zesty bergamot and luscious mandarin. As it unfolds, a tingle of amber dances with delicate plum blossom, while a dusting of orris powder adds a sophisticated touch. The result is a deliciously optimistic scent that captures the essence of Van Gogh’s vivid brushstrokes in a bottle.

From £29 for 10ml eau de parfum floralstreet.com

 

 

 

Shay & Blue Black Tulip 100ml

 

Shay & Blue’s Black Tulip takes a theatrical side-step from its namesake, conjuring a bouquet of white flowers that seems to have been pulled from a magician’s hat. This fragrance opens with trembling snowdrops before diving into the depths of an imagined black tulip’s ample bosom. The scent is further enriched by incense-like notes and the indulgent sweetness of chocolate-smothered plum, creating a captivating and mysterious olfactory experience.

From £25 for 10ml eau de parfum in our shop

 

 

 

 

 

YARDLEY_BLUEBELL & SWEETPEA.

 

Yardley London’s Bluebell & Sweetpea is a charming walk through an English countryside in full bloom. It opens with a burst of piquant blackberries before leading you through a dappled woodland filled with the delicate scents of jasmine, bluebell, and lily of the valley. The journey culminates in a sunlit glade where crisp, air-dried linen mingles with the soft, peachy notes of peony petals dancing in the breeze. This fragrance captures the essence of a perfect spring day in a bottle.

Currently £12 for 125ml eau de toilette boots.com

 

 

 

 

 

Floris’ Lily is a testament to the alchemist’s art, transforming the simple purity of lily of the valley into a complex symphony of scent. This timeless fragrance celebrates fresh starts and new loves, coaxing its seemingly simple aroma from a staggering composition of over 250 perfume oils. The result is dynamically dewy and optimistically green, a fragrance that captures the essence of hope and renewal in every spritz.

From £25 for 10ml eau de toilette florislondon.com

 

These fragrances demonstrate the boundless creativity of perfumers, who can capture not just scents, but emotions, memories, and even the unscented beauty of nature. In the world of perfumery, what cannot be extracted can be imagined, and what is imagined can be brought to life through the alchemy of aroma molecules and skilfully crafted accords.

How glorious that a perfumer’s imagination has no limit in fantasy accords, and whatever they think of can be conjured into a blossoming reality we can wear. Now, we think you’ll agree: that’s real magic!

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Guerlain Muguet Millésime 2024 – excuse us while we swoon…

Every year in the month of May, Guerlain releases their much-anticipated Muguet – a limited edition, Bee-bottled fragrant homage to the the spring season, and artistically referencing legends surrounding lily of the valley…

 

Only available on guerlain.com and in Guerlain boutiques, this annual exquisite collectors piece represents Guerlain’s olfactive ode to their heritage – utilising a beloved floral symbol which we happen to adore at The Perfume Society, too, lily of the valley being the emblem we chose for its fragrant folklore meanings (and because we began ten years ago on May 1st, when bouquets of lily of the valley, or muguet in French, are traditionally bequeathed to loved ones.

Guerlain Says: ‘Like every year, the House of Guerlain celebrates the arrival of spring with its emblematic Muguet in a limited, numbered pieces edition. For this long-awaited and exclusive lucky rendezvous, Guerlain reaffirms its commitment to arts and crafts by collaborating with Anne Lopez.’

 

 

 

 

‘On the iconic Bee Bottle, the sculptor brings to life subtle bells fashioned in stucco and enhanced with 22-carat fine gold, turning the 2024 Millésime into a singular sculptural work. A trail, which freshness reminisces of a freshly-picked sprig of lily of the valley.’

Artist Anne Lopez was chosen to design the precious flaçon this year, and Guerlain explains that ‘The adornment of lucky bell-shaped flowers was born from her delicate sketches, drafts that create a singular vision. Fashioned in stucco, a coating made of marble powder, the twenty-four bell-shaped flowers illuminated with gold and the two green leaves are sculpted by Anne Lopez directly on the glass. Just like a delicate necklace, the lily-of-the-valley sprig composition unfolds in a considered way around the bottle’s curves : plump bell-shaped flowers at the top, then gradually refining into an utterly graceful string.’

 

 

 

 

Although each year the bottle design and embellishments change depending on the artist Guerlain is collaborating with, the stunning scent remains – gracefully, gratefully – unchanged. ‘It is to Guerlain’s Master Perfumer that we owe the feat of reproducing the fragrance of lily of the valley.’ And Guerlain reminds us that the this flower is one of the trickiest to translate in fragrant form. ‘Described as “mute”, its natural essence is impossible to extract. Guerlain’s Muguet, composed since 2016 by Thierry Wasser, captures as faithfully as possible the scent of the lucky sprigs. In a burst of freshness, the green notes meeting the floral preciousness of jasmine and rose adorn this emblematic trail with soft and pearly green and rosy facets. At the heart of this bouquet, the olfactory illusion of a freshly picked sprig of lily of the valley emerges.’

Of course this is a dream piece – these are collected, and beloved all over the world. But how wonderful that such artistry can still be found, and admired (even in simply gasping at pictures of the work, or watching the bottle spin in the film found on Guerlain’s website). Drink in the artistry of the images, and (we urge you) do go and smell the scent in-store, and allow yourself to be awed awhile by something beautiful. It’s good for the soul…

 

 

 

Guerlain Muguet Millésime 2024 (4885 limited and numbered collection pieces), £675 for 100ml Bee Bottle + 30ml Spray Bottle guerlain.com

 

By Suzy Nightingale

Happy TENTH birthday to us! Celebrating a decade of fabulously fragrant years…

Incredibly, we are celebrating our TENTH BIRTHDAY this year! We simply cannot believe it’s been a decade of fragrant fun at The Perfume Society – how quickly it has flown by, and how much has changed in that time… But did you know our co-founders Lorna McKay and Jo Fairley chose the date of May 1st for a very particular reason?

 

For the French, May 1st traditionally represents the start of gifting bouquets of “muguet” to loved ones to signify the regard in which they’re held and as a token of prosperity for the year ahead. A tradition supposedly begun when King Charles IX was presented with a bunch of the delicate blooms, and decided to gift the ladies of his court, too. Lily of the valley has also made its way into countless bridal bouquets (including that of Kate Middleton for her wedding to Prince Willliam); and in many countries. Most of all, lily of the valley given on May 1st represents tenderness, love, faith, happiness, purity and a return of hope.

 

 

 

No wonder we chose this delightful, flower-filled date in the calendar to launch The Perfume Society when our team of helpers ran hither and thither all over London handing sprigs of lily of the valley to fragrant friends! Meanwhile, we were busy crafting what has become a multi-award-winning magazine: The Scented Letter – the first printed magazine in the world entirely dedicated to fragrance. And we must give a special mention to the amazing designer who has been with us from day one, and without whom the magazine couldn’t exist: Jenny Semple.

The Jasmine Awards for The Fragrance Foundation U.K. are the most prestigious in the perfume industry, and are considered the olfactory equivalent of the Oscars; while The Perfumed Plume Awards were for worldwide fragrance writing, so judged internationally. Of our many nominations for this most tricky of subjects to write about (literally communicating invisible smells, and with no specific words in the English language with which to describe them!) we simply couldn’t be more proud, or more deeply honoured, that we have won the following TWELVE awards…

 

 

 

2015:

Judges Special Recognition Award – The Scented Letter magazine team [entire issue]: Issue 1

2016:

Jasmine Independent Literary Award – Suzy Nightingale, The Scented Letter magazine: ‘What Does Wednesday Smell Like?’ 

Jasmine Independent Soundbite Award – Persolaise, The Scented Letter. magazine: ‘Closer to Heaven’

2018:

Jasmine Social Engagement Award – Carson Parkin-Fairley: #smellfie Campaign

2019:

Jasmine Practical Guide Award – The Scented Letter Magazine team [entire issue]: The Alphabet Issue – A-Z of Fragrance

2020:

The Perfumed Plume [International] Award – Jo Fairley, The Scented Letter magazine: Scents of Place: Venice

2021:

Jasmine Literary Award – Suzy Nightingale, The Scented Letter magazine: Note Perfect

Jasmine Short Piece Award – Suzy Nightingale, perfumesociety.org: Vellichor: Capturing the Scent Memories of Old Books

Jasmine Judges Special Recognition Award – The Scented Letter magazine team [entire issue]: A Life in Scents

Perfumed Plume [International] Award – Suzy Nightingale, The Scented Letter magazine: Modern Florals, Heavy Petalling

2022:

Jasmine Literary Award – Jo Fairley, The Scented Letter magazine: When Soap Equals Hope

2023:

Jasmine Practical Guide Award – Suzy Nightingale, The Scented Letter magazine: Time to Spray Your 5 a Day

 

 

 

 

You can sign up for your FREE digital copy of the magazine to be delivered to your inbox, or you may prefer to choose the option of the gloriously glossy print edition subscription. Whichever you plump for, it’s a year’s worth of fragrant reading beloved by industry insiders and the perfume-loving public, which we remain incredibly proud of the magazine team, (and our contributing writers) hard work on.

 

In this past perfumed decade, ever since the second year of The Perfume Society’s inception, we have been celebrating National Fragrance Day in the U.K. with our #smellfie campaign. This was an idea that sprang up during a team meeting at TPS Towers, when senior writer Suzy Nightingale came up with the idea of getting our followers on social media to take a selfie with their scent of the day, and tell us why they loved it, with the simple hashtag of #smellfie. Little did we know that fragrance fans across the world would take up the call, and we’ve had a joyous abundance – nearly 9,000 tags, and counting! – of perfumed photos, stories and videos from the likes of Katy Perry, Little Mix and Richard E Grant, no less, who’ve taken part in the fragrant fun for past years.

 

 

With sharing the love of scent at our very heart, let us not also forget that The Perfume Society Discovery Boxes were the first cross-brand curated selections of perfume samples (from luxury, designer and niche names to newly emerging indie houses) offered anywhere in the world. We’ve had so many thousands of you tell us you found your next new fragrant loves thanks to trying samples and minis in these boxes, and for being matched with your perfect perfumes to go and sniff out via our groundbreaking (way ahead of its time) Find a Fragrance Search Engine (originally developed by Lorna McKay).

 

 

 

With your help, we’ve achieved so much over these ten years. We wish we could come and give every single one of you a sprig of lily of the valley to show our heartfelt appreciation for all your support, but for now, accept this symbol of love and luck, from us to all of you…

 

It’s our NINTH birthday! Paying homage to our symbolic flower: lily of the valley…

Regarded as a lucky charm ever since its first introduction from Japan to Europe in the Middle Ages, lily of the valley has become synonymous with the month of May and ‘the return of happiness’.  One of the reasons The Perfume Society chose lily of the valley as our symbolic flower, and why we launched on May 1st – to our astonishment, that was NINE years ago, now!

For the French, May 1st traditionally represents the start of gifting bouquets of “muguet” to loved ones to signify the regard in which they’re held and as a token of prosperity for the year ahead. A tradition supposedly begun when King Charles IX was presented with a bunch of the delicate blooms, and decided to gift the ladies of his court, too.

In Europe, ‘bals de muguet’ were historically held – lily of the valley themed dances that offered the tantalising prospect for young singletons to meet without their parents’ permission.

 

 

An iconic (and ultra-chic) lily of valley fragrance was the original Dior Diorissimo, designed in 1956 by Edmond Roudnitska. Composed in homage to Christian Dior’s favorite flowe, the lily of the valley was to be found on his personal stationary, jacket lapels, printed on his fashion designs, and, on one occasion, inspired his entire 1954 spring collection.

A more recent icon is Penhaligon’s Lily of the Valley, which was launched in 1976 – tapping into the fashion trend for romantic nostalgia – and which is wonderfully described as ‘Lacey leaves. Dappled light. Green, clean, wholesome. Lily of the Valley is as fresh and optimistic as the morning dew, grounded by notes of bergamot and sandalwood.’

With the young gals dressed in white gowns and the dapper chaps at those historic bals wearing lily of the valley as a buttonhole, we’re sure there was many a ‘return to happiness’ on such evenings… Now the custom is tied in with France’s Labour Day public holiday, and the tradition of giving lily of the valley to loved ones during May still holds strong.

 

lily of the valley Victorian card

 

Lily of the valley has also made its way into countless bridal bouquets (including that of Kate Middleton for her wedding to Prince Willliam);  in many countries, it’s linked to this day with tenderness, love, faith, happiness and purity.

So what does lily of the valley smell like?

Almost spicy, so green and sweet, with crisp hints of lemon: that’s lily of the valley. The flowers themselves are really mean with their oil, though, and synthetics are more often used to recreate lily of the valley’s magic:  Lilial, Lyral and hydroxycitronellal are among them.

 

lily of the valley poem

 

Far from reserving this magical note for May, or thinking that it has to be ‘old-fashioned’ smelling in a scent, we love the way perfumers use lily of the valley to ‘open up’ and freshen the other floral notes in a blend. It can smell like a woodland walk just after a rainshower (so very apropos for our weather right now, in the U.K.) or add some gentle sparkles of sunlight amid more verdant or deeper, shady phases as a scent unfurls on your skin.

 

 

 

No wonder we chose this delightful, flower-filled date in the calendar to launch The Perfume Society – incredibly, NINE years ago, now – running hither and thither all over London handing sprigs of lily of the valley to fragrant friends!

And my, how our friends have grown in this short time! With a readership that stretches around the globe and our Instagram followers now topping 67.8K, we have been delighted with some of the truly beautiful pictures some of our followers have been sharing there. Just feast your eyes on the stunning pictures we’ve sprinkled throughout this post…

 

 

With your help we’ve come so far. We wish we could come and give every single one of you a sprig of lily of the valley to show our heartfelt appreciation for all your support, but for now, accept this symbol of love and luck, from us to all of you…

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Fragrances For… A Return to Happiness

We’re perhaps used to thinking of lily of the valley as a very traditional (even, whisper it, old-fashioned) perfumery ingredient, yet so many modern classics and contemporary perfumers use lily of the valley to magnificent effect in their compositions. We chose this symbolic flower – meaning ‘a return to happiness’ – eight years ago as our kind of unoffical emblem, and at our birthday launch we gave a precious beribboned posy as a gift to loved ones and fragrance industry friends.

If perhaps the stunning Guerlain Muguet 2022 we wrote about on the 1st of May was beyond your means, have a wander through these lily of the valley scents – yours to re-discover, or fall in love with afresh this spring…

 

 

 

MEMOIZE LONDON
ROSE LUXURIA
‘The essence of ultimate want and desire’ this intoxicating take on lily of the valley thrusts it betwixt a soapy rose, and creamy magnolia for skin-like sensuality, while orange flower and powder soft orris remind us of true romance. Fall in love with the floral bouquet, fall deeper for the warm, amber-rich base drizzled with benzoin, cushioned by velvety moss and rolled in precious musk and woods. Light and darkness juxtaposed to licentious yet luminescent effect!
£227 for 100ml Extrait de Parfum
perfumesociety.org

 

 

 

 

DIOR
DIORISSIMO
An eternal classic lily of the valley launched in 1956, according to Christian Dior, Diorissimo is the perfume of Edmond Roudnitska’s spirit, or, “the scented expression of his soul”. Green leaves and bergamot bring energy to the flower, while lilac adds further spring-like hopefulness. Sunlit jasmine, lily and ylang ylang beam becommingly as the gentle animalic purr of the base prevents this beauty being too cold and cut from marble.
£69 for 50ml eau de toilette
dior.com

BVLGARI
Rose Goldea Blossom Delight
Swapping out heavier scents for fresher fragrances feel like a proper escape from winter, an exuberant change in the weather here evoked by the delicacy of lily of the valley, powdery peony and a kiss of musk. This pretty bouquet is further refreshed ‘by incorporating the freshness of the rosebuds at sunrise, embraced by just-picked spring flowers.’ We’re dropping down the denier scale in olfactory form, wearing this joyous ode to spring.
£65 for 50ml eau de toilette
bvlgari.com

 

YARDLEY LONDON
LILY OF THE VALLEY BODY MIST
A charming bouquet that always makes us think of traditional English picnics in the woods, here Yardley entwines the heritage of their name and these delicate yet powerfully-fragrant flowers with a surprising note of juicy pear to add a modern twist on a traditional theme. Freesia and musk add a further layer of richness to this lighter spritz of a posy, perfect for layering while maintaining your skin’s moisture levels in the most elegantly fragrant way.
£6.99 for 200ml body mist
yardleylondon.co.uk

 

 

 

EIGHT & BOB
ANNICKE 1
Perfumer Albert Fouquet’s life was turned upside down one evening in the French Alps, where he attended a high society soirée and was introduced to the strikingly beautiful Annicke. Now this collection has been created as a contemporary tribute to his love, the first fragrance marrying lily of the valley, rosy notes of peony and intoxicating jasmine. Sparkling mandarin cuts through the heart, white musk and driftwood soothing the passion.

Try a sample in the Annicke Fragrance Discovery Set: £20 for 6 x 2ml eau de parfum

 

 

COLLEZIONE PRIVATA BY VALMONT
Collezione Privata Just Bloom
For the fourth fragrance in the collection, we’re presented with a stunning bouquet of white flowers, traditionally a symbol of femininity but chicly paired back, here, allowing the blossoms to fully bloom. CEO Sophie Vann Guillon’s favourite flower happens to be lily of the valley, so joyfully evoked in the top notes, and complemented by the creamy exoticism of gardenia in the heart. Finally caressed by the ethereal woodiness of ambergris, it’s a sun-dappled delight.
£230 for 100ml eau de parfum
harrods.com

 

 

 

CHANEL
N°19
Sparkling and vibrant with every elegant spritz, it’s daringly green but still supremely wearable. The snapped-stalk freshness of galbanum is balanced with soft, powdery iris, heady ylang ylang tempered by a shiver of spring air in lily of the valley and luminescent rose. Exciting and immediately mood-lifting, if N°5 wasn’t for you, try this joyously energising fizz of freshness as a pick-me-up.
£107 for 100ml eau de toilette
chanel.com

Guerlain’s divine Muguet – lily of the valley, the flower of May & our birthday

It’s now a much-anticipated tradition that, on the first of May, Guerlain release their exquisite Muguet – a limited edition, beautuifully Bee-bottled fragrant homage to legends surrounding lily of the valley. Indeed, we were so taken with the traditions of exchanging bouquets for friendship, and the new begginings represented by the flower, that eight years ago, we officially launched The Perfume Society on that date!

Regarded as a lucky charm ever since its first introduction from Japan to Europe in the Middle Ages, lily of the valley has become synonymous with the month of May and ‘the return of happiness’. With so many of us perhaps preparing to travel again – planning trips to see loved ones or simply the joy of a holiday – that happiness is expressed in fragrant form, and just so beautifully bottled. Here, Guerlain explain the many lovely traditions around the world surrounding lily of the valley, and why they, too, are so taken with the delicate flower…

‘According to legend, if its white bells drop their heads on their stems as though they were weeping, it is because they were born from the tears of Eve when she was expelled from the Garden of Eden. For the Greek, it was the god Apollo who scattered the flowers on the thick green grass of Mount Parnassus, so that the Muses wouldn’t hurt their feet. In the forests of Ireland, their bells chime when fairies climb their poetic ladders to weave their iridescent cradles…

“Gentle fairies, hush your singing:
Can you hear my white bells ringing,
Ringing as from far away?
Who can tell me what they say?
Little snowy bells out-springing
From the stem and softly ringing–
Tell they of a country where
Everything is good and fair?”
Cicely Mary BARKER (1895-1973)

A flower of a thousand tales, lily of the valley owes its French name, muguet, derived from musc or muscade (“nutmeg”), a sweetly scented spice, to its delicate, penetrating fragrance. Evocative of springtime, the season of love, muguet gave its name in the 16th century to young swains who spent their time flirting… As for the custom of offering it on May 1st, it was born in 1561, when King Charles IX of France was offered a sprig during a visit to the Dauphiné. He was so charmed that each year, on the same day, he offered lily of the valley to all the ladies of his court.

 

 

 

 

During the Belle Époque, couturiers gave it on May 1st to their seamstresses and clients… Perfumers strove to capture the scent of the fleeting flower. Among the hundreds of tributes inspired by the white bell over the century, one was authored by a young perfumer called Jacques Guerlain. In 1908, he composed the House’s first Muguet, inaugurating a fragrant tradition that has gone on, from spring to spring, for over 110 years. Recreating the lily-of-the-valley fragrance is a genuine olfactory feat as it is known as “mute”. Composed by the Master Perfumer Thierry Wasser, Guerlain’s Muguet takes on green and rosy facets that form a vernal setting for the lush floral materials that enrich his composition: jasmine sambac absolute, rose essence and absolute. At the heart of the bouquet arises the strikingly olfactory illusion of a freshly picked sprig. A true olfactory jewel, to celebrate the rites of spring at its apogee.

It is the most poetic rendez-vous of spring. An encounter of the art of the perfumer and the very best creators flower. The kind of match that only the House of Guerlain could orchestrate. Each year, the new adornment of the iconic Bee Bottle of Muguet is released: the stunning outcome of innovative artistic collaborations. For its 2022 Edition, a delicate sprig of lily-of-the-valley is turned into a jewel, set with glittering crystals by the magicians of the Parisian jewellery studio Atelier Truscelli.

 

 

 

Italian by birth and Parisian by adoption, Francesco Truscelli has been fascinated by jewellery since his childhood. In 2003, he founded his own studio in Paris, where tourmalines, sapphires, turquoises, garnets, aquamarines, pearls are set into shimmering, colourful hand-crafted designs in many different styles. A specialist in one-off pieces and bespoke jewels, Francesco Truscelli still loves, as he did when he first trained, giving a second life to family jewels by redesigning them.

 

 

 

 

May Day and the heralding of Spring is celebrated in many cultures, but we are especially fond of the French custom of presenting your nearest and dearest with a sprig of lily of the valley. For those that want to go several scented steps further, you’d best not delay. These breathtaking bottles are limited edition pieces for collectors of course – this year there are only 5,000 bottles released worldwide, priced at £540 and available at their Covent Garden Boutique, Harrods, and at Guerlain.com.

Guerlain Muguet 2021 – legendary lily of the valley

Every year on the first of May, Guerlain release their much-anticipated Muguet – a limited edition, beautuifully Bee-bottled fragrant homage to legends surrounding lily of the valley. Indeed, we were so taken with the traditions of exchanging bouquets of the flower that seven years ago, we officially launched The Perfume Society on that date!

Regarded as a lucky charm ever since its first introduction from Japan to Europe in the Middle Ages, lily of the valley has become synonymous with the month of May and ‘the return of happiness’. This year, that return has been particularly significant as the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions and rollout of vaccines in many countries has, for we lucky some, meant the ability to meet up with loved ones and see family members missed for so long. But let’s allow Guerlain to walk us through the many lovely traditions around the world surrounding lily of the valley, and why they, too, are so taken with the delicate flower…

 

 

‘According to legend, if its white bells drop their heads on their stems as though they were weeping, it is because they were born from the tears of Eve when she was expelled from the Garden of Eden. For the Greek, it was the god Apollo who scattered the flowers on the thick green grass of Mount Parnassus, so that the Muses wouldn’t hurt their feet. In the forests of Ireland, their bells chime when fairies climb their poetic ladders to weave their iridescent cradles…

“Gentle fairies, hush your singing:
Can you hear my white bells ringing,
Ringing as from far away?
Who can tell me what they say?
Little snowy bells out-springing
From the stem and softly ringing–
Tell they of a country where
Everything is good and fair?”
Cicely Mary BARKER (1895-1973)

A flower of a thousand tales, lily of the valley owes its French name, muguet, derived from musc or muscade (“nutmeg”), a
sweetly scented spice, to its delicate, penetrating fragrance. Evocative of springtime, the season of love, muguet gave its
name in the 16th century to young swains who spent their time flirting… As for the custom of offering it on May 1st, it was born in 1561, when King Charles IX of France was offered a sprig during a visit to the Dauphiné. He was so charmed that each year, on the same day, he offered lily of the valley to all the ladies of his court.

During the Belle Époque, couturiers gave it on May 1st to their seamstresses and clients… Perfumers strove to capture the scent of the fleeting flower. Among the hundreds of tributes inspired by the white bell over the century, one was authored by a young perfumer called Jacques Guerlain. In 1908, he composed the House’s first Muguet, inaugurating a fragrant tradition that has gone on, from spring to spring, for over 110 years!’

 

 

The stunning bottle for 2021’s Muguet Millésime, Guerlain turned to the talents of Lucie Touré, a young Parisian paper and textile designer who won the 2019 Eiffel Tower Design Prize. ‘To reinterpret Muguet, I created a delicate adornment in a fresh, Haute Couture spirit’, she explains.

 

 

Guerlain says: ‘After studying embroidery and textile design, Lucie Touré trained for six years in Parisian embroidery and textile printing studios, collaborating with the most prestigious ready-to-wear and Haute Couture houses. She founded her own studio in 2018, with an initial two-year residency in the Ateliers de Paris. By associating paper with finishing techniques drawn from textile and jewelry, she glorifies the ephemeral material by cutting, weaving, or embroidering it. For this edition, she has imagined a modern, customised 3-D adornment, entirely hand-made in Paris: a stylised representation of sprigs of lily-of-the-valley in full blossom unfurling gracefully onto the dome of the Bee Bottle.’

 

Guerlain Muguet 2021 £450 [4,500 pieces worldwide]

By Suzy Nightingale

Forgotten flowers: lily of the valley _ a fascinating history + why perfumers love it, now!

We’ve been focussing on those ‘forgotten flowers’ in perfumery, perhaps seen as a little old fashioned once, but which are re-blooming once again…

Last time we looked at freesia, and in the most recent edition of The Scented Letter Magazine, we invited you to Step Into the Garden with the main feature dedicated to re-exploring roses, magolias, violets, peonies and osmanthus. But today, we’d like to tempt you to try: lily of the valley.

Regarded as a lucky charm ever since its first introduction from Japan to Europe in the Middle Ages, lily of the valley has become synonymous with the month of May and ‘the return of happiness’. For the French, May 1st traditionally represents the start of gifting bouquets of “muguet” to loved ones to signify the regard in which they’re held and as a token of prosperity for the year ahead. A tradition supposedly begun when King Charles IX was presented with a bunch of the delicate blooms, and decided to gift the ladies of his court, too.

In Europe, ‘bals de muguet’ were historically held – lily of the valley themed dances that offered the tantalising prospect for young singletons to meet without their parents’ permission.

An iconic (and ultra-chic) lily of valley fragrance was the original Dior Diorissimo, designed in 1956 by Edmond Roudnitska. Composed in homage to Christian Dior’s favorite flowe, the lily of the valley was to be found on his personal stationary, jacklet lapels, printed on his fashion designs, and, on one occasion, inspired his entire 1954 spring collection.

A more recent icon is Penhaligon’s Lily of the Valley, which was launched in 1976 – tapping into the fashion trend for romantic nostalgia – and which is wonderfully described as ‘Lacey leaves. Dappled light. Green, clean, wholesome. Lily of the Valley is as fresh and optimistic as the morning dew, grounded by notes of bergamot and sandalwood.’

With the young gals dressed in white gowns and the dapper chaps at those historic bals wearing lily of the valley as a buttonhole, we’re sure there was many a ‘return to happiness’ on such evenings… Now the custom is tied in with France’s Labour Day public holiday, and the tradition of giving lily of the valley to loved ones during May still holds strong.

But perfumers love using this elusive scent all-year ’round, and we’ve seen an increasing number of fragrances using lily of the valley once again.

lily of the valley Victorian card

Lily of the valley has also made its way into countless bridal bouquets (including that of Kate Middleton for her wedding to Prince Willliam);  in many countries, it’s linked to this day with tenderness, love, faith, happiness and purity.

No wonder we chose this delightful, flower-filled date in the calendar to launch The Perfume Society – running hither and thither all over London handing sprigs of lily of the valley to fragrant friends!

So what does lily of the valley smell like?

Almost spicy, so green and sweet, with crisp hints of lemon: that’s lily of the valley. The flowers themselves are really mean with their oil, though, and synthetics are more often used to recreate lily of the valley’s magic:  Lilial, Lyral and hydroxycitronellal are among them.

lily of the valley poem

Far from reserving this magical note for May, or thinking that it has to be ‘old-fashioned’ smelling in a scent, we love the way perfumers use lily of the valley to ‘open up’ and freshen the other floral notes in a blend. It can smell like a woodland walk just after a rainshower (so very apropos for our weather right now, in the U.K.) or add some gentle sparkles of sunlight amid more verdant or deeper, shady phases as a scent unfurls on your skin.

Try these five fragrances in which lily of the valley is resplendent, and discover why we love this note so much…

lily of the valley perfumes Imperial Emerald

Perfumer Jordi Fernandez’s exquisite layering of iris, lily of the valley and Egyptian jasmine over a hazy layer of musks, is designed to conjure up the scent of an Italian stately garden, the sun setting and the hedgerows scenting the alleyways.
Merchant of Venice Imperial Emerald £250 for 100ml eau de parfum
harrods.com

Oh, this is a crisp stroll, bottled. Pears, bergamots and black currants drip onto aqueous blooms, sunlit lily of the valley and dewy roses, with musks softening a woody trail. Close your eyes and dream of spring already.
Maison Margiela Springtime In a Park £98 for 100ml eaux de toilette
harveynichols.com

Lily of the valley adds a weightless airiness that manages to be discreet, mysterious and sexy all at the same time. Infused with the signature musk, it sighs to a heart of roses, the dry-down a vibrant hum of black cedar, white cedar and tonka bean.
Narciso Rodriguez Eau de Toilette Rouge From £41 for 30ml eau de toilette
debenhams.com

This gauzy tapestry of petals feels like wearing a tulle gown sprinkled with sequins. Jasmine and rose are laced through with bright violet leaf and a shivering flurry of lily of the valley; while ribbons of white musk and ambergris weave through succulent papaya.
Goldea Blossom Delight £74 for 100ml eau de parfum
harrods.com

Cast off any grey clouds with this delightful zing of a scent – the lily of the valley’s so crisp in here it practically makes your mouth water. Twisting with tendrils of honekysuckle and grounded on a base of akigalawood and transparent patchouli, it’s a winner no matter the weather.
Miu Miu L’Eau Bleue from £50 for 30ml eau de parfum
johnlewis.com

By Suzy Nightingale

Guerlain’s Muguet Millésime 2018

In France, May 1st is celebrated with a public holiday – officially called La Fête du Travail (National Labour Day) but also known as La Fête du Muguet (Lily of the Valley Day). It comes from a tradition that supposedly dates back to the reign of King Charles IX, when in 1561, the King was presented with a bunch of muguet (lil of the valley) flowers as a token of luck for the coming year. Courtiers were so charmed by the token, they began gifting each other sprigs of the flowers, and so the tradition grew, remaining to this day a way of wishing loved ones a properous and joyful year ahead.

Incredibly, for 110 years now, Guerlain have presented their own fragrant token, in the form of an exquisite (and highly collectible!) limited edition bottle of Muguet – a practice initiated by Jacques Guerlain in 1908.

For 2018, Guerlain have decorated the emblematic ‘bee bottle’ design with a kiss of frost (how fitting, for our currently freezing weather), and as Guerlain explain, ‘…the Bee Bottle contains in its heart the Muguet note, reinterpreted by Thierry Wasser, whose bergamot, jasmine and rose accents announce Spring.

Top notes: green notes
Heart notes: note of lily of the valley, lilac
Base notes: rose, jasmine

To magnify this exceptional piece, Guerlain has called on Maison Guillemette, one of the reference addresses in Paris for jewels and head accessories. Guillemette, founder and creator, celebrates the Muguet with a floral ethereal finery.

A lucky charm of exception that celebrates with refinement Lily of the Valley and the beginning of Spring.

Each year the Muguet eau de toilette is magnified in a bottle sublimated by the know-how of a craftsman to become an exceptional piece.

This year, Maison Guillemette, a Parisian creator of accessories, has imagined a voluptuous and delicate floral finery. It is adorned with a bunch of organza petals cut and sewed by hand; a true prowess of meticulousness and creativity.’

Collectors, Guerlain-a-holics and lily of the valley lovers, form an orderly queue – we’re right behind you, and desperately hoping this heralds the proper start of Spring…

Guerlain Millésime Muguet 2018 £370 for 125ml eau de toilette
Available at Harrods and Selfridges

Written by Suzy Nightingale