I love the smell of cool damp dirt that has been slumbering all winter; digging a shovel in and turning out a dark crumbling lump of rich black soil as if awakening it from a sleep. Preparing the ground, pulling small weeds that may have sprung up, raking up the last of the fallen leaves, all to have a good base to plant seeds, baby plants, and especially my herbs, which I like to get in the ground as soon as the risk of frost has passed. These perfumes listed below in no particular order remind me of this spring ritual and the wonderful smell of dirt, herbs, and green leaves in my early garden, before the flowers have started to bloom.
Herb Man by Dame Perfumery Cologne
Jeffrey Dame prides himself on making colognes and perfumes that are easy to wear and smell great, rather than trying to present the wearer with a challenge. Herb man is the perfect example of this art. It opens with notes of petit grain, lemon and bergamot which make it sound like a typical citrus cologne but the herbal notes come in rather quickly and let you know this cologne is about herbs, with notes of lavender, sage, and possibly rosemary. The lavender doesn't stand out as much as the sage, but all the notes are a well blended brew. There is a slight dustiness that may be from either the note of geranium or artemisia (wormwood) and to me this gives a slight "in the garden" vibe. I could almost think there is a very mild vetiver note here but perhaps it is the wood notes. I enjoy this scent. It starts out with a zingy rush from the citrus but quickly evolves into warm herbal overtones. It wears clean, slightly green, and not at all boring or common. This is marketed as a men's cologne but is unisex and something I would enjoy wearing. I would call this a casual cologne yet it's polished enough to feel at home in the board room.
Allegria by Rouge Bunny Rouge
Mint so fresh you want to break out the rum for mojitos. Bergamot, sour orange and grapefruit give a tart and crisp opening. Passion fruit adds a tart fruitiness. Intensely bright green notes dance around the citrus notes. Black currant leaf, Basil and Eucalyptus contribute to this green leafy feel. Buchu is a South African plant whose leaves have an intense aroma pungent of peppermint. With mint, eucalyptus and bucha you might think that this is an extreme mint perfume but the overall effect is a fresh and lively green. Other notes include mimosa absolute in the heart, and base notes of cedar, dry amber, moss, musk, hawthorn, and tonka bean. I feel that the cedar, hawthorn and moss are the most identifiable of these and make for an interesting ride.The brand's own copy describes Allegria: "Fueled by lush greenery, this ecstatic aroma transforms all that was once black and white into vivid color." The perfume does have a feel of vegetation gone wild and there is a bit of sour bitterness hiding in the background that some might find challenging. I thought this made it more interesting and probably like no other perfume in your collection. It is fun and a bit zany, and my first thought was, "the perfumer (Sonia Constant) must have had a lot of fun making this." It's very creative and different and will definitely bring on a mood of "spring is here" or perhaps good to wear in winter when it seems spring may never appear.
Herba Fresca by Guerlain Aqua Allegoria
This perfume advertises itself as "the spirit of fresh cut grass and a note of green tea." This opens very watery than almost immediately fresh sparkling herbs make their way into the picture. A mint note is prominent, and it is spearmint; yes, the varieties smell differently. I grow mint in my garden for my obligatory ice tea, and it is amazing what a different taste and smell each variety of mint has. Spearmint has a bit sweeter note than peppermint and reminds me of the old Wrigley's spearmint and doublemint gum commercials. (Don't worry if this means nothing to you. It just means you're not as old as me.) I admire Herba Fresca for its lively notes and the feeling that you really have trampled through a field of herbs, crushing the mint leaves beneath your feet and releasing their pungent odor. The fragrance was meant to create the feeling of walking in a garden after the rain and the bright, clean freshness does give this impression of freshly watered and washed plant life. I mainly smell the clover and mint, although the green tea may be providing a fairly neutral background note.
This perfume was created in 1999 by perfumers Jean-Paul Guerlain and Mathilde Laurent. It is one of the few Aqua Allegoria perfumes by Guerlain that has managed to stay in fairly constant production, I would assume because of popularity.
Un Jardin Sur Le Toit by Hermes
This was the fourth in Hermes garden-inspired themed perfumes and they kept it close to home, this particular "garden on the roof" being based on the rooftop garden of Hermes headquarters at 24 Rue Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris. Previous additions all had foreign locales: Un Jardin En Mediterrannee (Mediterranean), Un Jardin Sur Le Nil (Egypt), and Un Jardin Apres la Mousson (India). This 2011 creation by Jean-Claude Ellena keeps it light and simple.
Ellena scupted Un Jardin Sur Le Toit as a fun, light, and lively perfume, uncomplicated and easy to wear. On first application I get a creamy grassy green note. It is light and stays close to the skin. Eventually slightly sweet notes join, meant to represent the apple, pear, and magnolia trees of this secret garden. There are occasional flashes of herbs, rosemary and basil, to represent the green notes of the perfume. I will confess this one is a little light for me in both projection and sillage but I do find it very pretty and perfect for those who enjoy "keeping it close".
Le Jardin Vert by DSH Perfumes
Rich, verdant soil, dark wet and crumbly. Perhaps a little mushroom compost is in there to amp up its organic richness. Tender plant roots, exposed to the soil as you dig your shovel in and turn the dirt to prepare it for the spring garden. The perfume is meant to represent the atmosphere of a garden: the rich soil, plants, and trees, but not flowers. It creates the smell of moss and woods, and uses mineral notes to give an impression of damp and green. To me this perfume smells like that fertile moment of joy and hope when preparing your spring garden after a winter's slumber. It is that feeling of earth, enriched by crumbling leaves and tree bark, ready to welcome fledgling plants and tender seeds. Totally unique, see my more extensive review here.
There is only one other perfume I know of that comes close to this feeling of cool dirt in your hands that Le Jardin Vert give and that is Diptyque L'Ombre Dans Le Eau, which I reviewed in last year's five top picks for spring and you can read about here. Are there any perfumes that remind you of a garden in the spring?
Top photo by SusanTuttlePhotography. Other photos, www.rougebunnyrouge.com and www.hermes.com. All samples my own.
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