Written by Isadora Lebouille of Annindriya Perfume Lounge

At the onset of the first sunny days of spring we immediately want to change our wardrobe: the warm sweaters, socks and moonboots can be closeted. We are longing for whirling dresses and matching heels. In newspapers, on Facebook and on Twitter trending topics are ‘rokjesdag’ (a Dutch expression, meaning day of skirts; typically the first sunny day of spring during which women collectively dress in skirts and dresses, ed.) and ‘smelling the spring’. The city looks cheerful, squares are full of pink hyancinths, yellow crocuses and daffodils. The scent of the city changes from a wintery coldness to blossoms and a sultry breeze.

We are used to changing clothes in a new season. A seasonal wardrobe is very usual. But as you vary with clothing, you can also vary with fragrances. Because there are fragrances for every oppertunity. When you start to see the variations, you can start building your ‘fragrance wardrobe’.

And just as there are dresses for the evening, the summer and winter, there can be different fragrances to suit different occasions: a fragrance for winter, a fragrance for spring, a fragrance for work, a fragrance for the evening, a fragrance for routine, a fragrance for New York and so on.

Spring is a good time to start your fragrance wardrobe. But what does spring smell like? What types of perfumes seem to fit these days? The warmth sometimes asks for an eau de cologne in the morning, an aquatic fragrance when working out or a dramatic tuberose on a sultry night. Ingredients that are specifically suitable for these months: mimosa, orangeblossom, lily-of-the-valley and citrus.

Each year perfume brands and fashion houses bring new fragrances for spring. Often these are lighter variaties of a fragrance that already exists. The green, fruity, aquatic of citrus tones are being emphasized. For example Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit de l´Homme frozen cologne, a cool fragrance that contains ranesbill: it is a variaty of la Nuit de l´Homme. Cranesbill is an ingredient that is becoming more and more popular because of perfumer Patricia de Nicolai, who has beautifully processed this in L´Eau Chic. Or Narciso Rodriguez for her eau Délicate, a more fruity and fresh fragrance than the original For Her, which was more musky.

And let us not forget about the next spring fragrances:
Diorissimo by Dior, this fragrance first came out in 1956 and was composed by the famous perfumer Edmond Roudniska. He wanted to capture the scent of lily-of-the-valley from his garden in a perfume.
Azemour by Parfum d’Empire, which combines citrus orcards of lemon and manderin with hay, pepper and cumin.
And for a sultry night with a lot of tuberose: Narcotic Venus by Nasomatto.

Enjoy the many possibilities of a fragrance wardrobe.

Artwork by John William Waterhouse: The Soul of the Rose, aka My Sweet Rose (1908)