The holiday edit: my favourite orange blossom fragrances

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As you might know from my Insta feed, I went to South of Spain this Easter. The colours and the vitality of Andalusian  culture swept me off my feet as soon as I landed, and I technically live in Spain every day, albeit Catalonia not being exactly Spain… The air was thick with excitement (Good Week processions taking place left, right, and centre), the smell of delicious tapas and something familiar that I could not put my finger on at first. It hit me on day 2: orange blossoms. Orange trees were blossoming in Seville and spreading their intoxicating bitter-sweet aroma all over the city.

Lancome Poême

I had never before smelt orange blossoming and the first thing it reminded me was a very dear perfume, one that I consider my signature scent and a reminder of all things nice: Lancome’s Poême. I started wearing this perfume three years ago in late March and April, it reminds me of springtime in Barcelona, first weeks spent with my current boyfriend (Ah! that excitement!) and the pure  pleasure of being alive and being in love.

The main notes are:

Himalayan blue poppy, narcissus and datura in the opening (to name a few);

mimosa, jasmine, vanilla, tuberose and rose in the heart;

and more vanilla, tonka bean, musk and amber in the base.

The notes are really well blended and it smells warm, a little bitter but mostly sweet in a floral, non-gourmand way, and really feminine. It does have some foody notes such as peach and plum but they just hover in the background. Poeme’s sweetness never becomes overbearing or cloying. I definitely smell narcissus, mimosa, tuberose and mainly a very authentic orange blossom.  Sometimes orange blossoms smell a bit too “orange-y” in perfumes, but not here. Poeme is a BIG heady floral, in the same vein as Paris by Yves Saint Laurent, or Cacharel’s Anais Anais, of JPG’s Classique (also by Jacques Cavallier – those two share a number of similarities and I find them too similar to own both).

Poême is  like the light after a spring shower. The air is humid and heavy with the smell of  a rain washed garden. This perfume manages to be both utterly feminine and playful. According to the official Lancome website, “POÊME is a scent of contrasts: the icy transparent notes of Blue Himalayan Poppy embrace the intoxicating Desert Datura Flower and warm Vanilla—creating something vibrant, sensual and long-lasting.”
Which brings me to a very important point –  long lasting hell yes!!! One spray in the morning will get you through the day. Like most Lancome’s fragrances, this one too is  almost radioactive. Stays forever on clothes. So handle with care! Also,  the sillage stays on the heavy side. I usually do one spritz on the back of my neck or in the decolleté and that is that. With two I am  walking the line. With three I basically become a bioweapon…
Poême is great great value for your money. A small bottle will last a long time. I have had mine for three years and I am not even half way through. Of course, I do not wear it every day as I somehow become anosmic to some of its notes and it may become a bit cloying for some people.

All in all, I can add one more good memory to this fragrance – Easter holidays in Seville – and I will pretty much cherish this one for ever.

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Honourable mentions:

If Poême is really too much for you, here are two more fabulous orange blossom scents to choose from:

Elie Saab Le Parfum edp

This one is a lot less complex but nevertheless a great specimen in the  orange blossom section. On days when Poême becomes too much, this I think will be a nice alternative.

Top notes: orange blossom. Middle notes: sambac jasmine. Base notes: patchouli, cedar, rose and honey.

Elie Saab’s first-born basically smells like orange blossom honey (the orange-y kind) with a fresh, crisp edge of undetermined origin. It could be the jasmine that sometimes comes of as somewhat “green”. There could almost be an anonymous  citrus somewhere, which makes the fragrance really easy to wear and rather light and airy, despite the heaviness white florals (looking at you, tuberose) usually bring.  This ain’t no Alien, baby.  Elie Saab Le Parfum is a clean white floral with a sweet edge and excellent longevity. If you like Classique, or more lately Scandal by JPG, this one definitely belongs to the family. The longevity and sillage are both excellent but never become overbearing. Great for spring days and frag comm folks also say this could make a good wedding day perfume. Well, why not let every day be a wedding day?

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Prada Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger

This one has all the good (and the bad, unfortunately) of a classic Prada fragrance. It is soapy, inoffensive, feminine, classy – and yes, somewhat lacking in the longevity department, but I pull  around 6-7 hours out of it, which is not too bad at all.

Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger has a linear … what then if not a pyramid? Line?

…Featuring orange blossom, jasmine, tuberose, neroli and mandarin orange. Based on the notes alone it obviously lacks the same punch the previous two pack, but Prada is Prada: there is some undeniable magic in the composition. It is very smooth, extremely well blended, creamy and somewhat powdery, oozing understated class. You feel sexy when wearing this in a fresh-out-of-laundry white shirt kind of way, with some pearl earrings. Good for the office and summer garden parties.

Both longevity and sillage are moderate and after a couple of hours I can only smell it when I press my nose against my wrist. Then it smells like my-skin-but-better.  It stays longer on clothes and in hair.

If there is such a thing as an understated gem in everyone’s wardrobe, this should be it.

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Disclaimer: Image 1 Mobile Cuisine. Image 2 Perfume 168. Image 3 Indian Make Up and Beauty Blog. Image 4 Parfumo.

 

 

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