il Profumo Blanche Jacinthe

Blanche Jacinthe as described by il Profumo website:

“opens with celestial notes, given by the preponderance of the white and intense water hyacinth, which appears also in the heart of this perfume, in a very deep and sensual way. This alchemy is completed by orange flowers and jasmine. It closes with a trail of amber and musky notes.”

Announcement of Blanche Jacinthe on NST last year added galbanum and chamomile as additional notes. Obviously the ad copy is a bit lacking here so I’ll sum up the notes list in my own words with what I actually smell: water hyacinth (or insert hyacinth, lotus and/or water lily here), galbanum, chamomile, orange blossom, jasmine, and white musks.

Blanche Jacinthe (which I normally would shorten to BJ but you might imagine why I will not) reminds me enough of other hyacinth focused fragrances for me to group it into the same category with Annick Goutal Grand Amour, Guerlain Chamade and Parfums MDCI Un Coeur en Mai. However, Blanche Jacinthe also reminds strongly of Byredo La Tulipe with its soft green vegetal “freshly cut stems” quality.With a little snooping around, it turns out water hyacinth are a completely different plant from regular hyacinth. Water hyacinths are destructively invasive plants, considered ‘pests’ of the plant world but work nicely when used to make wicker (rattan type) furniture. Who knew? Well, we do now. I confess to not having any idea what water hyacinth smells like and am guessing il Profumo mean to convey that Blanche Jacinthe contains a watery, aqueous smelling hyacinth note, hence “water hyacinth” as opposed to generic hyacinth. From what I am smelling it wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that the idea of lotus flowers or water lily is evident in this lovely little number as well. If anyone has actually smelled water hyacinth and knows that the scent differs greatly from regular hyacinth just let me know.

This article at NST is incredibly helpful and bears repeating given the list of notes in Blanche Jacinthe. The “notes” listed for a perfume are not an ingredients list. The notes are purely marketing or advertising copy. The list of notes is meant to convey how the overall fragrance smells but it by no means suggests that, in this particular instance, essential oil (or synthetic essence) of water hyacinth is used.

Normally I am quite the chypre, oriental and floriental lover but this year I’m having a field day with springy, pretty, girly white florals. Blanche Jacinthe could easily be dismissed as especially fresh, clean, watery and one-dimensional. I would only encourage sampling of Blanche Jacinthe if you are an avid hyacinth fan or perhaps tried La Tulipe this year and fell for its charms.

I am pleasantly surprised by Blanche Jacinthe and can easily say it’s one of my best unsniffed purchases so far this year.

A note about edp vs. parfum: I’m finding the parfum to be a tad greener and the additional notes of galbanum and chamomile seem most obvious in parfum concentration.

Sillage is soft and comfortable (yet present) and longevity is fair to average lasting about 3-4 hours on me (5 sprays).

Byredo La Tulipe: Early Spring in a Bottle

I like Byredo. I’m one of the few who love Pulp (the tartest, juiciest fruity scent on the planet) and I also love Green. The others I’ve only sampled so I can’t give final judgment based on a tiny vial (those are my rules).

I was eagerly anticipating La Tulipe. I had an idea of what it would smell like - what I hoped it would smell like from the description, and to my delight it turns out to be just what I wanted. La Tulipe is early spring in a bottle. Early spring meaning the first movement towards vegetation after winter’s thaw, with warm soil just beginning to erupt with shoots and flowers. Around the time tulips bloom there’s not much else blooming. There are daffodils, some crocus, a few violets and pansies, but none of these early spring flowers are enormously fragrant. La Tulipe smells like the promise of flowers, it’s only a mere whisper of florals, with a dose of what I describe as a vegetal note over a clean musk base.

Think of the last time you trimmed the stems from a big bunch of tulips or daffodils to arrange in a vase. Byredo La Tulipe smells like the cut stems of those tulips. I wouldn’t call this green, as in traditional perfumery green, also known as galbanum, but I’d call this vegetal or perhaps the idea of vegetation. La Tulipe lists freesia among the notes and I love the way the freesia is handled here because it’s not too sweet – it’s a perfect light waft of freesia. This is not a honeyed freesia ala Chanel Beige but a restrained, gentle poof of freesia.

La Tulipe is fresh, joyful and perfect for spring. I received my bottle this past weekend and have been wearing it a lot. Every time I wear it I like it more. Longevity is good, not excellent. It lasts maybe 3 hours on me with the third hour becoming quite faint. I tried spraying on clothing and this allows the scent to cling longer.

Byredo La Tulipe is available at Barneys for $195, 100 ml.