Amaryllis Floris 2010

There it was at the edge of the bathtub. The burgundy or eggplant-colored cream jar. Elegant and beautiful to look at. I remember so well the spicy scent of the rich body cream with clove, green facets, and fine floral hints. Even though the fragrance initially seemed rather cool to me, almost a bit chypre-like with the patchouli notes, I liked it back then in the eighties as a young girl. The scents that my mother and especially my father wore were still difficult for me to appreciate, but this cream, that could be used on my children's skin or hands after bathing. Despite all the spice, it was not a dark scent. None that told me that fun was not welcome.

It had a certain warmth. Probably from the flowers, but also from one or two splashes of sweetness in the base. That could have made the difference for my children's nose. No oakmoss giving me the cold shoulder. Instead, a bit of tonka bean, perhaps even a hint of caramel, subtly and almost playfully communicating to me that cuddling is something beautiful. Such a subtle touch of mom on my skin. Not the overwhelming force of her often much spicier perfumes.

That there was incense and other resins at play here, I shouldn't have revealed to my mother; had I been more engaged with fragrance notes at the age of ten to twelve, as I am today. Because she didn't like incense. Whenever we saw the inside of a Catholic church, there would be a negative comment regarding that when the priest swung the little cask. And that I would become a fan of incense, myrrh & co. myself, I certainly didn't know at that time. Although I remember many scents with incense, even in laundry detergent, that always made me smile and happy.

Amaryllis by Floris smells almost exactly like that cream from the heavy jar. I believe I even dropped it in my childish wildness back then, and it broke. My mother was certainly not pleased about that. It was a body cream from Avon. Whenever the Avon representative came to our house with her new catalog, my mother and I would calmly take a look at which products we would like to order next time. Such a cream jar was usually always included. And soon my first kohl pencil and an eyeshadow as well.

I would have never considered testing Amaryllis by Floris based on the notes. I like the house, but both maritime notes and caramel are generally no-gos for my nose. Luckily, I don't perceive either Calone or any kind of aquatic notes, nor Ethylmaltol, which the caramel note in a perfume created after the turn of the millennium almost always indicates. Here, thankfully, not at all. Instead, the scent takes me back to the eighties. Despite all the spice and a wealth of flowers, it remains beautifully delicate with a moderate sillage. Very pleasant.

I would like to sincerely thank dear Petra66 for the lovely scent and the journey back to my childhood.