Lily of the Valley Penhaligon's 1976 Eau de Toilette

For a few days, we explored Saarland. This also included a personal meeting and getting to know a lovely perfumer. Unfortunately, I had caught a bad cold, which meant I could neither taste the cake that dear Clivia served us nor smell the wonderful perfume collection. The cake and collection were truly tempting, but I smelled and tasted nothing, nada, nüscht. Is there anything worse?

Manifesto 2015 was sprayed, a vintage Giorgio from Giorgio Beverly Hills was held under my nose, certainly not weak fragrances, but there was nothing to be done, my nose was being a diva: Oh no, not today, no, not always how you want, no...

And as lovely perfumers are, they filled bottles and rummaged through the fragrance cabinet, where did I put it... this one is a duplicate... hmm, this is also something nice, etc. Richly gifted, I left. Now I am back home, the cold has finally subsided, the sniffles are "only" rattling in my bronchi, and I have been sniffing various scents again since today.

Lily of the Valley by Penhaligon’s, after my lily of the valley mishap with Diorissimo, I am a bit more cautious. With the first spray, a delicate, light green lily of the valley rings in accompanied by a juicy lemon. Fresh, unobtrusive, cool, but not aloof, this lily of the valley scent is. There is no loud bang like with Diorissimo, but only a restrained chime, as befits such a delicate little flower. The lemon quickly disappears, but the lily of the valley remains present throughout the entire scent journey, nothing feels artificial or piercing. A fragrance for the first spring days when the sun peeks through the clouds and one suddenly notices that the leaves of the trees are finally green again. A charming women’s scent; I find it hard to imagine lily of the valley on men, it’s also a bit old-fashioned, but without mustiness or mold. Sillage and longevity are weak to medium; after about 3 hours, the delicate chime ends in a slightly woody note and fades away, what a pity. Therefore, I waver between 70% and 80%, oh what the heck, 80% is fine, I’m generous, I can smell again.

Thank you dear Clivia, a revenge in the form of a care package for the world’s best dog in Saarland will follow.....