The Best Lily of the Valley Perfumes: Sporty White Florals, or Operatic Opulence?3 min read
Perfumes, just like people, have different personalities. Some are soft and demure, while others are as intense as running with the bulls at Pamplona.
Lily of the Valley perfumes are very much on the softer side. We’re talking feminine, satin-pillow soft fragrances. They usually have an airy, light feel that’s best in spring and summer.
And whether you prefer sweeter, happier, fun-on-the-run perfume or you bring it like a classic 1940’s movie star, one of these three Lily of the Valley fragrances will be exactly what you’re looking for.
DKNY Be Delicious
Be Delicious is just that – it’s a powdery-sweet, fruity floral with round, juicy green apple, and a touch of violet leaf in the top notes. Tuberose, lily, rose and more violets in the heart guide this sweet, powdery feel into a classic floral feel.
Be Delicious ends by being as delicious as it was in the beginning, with amber and sandalwood sweetness. This scent is all about showing how lily fragrances can be jazzed up with sweeter notes for a fun, contemporary vibe.
D&G La Lune 18
Dolce and Gabbana’s Anthology Series, of which La Lune 18 is a part, has a cool backstory: each perfume’s inspiration comes from a Tarot card. (18 is the number of the Moon card in a Tarot deck.)
The scent is a bit on the darker side, with tuberose, iris and leather notes casting a vision of a moonlit lake on a cold night.
A fair amount of musk is present as well, to conjure the moon’s delicate hand of white light stretching across the water. La Lune showcases how lily notes work with other, heavier notes like iris and leather to add depth and mystery to a floral perfume.
The softness of the lily and musk against the tuberose also makes this a drowsy and dangerously hypnotic choice.
Amouage Honour Woman
This is the lily fragrance for absolute white floral fans, and it’s unafraid to be as dramatic as possible. The inspiration for this scent is the suicide scene from the opera Madame Butterfly, so nothing’s being held back here.
White flowers flow up and around the opening notes of rhubarb and pepper, with the bright spice turned way down.
The gardenia, lily, jasmine, and carnation in the heart sing the entire libretto here, in stunning clarity. Big white floral scents are similar to operas like Madame Butterfly, actually – you either love them or you don’t.
But for fans of this style of emotional music and fragrance, sometimes only the biggest stages will suffice.
