I can never answer the question, “What is your favorite perfume?” However, if someone asked me to name my favorite contemporary fragrance house, I’d probably name Frédéric Malle’s Editions de Parfums. After all, this company is responsible for two of my favorite perfumes, Lipstick Rose and Iris Poudre, as well as several others that I wear on a regular basis, including L’Eau d’Hiver, En Passant — and Lys Méditerranée.

Lys Méditerranée is a “tribute” to the lily, designed to evoke “a scorching summer evening as the Mediterranean sea spray mingles with the spicy scent of ginger lilies.” It was developed by perfumer Edouard Fléchier and was released in 2000; its notes include ginger lily, lily of the valley, angelica root, orange flower, water lily, salicylates, ambrette seeds, musk and vanilla. The Frédéric Malle website describes Lys Méditerranée as “radiant,” and reviewers have often used the same adjective, for good reason…

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