It’s very nearly May Day. On May Day — May 1st — the French traditionally buy lily of the valley bouquets, and perfumistas traditionally wear lily of the valley perfume.
Your options, of course, are many. There are the classics: Christian Dior Diorissimo, Caron Muguet du Bonheur (I checked, they’re still making it), and Guerlain Muguet (they usually release a new version every year on May Day in Paris). There are the modern niche fragrances: Parfums Delrae Début, Van Cleef & Arpels Muguet Blanc, Parfums MDCI Un Coeur en Mai, and if you can get your hands on it, Annick Goutal’s now discontinued Le Muguet. There are the chain-store standbys: Crabtree & Evelyn, Woods of Windsor, Yardley, Taylor of London and Caswell-Massey all make lily of the valley soliflores. And of course, there’s the budget option: Coty’s Muguet des Bois (I checked, they’re still making that too and you can even buy it at Target). There are no doubt many others — please comment if you know of one I missed.
Longwood Gardens’ new fragrance, Always in Bloom, is likewise focused on lily of the valley…
