Lilies in May

This is Guerlain’s latest creation of their Lily of the Valley limited edition perfume. The price tag is $750 if you want to try it. Apparently, Guerlain is known for the “cleanest” muguet scent in the world.

That status was once held by Dior’s Diorissimo which I’ve read is now a very different fragrance than before. It’s not entirely the perfume houses’ fault as so many new laws regulating the cultivating of flowers and other ingredients have forced perfumers to make changes in their compositions. I won’t be purchasing the Guerlain rendition even though it has a creamy ceramic petal covering its top and the most adorable embroidered ribbons.

Guerlain is only selling its bottle to “real” collectors. They have created a mere 5000 of them and if you want one, you must first contact their special edition department for a chat.

I know I sound cynical but as teenagers, my sister and I used to buy our muguet essence from the corner Rexall for under five dollars. And what we got was a beautiful long-necked bottle filled with the verdant green scent of the luscious lily-of-the-valley. So redolent was Coty’s Muguet des Bois, I believe Christian Dior would have happily sprayed the hems of his latest spring gowns with it.

A dear friend sent me Yardley of London’s lily powder and soap which smells divine. She never wants me to be without the fragrance in springtime, knowing how much I love it. For a palatable lily-like perfume, I bought a bottle of Privet Bloom by Hampton Sun a few years ago and it’s still going strong and scratches my annual springtime itch for lily-of-the-valley.

What is it about the fragrance of lilies and also lilacs in the spring? I imagine it’s nostalgia and wistfulness for the past and that gut-feeling that since the earth has renewed itself at least this one more time, anything is possible again.