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Saturday Question: What Are Your Top 5 Floral Perfumes?

I suspect that being “into perfume” it is almost impossible to avoid having some perfumes from this family, even if you are a self-proclaimed “not a floral perfumes fan.”

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #65:

What Are Your Top 5 Floral Perfumes?

OK, if you are really not a fan, maybe not 5 – but how about three? Those do not have to be just plain “Floral” – but maybe “Oriental-Floral” or “Floral-Fruity” or “Floral-Woody Musk.”

And if you are a fan of florals, please do not feel like you have to name real top 5 – those can be top 5 today, this season or all times, whatever comes to mind.

My Answer

I am a floral perfumes fan. So, probably if I had to choose perfumes just from 1 family and stay with them forever, florals would be my choice. But when I started thinking about the list, it proved to be harder than I thought. Not because I have a huge list of those (though, it contributed to the situation), but because, as it happens with any list, I started overthinking: Is it a good representative of the family? Would I want to wear it often? Should I choose it, or are there better candidates? Etc., etc.

But since I had to choose something, here we go (in no particular order; I won’t link to my previous posts, but I wrote about all of these, and you can find links in My Perfume Portrait):

Keiko Mecheri Johana

Ormonde Jayne Tiare

Jo Malone French Lime Blossom

Guerlain Cruel Gardénia

Ineke Hothouse Flower

What Are Your Top 5 Floral Perfumes?

53 thoughts on “Saturday Question: What Are Your Top 5 Floral Perfumes?”

  1. You know it just occurred to me that when I think of florals I don’t think of roses. Is that odd? I see you didn’t include Ta’if so maybe you feel the same.
    Anyway this is tough for me as I’m not much of a floral person but off the top of my head I’ll go with Ormonde Jayne Frangipani, Guerlain Chamade, Hermessence Cedre Sambac, Annick Goutal Songes and L:Artisan Parfumeur Fleur d Oranger.

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  2. I love florals. In no particular order I’ve been enjoying Guerlain Floral Romantique, Le Parfum du 68, Mademoiselle Guerlain, Mon Precieux Nectar, SL Bas de Soie, and Byredo La Tulipe. But I have tons more. I agree roses seem to be their own category.

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  3. I don’t really have 5 top florals, but right now I am wearing a lot:
    Vilhelm A Lilac a Day, Prada Infusion de Mimosa, Prada Infusion D’Iris, Annick Goutal Songs, Christian Dior Diorissimo and Jo Malone Red Roses.

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  5. Mine are all vintages. I think my tops are Jessica McClintock, Perfumer’s Workshop Tea Rose, Santa Maria Novella anything, Annick Goutal anything, Penhaligon’s Bluebell.

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  6. You know me, I do love florals! I’ll have to go with the “top 5 this week” approach, or by houses like Gina T. So: anything floral by Ormonde Jayne, especially Ta’if; all the Hermes’ Jardin series plus Muguet Porcelaine; Chanel No. 22; Clouds and its variants, by 4160 Tuesdays; tie between Guerlain’s Chamade and Chanel’s Cristalle.

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  7. Very very tough to whittle it down to just five. Probably the most represented genre in my collection. SSS Jour Ensoleille, AG Songes, OJ Frangipani. Because I feel that rose should feature, Tauer Rose Flash, and what was my first of its kind, AG Tubereuse. I could go on. . .

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  9. This is a tough one, since I adore floral fragrances and own many of them. In the top tier I’d put Guerlain Neroli Outrenoir, Guerlain Joyeuse Tuberose, Eau d’Italie’s Fior Fiore, Ormonde Jayne’s Ta’if, Prada Purple Rain and Heeley’s Iris de Nuit. Also in that top group belongs Panouge Isabey’s Nuit d’Amour, Lutens’ Une Voix Noire, a glorious gardenia tribute to Billie Holiday, and Lutens’ De Profundis, the ne plus ultra of violet. I think I’m going for 10. I also have to add Chanel’s Jersey, Chanel Beige, and Guerlain’s Mon Guerlain. I adore lavender flowers and lilacs. Add Ex Nihilo’s Sweet Morphine to the list.

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    • Nice list!
      It’s interesting: I don’t think of any Chanel perfumes as of florals – not sure why. They are so smooth and well-blended.
      Lavender (which I love) in my mind also somehow doesn’t translate to “flower.” I’m not saying those aren’t flowers, just somehow other flowers come to mind first :)

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  10. Love this question! Although thinking about my choices I realized florals are not at the top of my go-to choices. But here they are: Cruel Gardenia, Honores des Pres Vamp a NY, Penhaligon’s Artemisia, Puredistance Antonia and Guerlain Mahora.

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  11. I love this thread :) I love AG Songes, and Grandiflora Michel, and Tubereuse Criminelle, Fleurs D’oranger, and oh no. I only get one more. I’ll plump for Arpege.

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  12. What? No iris perfumes? And I am including the commenters’ choices as well. Maybe that needs a separate category. I’ll stick to non-iris then.

    My top 5 today are: Puredistance Opardu, NVC Mohur Extrait, Chanel No.5 L’Eau, Guerlain Mon Precieux Nectar and DSH Oeillets Rouges.

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    • Iris is in its own category! After all, it’s not a flower that we smell there.

      It’s interesting: for perfume twins, we don’t have a single floral in common in the top 5

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  13. Floral. I have to think what that means to me. Not rose, as Tara said. What do I own that counts? Hmmmmm. Carnal Flower, NARS Audacious maybe, I guess that might be floral-ish. Songes, I have a decant from Vanessa. I have both Mohurs, but would never have called them floral. Serges’s Fleur d’Orange, I seldom wear it, and Cedre Sambac. I shall have to ponder this though, if you had just asked “do you wear florals?” I would have said no. xxx

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  14. Straight-up florals, are not top of my list. I prefer chypres and creamy white sweetish florals. If they count too then something like; Vacances (vintage, but could mention other lilacs here), Chamade, Unter den Linden. Apres L’ondee (should count as a violet?) Secrete Datura (MPG). Those are probably my most floral florals :-)

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    • We share love to Chamade and Unter den Linden. I’m sure I would have loved the original Vacances (I liked what I smelled in a vintage mini, but I usually don’t like/wear vintage perfumes).

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  15. I’m not sure I can list five firm favourites of floral perfumes, if we exclude iris and rose.

    Among the ones in my collection with primarily floral notes I have some I value highly, but don’t wear too often: Ostara, Tubéreuse Criminelle and Seville à l’aube. I also own Dior Grand Bal, an elegant and smooth jasmine, easy to wear if applied with a little care.

    Actually I blind bought Le Labo 41 yesterday, since I’ve been yearning something new and the scent I was looking for was out of stock. What spurred me on was a 20 % off code and a gift card burning in my pocket!

    I never think of Chamade as a floral, on my skin the green aspect dominates. Most of my florals lean green or chypre, when I think floral it is often the bouquets of white florals and I don’t find many occasions to wear them.

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    • I also don’t classify Chamde as floral perfume in my head.

      Grand Bal! I like it – one of a few prominent jasmine perfumes that I can wear. I have a mini, so I should remember to wear it soon.

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    • Interestingly, Bronze Goddess absolutely does not translate in my head to floral perfume. I would have hard time classifying it but definitely not floral. Oriental? Spicy? Something like that.

      Did you see what you’ve done with Sognes? You’re so influential! :)

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  17. WOW! How did I miss this? What a wonderful question Undina.
    Cutting out rose and iris makes it even more difficult. Then I should also relegate lavender to the bin?

    Things I adore and currently wear regularly include
    Rahele by Neela Vermeire Creations, an osmanthus & white floral over leather.
    Eau de Narcisse Bleu by Hermès, clean narcissus.
    Reem Acra is my favourite radiant white floral
    3 Fleurs by Parfum d’Empire, MUCH more than three flowers.
    La Vierge de Fer by Serge Lutens is getting quite a bit of wear lately. Lily.

    I feel like a traitor to my collection. Sio many left unnamed. I can feel them all gnashing their petals at me.
    Portia xx

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  18. Your question really had me thinking and I find it really interesting to read the comments. So after a long time of just reading the comments I’m adding a comment myself.
    Foryears I thought floral perfumes weren’t my thing, iris being the exception. But I’m slowly warming to them and some found there way into my collection. My favourites are A la Nuit, Fleur d’Orangers, Tyger Tyger, La Chasse aux Papillons and Basil & Neroli. I also enjoy carnation perfumes, but I consider those more spicy than floral.

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