Best Lily of the Valley by Penhaligon's Alternatives & Similar Perfumes

Matilde Bonaparte, niece of Napoleon I, was known for her breasts (“le plus beau décolleté”) and her talent as a painter. She also hosted a celebrated 19th-century Parisian salon attended by the greatest artists and writers of her time. This namesake perfume is an olfactory salon of provocative white florals (ylang-ylang, narcissus, jasmine) given tropical succulence with passion fruit and papaya. Mathilde’s heady brightness is softened by iris and sandalwood.

No. 89 has been an icon among the Floris collection for over 60 years. First crafted in 1951, No. 89 takes its name from the number of their flagship shop on Jermyn Street.

Ian Fleming who was a customer of Floris mentions No. 89 in his James Bond universe.

No. 89 is a classic and timeless mix of fresh citruses, sparkly spices and aromatic herbs resting on sandalwood and oakmoss. There is an adventurous romantic twist in the formula though: a drop of rose.

No. 89 could be a fragrance for the quintessential English gentleman.

Created by Master Perfumer Paul Parquet in 1882, Fougère Royale completely revolutionized the world of perfumes and established modern perfumery as it exists today. As well as creating an entirely new fragrance family, Parquet had succeeded in extracting isolated, synthetic molecules from natural, raw materials. In the dedicated pursuit to expand olfactory palettes with novel, new aromas, he’d derived coumarin from the tonka bean in a worldwide premiere. In its mission to authentically replicate the original, regal masterpiece from centuries past, the reengineered formula cultivates refined, prestigious raw materials of the highest quality and provenance. This masterfully revamped Fougère Royale retains its elegant, noble, refined pulse and its pleasant, pastoral beauty.

The perfectly-blended perfume is redolent of green and fragrant foliage with densely shaded woodlands. Sweet green grasses suggest the freshly-released essences of a crushed and dewy verdure, with an intense hint of newly-mown hay.

Fougère Royale’s nuanced scent composition opens with a vibrant, sparkling cocktail of bergamot, lavender and Mediterranean herbs. The heart follows, with floral-spicy Rondeletia accord, rare in most perfumes. Opening into rich geranium and warm spices. A floral intermezzo showcases rare rose essences and absolutes, spiked by pepper, cinnamon and carnation. Finally, a grand finale of earthy, ambery and woody harmonies, where moss notes join a sensual patchouli enriched by warm coumarinic undertones of tonka beans and clary sage absolute.

A perfume formula originating in 1921 and still in production and demand. It has of course been adapted to modern tastes and industry rules.

It still features the materials and design that made it famous: a drop of French rose, a pinch of geranium, mixed with oakmoss and wrapped in smooth sandalwood. It’s an elegant sugar free rose perfume with musky, bitter woody background.
style.

Molinard has also developed several versions of this iconic blend: Habanita Edition Exclusive (less rose more amber), Habanita L'Esprit (a fresh floral with mimosa layered over the rose) and Habanita La Cologne (a crisp cologne with most focus on oakmoss and vetiver). 

Perfumer: Michèle Saramito

A new addition to Bloom’s portfolio, an elegant cologne with sweet sun kissed citruses, honeyed neroli and amber background.

With classic formulas it’s the quality of the ingredients that matters. Marie Jeanne might be a new perfume house, but it’s founded by a young perfumer from a family connected to Robertet for several generations.

Robertet is a bit like De Beers of the fine natural perfume materials - matières premières, for decades they have been dealing with the finest, purest and most precious stuff a perfumer can dream of.

This is Marcelle, a classic elegant cologne but with highly likely the best bergamot from Italy, grapefruit from Spain, neroli from Tunisia and petigrain from Paraguay among other notes in the formula.

In the muggy shade of a tropical rainforest, an orchid sways seductively. Its glistening petals tremble in anticipation, inviting a passing butterfly to consummate the intimate act of pollination. Succumbing to the allure of the silken flower, the butterfly eagerly flits forward. But as it prepares to alight, the exotic bloom abruptly transforms. Delicate leaves contort into dagger-like forelegs, seizing the bug’s fragile wings. Before the butterfly can comprehend its fate, its head is devoured, crushed between the powerful jaws of the stealthy orchid mantis.

Orchid Mantis lures you into a fragrant illusion. Juicy pear, rich rose and heady jasmine entwine with basil and ylang to suggest the intense scent of orchids. This vintage style is set against the backdrop of a humid rainforest evoked by patchouli, moss, sandalwood and vetiver. An enduring musk serves as a reminder that beauty can also be beastly.

Bamboo captures the tranquil greenness of spring and summer in Zhejiang — a vision of misty hills and swaying bamboo after the morning fog has lifted. The breeze carries fresh green leaves through a soft haze of lily of the valley, jasmine and geranium. A breath of earth is suggested by vetiver and patchouli, while ambergris and cypress wrap the scent in a warm, resinous calm.

Perfumer: Juan Liu 

A nostalgic soap scent that’s fresh and creamy, based on the tissue thin, dissolving paper soap available in Japan. Lavender and aldehydes soften into rose, jasmine and lily-of-the-valley, conjuring vintage sudsiness.

A rampage through a fantasy meadow. Lily-of-the-valley, orange blossom and lavender are crushed underfoot as you run riot across beauty. Lilac and lemon assert themselves in the carnage. Tonka bean and white musk ensures that this extrait strength perfume stays and plays.

From the ethereal perspective of the exquisitely adorned hummingbird, the world is an endless kaleidoscope of colourful, fragrant blooms offering up their tempting delights. An insatiable desire for sweetness propels the hummingbird as it floats from flower to flower, sampling the nectar with a gentle touch of its delicate tongue. Retreating to its lichen and moss-lined nest, it settles into the cozy cocoon and dreams of sweet ambrosia.

Hummingbird mingles light floral tones with delectable fruity nectars to create a harmonious balance. This diaphanous scent alights upon you in a pastel bouquet of honeysuckle, mimosa, lilac and peonies, with just the lightest dusting of natural sugars found in pear, cherry and honey. A finishing dollop of velvety whipped cream melds the tantalizing notes, completing this irresistible and opulent perfume.

Perfumer: Shelley Waddington

***

The Sniff on Hummingbird:

"[it] settles beautifully and as it warms more floral notes develop. There was a strong lilac and something that reminds me of Viburnum – a sweet, almost jasmine-like smell."

Read full review