Elixir De Muguet (2013): Soliflores & Style

Elixir de Muguet by ID Parfums is one of the latest lily of the valley perfumes to appear in the French market thanks to mail order company ID Parfums, a subsidiary of Yves Rocher. The slim and petite 15 ml spray bottle when handled reveals its intention better: to mimic a lucky sprig of muguet in glass form. The jus composed by perfumer Philippe Bousseton of Takasago was reportedly meant to capture the scent of the flower at dawn when the dew is still condensed on its bells. Since the scents of flowers evolve all day long and over the days, it is only fair to specify what moment of olfactory exhalation you were thinking of when recreating a floral scent...

The opening of Elixir de Muguet is reminiscent of the old, purer olfactory shape of Diorissimo while the fade-to-the-heart phase with its mustard-y astringency recalls Annick Goutal Le Muguet where this effect, which can be smelled on muguet leaves, is particularly marked. Following these two main impressions from the perfume, the composition abates before rearing its head once more: aldehydes, citruses, ylang, a soft transparent amber give it body. After that it smells of muguet throught and throughout with a discreet dash of creamy white vanilla, but mostly it keeps playing the springtime floral theme in the crystalline range of notes. 

The composition is not storied nor complex; as a soliflore it attempts to reproduce the fresh simplicity of a sprig of lily of the valley as sold on May Day. If there is such a thing as an "honest" muguet perfume, this would convey it. The effects are not pretentious nor subpar although the eau de parfum could offer better longevity and radiance on the technical plane. It is a single-note perfume. It aims to be photorealistic. Its price seems too high though for what it delivers at 35€ for a 15 ml edp. If it came in small, cheap-thrill formats like for Blue Waltz by Joubert or Krasnaja Moskva by Novaja Zarja {See My National Parfum}, it would be much more fitting.

This is where the supposed simplicity of the experience turns a bit more complex: why buy this muguet fragrance rather than turning to the real flower and wear it as a boutonnière? Or if not, why not turn to more elaborate compositions?

In the end, smelling Elixir de Muguet next to the real thing makes you think that nothing compares with the original natural product, even in cut form. With veristic perfumes aiming to offer you the illusion of reality rather than distracting you from it, the conclusion can always be a bit punishing: close, but no cigar. Style is a better refuge for man-made perfumes because it is what our minds can excel at. A copy remains a copy.

Notes: Italian bergamot, grapefruit / vegetal accord of muguet / Ylang from Madagascar, musks.