Who says that tulips have no scent? After spending several hours sticking my nose inside more than three dozen varieties, I discovered that not only are tulips perfumed, their fragrances vary dramatically. Some smell of potato peels and pear brandy, others of cloves soaked in honey and crushed green buds. Lemon, moss, wet earth, rose, carrots, and apricots are some other scents I wrote down in my notebook. A dusky purple hybrid called Cuban Night reminded me of waxed wooden floors. Some varieties may smell lighter than others, but all of them have a distinctive perfume.

Every spring the flower fields in the Netherlands burst into bloom, transforming the surrounding countryside into a surreal painting of vivid red, yellow, and blue.  At the height of tulip mania in the 17th century, a single bulb could cost as much as a house, but even after the economic bubble burst, the flower remained a distinctive national symbol. Today, the flowering fields draw lots of visitors, and one of the most popular destinations is the Keukenhof, considered to be the world’s largest flower garden.

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Happy May Day!

Every year in celebration of May Day (May 1st), French tea importer Mariage Frères presents its limited edition Lily Muguet tea.  It’s offered once again this year for a limited time. The lily of the valley flavor is available in black, green, and white teas.

“After an early-morning stroll through the vernal forests of France, Mariage Frères came back with the novel idea for a blend in which tea encounters the clean, bright fragrance of freshly picked Lily of the Valley, whose delicate aroma – vivid, sensual – enchants with the grace of magnificent legends. The flower, with its dewy sun-kissed petals, airy and tender with a satiny sheen, bestows its smooth, sweet bouquet on a green tea.–from Mariage Frères website.”

Lily Muguet is packaged in colorful lacquered tins. 100g tin/23-25€, depending on the variety. Available at Mariage Frères boutiques and mariagefreres.com.

French fashion house Carven is launching a new fragrance, Carven Le Parfum. Francis Kurkdjian designed the perfume, while Thierry de Baschmakoff (you might recognize his name via his association with The Different Company) created the bottle and the box. Carven Le Parfum will now have to live up to the rich Carven perfume heritage, which includes Ma Griffe launched in 1946 and Vétiver in 1957.

“Carven Le Parfum, for Francis Kurkdjian, is the concept of a sillage that combines several paradoxes, a fresh and ethereal fragrance that is, at the same time, ultra feminine. It opens with the spontaneity of Mandarin Blossom, combined with the delicacy of White Hyacinth. The heart is a somewhat impertinent floral bouquet composed with devilish cunning, built around Sweet Pea, Jasmine and Ylang Ylang. The sensuous bottom notes are precious and woody: White Sandalwood, Osmanthus and Indonesian Patchouli (quote via press release).”

The Eau de Parfum includes notes of mandarin blossom, white hyacinth, sweet pea, jasmine, ylang ylang, sandalwood, osmanthus, and patchouli.  Besides the Eau de Parfum (30ml/£38, 50ml/£55, 100ml/£72), there is also a collection of bath and body products.

Carven Le Parfum is launching on May 5th, 2013 at Harrods and Harrods.com and will be distributed widely starting June 5th, 2013.

Cult Perfumes: The World’s Most Exclusive Perfumeries is a new book devoted to small, artisanal perfumeries, or for the lack of a better term, niche. It includes interviews with the perfumers and creators, perfume descriptions and the history of various lines. The author Tessa Williams includes 25 different brands, from Amouage to Serge Lutens. There are even mentions of small lines like Byredo, Tauer Perfumes, and Nasomatto. It also contains a handy glossary of fragrance terms and a list of perfume museums around the world. Did you know that Japan has three such establishments?

There are plenty of photos, and at 192 pages Cult Perfumes is a cross between a coffee table book (albeit, in a small format) and a reference set. The book isn’t overly technical, and as such, it would be best for someone fairly new to perfume or curious to learn more about small, lesser known brands. Advanced perfume lovers might find the information too light.

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Seduction is a new novel by author M.J. Rose (who also wrote The Book of Lost Fragrances), and it’s going to be released on May 7th.

The novel is “about Victor Hugo (creator of Les Miserables), the secret séances he attended, grief, ghosts, reincarnation, and the lengths we go to for love” (quote from the press release). Fragrance features strongly in the novel, and one particular magical perfume plays an important role. M.J.Rose describes it as “a rich and spicy perfume that combined roses, ylang ylang and oak moss…Nothing like most modern mass-produced fragrances, but beautifully articulated and rounded.”

The perfume exists only in M.J. Rose’s imagination, and she is currently running a contest to identify what perfume best matches the fragrance she describes in the book. The winner will receive a signed copy of her new book. More details on the contest here.  Via press release

Full disclosure: I helped M.J. Rose with some scent-related research for her book.