My childhood smelled like crushed strawberries, dirt caked fingers, freshly baked sugar buns, sun dried linens and lilacs. Those few days in the spring when the lilacs would bloom profusely and fill our house with their heady perfume were enough to leave a lasting memory for years. So whenever I see a lilac bush in bloom, I can’t resist burying my face in the thick foam of its tiny blossoms.  Lilac smells of roses, milky almonds and green leaves. The first whiff is citrusy and fresh; a deeper inhale reveals its haunting accent of decay and mothballs (indole, the same aromatics that give jasmine, tuberose and orange blossom their seductive timbre).

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Did you make any interesting discoveries over the past week–perfume, food, movies, books, etc?

In my futile attempts to keep up with the fast pace of the fragrance market, I often don’t have a chance to revisit older launches. So, over the past year I’ve decided to make more time for things that aren’t exactly brand new. In this spirit, I’ve rediscovered L’Artisan L’Eau de L’Artisan (1993), which is a zingy blend of verbena, lemon and grassy notes. It smells exactly the way your fingers do after you crush a basil leaf. It’s a cologne, so it lasts for only a couple of hours, but while it lingers, it has such an appealing verdant brightness that I don’t mind reapplying. It was  created by perfumer Olivia Giacobetti, and it bears her delicate fingerprint.

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Spring flashes past me in a flurry of pink cherry petals. Every year I anticipate it with the same impatience, whether or not the winter tested me with too many snowy days. I just love the rejuvenation I feel in the air, the promise of something new, and fresh scents all around me. I immediately want to clean out my closet, throw things away, wash windows—what madness!—plan an exciting trip, read new books, learn a new language. I don’t make New Year resolutions; my springs are all about making changes.

In tandem with my bouts of energy, I also crave uplifting perfumes. Because I wear fragrances to match my mood, rather than my seasons, I noticed over the past few years that my springtime staples tend to be invigorating and energizing. They give me an extra jolt when my spirits begin to sag thanks to the nasty colds I catch as the seasons change, and they also make it easier to go through the day when the morning are still too dark and the evenings are still cool.

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In Arabic, instead of the standard “good morning,” you can wish someone a morning of light, sabah al noor, morning of cream, sabah al ashta as well as morning of sleep, sabah al noum. My favorite greeting remains a morning of roses, sabah al ward. When I say it out loud—the thorny Arabic ‘h’ softly scratching my throat — I imagine a shower of red petals and their voluptuous honeyed fragrance. The only thing that can awaken me though is the annoying beeping of my alarm clock, so I’ve resolved to creating mornings of roses by other means.

One of my favorite ways to start a day is a strong cup of tea. I love the smell of coffee, but I save the boost of caffeine for those days when I absolutely need it. On most days, a cup of tea is enough to make me feel energized and uplifted. Some people are tea purists, but I don’t mind experimenting with flavored teas from time to time. As long as the flavor is not too strong or artificial, it can be an interesting foil to the tannic richness of tea.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

First, please let me get it off my chest. I am angry at Fendi for discontinuing Theorema, one of the perfect spicy fragrances—it smells like pomanders and smoky roses. I am disappointed that Life Essence, a brilliant perfume of mossy cedarwood, cardamom and geranium was axed. And I still don’t understand why Asja, the spicy jasmine set in amber, had to go as well. So when Fan di Fendi landed on my local Sephora shelf, I tried my best to ignore it.

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