BELTANE: Seven Perfumes for May Day + Vintage Diorissimo Draw

May 1st was one of the holiest of days for ancient pagans, as it was the symbolic beginning of summer. Their year was seen as a wheel and the eight holy days (or “sabbats”) were spokes on that wheel. The solstices and equinoxes were important days, as were Samhain (Oct. 31st), Lammas (Aug. 1st), Imbolg (Feb. 1st) and Beltane. This was the day directly between spring returning and Midsummer’s Day. Their year was broken into a light half and a dark half. As the sun rose on May 1st the hold of the winter was broken, the goddess awakened as did the land and it was a time for celebration.


Flowers such as hawthorn, hyacinth and lilac were blooming. Muguet (lily of the valley), typically given to ladies on the first of May, blossomed. Bees were busy pollenating flowers and love was in the air. All hearths were extinguished the night before and relit from large bonfires that were built in each village. This practice brought some of the magic of that day into the home to bless it and ensure health and happiness. There were selected a May Queen and May King (who symbolized the god and goddess) and their ceremonial union symbolized the balance of nature, and hopefully brought fertility and prosperity to the land. It was not uncommon for couples to lay in newly plowed fields on Beltane who wanted to conceive.  I have selected and briefly review seven perfumes that capture and bring to life these aspects.


Lord’s Jester’s Gaia (edc) launched in 2011, is a fitting starting point, since this sabbat was all about the Earth Mother. Created of 100% natural essences, this fragrance captures every aspect of the festival and the May Queen. It begins brightly with citruses and linden blossom and is very green. Tagetes (marigolds) add a spicy dryness that balances the brightness. As it develops, warmer more summery floral notes appear. Rose gallica, mimosa, ylang ylang and orange flower dance (like lovers around a maypole) and create a more sensual aspect. In the final dry down, Gaia is slightly animalic, warmer and more earthy. Labdanum, ambrette, pine needles and Africa stone (hyrax) create the perfect equivalent to a passionate embrace and is just delightful! Equal parts fresh, floral, spicy, woody and musky; this fragrance is a fitting homage to Gaia herself… yet is utterly unisex. Sillage: good (for an EDC). Longevity: above average.


Tallulah Jane’s Yiska (edp) launched in 2011, evokes a wonderful olfactory impression of the May King. An amazingly aromatic burst of lime, grapefruit, bergamot and mint surround you in a cloud of sparkling green bliss. This begins very sharply, yet cool mint balances the bitter (yet beautiful) citrus cocktail. Very invigorating and extremely tonic at first, this perfume becomes more masculine and refined. Seville lavender and clary sage blend to create an herbal/floral aspect and are softened by styrax. The citrus fades, but never quite disappears, as the heart notes hold it aloft. The finish is warm and woody (cedar and vetiver), slightly sweet (from tonka bean) and smooth (black tea). Youthful yet refined, soft yet strong and classic without being stale; this IS the “green man”. Sillage: excellent. Longevity: very good.


Coty’s Muguet des Bois (cologne) launched in1941, is one of the best lily of the valley scents I have ever smelled. One of the ways Beltane was celebrated was young girls went “a-maying” and gathered wildflowers for the sabbat. These often resulted in “greenwood weddings” or trysts in the forest. Muguet des Bois begins with citruses, greens and aldehydes reminiscent of a sun filled forest in late morning. A beautiful bouquet of spring flowers (lilac, jasmine, cyclamen and a hint of rose) is dominated by a very true lily of the valley note. Verdant and elegant, yet containing a simple beauty, this perfume creates a wonderful aroma while never becoming offensive. The warm sandalwood and enticing musk, in the finish, blend with innocent floral notes to create a true classic. Sillage: average. Longevity: good.


Christian Dior’s Diorissimo launched in 1955, was created by legendary perfumer Edmond Roudnitska (who also nosed Muguet des Bois) to be the “scent of M. Dior’s soul”. An opening of green notes and slightly sour bergamot becomes a truly magnificent floral perfume. Sheer and green, yet tenacious, this blooms into a heady floral mélange of muguet, heavenly lilac, boronia, jasmine and lilies accented with a hint of rosemary. As the flowers open, and surround you, there is the perfect balance of ephemeral beauty and gentle power. A simple trail of sandalwood and civet adds a sexy muskiness and woody edge to this. This is a perfect perfume if you want to feel like you have fresh flowers in your hair and love is all around you. Sillage: very good. Longevity: great. (This review is based on a vintage 1960’s eau de cologne splash in the houndstooth bottle)


Yves Rocher’s Neonatura Elevate (edp) released in 2005 (in a pair with Neonatura Cocoon) is one of my favorite green floral perfumes.  An unusual opening of a single note of sweetly sour rhubarb grabs the nose with its juicy aroma. Constructed around a gorgeous blend of simple soft floral notes, this fragrance is a beautiful balance of fruity sweet floral hyacinth and fresh sharply green daffodils: the perfect fragrance to symbolize midway between spring and summer. The addition of dark patchouli and grassy vetiver makes the dry down more unisex (and sexy); yet, it retains its softness and strange, almost otherworldly, feeling. Sillage: very good. Longevity: good.


Alan Cumming’s cumming (edt) launched in 2004 and nosed by Christopher Brosius, is the perfect scent to capture the dark majesty of a flaming highland Beltane bonfire. An eruption of black pepper, aromatic pine and whiskey obscure any bergamot listed in the notes. The main notes of cigar, heather and fir (accented by a slight rubber accord) add to the earthy and sexy rugged charm. The most pungent part of this perfume is the base notes. Leather, burning peat moss, truffles (fungi, not chocolate!) and a very true smelling “mud note” create something smoky, dark and delightful. The company’s description of this perfume starts with the base notes and goes to the top notes…almost like it was built upside down. It goes on loud, “dirty” and smoky, becoming smoother and slightly sweeter before becoming more of a skinscent. One of (if not the most) smoky outdoorsy scents I have ever experienced, cumming is intriguing and utterly unique. Sillage: great, then good. Longevity: above average.


Van Cleef & Arpels’ Feerie (edp) released in 2008, celebrates the faerie folk who come out in the summertime and haunt the woods and bring life to flowers and shrubs. Antoine Masondieu represented the “fey” folk with a wonderful blend of dark fruits and lively citrus around powdery sweet whimsical violets. The heart of jasmine and rose is simple, yet fragrant and “happy go lucky”. The drydown of cool orris and vetiver keep this “green” without ever getting dirty or pedestrian. A sweet summery scent floating on gossamer wings… Sillage: good. Longevity: very good.


Disclosure: These reviews are from bottles in my collection.

I am feeling in a sharing mood this Beltane and so I am going to give away a 10mL decant of my vintage 60’s Diorissimo. To be eligible leave a comment telling what it is that makes you think Summer is here. We will draw one winner on May 5, 2012 via random.org.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume.

-John Reasinger, Editor

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64 comments

  • Victoria Casey says:

    As I live in AZ Summer is here when the weather hits triple digits regardless of what the calender says lol.

  • Kamajasmine says:

    Oh lovely piece with such a nice variety of scents
    I always think of the mists of Avalon when I hear of Beltane
    Summer hmmm air conditioning and bare legs

  • Sandi L says:

    I know summer is here, because I had to put a face mask on my horse to keep the fly’s away.. Spring in the desert is short lived sadly…Great article and oh I so would love to get this vintage..Thanks to all.

  • cheesegan says:

    o be eligible leave a comment telling what it is that makes you think Summer is here

    Where I’m at, it is still mid spring and holding strong. Summer doesn’t start proper till toward the end of June, here.

    I will know Summer is starting when I see more sun than rain and I start hearing crickets in the evening.

  • Dionne says:

    I suspect this may disqualify me for the draw, but I had to laugh at the title; spring has finally arrived this last week where I live. The trees are just starting to turn green, and the snow’s been gone for two weeks now. (This is what you get when you live in the Canadian Rockies.) However, our springs are very short, so by the beginning of June, summer will have arrived, and every second house on our block will have a trailer of some sort sitting in their driveway.

  • Joshua Ryan says:

    Not entering, however.

    I plan to get Van Cleef & Arpels’ Feerie very soon. Been eying that baby for awhile now!

    The Diorissimo sounds VERY interesting.

  • Devon H says:

    I know it’s summer when the strawberries are ending 🙂 Because then I prepare to hibernate inside the rest of the summer, in the AC. Thanks for the generous draw, and for the SOTD suggestion for tomorrow; I think I will wear some of my old splash bottle of Coty Muguet des Bois.

  • Andrine says:

    I know spring is turning to summer here when the beach gives off an undeniable change in its fragrance. The scent of the shore transitions from timid wisps of life to vivid fecundity. It’s intoxicating and lovely.

  • sunnlitt says:

    I know that summer is here..when the fog rolls in and obscures the beach!!
    And, when the scents on the breeze change from fresh-like to a more warm and sultry note.
    Thanks for the wonderful drawing!

  • Barry says:

    At this time of year I like the fragrant yellow azaleas, the fresh ozone scent under the cherry blossoms, and the intoxicating scent of poplar buds. Hope I win the Diorissimo.

  • Ines says:

    That one is easy. 🙂 Summer is here (in Zagreb) and sooner than expected – we’ve been having the most incredibly sunny and hot days (temperatures reach 30 degrees Celsius every day).

  • Farawayspices says:

    I noticed a special kind of happiness and enthusiasm in my family today, and that made me think of Summertime. Thanks for the great draw!

  • ana says:

    Summer is near because I feel it in me. I’m more energetic and alive. I taste every moment, I feel the love stirring in me more forcefully. I can’t wait for the weather to pick up the right signals and transform itself into glorious sunny days. At the moment it’s raining like mad and is still quite cold.

  • MariaA says:

    It is hot hot hot!!! Finally after a very cold and long wither ( the coldest in decades) I am sneezing like crazy, flowers and trees are in full bloom and the first dip in the sea has already become a reality for many!!!! Thanks for sharing!

  • marcopietro says:

    The air is warm, the sky is blue and everything smells, oh yes, this is my favorite season!

  • Amy says:

    What a generous draw, thank you!

    Summer is here when I sleep with the windows open, scrounge around for my favorite pair of sandals, put away my woolies, and plant my ‘maters out in the yard. (Tomatoes!)

    Happy Beltaine All, Blessed Be!

  • LegoBoy says:

    Well, I can tell summer is here when it’s starting to feel hot outside and I’m wearing just T-shirts even at night. Also the smell of the linden blossoms outside my window is very telling. 🙂

  • yash says:

    Well technically summer is almost here in Paris but the constant rain and cold temperatures makes us think otherwise. Thank god though for weekend getaways to the countryside where I found the most divine dewy lilacs in the garden and didnt fail to bring some back to my apartment to brighten this sullen end of April.

  • Asali says:

    What a wonderful read, John, thank you so much for bringing summer nearer with your poetic writing. AND for sharing the precious drops of vintage Diorissimo. I would dearly like to test the vintage version, since I’ve only ever tested the modern (and- to my nose- pretty vile) formulation.
    Long bright nights always tells me that now it’s summer. I love that long midsummer week, but it’s always filled with a bit of sadness too, then as soon as the longest day in the year is past, inevitably you are reminded that now you are going towards the darker season.
    Thanks again.

  • Nita says:

    Summer is almost here in the north when the lilacs and Father Hugo’s Rose bloom- (together this year!) and, the light! All that daylight! Thank you for the draw for a real Spring/Summer fragrance!

  • Amer says:

    The warmth of the sun on exposed skin and the scent of orange blossom and black locust that permeate the breeze. The salty days and the sweetness of the nights.

  • dervishspin says:

    I wake up on May Day morning before day and drive into Boston to watch all the local Morris dancing teams gather next to the Charles and dance a may pole. Everyone brings hot coffee and baked goods to share with perfect strangers, and the Harvard kids tumble out of their dorms and watch us heathens dance the sun up into the sky. As part of one of the Harvard rituals I don’t understand they all get dressed up in Tuxes and Ball gowns to watch. Drunk on the scent of lilacs, the men cut fragrant boughs from the bushes and give them to the women, so we all have flowers on May Day. And then giggling like mad we uproot ourselves from the Charles and sing and dance our way into Harvard Square, passing under an arch of tuxedo-ed men and gowned women, stopping traffic as we go. Sleep deprived and high on coffee, as I slowly drive home, with wilting lilacs in the car and a grin on my face… that is how I know summer is here.

  • Tami H. says:

    Great draw, thank you! My Clematis are blooming and it has already been 90 here in GA.

  • noetic owl says:

    First off, thank you John, for my poignant walk down olfactory memory lane, as I wore both vintage Muguet de Bois and Diorissimo in my tweens (much to the chagrin of my father due to my liberal application:) ). Unfortunately I was one of those who used up every last drop and then discarded the empty bottle so I have limited recollection of both and would not be interested in sampling the re-formulations.

    Neil Morris wrote so eloquently about the change in the air when the winter season transitions to spring. I feel the same about summer. When the air becomes balmy,fragrantly scented with lilacs,roses and lily of the valley and the lengthening of the days create more light-that’s when I know that summer is here.

    I am the 31st commenter-my lucky number-so I hope to win this draw 🙂

  • Ccc says:

    Great post from a generous heart!
    I can not miss this draw. Vintage Diorissimo… Oh be mine.

    I know the summer is here when my roses have opening buds.

    Thank you!

  • Isa says:

    Summer is here: I’m thinking of stopping using jeans and wearing thiner trousers, the trees on my street are full of sweet smelling flowers, the days are very long and the sun is shining, I can see the beaches full of people… Yeah!

  • Heather says:

    Summer is here when it’s too hot to even contemplate wearing jeans anymore…Which in my part of the US happened around March this year! I would love to try Diorissimo!

  • Eva S says:

    Even though we still have heaps of snow and ice on the river (I’m in the north of Sweden) I know summer is approaching because the days are quickly getting very long. Soon we’ll have midnight sun!

  • ineverwas says:

    I know summer has arrived when there’s hot sun on my skin and I need to wear my sunglasses. And sandals. And my pollen allergies that always start in June 😛

  • Sillage says:

    Summer steps in when it’s 8pm and still light enough and warm enough to pluck weeds in the garden. I do miss long, blue evenings.

    I’ve been underwhelmed by modern Diorissimo and hope the vintage formula releases some of its fabled white flower magic.

  • Joaquim says:

    Summer is here when I wear Carillon pour un Ange by Andy Tauer! I never smelled vintage Diorissimo, crossing fingers.
    Thanks for the draw

  • Lauren says:

    Vintage Diorissimo? Count me in!

    Summer is here when the dragonflies finally hatch and eat up all the blackflies so it is safe (and comfortable) to spend time outside again. Then all the summer outside activities can begin: eating dinner on the deck, weeding the garden, washing the car.

  • sherapop says:

    The cherry blossoms on the tree outside my bedroom window have come and gone! All of the green leaves on the trees surrounding my house have burst out!

    Thank you for sharing the wealth, both your wisdom and your perfume, John!

  • Maureen says:

    Summer is not here yet in PA…but soon and with it flowers, cut grass, sandals and shorts…Yeah! I love Diorissimo the 4th is my birthday…what a lovely present that would be!

  • Lisa says:

    Teenagers in the mall on weekdays, unless you wake up really early. Telling their moms that they want to wear 5 inch heels to middle school or telling their boyfriend that 4 years isn’t THAT long apart at college. They are quite amusing to overhear.

    Tv shows go on break. Shorts get shorter, heels get higher. We stop having these days where you need a jacket out of no where.

  • Christy C says:

    When the first of my two clematis blooms and the college I work at holds Commencement.

  • Tama says:

    Nice work, John! Don’t put me in the draw, I just wanted to say congrats. There are a few in there I haven’t tried yet!

    My summer is officially here – I got my “not used to the big yellow ball” sunburn!

  • Olga says:

    Thanks for being in such a wonderful mood of sharing your perfumes and passions (wait, aren’t these the same?)

    I know that the Summer is here and Spring is away until next year when the mornings are quiet and in the afternoons a strong wind from the ocean picks up. This is it — a sure sign of the Summer when you live right on the ocean shore. The land becomes so much hotter than the water mass near by that the wind starts and brings cool. Late Spring here is likely to be hotter than the Summer because of these chilly winds!

  • Lean S says:

    The smell of spring flowers and being able to feel the sun on my skin makes me think of summer approaching. Thank you for this!

  • Connor M says:

    wow john. awesome post. i spent the good bit of the last hour on a tangent learning all about hyrax/africa stone… i LOVE humanely derived animalic scents. i still tell people all about ambergris

    anyway. summer is here when i can smell the sun hitting the resinous conifers that surround boulder, co (my home). it’s a pretty magical smell, warm, happy and inviting. my friends like when i point it out and make them smell.

    this would be a first vintage sample for me, so i’d quite like to win.

    thanks for the draw.

  • Cynthia says:

    What makes me think summer is here? I’m in Texas and our predicted high tomorrow is 100, sigh. thanks for the draw.

  • Dana says:

    I think summer is here because April showers have brought May flowers. Flowers always bloom when it’s summer! Thank you for the draw.

  • Teddy Oliver says:

    I am also in Texas and summer is here when my Skin prays that i wear a fresh scent.

  • GinnyM says:

    Diorissimo? J’adore! Here in Seattle, very little has thusfar heralded the arrival of Beltane and sunny summer days — we’ve had a terribly chilly spring. That said, the Starbucks on the ground floor of my building is having its first Frappuccino Happy Hour of the year, so I’ll have to go with icy caffeinated beverages!

  • Sujaan says:

    I know summer is here when I walk though Central Park and it’s full of picnickers and frisbee throwers and families with babies trying to get some desperately needed sunshine. I love summer in NY!

  • Flora says:

    Thanks for the draw, and reminding us of all those wonderful spring fragrances! I would like nothing more than some Diorissimo right about now!

    I always know that the year has inevitably turned toward summer when the special lilac bush at my front door bursts into bloom – the first of several flushes throughout the season, but also the most prolific. This year it is especially spectacular, so I have high hopes for a great summer!

  • Rob says:

    Thanks for the draw! What makes me feel that summer’s here is the need of the sea, and from an olfactory point of view it’s the feeling that nature’s in full bloom: during summertime, the aromatic plants play it loud…

  • Maggie Mahboubian says:

    What a GREAT post. I always wondered about those holidays, but never had the time to research. Thanks! I love how you have combined vintage with new and natural. This is my kind of perfume world!!!

  • Maggie Mahboubian says:

    Oh dear, forgot to follow the rules . . . summer is here because my tea roses are blooming their heads off and the jacarandas are purple here in West Hollywood.

  • angiefunk says:

    Summer to me is laying in the warmth of the sun, seeing the bright colors of the flowers, smelling the fresh air and eating the bounty of produce from the local farmers market. Thank you for the draw!

  • Holly F. says:

    The temperature is nearing 80 suddenly, and although I don’t crave the hot weather I do love how it makes scent bloom on my skin! Thanks for the wonderful article and draw.

  • Alicia says:

    Sprawled beneath my blooming dogwood tree on my back, with barefeet yesterday made me feel like summer is here! And a friend and I sat out on the deck in the evening and had a drink!!