New Fragrance Review: 40notes Crystalline Hyacinth – Spring Everlasting + Ltd Edition Draw

 Maxfield Parrish-Spring

For many people, especially those who live in snowy climes, a true harbinger of spring is the first green shoot of hyacinth peeking out of the thawing ground. I usually have to purchase little pots of the plants rather than enjoy their emergence,  and the waxy flower clusters, in white, pink, and purple, send forth an aroma that is almost spicy, and one of my favorite floral scents. Perfumer Miriam Vareldzis of 40notes Perfume created her new, limited edition scent Crystalline Hyacinth with a vase of fresh hyacinths on her desk as inspiration during the late winter and spring of this year. She says, “Hyacinth is elusive, at once fleeting and headstrong. To me it is Spring everlasting, which makes it more mysterious than innocent.” I was excited to be able to review this fragrance. I smelled it initially at the Artisan Fragrance Salon in July, and although my nose was in an overusage meltdown by then, I recognized the beauty and wanted to smell it again.

 

 

 

Hyacinth blooms are tight, with thick petals, growing close to the ground so that they have to announce themselves with gusto. When I first apply Crystalline Hyacinth to my skin, I am elated by its trueness. Hyacinth flowers are not bright and fresh; they have a sultry depth to them, from having to birth themselves through frost. The perfume has the same depth, and captures that feeling of a contained white sun, not quite giving out enough heat. It is not a dry, sweet scent born of summer, but an almost animal scent that is hard to define. Miriam added some green lemon and grapefruit notes, and a touch of white lily to her composition. The citrus notes are most noticeable in the very beginning, adding a bit of pop, and simmer down quite quickly. As the fragrance progresses, it remains true to the flower for a long time. As I type, I am sitting in my chilly Northern California coastline apartment, bringing my wrist to my nose repeatedly so I can smell some “Spring everlasting.”

 

 

 

 The  40notes line of perfume is one of my favorite new discoveries in general, as the scents are created with a kind of minimalism that I appreciate in perfumery. Each is a distinct soliflore personality, never muddled or hazy. Miriam considers Crystalline Hyacinth as “probably my most artistic creation”. That she has been able to so adeptly translate the rather elusive aroma of this flower, really shows her mastery of this art.

 

 

Crystalline Hyacinth will be available as an extremely limited edition of about 4 ounces. Please contact info@40notes.com  for purchasing information. My sample was provided my Miriam Vareldzis of 40notes.  We have a sample vial available for one lucky winner – please let us know your favorite spring flower. Draw ends on August 25, 2012.

 

 

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 spilled perfume.

 -Tama Blough, Senior Editor

Editor's Note: 40notes won five gold medals at the 1st Artisan Fragrance salon which was held in San Francisco, July 8, 2012: Best Artisan Perfumer, Best packaging, Top overall line, Best gift set and  is one of  three official fragrances of the 2012 Taste Awards  along with Yosh and COGNOSCENTI  and named as one of the "Official Luxury Fragrances" of the 4th Annual TASTE AWARDS  which will be held in September in Hollywood.

40notes also was a recipient of CaFleureBon's Best of 2011 awards

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58 comments

  • Orange blossom, this little white flower is a powerful memory trigger for me.
    Thanks for the draw!

  • Wow, very nice review and it makes me so want to try this fragrance. Thanks for having a draw.

    I have many favorite spring flowers. Hyacinth is one of them, but in recent years, one of my absolute favorites has become the pink trailing jasmine that many people grow here in my Southern California neighborhood.

    Thanks for introducing us to the 40 Notes line.

  • It is very hard for me to pick a favorite Spring flower because I am partial to those early bulbs popping out of the ground. They promise a hope of rebirth after a long winter, and they herald my own March birth, as I always thought. Hyacinth was the first flower I was able to smell, according to my Mother, at a ripe age of four days 🙂 someone brought them to her at the hospital and to this day she swears that I smelled them and it showed in my face 🙂

  • My fave spring flower is actually freesia, but i love the hyacinth in Lutens’ Bas de Soie and vintage Fidji by Guy Laroche! <3 ;))

  • Linnea Wiedeman says:

    my fave late Spring flower is jasmine. love walking around town you can smell it everywhere.

  • I love spring flowers! Hyacinth is a perpetual favorite, my grandmother had it growing all around her house, and it smelled so good! Also daffodils just for their sunny-ness!

  • I just ordered a sampler from 40 notes and was smitten by spring Vetiver
    and oud wood veil
    This one sounds beautiful I love hyacinth and I don’t really find this flower used much in perfumery
    My favorite spring flower is the crocus because it is the first to peek through snow
    Congratulations on winning 5 gold medals

  • Favorite spring flower is definitely the Tulip, but this fragrance sounds worth testing for sure 🙂

  • This sounds wonderful! Hyacinths are my favorite spring flower and have been since I was very young. I can’t resist those pots of forced bulbs that the grocery store sells every spring, just so I can bury my face in that heavenly scent.

  • Janet in California says:

    Hyacinth is wonderful. I love the scent drifting through the windows on warm spring days.

  • Sue Kucklick says:

    I really like snowdrops. Sometimes they beat the crocuses but not often. i love looking at the through a crystal mesh of snow.

  • There’s an exquisite flower that blooms in many woods in North America, an orchid called cypripedium bulbosa or fairy slipper, that emits a distinct, pleasant, vanilla-like aroma. Actually, it’s way far beyond vanilla and must be experienced. It’s nearly impossible to cultivate the orchid in a garden or greenhouse because it has a symbiotic relationship with forest fungus and tree roots. http://www.arkive.org/fairy-slipper-orchid/calypso-bulbosa/
    It would be amazing if someone could create a perfume like this.

  • Hyacinth´s definitely my favorite spring flower with a scent, though I also love Lilac. Thanks again for a fun draw! Also – Barry (commenter above), thank you for the interesting info about the fairy slipper, fascinating! Really does sound magical.

  • Tama, what an elegant review!

    I pot up hyacinths and paperwhites throughout winter and keep them (LOTS OF THEM) in our bedroom. I suffer from SAD big time and that pre-Spring boost of loamy dirt/green/waxy sweetness keeps the Evils at bay. I only like the deep bluey-purple hyacinths, though. The others give off little scent, imo.

    xoxoA

  • In Greek mythology hyacinth was a beautiful boy beloved by Apollo
    When he died Apollo turned him into the flower
    I bring up the legend because I think dedicating a fragrance that honors this flower must be beautiful indeed

  • Honestly I love all spring flowers. They are lovely in different ways. Snowdrops so innocent, hyacinth provocative, narcissus and tulips so elegant, iris so aristocratic, lilac , violets, lily of the valley.

    This fragrance sounds amazing!
    Thank you for the review.

  • Freesia, by far
    the first I smell each spring, lets me know another winter is finally over…
    thanks for the draw

  • I love the beautiful scent of my jasmine tree when it flowers in late Summer. I often cut off a small branch and place it in a vase so my whole kitchen smells of fresh jasmine for at least a few weeks.

    Thanks for the draw!

  • I love lilacs! All lilacs, from blanc to the deepest purple hue. Most of all, though, I love the delicate yet piercing sweetness of their scent. Lilacs lift my spirit and give me hope.

  • My favorite spring flower is fragrant white violets. I also love hyacinths and I think that I’d love this fragrance.
    Thank you for the draw.

  • My favorite spring flower is tulips. I’ve been to the tulip festival in Washington and hope to go again in the future.

  • I love all the flowers that herald the return of spring, but my absolute favourite is lily-of-the-valley.
    It would be wonderful to sample a scent from such a well-received new house.
    Thanks for the draw.

  • Hyacinth is actuall my favorite spring flower! I buy too pos with blooms that I watch evolve into lovely thick and strongsmelling flowers! Thank you for the draw!

  • Scented Memories says:

    From all the spring flowers I love the most daffodils and lilac. I used not to like hyacinth but since I’ve discovered it as a perfume note it became one of my favorites.

  • Hyacinth is also my favorite, it just has such a chilly fresh fragrance to me. Thanks for the draw.

  • It has no smell, but every year I most look forward to the cheery yellow pom poms of Japanese Kerria lighting up the shady spot in my garden.

  • Wow, I would love to try this, I adore hyacinth! It’s one of my favorite spring flowers along with the fragrant types of daffodils and the delicious Daphne odora that blooms very early in spring, just when you need relief from winter the most.

  • Nice review! My favorite spring flowers are tulips and daffodils. When I lived back east, I loved seeing huge flower beds lining the downtown streets of DC near the Capitol and the waterfront. I also miss the cherry blossoms.

  • my favorite spring flower is wild white Iris. It doesn’t have much of a scent but it is as if a white satin flame sprung amidst the greenery.

  • farawayspices says:

    My favorite spring flower is the lilac someone planted by the road a few houses away. It always takes me by pleasant surprise when I walk by.

  • Lily of the Valley is my favorite spring flower. It ever reminds me of spring, Easter, and hugging my great-grandmother in her pale spring green sweater.

  • I love daffodils. There’s plenty of them where I live and they always let me know that spring has arrived.

  • My favorite spring flower is the hyacinth. I have planted loads of them, but my favorites are the old-fashioned, loose type with the stronger, smoother scent. The perfume sounds gorgeous. Thanks for the draw!

  • my favorite spring flower is the crocus–really an end-of-winter flower here. Seeing them pushing up through frost and snow lets us know that the light of spring is coming in again!