Muguet du Bonheur (2021)

This is a feel-good, gorgeous spring time scent. I am a long time fan of Caron, having spent $$$ buying their vintage formulas. But I am really enjoying the new 2021 line up as well. The key to enjoying Muguet is to spray in the air then step into the downfall. It then wears like a heavenly, joyful spring halo about your person. This literally lifted my mood, and I say that after watching Will Smith accept his 'Best Smacktor' award. Well done, Caron

I cannot believe what Caron has become! After Richard Fraysse did an amazing job recreating many missed vintage creations, even giving them the glorious richness we all thought was forever lost thanks to IFRA regulations, Caron went ahead, discontinued most of them, and employed Jean Jacques who so far only created thin and synthetic drugstore formulas for the once venerable perfume maker. Who is to blame though? Is it really Caron who messed up? Or did people just not buy the recreated vintage perfumes? Are the golden days of classic perfumery over? Maybe Caron didn't have a choice but to re-orient themselves, to avoid certain death. Anyway, what can I say about the new Muguet du Bonheur? Well, it seems to be an established trend nowadays to use the name and fame of an already established product, and slap it on a new item. This way, companies don't have to put effort into finding a new name, don't have to register a new trademark, and they have instant recognition from fans of the old product. Quite clever, and it has shown to be a successful move for the likes of Guerlain, Yves Saint Laurent and others. And Caron has done the same before as well (Infini, for example). So here we have a new Muguet du Bonheur. According to Jean Jacques a "daring composition" that combines a "spring flower" and a "winter fruit" and has a "chypre sillage". Let's put these big words to the test. A single spray of Muguet du Bonheur reveals an ugly truth: Whatever spring flower or winter fruit Jean Jacques is talking about, it cannot be either Lily of the valley or pear. All I get is a synthetic, harsh mess, the very typical fruity accord so often found in drugstore perfumes. This note is also reminiscent of the air inside the fragrance section of a department store: That insufferable cloud of everything trendy and cheap. Yes, that's exactly what Muguet du Bonheur smells like after applying it to my skin. To be fair, from a little distance I do get a faint lily of the valley smell, but still rather artificial. From here on, things don't really change that much. The scent gets quieter, until it fades into a pale woody base that still has a screechy and synthetic quality to it. And this concludes the entire story of the new Muguet du Bonheur. The "Muguet" blossom withered under loads of plasticky fruit, leaving nothing even remotely "Bonheur" to this sad excuse of a perfume. Why, Caron, why? Even fragrances like Lady Million smell much more natural and exclusive than your new Muguet du Bonheur! And what do my eyes see? You are charging 100€ for a 30 ml bottle? Caron, you must be out of your mind! Sorry, but this fragrance is inexcusably bad, who wants to smell like the cheapest kind of fruity floral, and pay a premium amount of money for it, when you can get scents like this for little money literally everywhere? Please, everyone, do not buy Muguet du Bonheur! Only this way we can give brands like Caron the needed feedback, so they can get back on track making better scents.

Don't be fooled by the name, it is not very lily of the valley centric. Just a nice but non-descript light floral. If you want a more distinctive but still refined LOTV try Dusita's Cavatina. Or on the budget side Yves Rochers Lily of the valley Eau fraiche is a nice photorealistic LOTV, albeit more of a body spray.

It’s a lovely floral. Sweet and definitely reminiscent of spring. The initial spray is a burst of citrus and fruits—can I tell what those fruits are?—not really, to be honest, perhaps a whiff of watermelon? Pear? It stays sweet for a while and then the dry down is actually lily-of-the-valley. 7.5/10

I tried this yesterday and its honestly lovely. The bright fruity opening fading down in to a lovely halo of florals. Its not a scent I'm aching for a full bottle of but my decant will be a cheerful little addition to my spring lineup.