Magnolia Alba

In a word: purity. Everything about it evokes cleanliness, morning spring sunshine, optimistic freshness and the joy of being alive. Radiant aura of citrus at first, which dissipates to reveal a creamy but light - and impeccably natural-esque - magnolia note which still seems pearled with drops of dew at dawn in a perfect, angelic garden. Gets to somewhere near white-flower paradise and stays there; utterly linear and simple - this offers no opportunities to play spot-the-note or to wait out new chapters of development. But who cares? Now all that may sound twee, drippy, girly. It's a world away from the dark, complex, smoky spice bombs I gravitate to most of the time. Yet there's something about it that makes my default grimy-cynic setting just melt away. The spell of those immaculate, perfect ivory petals is impossible to resist. Love from the first sniff, and despite its completely sheer and almost-transparent texture, scary sticker price and average-to-weak longevity, I just can't do anything else but love it. Whisper it: I went retail (at duty free prices though) - and that is vanishingly rare. 98% of scents, even the ones I adore, I can wait for until they show up at discount. Not here though. Its innocent charm just can't be denied - and opened my wallet despite the financial pain. Pure (yeah, that word again) magnolia magnificence.

While I have never smelled the flowers of Magnolia x alba, also known as white champaca, I own some of its beautiful oil, and I am fairly confident it is used here by Givaudan perfumer Louise Turner. The oil smells like crisp, apple-like and pear-like, with sensations reminiscent of sparkling wine and even green tea. With the radiance of lemon and other citrus facets, what this evokes is the aroma of the magnolias that bloom here in New England in April, including that of Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata) and Yulan Magnolia (Magnolia denudata). It's what I hoped that Carlos Benaim's Eau de Magnolia would be; while that one is breezy and beautiful, its aquatic, almost detergent-like core felt short of the realism that I desired. Magnolia Alba, on the other hand, captures the ethereal nature of magnolia blooms. Lemon-zest tart, soapy, with a watery-green floral character, it is sustained by a clean white musk dry down that is a seamless transition from the top and heart notes. Nothing is quite like smelling a tree full of magnolia blooms in the breeze, wafting their dewy, airy aroma, but Chloé Michelia Alba comes quite close.

Your search of a perfect magnolia scent is over - this is it. Imagine sunny, warm, spring day and you're stepping into a garden or a flower store. You take a breath of fresh air and you can smell beautiful magnolias. It smells natural, light, floral, fresh, slightly citrusy, watery and green. A very realistic scent. A little bit soapy. Feminine, uplifting, happy. Great for office or for 'pretty summer dress' type of occasions. I can't imagine anyone disliking it. I wasn't convinced if I wanted a full bottle initially, but the more I smelled it, the more I appreciated the fragrance and the more addictive it became. All fragrances from this exclusive Chloe line are very good, but this one is my favorite (Verbena that I own, is my 2nd favorite). I wish it came in travel size or smaller bottles because 50ml is too much for me. The bottle is gorgeous and classy, especially the cap. I am happy to own a full bottle.

Beautiful, fresh, sweet magnolia on tester strip. Still light and beautiful on skin, but then turns ever so slightly narcotic and ham-like. A of florals run this risk on my skin, unfortunately. Stinky and sour after settling. Veers back into airy clean girl aesthetic after an hour or so. It’s very nice when it’s in the fresh floral phases. Would be so popular in North Eastern Asia. Longevity is lacking, although it’s also not super warm currently. I want more of that opening, but I wish it would stick. I couldn’t stop thinking about this one and had to get a full bottle. No bad narcotic sourness this time, thankfully. I truly see flowers with this one, it’s like walking into a flower shop.

Tried a sample because I love the smell of magnolias and had wanted a magnolia scent. This is lovely, not cloying, really smells like the flowers. It has that quality where you keep wanting to sniff your own wrists (which indicates one downside—the sillage and longevity aren’t crazy, I felt like I had to keep sniffing to keep it with me, and wanted to reapply after only a few hours). I watched a certain film wearing Magnolia Alba, and now it will always make me think of spotlights and bejeweled eye makeup, and certainly of Nashville Tennessee—for better or for worse.