Muguet des Bois

This is one of my most complimented perfumes (but I'll get to that in a moment). Muguet des Bois is (to me) hands-down the best, most realistic lily of the valley soliflore ever made. I've tried Diorissimo, Yardley, and a host of others, as I'm *always* looking for a good LOTV. This one fulfills all my expectations. While the notes list may say otherwise, I experience this as lily of the valley and nothing but lily of the valley, from the green stems and glossy, deep green leaves in the opening to the petite blossoms in the mid-phase. Soft whiffs of the fragrance of those delicate, bell-shaped flowers linger throughout the remainder of the (admittedly brief -- this is an EdC, after all) experience. There is a hint of something spicy towards the drydown, but it's only that -- a hint -- and it's accompanied by gentle wafts of fresh, faint LOTV all the way. Applying a spritz to clothing helps to boost longevity and sillage, but only slightly. Don't expect this perfume to fill up an enclosed space, as that's not likely to happen under any circumstances. Once it settles down, it seems to dart in and out of view. If it were something you could see, it would be picked up by your peripheral vision. It hangs around, but confines itself to the edges of perception most of the time. It's a gentle, comforting presence which never overwhelms. To be fair, I do have a personal history with this perfume, which may bias me towards it; my grandmother wore it, and it was one of the first perfumes she ever gave me. (I still have the little glass bottle she presented to me decades ago, even though I used every drop of the perfume; my current bottle of MdB is from the late 1960s/early 1970s, I believe.) As such, I treasure the scent -- it conjures up memories of a time when everything was bright and hopeful, and any given day could turn out to be perfect. As for the compliments... I once wore this while minding the cash register at a rummage sale. It was unbearably hot, but the fragrance held up well, even in humid, stagnant air. Roughly every third or fourth person who visited said something to the effect of, "Wow, you smell amazing!" No one identified it outright (which isn't terribly surprising, as it's discontinued), but it certainly got its fair share of attention and garnered compliments from total strangers. It's a shame they don't make this one anymore... I'd use it more often if I had a larger supply!

Before I developed advanced enough skills as a perfumer in synthetics I set out to find a lily of the valley perfume that actually smelled like the live flower. In my search I found so many the beard no resemblance to the actual flower at all. I just happen to love the smell and while I pay no attention as to what is for men and what is for women, I do find this to be the only flower that is more feminine, whereas all the rest are to me, very unisex. Still, I wear this perfume, as well as my own lily of the valley perfume, both of which, I believe really do smell quite identically to the living flower as I have compared the both side by side with freshly picked lily of the valley. Perhaps some of you know that lily of the valley along with lilac just do not yield any sort of usable absolute or pomade, so all lilac and lily of the valley notes have to be built using either a combination of naturals and synthetics or purely synthetics. Using only naturals it cannot yet be done. I remember the first primary lily of the valley perfume I came across was Diorissimo, that at first really smelled like lily of the valley to me but then after a while it started to smell less and less like lily of the valley and more and more like other things. As you all know, this is a very inexpensive drug store perfume but when it comes to lily of the valley it is all synthetic anyway, so no matter who makes it we are all going to be composing it using the same chemicals. Like I said, Coty is right on the money here, it is a dead ringer for the live flower. It goes on smelling fresh, sweet, powdery and green, just like the fresh flower and that is how it smells until you wake up the next morning. It is a perfume that does tend to hover quite close to your skin so you and anyone in your close proximity will smell it but not someone across the table or on the other side of your desk. And if you put it on the in the morning, or before going out in the evening, it will not need to be applied again. It seems to last 4-5 hours but it is so inexpensive, if you want to touch it up with a couple more sprays, most of us can afford it. So if you are out for a great lily of the valley just go to the drug store and get this, forget about the expensive ones because this one is perfect for what it is.

This review is for the current formulation. I love the scent. It's a true to life lily of the valley. It smells just like the flowers we had in our yard, and at my grandma's house, when I was growing up. It reminds me of a sunny spring day in my childhood backyard with lilacs in the air, too. But it has almost no staying power. I smell a faint scent of it on my wrist a few hours after spraying. But I have to smell my wrist and clothes up close to detect it, after only about 30 minutes after spraying. It is very weak. This is one of my favorite colognes because it doesn't have any chemical or synthetic smell. It's as close to a real flower as I've found in a perfume. The lovely scent just doesn't last and isn't strong enough. I was lucky to get two bottles before the price started going up. One of my bottles fell and the lid cracked, but I didn't lose any of the liquid. Last I checked, it was discontinued and getting harder to find. The site I bought mine from charged $11, and someone is now selling it for $120. I saw it on eBay for about $40.

What a pretty, feminine perfume! I found a vintage formula and it's refreshing, soft, a little bit soapy, with a light crisp green touch. It doesn't smell vintage. It smells exactly like fresh lilies of the valley blooming! It's the truest lily of the valley scent ever ! Great to use in warm or hot weather, as a fresh uplifting, cooling floral. Stays close to skin, it's subtle, but a light breeze will cause it to waft into the air around you. Perfect to wear in an office, since it's ladylike and not offensive at all. Lasting power isn't good, but if I first use a tiny thin layer of Vaseline on skin, then spray this perfume over it, this beautiful scent lasts about 6 hours on my skin. Also great for spraying linens to create a crisp clean fresh natural lily of the valley scent in any room. It really does smell like natural fresh cut real flowers, not synthetic room spray. Coty Muguet Bois in vintage form is truly a beautiful natural floral breath of fresh air.

I just bought a vintage bottle of this - smells just as I remember it, fresh, green, and spring flowers. Lily of the Valley is my favorite flower, and it predominates this fragrance, but I can also find the lilac after a moment (lilac is a close 2nd favorite) with a bit of citrus (orange?) and green notes which keep it fresh, sweet but never cloying. I agree with everyone who says it doesn't last long though, doesn't stay with me either, but I still love it! I just read in a review for another muguet perfume that the legendary Edmond Roudnitska considered Muguet de Bois to be the 'truest' L.O.V. scent - proves once again that the best does not have to be the most expensive.

I managed to find a vintage bottle of this (probably dating from the late 60s or even early 70s) and it's absolutely magnificent. But I think I will save it for spring/summer as that's when Lily of the Valley smells best for me. I must point out that this is not in the league of Diorissimo (which has to be the ultimate scent in this category of floral) but is much less sparkling and less nuanced being a much more straightforward "Muguet" with overtones of green. But, given the price difference between this one and Dior's masterpiece, who's complaining?

My first perfume..! Muguet des Bois. Must have been Coty! I was 13 or so. Bought a sample in the mail, somehow. A day dreaming girl, sitting under a tree, wearing this. One of my earliest memories of growing up. Because of Fragrantica's "this reminds me of" section, I bought Jessica McCLintocks. Love it. The dry down is a bit different from Coty's...from what I remember decades later!! Lol. But it is satisfying my craving for now. Thank you, Gemsense for oil recommendation. I ordered a small vial...just to see if its a Coty match.

No need to cry about not having this anymore. I bought this in an oil version from thescent4you.com I love this ❣️ they just don't make them like this anymore. It's so clean and pretty without being old fashioned. I am a bit old fashioned though, Jessica McClintock is one of my absolute all time faves. I just discovered muget de bois and now that I've found this I'll be stashing a big bottle of the perfume oil. This is gorgeous 😍

I live (and grew up in) a very small town. This Coty fragrance was totally unknown to me until recently. Lily of the Valley is my absolute favorite flower of all time and I had doubted anyone could capture the scent of the real thing. This arrived in my mail today and I felt weak in the knees when I sniffed it. It is glorious! I feel so clean, fresh, and feminine wearing this. A new love that is going into my top 5 favorites.

I think I cry every spring because I don't have this anymore. A truer lily of the valley I have never smelled. I like Diorissimo and the others, but there was such a purity to Coty's, so clean and fresh in an uninterrupted sort of way. Unencumbered, poetic, a very rare sort of beauty. Edit 4/8/19: I couldn't resist, found a gently-used bottle on Ebay and am as happy as I hoped to be! Just as gorgeous as I remember!

Muguet de Bois, meaning in english 'Lily of the Valley'. That's exactly what it is - Coty's beautiful classic Lily of the Valley fragrance. It's been around since 1941 and still smells lovely. I remember my grandmother's bottle of Coty's L'Origan (created in 1905)she kept on the shelf in her bathroom. I would always sneak a spray or two on. Timeless, timeless classics that are still going strong.

I had a tiny bottle of this as a little girl, so it holds sweet childhood memories for me. After trying Yardley (which was awful and didn't smell like lily-of-the-valley at all), I found Molinard Muguet, which was pretty much the nostalgic fragrance I remembered. A good replacement, since this one is discontinued.

Incredibly synthetic - like the smell of pool floats and citronella candles in the opening, it becomes a little softer, imitating a familiar sunscreen. This is the scent of all sorts of plastics folded into the shape of a muguet. Weird. I'm sure it used to be good. Review for the current(?) Eau de toilette.

I love to wear the classic perfumes on occasion & after recently purchasing & enjoying Coty L'Origan, I decided to try this one out as well & I am very impressed. It is one of the best Lilly of the Valley scents I have ever smelt. It is soft, fresh, clean & lovely. I like it very much.

Once again Coty turns one of it's great perfumes into a knock off of itself. The original had that depth and richness of scent so typical of Coty. It was sweet and fresh, just lovely. The reformulation is cheap and unsubtle . It doesn't even smell like lilies of the valley anymore.

My mom used to wear this back in the day and in middle school I got hooked on it....I love the scent of lily of the valley and this perfume IMO was the truest scent to the flower! I have never found anything liked this again,I miss it so much! I beyind adored this perfume!!!!!! <3

I love this fragrance. It does smell exactly like lilies of the valley. The only thing I wish is that it would last longer. I spray it on several times during the day to keep the fragrance alive. Love it -- a breath of fresh, sweet lilies of the valley.

Forget all the "reminds me of" suggestions. None of them come close. If you hate white florals, give MDB a try and see if it changes your perspective. Easy to wear, realistic, simplistic and non-sickening. It's truly in a class of its own.

At the top to the base, much style in this fresh Lily of the valley. It ́s a delicate and subtle fragrance, however full of personality.

A lovely, green, sweet, true LOTV but the modern version does not last. It is like a cheap cologne.