White Shoulders

I have to write another review of White Shoulders. This is my third review, but please bear with me. This will be my most detailed review, and I'm going to try my best to sum up this iconic American classic. Just a warning, this will be a long read. White Shoulders is officially my first vintage! I got a circa 1975 Cologne spray by Evyan for a very decent price online. This is so exciting! White Shoulders has become my favorite fragrance, and I've stockpiled it in all forms: powder, cologne, eau de parfum, and I've owned 3 of the sets that have the parfum and body lotion. All forms of this are beautiful to me, and the cologne lasts a good 8 hours on me, which for me is longer than some EDPs! White Shoulders is a classic floral, and to me it is very unique for it's category, and it becomes more unique the more I understand it's composition. This opens with clean, soapy aldehydes, but they are not "clear a room" Chanel No. 5 aldehydes. They are soapy, clean, and light. This also smells a bit green in the opening, probably courtesy of the African orange flower, or perhaps this is the grassiness of the lilacs and lilies. This is topped off with a touch of sweet peach, which lasts throughout the fragrance. When this first dries, lilac dominates the fragrance. If someone asked me for a recommendation for a lilac scent, this would be it. The only other notes I could see being in the middle notes are Lily and Lily of the Valley. The airiness of this reminds me of Estee Lauder's Pleasures. This smells like a garden of blooming lilacs and lilies in springtime, like a fresh picked Easter bouquet. This never becomes a heady, big white floral. The drydown is probably the most lovely part of this fragrance. The dry down is sweet, with benzoin and peach. Perhaps there is a light touch of musk, but definitely not enough to make this animalic. The dry down to me almost smells like vanilla, but I think this is just the benzoin playing tricks. This fragrance stands out to me compared to other fragrances of it's time, and that may explain it's lasting success and popularity. I could be wrong, but popular perfumes I'm familiar with at the time of this fragrances release around the 1940s were much more intense, usually glamourous florals and orientals with sparkling aldehydes and intense woody-musk bases, or spice bombs like Estee Lauder's popular Youth Dew. I found a source dating this as far back as around 1936, and this was perhaps one of the first fragrances that broke this pattern, offering a sweet, light floral. The only fragrance this is slightly comparable to from it's own time in my experience is L'air du Temps. I could be wrong however, considering much of what was out in that time frame no longer exists. I've now smelled White Shoulders by each house it has been made by in it's life span: Evyan, Parfums International, and currently Elizabeth Arden. I'm most familiar with Elizabeth Arden's formula, however I now own an Evyan vintage and a Parfums International version. The Parfums International version is what I assume came out just after Evyan went out of business, as it is most similar to Evyan's formula. The only difference is that it is slightly more "chemical" smelling, but overall smells like a good impression of the Evyan formula I have. After smelling this vintage Evyan, I'm happy to say that though Elizabeth Arden's formula is different, it is very faithful to the original, and the only differences between the two seem to be due to the time they were made. Evyan's formula is a bit more waxy. The aldehydes are far more "perfumy." The lilac in Evyan's formula seems to be more concentrated. If Elizabeth Arden's formula is a lilac bush, Evyan's is a single lilac blossom. In fact, I've found two candles that perfectly embody these differences. If you know a store by you that sells Hallmark brand candles (oddly enough I couldn't find them on their own website), look for Lilac Blossom and Lilac Bouquet. Lilac Blossom smells to me almost exactly like Evyan's formula, while Lilac Bouquet smells more like it's current formula. The vintage formula smells less "green" than the current formula, and overall smells more mature. Elizabeth Arden's formula takes a more realistic approach on the lilac note, as it smells more like lilacs in a garden. I also think Elizabeth Arden's formula has more fixatives in it that are commonplace in modern perfumery, such as linalool, which may make it smell more "sweet". Side by side, both formulas lasted 8-12 hours and had the same silliage, which I am so thankful for. Recently smelling a vintage No. 5, I realized how it's been butchered over the years by poor reformulations, and have heard one too many tales on here about other iconic fragrances being subpar to their vintages. Thankfully, and thanks to Elizabeth Arden, White Shoulders has been spared, and it's current formula is faithful to the original and lasts just as long. I just hope now that Elizabeth Arden keeps this classic on the shelves for the long haul. If you are purchasing this, I would recommend the eau de parfum version. It is not as common as the cologne version, but it is closer to Evyan's version, and packs more of a punch. Updated May 2018

PLEASE NOTE, BEFORE USING MY REVIEW AS A REFERENCE WHEN DECIDING TO PURCHASE OR NOT TO PURCHASE THIS PARTICULAR FRAGRANCE: This review is for THE ORIGINAL 1943, beeswaxed sealed, bottle of White Shoulders, with the Hartnell label! I have never actually had the distinct pleasure (or displeasure, according to some) to have the modern formulation of White Shoulders, that is currently being bottled by Elizabeth Arden under my nose, so I cannot guarantee whatsoever, that the modern formulation of the fragrance smells anything like THE ORIGINAL 1943, beeswaxed sealed, bottle of White Shoulders, that was bottled by Hartnell (The fragrance house was called Hartnell before it changed it's name to "Lady Evyan" and then again soon after to just "Evyan"), that is described below! This is a super nostalgic fragrance for me, simply because it was my Great-Grandmother’s, my Grandmother's and mother's signature scents, thus, per tradition, it's now mine, even though I am mainly into gourmands and shun all most all other florals like they're the plague. It's sort of turned into a family affair, so I am hoping to get my three young daughters into fragrance at some point and I am really hoping that they'll eventually grow to love this particular fragrance just as much as my Great-Grandmother, my Grandmother and my mother did when they wore it and just as much as I do when I wear it. It’s also one of my all time favorites because, while for some, both the Benzyl Acetate and Isoamyl Acetate smell like jasmine, these two chemicals are also found in very high concentrations in bananas, and THAT is THANKFULLY, what I smell in place of the jasmine. In fact, jasmine (depending on the level of concentration) almost always smells (again, thankfully) like banana to me AND I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY AND COMPLETELY ADORE ANY, EVERY AND ALL FRAGRANCES THAT CONTAIN ANY FORM OF PREDOMINANT BANANA NOTES! So, for me at least, this fragrance is a very lovely, very romantic, slightly green, soapy, clean, warm, very fruity, floral. THE TOP NOTES (ACCORDING TO MY NOSE): It starts off with a very prominent banana (from the jasmine) and some really nice peach. THE MIDDLE NOTES (ACCORDING TO MY NOSE): It continues with a slight hint of greenery (from the lily of the valley) to it, a bit of honey (from the orange blossom), some purple lilac (which happens to be my ultimate favorite floral note), and some sugary sweetness (from the gardenia). THE BASE NOTES (ACCORDING TO MY NOSE): It finishes with smooth sandalwood, soapy musk, warm amber and a very, very slight hint of naturally derived civet. Overall, despite the fact that all of my bottles are eighty-three-years-old (thankfully, I have been blessed, in that I have been lucky enough to have found and purchased four backup bottles and will continue to buy any and every Beeswaxed Hartnell Bottle I find), I wholeheartedly believe that the ORIGINAL White Shoulders, that was bottled in 1943, is still a very beautifully complex fragrance. Also, if you love banana fragrances, and jasmine smells like banana whenever it's under your nose, you're going to LOVE Hartnell's (Lady Evyan or Evyan's versions of White Shoulders were bottled in 1945 and contain the same exact formulation as Hartnell's) ORIGINAL 1943 formulation of White Shoulders fragrance.

I just picked this up in a set and wanted to write an initial review. I've been eyeing this for a while and finally bought it. It's said that the perfume and bath powder were favorites of Lucille Ball and Judy Garland, two of my favorite entertainers, so I thought if they liked it, it must be nice. The set included a edc, mini parfum and body lotion. Today I just sprayed the edc. Because it's an edc, it's not very potent. The scent itself is very nice. It opens up with aldehydes, and dries down to soapy white flowers. When I smell this, I think of soap. It's a very clean scent. I still need to try the parfum and the body lotion, and I still need to acquire the bath powder, and there's also an edp formula I would like to try. So far, this is very nice. You will like this if you like clean, soapy scents. Update #1: So I've been wearing this for the past couple of days, and I honestly don't know how I feel about it yet. I really, really want to love this, because it's a very unique scent. I haven't smelled anything quite like it. So far, I am not liking the EDC. I had really high hopes for this and really wanted to like it, because a 4 oz bottle is so affordable. It barely has any staying power. It was gone from my skin in about an hour. I tried to spray some on my wrists too, and it literally smelled like straight alcohol. The fragrance was there, but barely. The silliage isn't very impressive either. And note, I used the edc in combination with the body lotion. Later in the day, I decided to test the parfum on my wrists. It is far more fragrant than the edc and adhered better to my skin, however for a parfum I wasn't blown away. I couldn't help but notice when I looked at the ingredients how many fillers were in the edc and even the parfum. Basically, I really love this scent. So far however I haven't been impressed with its staying power. I do want to pick up the edp as soon as I can and see if it is any better than the edc. I will keep working with this to see how to make it last. Update #2: Okay, so now I have been wearing this for the past few weeks. In my last review, I was a tad harsh. However, I haven't owned an eau de cologne forumla before purchasing this. Personally, I think the edc is just not worth the money. Just a tiny bottle of this can run you nearly $20, and it's the weakest forumla you can buy. The scent itself I still like - anyone who likes classic florals and clean, soapy scents will love this. I don't get any spiciness with this, just soapy florals. If you're thinking of buying this, definitely buy the 1.5 oz eau de parfum bottle from Amazon. It's dirt cheap and I'm sure it lasts WAY longer and applies stronger than the edc. So, definitely save your money. I only have the edc because it was in a set with a parfum bottle. Also, the edc lasts much longer on your clothes. So, if you get the edc, or buy it in a set, definitely spray a good amount on your clothes. Aside from that, don't waste your money buying it alone.

Whenever I reach for White Shoulders, I'm hit with compounding thoughts. 1) This old white floral is lush and expensive smelling 2) Evyan and its legacy are a bizarre mystery 3) when the internet is your primary working resource, it's difficult, perhaps even impossible to discern smear campaigns, inaccuracies, and marketing myths from actual, factual reality. ...Regardless, I have returned for a followup report. I did my best, but please take this information with a grain of salt: "Evyan Perfumes Inc." (originally registered as "Hartnell") was founded by a Czech chemist and immigrant named Walter Langer. Langer claimed to be an Austrian baron "von Langendorff". Some records indicate he worked in Austria prior to attaining US citizenship, but there is no evidence that he came from nobility. He moved to New York with the goal of applying his chemistry doctorate to a trade. There he met his first wife, Evelyn Diane Westall, who encouraged him to use his chemistry skills to develop perfume. Together, they would prove that fine fragrance could be produced outside of France. The "Evyan" brand is a contraction of her name (Evelyn + Diane). Under their oversight, the business was successful. He managed the workers and developed new fragrances while she worked out the finances. "White Shoulders" (launched between 1935-1945, sources are unreliable) was their most popular scent, and evidently WWII patriotism helped sell it. The bottle presentation has shifted over the decades, but the peachy pink packaging, golden accents, and the silhouette of a woman are consistent motifs that borrow inspiration from French cameo jewelry. The early ads depict Evyan as an old-world luxury fragrance company, but company reports indicate it was cut from a different cloth. All production was done in New York under Westall & Langer's oversight, during a time when most other New York businesses were outsourcing labor. Unfortunately Westall passed of illness in '63. At the time of Langer's death (1983 per his obituary), he had ~250 people employed. Langer's $125 million-dollar fortune was distributed between his second wife (reportedly a narcissist) and Evyan's executive vice president (started from the bottom, now she's here). It was a 6-year legal battle; evidently the lawyers and the gossip tabloids won. The Evyan brand was initially bought by Chesebrough-Pond's Inc. This conglomerate has since been subsumed by Unilever. All post-Evyan White Shoulders products have been produced under "Parfums International LTD". A shit subsidiary of Revlon. Regardless of who technically owns the rights to this perfume, the formula budget has been gradually sapped over the past few decades. ...One of our most iconic luxury perfumes: a story of romance, fortuitous timing, and a successful business; thinned out and relegated to rack stores like Burlington. C'est la vie. I wish this report ended on a better note.

I always hated this perfume and Giorgio because years ago women used to bathe in them. Any perfume that is used in excess becomes sharp and cloying. I suspect that after the initial dry down women couldn't smell it on themselves, (and many here have even said it becomes a skin scent shortly after applying) and would overcompensate by spraying too much to begin with or reapplying when they really didn't need to. The result when you got several people together wearing it was nauseating. It seemed when I was growing up that I couldn't get away from this scent and a few others, like the synthetic mess Evening in Paris. They were EVERYWHERE. Finally, by my early twenties it seemed women started expanding their repertoire. Then Giorgio came on the scene and suddenly that scent was over worn everywhere for almost a decade too. Fortunately, that time and perfume passed too. Fast forward several decades later and I'm suddenly having a love affair with white florals, in particular, tuberose and to a lesser degree, orange blossom. Still not a fan of gardenia unless it's well blended in a scent, but tuberose I find intoxicating. With my new found love I decided to explore scents of the past I once blew off. I purchased a vintage Evyan Cologne and a Parfums International version of the same scent in edp. The top notes are gone on both, but to my nose the heart and base notes are the same. Both are still an overwhelmingly white floral with a strong tuberose mixed well with gardenia and a little spice. The scent, in moderation, is calming, charming, and Über feminine. I did a side by side of both versions and seriously found little difference between the two, though the Parfums International version is a little soapier and has considerably better silage and longevity than the Evyan cologne version, which is to be expected with an edp. That’s not much of a consolation though, because silage and longevity is pretty poor for this scent in either concentration. Seeing how poorly this performs gives me a better understanding of why some women got carried away with overuse. Still, I found it to be a beautiful scent in moderation. While not entirely giving me the tuberose fix I am seeking, it did satisfy me to a degree. I’ve since tried the Elizabeth Arden version and it is a chemical mess on my skin. Very synthetic and bearing no resemblance to either the original Evyan or the Parfums International versions. Don't waste your time and money on that. There are plenty of vintage bottles on eBay still at a very affordable price. The top notes will be shot (which is okay because many modern perfumes have lousy openings too) but the dry down will be beautiful. Next on my list of heavy white florals to try is Giorgio. I have a pure parfum mini on the way right now. Review to come later.

I initially wrote a lengthy review of this and I was quite unsure how I thought of it, but now I couldn't be more sure. White Shoulders is one of the most gorgeous classic florals I've tried. I find if I don't know what to wear, I reach for this. This is my closest contender for a signature scent. I've discovered I have a sensitivity to white flowers, despite really loving them, after trying Jessica McClintock and the Britney Spears scent "Radiance". They both were incredibly overwhelming to me, which surprised me because of how much I've grown to love this! This and Madonna's TOD are two white floral fragrances that don't bother me at all. I was introduced to classic florals through Chanel No. 5, and fell in love with the glamorous aldehydic opening. One thing about most classic florals I tend not to love, are the animal heavy, musky dry downs. I prefer cleaner dry downs, and despite musk and civet being listed here in the notes, I don't smell this at all in the current formulation. Perhaps this is present in the vintage versions, but I love the current version for it's clean dry down. This opens up with green notes, citruses, and Aldehydes, and the Aldehydes here are quite subdued compared to other classics. I think someone who doesn't like Aldehydes would not mind this at all. This initially dries on me as a lovely bouquet of white flowers, with lily being most prominent to my nose. This isn't spicy at all, just fresh, clean, and the white flowers aren't at all overwhelming. In the dry down, I smell vanilla. I don't know why this isn't in the notes, but vanilla is very prominent to my nose. I could also see how the benzoin and sandalwood are incorporated with a vanilla note, but I don't smell any musk or any civet. This is 0% animalic, which I really appreciate for a classic fragrance. I initially trashed the eau de cologne, but before that I was not familiar with colognes and only familiar with EDP and EDT formulas. A cologne has very little essential fragrance in it, so sometimes it will smell like alcohol when you first apply it. However I can still smell the depth of this fragrance even as a cologne. I've seen the 4 oz cologne bottle of this for only $9.99 at Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Burlington, which is an absolute steal. If you want to try this, buy it there. And if you're lucky, you'll find the 3 piece set which at those stores will only run you $12. The parfum version of this is even more gorgeous, and I still need to acquire the EDP of this, which I've only seen on Amazon. I think this scent has truly developed to smell great and last on my skin. TL;DR, this is fresh, clean, white, green, very light but very wearable. If you want to try out classic florals, this is a great gateway scent.

My bottle is a vintage mini splash that dates to roughly the 1950s. A truly bizarre occurrence: no rotten citruses up top. Instead? A stunning burst of spring breeze and fresh, creamy lily. The muguet is crisp and gives the perfume a gentle green touch. It's softly filled out by heady white flowers: to my nose neroli/orange flower, jasmine, and some tuberose. Clean and refreshing yet carnal and warm. There is a quiet blend of carnation, orris, and white rose. In the base, I get the pleasant bitter rasp of moss, a subtle amber blend, with civet and nitro musks. This one will undoubtedly smell vintage to modern noses, it has soapy aldehydes, indole, animalics, and uses old fashioned, chalky musks. Despite the evident age, it has a timeless quality to it. It has become one of my favorites. Lovely creamy white flowers that fade to fine French milled soap. Ravishingly beautiful, and one of the first successful luxury American perfumes. This eternal beauty cannot be beat. EDIT: I don't think White Shoulders is similar to the Diane Von Fursteberg release (DVF smells much sharper, at least newer bottles do) or especially Lauder Tuberose Gardenia, which veers much more in the true gardenia direction. I'm a lilac fanatic and I have been since I was a child, so I'm going to be a pedantic asshole on the subject of lilacs. Not all lilacs smell the same, there's a lot of variety among the cultivars. The white ones are fresh, green, more reminiscent of lily of the valley. The darker the purple, the more powdery and woody they smell. The deep purple ones remind me of heliotrope, without the nuttiness. The pale purple 'common lilac' that we all think of and have the scent association with? Subtly powdery, and it smells like jasmine with a slight green freshness in the vein of lotv. In the opening, White Shoulders gives a fleeting, abstract impression of common lilac using other floral notes. That's about the best perfumers can do with the budgets & materials available. I've tested many attempts at recreating a realistic lilac, but lilac soliflores always have unpleasant off-notes. The ~$300 perfume by Olivia Giacobetti for Frederic Malle is too aquatic and it has a weird rubbery smell to it. Pacifica French lilac is a bit closer I suppose, but to my nose it's too fruity and shrill.

Ok...I finally broke down and bought White Shoulders. I have great memories of this one, when I was a little girl in the 1970's. It was one of my paternal grandmother's perfumes. I lived next door to her growing up, and was always at her house. I was most definitely grandmom's girl. I loved sampling her perfumes. I remember her bottle of White Shoulders with the round golden top. Anyway, I remember it smelling a lot stronger way back when. I have the little .85 ounce cologne spray, that I got from Rite Aid. It is the Elizabeth Arden version. I was afraid to smell it, in fear that it would be so different than what I remembered. Much to my surprise, I'm loving it. In fact, I've been wearing it pretty much non stop since I bought it. It is definitely a lighter scent than I remember, but it's perfect for me. It must be the aldehydes, because aldehydes and myself are best friends. I find this to be a very comforting and clean fragrance. Others here have mentioned that it's soapy, and I fully agree. I'm a big lover of soapy scents. White shoulders is soft and green and creamy on me. It ticks all the boxes for sure. I can't believe how excited I am, about a $12 bottle of perfume!! Little victories!! It sounds crazy, but I feel compelled to sniff my wrists several times a day. That's how much I like this sweet little perfume. It doesn't smell like any other perfume that I own. Here's the strange part though. During the same shopping trip at Rite Aid, I decided to go down memory with something else. I bought a bottle of Prell Shampoo. Would you believe that the Prell Shampoo and the White Shoulders smell almost identical to me? Too funny!! I really don't like Prell as a shampoo, but I love it as a body wash. It's really fragrant, and it makes my skin feel soft. I'm in heaven with my White Shoulders and my Prell Shampoo!! Who would have thought? Sorry that this review is so long. I just had to show White Shoulders some love. She really deserves it!!

My beloved grandmother who helped raise me died on Saturday, so I decided to buy a bottle of White Shoulders because it was her main perfume and she always kept a bottle of it and the powder on her dresser. We were very close. It came in today and oh my goodness, yes! It was instantly familiar and I just fell totally in love with it for myself. This may well be my own new signature. Sincerely. The notes appealed to me but I really couldn't remember how it smelled before ordering. What a value! I am sitting here smelling myself just totally beside myself with joy. What a glorious fragrance for the Easter season! This does not at all smell cheap, and I know at one time it was not a cheap perfume anyway. How lucky am I that the perfumes I most enjoy right now are not so expensive (Noa by Cacharel and Flower by Kenzo and I think White Shoulders is the most beautiful of the three). I am beyond delighted. This is eternally beautiful. Timeless. Supremely feminine and elegant. Joyful! I just was not happy with any of my perfumes today, but this did it for me. What a sublime feeling I have right now! I will write another review down the line when I am not so giddy. Update: This definitely has some commonality with my most recent signature scent, A Drop d'Issey and the delightful way Coco Mademoiselle smells on my skin (but not in the air or on clothing, just on the skin it smells like peachy orange jasmine and vanilla). I am happily wearing White Shoulders every day. It is very natural smelling. It smells as if you walked into a church full of lilies, lilacs, orange blossom, gardenia, and tuberose. I say that because it is the Octave of Easter and my church is full of lilies and the scent is magnificent and my perfume melded seamlessly with that scent yesterday when I was at Mass. Update 2: I think this reminds me too much of my beloved Granny-Lady that I can't wear it for myself with any regularity. It's such a stunner, though.

I first experienced White Shoulders in 1985 when I was in the seventh grade. The school secretary wore it as her signature scent. Every time I visited the office, I took in the lovely quality of this scent. When I graduated from that school, I never encountered the fragrance again until about a year ago, while I was out with some friends at a restaurant. A lady was sitting at the bar and as I approached to order a drink, I stopped dead in my tracks when, after almost 28 years, my nostrils picked up that familiar scent. I just had to find out who was wearing it. Once I had determined from whom the fragrance was radiating, I approached the woman and said to her, "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice that you are wearing a beautiful perfume. May I ask you what it is called?" The woman was actually quite flattered and replied, "It's called White Shoulders." I then told her about how I had once smelled it on someone I knew in the past and that my recollection of its scent had remained in my memory for many years. She then reached into her purse, pulled out her bottle of this formidable perfume, and sprayed it on a napkin. That night, I placed the napkin on my bedside table. I couldn't stop holding the napkin to my nose and breathing in the wonderful scent. To me, as a man, White Shoulders captures the very essence of certain qualities I find attractive in women...modest yet confident, ladylike, feminine, traditional, and dainty. I find it to be one of the most heavenly fragrances for a woman--however, it is not for ALL women. First off, it is not a fragrance for a girl of this day and age. It is a "grown-up" scent. I believe it is best suited for a woman between the ages of 35 and 55; and, specifically, a woman whose style has matured beyond objectifying herself. White Shoulders is not for a 40 year old woman who still tries to dress and act like a 25 year old. It is a classic fragrance for a classy lady.

What can you say about WHITE SHOULDERS? I've gone through three flacons over the last 12 years or so, all of it purchased relatively inexpensively at Walgreen's. It's kind of a "guilty pleasure" because it's no longer really a "haute" fragrance. And it's ultra-femme, but sometimes I like to spritz it on, anyway. My current flacon is one my grandmother "bequeathed" me when she died recently. A glance on the underside says it's the Parfums International version, NYC, NY, in EDC strength. At present, all the essences in WS smell very artificial to me. (That's not necessarily a "diss": many great numbers are all-synth). I doubt, frankly, if it now contains any real floral EO's at all. Probably all synthetic. The opening spritz *almost* smells like some natural floralcy is involved, but the drydown is pure synthetic... I would even say glaringly so. Like a very nice shampoo or hand lotion, say. Nevertheless, I perversely like it, somehow. Even though I cannot detect some of the supporting notes claimed for it, like peach, spices and civet. I just get a big confluence of gardenia, lilac, jasmin and tuberose, and a hint of muguet. What I'm wondering is: in its initial debut in the 1940's, whether it was once considered a more "haute", fine fragrance... I wonder if it once contained natural floral EO's? If so, it must've been absolutely glorious. Or whether it's always been a drugstore-tier number, happily composed of all-synths as it is today? Can anyone here comment on this? My maternal grandmother wore this, as did my own mother. Also: Do you know of any modern available perfume that is basically the WHITE SHOULDERS idea-- with a very similar olfactive pyramid-- but expensively composed of high-end and natural EO's?

Very long story short, I had to have this. In an episode of That 70’s Show Eric buys this For Donna as a gift, when this aired (1998 maybe) I asked my mother ( who was a teenager in the 70’s) if she remembered it. She told me it was an old lady perfume even back then and that it was one of my great grandmother’s favourites. So I would chuckle when I saw a bottle in the drug store and gave it little thought until recently. Last week I was trolling fragrancenet probably early in the morning when I stumbled upon this vintage beauty. It was so cheap, so I ordered some in a set with parfum, body lotion and EDC spray. It arrived three days ago, I’m obsessed, I have worn it every day! My first reaction was: this, yes I know this from some where or some time. The aldehydes are old fashioned, soapy and delightful. For just a moment you get that damp dish rag effect, but that wears off and you smell glorious lilac and white flowers. Narcotic jasmine, Tuberose and LOTV. Some peaches and a hint of spice for good measure. The dry down is my favourite part, the florals step back, cviet and oakmoss take center stage and round out the show with a very soft finish. You will be sniffing at your wrists all day. It lasts fairly long when layered with the body lotion and I prefer the smoothness of the parfum over the EDC. But with 133ml I’m going to spay a lot and often because I adore every moment of this. I can’t wait for spring and summer as I’m sure this will be best worn in warmer weather. If you like nostalgia, vintage cheapies, pretty florals or are an aldehyde aficionado, you should probably already own this.

This perfume is so amazing it deserves a second review! I hunted down a vintage bottle on ebay and lucked out big time. From what i have read vintage white shoulders typically ages poorly so i knew i was taking a risk. This has been my best find to date! I wish i could post a picture. Its a mostly full 15mL pure parfum in the orginal pink lace round box with its orginal white packaging with gold writing. The bottle is glass with beveled edges and has a gold embossed foil label. It has a round glass stopper, but also came with a atomizer which is pink. Mine has the orginal and it's in closed instructions. The juice is a light golden yellow and from what I can tell it's been stored in the two boxes in a well airconditoned room. The scent seems fully intact. Not a sour note, nothing harsh or off. Its gorgeous sweet lilacs and white flowers with juicy peach and vintage adlhydes. Real civet is pretty amazing lurking in the background with the oakmoss. What a score! Worth the risk. I have to say the current EA reformulation is very true to this early vintage. Its a bit less natural smelling, yet captures the orginal's spirit and old school qualities. I also have the Perfumes International version from around 1993. Its much sweeter and contemporary smelling, not inline with the Evyan formula at all. I will cherish my treasure, wearing it sparingly. I want the pleasure of knowing I can smell this for a lifetime, maybe even pass it on to a loved one.

Back in the early to mid-1970s there were actual Evyan counters at the fragrance departments of higher end department stores. These counter areas, though small, appeared sumptuous and spoke to an era of European opulence from two hundred years past, even though the Evyan fragrances were produced in NYC. All of the metal caps on the bottles were golden colored as were the shiny golden metallic embossed labels with the names of the three Evyan fragrances stylishly written: White Shoulders (with pink boxing), Most Precious (with blue boxing) and Great Lady (with white boxing). And, the Evyan selections were less expensive that the fragrance lines from Guerlain, Chanel, Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Arden, Germaine Monteil ect. Though Most Precious was my favorite from Evyan, only White Shoulders now exists in production (as far as I can tell). I recently purchased, once again, White Shoulders at a pharmacy, on sale for a very low price. Gone is the opulently designed bottle, but the fragrance itself seems to be better than I remember it. It's not as strong, yet it's sensual and more enjoyable. The musk, amber and civet emerge seamlessly into the initial top notes of lilac, jasmine, lily and gardenia making a near perfect blend. [My bottle is a .85 oz. Eau de Cologne spray] If you enjoy and of the following bold florals - Muguet des Bois, Tatiana, Poison, Spellbound, Red Door or JLo Glow, you may want to give White Shoulders a try.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I purchased this perfume but when it arrived I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I opened the cellophane and discovered it had a very romantic peach coloured box and then I opened the box to find a chunky but feminine spray bottle waiting for me to try it on. The first whiff I got was gardenia, a bit like Elizabeth Taylor’s Gardenia I had been gifted to by my partner before we became a couple. I couldn’t wear it unfortunately as my skin found it too sweet and way too floral for my body’s chemistry. White Shoulders was nothing like Gardenia and as I smell my wrist I can detect the gardenia but then I can smell something else like Honeysuckle which is not on the list. WS is subtle on my wrist, it’s a nice fragrance for this time of the year (it’s Spring here in New Zealand right now) and it creates a nice balance for day time wearing. I am now detecting a warmness to the perfume and a touch of a finely crafted bar of soap. It’s not heady but it’s very feminine and gentle. I like it and I can see why it is still being made. Is it up there with all the classics? Yes. I can imagine my elder relatives probably enjoying it back in the day. My paternal grandmother loved Imari from Avon and Charlie from Revlon. She might have worn it but I don’t recall it. Nevertheless this fragrance deserves to be on my perfume shelves. I may be even be tempted to purchase it again. Lovely.

I'm absolutely obsessed with this fragrance!! the first 45 min it smells very similar to Arpege, but with less in your face blast. But it has that initial vintage soapiness that I love. After 30 min you start smelling more difference between arpege and WS, because in WS the orange blossom or African orange flower really starts to shine. The longer you go the more prominent this note becomes and it is the absolute star of the show. Well rounded base for soft and warm support. Not a ton of development in terms of notes after 2 hours, it stays more linear from there, which is not a bad thing for me because it smells gorgeous, so its just a continuation of that. This fragrance is pure orange blossom heaven!! I wish it was stronger, it would have been my new nr 1 fragrance! But since it's a cologne it was to be expected to be weaker than a pure parfum. After an hour it already becomes closer to the skin. And from there it just goes closer to the skin really fast. It will last long, but not project other than super close to the skin. So this is for the Cologne that is being sold on Amazon today. If someone has a pure parfum concentration or one of those nice body lotion / soap sets, I would be interested in that! Feel free to message me or reply here in the comments.

This review is for the Elizabeth Arden version of White Shoulders. I have the cologne, eau de parfum, and the perfume. I've also just ordered some of the body powder. I've never smelled the original, which might be superior. However, I've been wearing the new version constantly, and I absolutely love it. The current version is a sweet white floral. I smell lilac, gardenia, and tuberose. The eau de parfum is the best strength in my opinion. I think this newer version is better than the Perfume International version that first bought out Evyan. The new version is more expensive than it use to be. I just paid $30.00 dollars for a 4.2 ounce bottle of the cologne at my local drugstore, and it was on sale! However, there are deals to be had online. The bottle is very pretty, if a bit cheap looking. It's what's inside that really counts. If you're looking for a romantic, highly feminine fragrance, this is for you. Even the current version has a vintage vibe. According to Fabulous Fragrances II by Jan Moran, this is former First Lady Barbara Bush's favorite perfume. It's been around in some form since the 1940's, and is a classic fragrance. I'll always have a bottle in my collection.

This is a very good friend of mine signature scent and I will never own it because I feel like it belongs to her you know? Anyway it is a beautiful aldehydic floral, very soapy, clean (in the old school way not the way the kids smell clean today) the florals are sweet and abundant w/ a soft green aspect to them. I associate this perfume w/ my friend so much and it fits her to a tee. Genuine, sweet, feminine, soft and caring. She is all of those things and more and so is this perfume. Edit 10/25/21 I just bought a bottle of this. I know I went back on my word about not buying it because it smells like my friend but I asked her if it would bug her if I had a bottle of this and wore it from time to time and she said no. She knows I've turned into the biggest perfume freak and she has sampled things w/ me but she stays true to her White Shoulders. The reason why I want this now is because I went fragrance sampling at our local Ulta and lets just say my reviews of the newer fragrances were less then flattering. I want as many of the old classics as I can get. What is coming out now from design houses, even expensive niche just sucks when compared to older perfumes.

I wore the Evyan formula in the late seventies and loved it. In the nineties I got nostalgic for it again and bought some and I really didn’t care for it because it didn’t smell the same to me. I didn’t realize it had been reformulated by then. I decided to give it another try after reading the reviews here and saw that Elizabeth Arden is making it now. Well, I am so glad I did because the EA formula is pretty much identical to the Evyan scent. The moment I opened the box I immediately recognized the scent from long ago. It’s such a feminine soft floral scent that’s timeless. The silage and longevity is fantastic also. I got a three piece set with the lotion, parfum and edt for a bargain at Burlington. So, I really recommend the EA version for those who were disappointed with the parfum international version. The commenters that call this an “old lady” fragrance just don’t understand a classic scent. This fragrance would have been considered an “old lady” perfume when I was younger and wore it since it was worn by women from my mother’s generation. I enjoy scents from my grandmother’s generation to current fragrances.

Oh my love, look what they've done to you. So many memories of people stopping me in the streets, in elevators, on the subway, at social events who wanted to know what scent I was wearing. Then Evyan sold you out to Parfums International who, in turn, sold you out to Elizabeth Arden, and yet again you were sold out to an obscure business by the name of Idea Fragrances Company. You are NOT in any way Evyan's original White Shoulders parfum/EDT any more and haven't been for years, but instead you're a mere caricature of your former self. You remind me of some celebrity beauties who have had way too much plastic surgery done who didn't come close to needing it - a nip here, a tuck there - morphing into ghastly shadows of themselves. This is a tragedy, tainted by too much tweaking into a stinker that gobsmacks my sensibilities. I am ever so thankful that I stocked up on the real you, your original creation by Evyan, as well as Evyan's Most Precious and Great Lady perfumes. You’re a classic that has been reformulated into something that's painful to smell because of the star you once were so long ago.

So maybe if this happened to be a new release now it would be called "Exposed Shoulders"... but when it was released "way back when" the socially acceptable representation of "proper" femininity was quite, quite different. We really do need to keep the time frame of a fragrance's release date in perspective. When this was released NO "proper" woman would have left the house without wearing a hat (never mind a bra); would have considered breast-feeding in public was obscene; would have thought anyone beyond the "proper" weight/body type should be ashamed... Times and attitudes change. The scent of something beautiful should ALWAYS be appreciated as something beautiful. Please don't criticize or miss out on smelling/wearing a beautiful fragrance because societal attitudes have changed since it was named/released. White Shoulders is a gorgeous orange flower fragrance that's especially beautiful in older formulations that are (thankfully) readily available on line. Forget politics - get a bottle of White Shoulders, wear it and smell beautiful!

My relationship with White Shoulders is different than most of the other perfumes that I love. Two beautiful people, a close friend and my favorite aunt, wore it. I loved it but they wore it so much better than I ever could. My good friend Lori, who was already so gorgeous that she needed absolutely no help, looked even better when she adopted this as her signature fragrance; I recall sitting next to her and her White Shoulders made first hour English class go by so much easier! It's become a perfume I have wonderful memories of and when I smell it occasionally now on other people, for a moment I go back in my mind to the days I spent foraging around on my great aunt's dresser handling the dozens of perfume bottles she had, with mysterious-sounding names like Styx and My Sin; White Shoulders was of course there too, and I've loved it ever since. Rather than dated, I would call it timelessly beautiful.

This was my mother's only perfume her whole life, so I definitely know what this smells like. The reformulation they are selling now is very weak. In order to even smell it, I sprayed 8x on my arm. The notes are there, I can smell them. Gardenia and lilac and white florals, but there is not enough perfume oil in this bottle of alcohol to make it last. I would have to bathe in it. I will keep it for nostalgia sake. In its day it was a very rich and powerful scent. I will try it in the hot and humid summer to see if that helps. Would be nice if they made it a little stronger, not an eau de cologne. Perhaps a EDT or even EDP. EDIT: I have been wearing this recently more often. I have to say this is one of those strange ones where the perfume seems to get stronger as it sits. Now l can wear it and it lasts. Performance much improved in the hot and humid. I really love this. So retro and pretty.

Loving and owning fragrance for years, I finally stopped and got this. My mom has worn this for years. Ever since I was a little boy I can always recall this scent. And tie the scent to my memory of my mom. She is still with me and always wears this. She still at times asks for the gift sets of this as she likes to use the lotion. Buying and now wearing it with my body chemistry I get more of the spicy undertone, the animalic woody bass notes stand out more with me. But it’s so sheer floral and just beautiful on me. Smells so fresh and reminds me of my mom and I just feel so clean and comfortable wearing it. A true treasure. I will say if anything it reminds me a bit of Madonna’s Truth Or Dare. Which I adore and my mom does as well, and I can see why. This is way less spicy and woody but they share that same floral and soft beauty. Classic gorgeous timeless scent.

11/21/19 - This is my mom’s signature scent (she’s 71). When I was in high school, we shared this. Of course, as I started dating, it then became weird to wear it anymore (the thought of him telling me how wonderful I smelled in the throes of passion - then him discovering my mother wore it too as she passed by - was too weird for me so I acquiesced respectfully to her at that point - lol). I buy the body powder for her every Christmas and birthday, and a bottle of the perfume for every birthday as that’s how long she makes it last. It’s for fans of clean, spring-summery white floral scents. I forgot to read the notes before I started this review but my mom’s favorite scent note is honeysuckle so that’s the first scent I think of when I smell this. Timeless and does NOT smell old-ladyish. I’d totally wear it if it weren’t for the old lady in my life! 😁 🥰

I really enjoy how this settles, but I hate the opening. When it opens, it smells really animalic in a way that just doesn't work for me. I'm glad civet is not in much these days if this is what it smells like. Later on it, it just has this pleasant soapy, white floral smell with a vintage edge I can really get behind. I ends up smelling a little like you mixed Anais Anais by Cacherel and Glow by Jennifer Lopez together. It's a very comforting "mom" smell I've taken to wearing to work as a hospital admin/receptionist simply because it smells so clean, fresh and easy to approach. Edit I've found a fragrance light lotion and misting (holding it quite far from what you want to perfume) completely removes the opening part I hate. I absolutely love it now! I'm also shocked how it seems to perform at its best in autumn, rather than spring or summer.

I first smelled this perfume on my favorite resident at a nursing home I used to work. She quickly became my adopted great grandmother and every time I hugged her I got a whiff of a sweet, powdery, floral perfume that smelled amazing. I have always been able to tell her my troubles and about life. She always told me, "whatever you say is between you, me and God; and God and I don't tattle!" She's the only one who's ever held my hand, which I'll never forget. I have a bottle on my dressing table usually for nostalgia purposes. She passed away last night, and of course I'm devastated, so I sprayed this on my wrist and have been smelling this while wiping my eyes every three seconds LOL. I love and miss you, Uva! Thank you for introducing me to this wonderful perfume! I'm going to wear this to work tomorrow with the pink sweater you gave me :)

I reject the idea of 'old lady' as a way of describing any perfume. By that logic, anything with milk and caramel is going to be 'old lady' in 10 short years. Anything anyone slightly older than us wore, or older than 5 minutes can be considered 'old' and that's a bit redundant. And are we calling OG formulations with naturals old now? Then everything will be old, eventually, and people can't repeat the same tired, meaningless adjective. That being said, this belongs in the category of clean musk scents like 100 others, but unlike those others, this is one of the OGs. Or at least, my bottle is. I've heard it's been reformulated, but I wouldn't know. One spray is all I need, and it fills the room, so suffice it to say, mine has lasted years. This is the kind of performance you deserve from a perfume, be it $20 or $400 ridiculous dollars.

I love vintage perfumes, especially ones with a story and have been super intrigued to smell White Shoulders though it isn't easily available in Australia and non existent in stores. I got the newer EA formulation and it came today in the mail. Its very different from what I envisioned but it's very beautiful, delicate and subtle. White powdery florals, like a milled soap and luxurious body powder. Soapy and very feminine. I wish the scent was stronger, I did 4 sprays to really get a good handle on the scent. On first spray it's sweet and reminds me of those chalky sherbet lollies but the dry down is lovely and familiar. I think this would layer well with Jovan White Musk as the dry downs share a very similar powdery note. Beautiful perfume, timeless.

I have a few small bottles of White Shoulders, one bought new recently, one from the 1990's, and one from the 1950's. The new one smells a bit sterile and unwelcoming, like V05 shampoo. The 2 older bottles have a much more rounded, sweeter floral quality. I suspect the type of musks used over time is what I'm smelling. Civet/civetta adds warmth and even a bit of sweetness, and it seems missing from my newest bottle. Long story short, they all smell like "old-fashioned clean." This isn't one I reach for often, except for nostalgia. My grandmother wore it and I suspect it was her "casual" option (the formal one being Vanderbilt.) White Shoulders reminds me of getting a bath when she would babysit. Makes a lovely pillow spray and is nice for hot weather.

If you like old fashioned smells and Lily-like florals, this is for you. Picked this up on a whim while perusing the perfume section at Marshalls because it was so cheap. I can understand where some people are coming from when they say it smells very vintage, as it first cane out in the early 1900s. I won't lie, straight out of the bottle it smells like the sprays marketed as toilet spray, but dries down beautifully. It's a very dry floral with Lily and Jasmine being at the forefront after dry down. Not very offensive to the nose and a perfume that stays close to the skin. I somewhat feel like this perfume smells familiar and comforting, but unable to pinpoint why. I will oftentimes dab this on my wrists before bed and it smells beautiful.

Oh how I love this cheapie classic. This makes me picture the smell of being in a large bathtub full of gardenia scented bubble bath, with several bars of hand made French mill soap laying nearby.... There are many vases of tuberose decorating the bathroom. It’s a sunny morning with the sun shining bright through the sheer curtains. A white dove flies in to give you a jasmine flower. That feeling of cleanliness after stepping out of the tub and wearing a towel? That’s the experience this gives. Clean. Pure. Happiness. Then experience the dry down after slipping into your dress and laying on the couch to read a good book. The benzoin sneaks in little by little, so silky smooth that it can almost be mistaken for vanilla.

I'm glad to see this perfume still getting a lot of love. Though, my heart broke a little bit when I bought my most recent bottle. Elizabeth Arden seems to have watered this down, some. I'm sure this is due to inflation... Wouldn't you rather companies just raise their price instead of changing our products we've grown so used to? I hope, maybe someday, a niche house could recreate the beautiful vintage of this. If I could afford to commission it myself, I would. I still like the White Shoulders you can buy today, but more and more, I find myself reaching for my vintages. I try to save them for special occasions. This is the closest I've had to a signature scent.

I love wearing this right out of the shower on a hot day. White Shoulders has been around forever and I know that it belongs to the 'old lady perfume' canon along with Tabu, Emeraude, etc, etc. But I think this is much more simple and easy than those others mentioned (current formulation anyway). After a shower, this is refreshing to me. All I really get are flowers, flowers, and more flowers. I don't detect any civet, sandalwood, spices etc. This reminds me of those Crusellas colognes or Kananga Water found in botanicas. To me, this is clean, floral, and soapy. Right after a shower, putting this on feels like crisp, clean sheets against my skin.

Being male born in 1966, white shoulders is subconscious for me at best. That frees me to enjoy current formulas. Love floral aldehydes and a budget gem. This is unisex now. Good. If females move on the perfume finds a new audience. Would like if young females expanded their range beyond mere sweet. My goodness, the joys of flowers Musks Complex accords. Even after being simplified and chemical. It’s soft for some power floral aldehydes and originally from 1945 satisfies my history affection. I like a gourmand but certainly can’t live on desert. This makes me happy. I wear Chanel. And also with pride wear white shoulders. I keep an extra bottle.

I literally stole this from my grandma and it shows. She didn't really wear it- so she didn't mind me taking it. I put on some of this dusty floral powerhouse anytime I want to give off old lady vibes and keep people a little far away from me on the train. It's an overwhelming smell that lasts way longer than I expect it to and seeps into everything. I love it for when I want to embody the modern crone, fancy, sparkling, and over the top. I feel like this perfume makes me want to say "Daaahling pour me another mimosa" and then I would clink my chunky ring on the side of my glass and glare at people over the top of my cat eye glasses you know?

I have much love for vintage drugstore fragrances. Emeraude, Tabu, Sand and Sable and many more are personal favorites, and yet it's taken me a while to get to White Shoulders. I see the smaller bottles on sale every christmas in Walmart, but never purchased those. The version described here is a vintage, and it's drop dead gorgeous. Big white florals with a hint of spice, good longevity and sillage, how did I miss this one? A few sprays and I'm a fan even though there's gardenia and lilac which usually give me headaches. There's a very slight similarity to Ysatis and that makes me love White Shoulders even more. Lovely, lovely, lovely!

I just picked up a vintage bottle of this and so glad I did. What they make now is fine but doesn't have the longevity and throw like the vintage made by Evyan. This was one of my beloved Aunt Doris favorite perfumes. I'm going to wearing it for the next two days while spending time with my Uncle Lee this weekend her widower. He asked me if I had it. I think he wanted to smell it again the vintage. The vintage is richer and fuller. White shoulders is the scent of a real lady and my Aunt Doris was just that a real lady. If you love this classic scent profile I suggest seeking out a vintage bottle you won't regret it.

I’ve been wearing White Shoulders since November 4, 1967. It was my wedding day. Because my day had been hectic and I hadn’t pampered myself at all, my aunt doused me with it just before I walked down the aisle. I thought it smelled like heaven, and I have been a fan ever since. Back then , it was quite expensive for a girl making $1.25 an hour, so I couldn’t treat myself to my own bottle for a few years. Once I did, it never left my vanity. Others can describe it better than I can...and they have. All I can say is this is the scent of my lifetime - a scent that transports me on a cloud of white flowers.

This is such a floral lovers dream and it will forever have a place in my heart and my collection. Lilac is one of my all time favorite notes and the combination of the lilac and gardenia notes is intoxicating to me. This is one of the most beautiful bouquets I have smelled in a perfume. Just a few sprays is all you need and you're set for the day. It smells like it would break the bank but you can find this at Ross for a cost that's basically next to nothing. I love the history with this scent and I love how everyone has memories with this perfume. This perfume is perfection.

As a teenager I have always bought that set... you know that set? that ubiquitous Opium, Poison, Giorgio, White Shoulders set... And this was always The first to go. Now decades later I realize that it's The only one I even like. I just endured The rest because I wanted "more" perfume selection but I actually could have just bought The White Shoulders and that's it! It's so polite, very professional, easy to wear, The epitome of Classic. But it was low cost and unpopular so I "tried" to like The rest, especially "Poison" (yuk)

It’s actually a lovely scent, It does smell old fashioned but not “old lady” which that term I find disrespectful and silly. It starts off citrusy and right from the beginning you can smell the aldehydes, then you can smell the florals which honestly as it starts drying down it begins to get sweet not gourmand sweet but this sweet floral smell, that I find beautiful!! This is a Lady Like sophisticated fragrance that can be worn during the day or night casual or formal. It was worn By Lucille Ball and Judy Garland

Hello. I don't know why I passed this up for so long. It's really pretty; perfect for spring or summer. Clean, green, floral, a hint of spice with a detectable but non offensive animalic note in the dry down. Starts off projecting moderately in the first two-three hours, dries down to a skin scent and lasts about five-seven hours as such. This is a beautiful classic & oh so budget friendly. I only have the splash or dabber version and if I find a spray I will purchase it.

White Shoulders was my first "grown up" fragrance received as gift in 9th grade. A small bottle, I cherished and rationed it for a few years. Decades later I still always manage to have a bottle to keep memories alive and smell of a fragrance unlike those popular today. Another Evyan fragrance I adored a bit more was Most Precious. Not on this website or others. Beautiful fragrance and a nice companion to White Shoulders.

White Shoulders smells vintage, yet fresh compared to other 1940s scents. It smells younger than 70s oakmossy perfumes even though it was launched in 1945. I like it because it smells like rosey, makeupy 💄, dry cleaned laundered clothes, with a hint of chemicals, very intriguing. It smells like it was the mother of JLo Glow. I like it a lot and it lasts for hours and it fades. I don't wear it to impress anyone.

A vintage gem if there ever was one-- sweet, feminine, delicate, cozy, warm pink-coralish/creamyish. I don't get any green here at all. It's all feminine warmth and lace, but entirely unique in the best way possible. I highly recommend it if a no-fail unique ultra-feminine fragrance is on your wish list. Also, men love this on women.

This is so lovely. It’s a ‘real perfume’ from the 1950s. Nothing like the ‘one note wonders’ produced today for huge profits. It must be a marketing ploy so that the tired purchaser goes on to buy the latest flanker. If White Shoulders has a fault it is that the floral notes are so fleeting. But then left behind are the musks etc

Its a classic for a reason. Gardenia and its fresh florals, seems to be wonerful in vintage versions and in times of today its proving very difficult to produce. Its nice its still affordable in the vintage. There is a spicy sandalwood give it warmth.. its still alluring. I have the vintage and its lovely.

While adding perfumes from my past, I recalled this one...omg-how I remember spraying this with abandon back in the late 70s/80s when 'excess' was a thing...it was a pretty confection that didn't seem to last very long, which is probably partly the reason I went so overboard on the pump..lol

This is a fabulous perfume - a revelation! It is not like any other perfume I have known before. It is floral, fresh with an earthy, spicy moss. It is hard to describe, but unique. I'm not sure what the main floral notes are - white flowers/ blossom I think. Very elegant and beautiful.