French Lilac

I love this perfume so much. I'm literally smiling, almost getting emotional from happiness from even just talking about this perfume. Lilacs are very ephemeral in real-life; they only bloom for a short period of time in the late spring. They have a clean, sweet, lightly powdery scents, one that is hard to describe without smelling it - maybe an aldehydic heliotrope (far from accurate, but trying to think of what would paint that picture). For me, Lilacs are the smell of my parent's garden; while I can't remember if we ever grew lilacs, every time I smell them it takes me back to the time of my life when I'd run around the grass in our front or back yard, help my dad garden, or have the both of us go to the gardening supply & flower nursery near my family home, and he'd let me pick out what flower I wanted, and what breed of Daisy we'd put in the garden this week. This perfume smells exactly like that; the distinct, photorealistic Lilac, but more importantly, nostalgia. Smells like if you think of Lilacs with rose-colored glasses (as this fragrance makes lilacs .01% sweeter than they actually are), and even more accurately, like nostalgia from a memory you can't pinpoint, but can feel. The smell is super relaxing, more relaxing than lavender for me, and honestly this what I wear to bed every night. I spray it all over my sheets and pillows, all over my pjs, just everything. I also use the body spray (which is a little less sweet and weaker than the perfume, and thus doesn't have that perfect nostalgia factor) and overall I go through a lot of this stuff. In terms of longevity and sillage, unfortunately I don't find this perfume to last very much at all, and its very very faint in the morning even on sheets and pillows. I would consider wearing this during the day if it lasted longer, but it fits perfectly as a perfume to relax me. Next time I go shopping I'm going to buy so many bottles of this so I can have it as long as possible. Overall, 10/10, best thing ever, totally worth the buy if you like lilacs or the smell of garden-y flowers. Doesn't last, but its hard to ever be made at a perfume as perfectly executed as this. **Also, I got the highland lilac lotion to layer this hopefully, but highland lilac is soapy-er and more 'cooling' and unfortunately did not hit the mark like this did ): **

This little perfume is a powerhouse, a gorgeous fragrance that belies its modest bottle and affordable price. Don't let its inexpensiveness fool you - this fragrance is far from cheap. It's a lilac lover's dream. If you love lilac as much as I do, I'm sure you've tried Aerin's Lilac Path. Pacifica's creation is just as beautiful, but far stronger in terms of longevity and projection. It is not a soft whisper of a scent - it's more like walking through a bunch of lilac bushes bursting with blossoms as an early summer breeze fills your nose with its intoxicating, heavy fragrance. This perfume is the real deal! It's hard to detect the other notes at first because the lilac is so strong, but I do notice ylang ylang and hyacinth in particular. The other notes don't really come through for me. All in all, I would recommend Pacifica French Lilac - however, you really have to like lilacs to enjoy this scent. I personally love being doused in what seems like pure lilac nectar, but if you're not 100% sold on the smell, this will definitely come across as an overbearing, heavy floral. I would use it very sparingly in an office environment or somewhere where you want just a subtle hint of a fragrance. If I spray it once in the air and walk through the mist, I find that it gives a nice light scent compared to spraying it directly on myself.

This is the most perfect lilac perfume. We’ve had a lilac tree in my yard since I was little, and I watched it bloom every year. Every year it would get bigger and the smell would get stronger. I love when it’s warm out and the sun is hitting me and there’s a slight warm wind that carries the scent over to me. It smells so beautiful and nostalgic and just reminds me that spring/summer are here. This perfume is exactly that feeling and scent bottled. It’s beautiful and it was a love at first sniff. It’s not as “warm” like you’re sitting in the sun, it’s more like you’re in the shade so it’s “cooler”. It makes me feel girly, like I’m wearing a flowey summer dress in meadow and I’m barefoot sitting under the shade of a tree. Like i’m making flower crowns or just listening to and watching the animals. It invokes a very peaceful and happy feeling in me. It’s fresh and light and airy and not too overpowering, and I only need a few sprays to have the scent bubble I like. It’s lovely and I’m really excited to wear it in the coming months. I’ve been on the hunt for a lilac fragrance that smells like my lilac tree, and I randomly found this at a Nature’s Emporium on a random week night like 10 minutes before closing. I feel like it found me. 💜

I'm slightly easier on less expensive perfumes, I totally admit. But I agree with the poster below, if this were more expensive or a gimmicky niche, people would stampede to get their hands on this beauty. This is absolutely, insanely good for the price. I almost can't comprehend it. This is about 95% accurately lilac. I find it completely delightful and wonderfully simple. I adore that perfumery and the art of fragrance can be as simple as this (or as complex as many masterpieces out there). It's roughly 90% lilac, but the power of suggestion is strong, and nectarine is noticable once I read the notes. It actually is there, just not strongly and it doesn't compete with lilac. I think there could be trace amounts other florals, so basically with heliotrope I said "noticeable" (as in, 'sure, why not?'). French Lilac is to real lilac, as Tea Rose is to real rose. Affordable, slightly nuclear (this less so than TR, but similar), and almost a one-note-wonder. Bravo Pacifica, you did well! 👏

My bottle of Pacifica FRENCH LILAC just came in. I have just returned from a Cape Cod springtime, where lilac trees bloom everywhere. I was absolutely enchanted by the smell, and never missed a week without plucking some of the light-purple bunches and bringing them indoors to scent my apartment. And yes, PFL is remarkably close to the scent of real lilacs! This perfume has a very slightly sweeter, fruitier edge than the real flower does, and it doesn't quite capture that poignant, dusky-husky, low-pitched, clover-like spiciness (foin coupé ?) lurking in the real flower, and the magnolia facet here bestows a delicate lemony/soapy tartness that's not present in the real bloom, but overall, PFL is darned close. I'm a guy and I am thrilled to wear this scent... it's dandyish to be sure, but not overly effeminate on a fella. I find PFL to be enchanting, mysterious, tender, quietly seductive, Victorian-retro, vernal. And it's very inexpensive. Highly recommended!