Lily of the Valley

Les Potions Fatales is a collection by Parfums Quartana under the umbrella of Joseph Quartana's SixScents in which poisonous flowers (and their histories) inspire fragrances, the collection consisting of nine perfumes at this time. I had the pleasure of smelling all nine during a presentation at Perfumology, and Lily of the Valley was one of the few I liked most from the start, both on paper and eventually on skin. Lily of the Valley involves its eponymous floral note, but as part of a lengthy blend of accords, which, for me, comes off priarily as a mix of lily of the valley, sandalwood, and leather, with an opening of bergamot and neroli and a base / dry down of vetiver, vanilla, and resins, with other florals like rose seemingly more a part of the blend throughout. I'd not read the full note list until now and my reaction is that it seems gargantuan, along the lines of a Roja Dove creation, so it's plausible that there's plenty more going on than what I'm detecting, but I do vaguely perceive the perfume's complexity and multifacetedness. It's not overtly floral-dominant, to put it bluntly. Yes, th lily is prominent among other notes but I'd taxonomize the perfume mainly as a floral/fresh/leather/woody blend that could even be described as a little sweet and spicy at times, as well. It feels difficult to classify, usually the mark of a sophisticated creation. As my own collection has grown, I look for more unique offerings like this (in fact, the whole Les Potions Fatales collection very much has this feel), even though I otherwise gravitate toward weighty gourmands and semi-traditional freshies. Performance is very good, I'd say, on par with the type of fragrance it is, above average projection and above average longevity. Like many EDP (or extrait) compositions, its longevity significant exceeds the time during which it projects a lot, but on my skin, in projects for several hours. It's priced at $165 for 50ml (the prices of bottles in the line range from $145 to $185 for 50ml) and is sold at Perfumology, among other similar retail boutiques like Twisted Lily and Fumerie in the US, and in a handful of other countries in Europe, Asia, Australia, and even the Maldives! In conclusion, LOTV makes for an unusual but excellent composition that feels diverse in and of itself, a departure from my norm, but nevertheless a blend of a lot of familiar elements that harmonize nicely and bring about a gender- and seasonally-versatile offering. 8 out of 10

This is an interesting one, because it doesn't really smell like lily of the valley. It doesn't really smell that much like a floral scent at all. It has a soft floral feeling that comes and goes, but this is mainly a balsamic, leathery, slightly sirupy and boozy woodland type of smell. I must admit that I don't really enjoy lily of the valley notes in perfumes, I find it too sharp and soapy a lot of times. So this more conceptual take on lily of the valley is so much more my cup of tea. I really like this scent. I associate this fragrance with the forest and its surroundings from the children's book "Ronia the Robber's Daughter" by the swedish author Astrid Lindgren (for those of you who have read the book or seen the movie or TV-series). This is the smell of an shadowy scandinavian forest inhabited by all sorts of woodland creatures, both animals and creatures from folklore (gnomes, dryads and other nature spirits, both benign and more mischievous). It has a combination of moist, green, forest floor type of scents and more dry, woody. softly smoky and also rock like smells. There is a gorgeous leather note in here, that reminds me of Ronias clothes and the fur and leather details in her home, the robber's castle. Combined with a semi soft sirupy and slightly boozy type of smell it creates the atmosphere of the main hall in the robber's castle, with the longtable, barrels of ale and mead and all the robbers singing and eating together. Hints of something floral and softly green comes and goes, as I have said, and gives the feeling of spring or early summer. It's like smelling Ronia roaming around the forest and performing her famous wild spring cry, out of pure happiness that winter is finally over. I think this might be my favourite from Parfums Quartana (of the ones I've tried so far). Longevity is great, I get around 8-9 hours out of this. Sillage is a solid medium.

I have received a sample of this perfume as a prize in an Instagram contest and I have to acknowledge its great quality. It is a very delicate and discreet perfume, fresh and that does not clash under any circumstances. I also see it very elegant. It is the typical fragrance that is present, that you smell and notice, but in a very light way, creating an aura that is appreciated at short distances and that is difficult to identify with a perfume put on purpose ... Is it a cream? The shower gel? The fabric softener you use? I don't know, but there is something about this person that attracts me ... That is the effect I feel with Lily of the valley. All this on a creamy base of leather and vetiver and accompanied by other flowers and some green notes. I would not dare to describe the perfume as very versatile, since perhaps for nights of debauchery and frenzy it is a bit insufficient but, even so, those who want to go unnoticed and do not like to attract attention can use it at any time since, as I said before, it is one of these perfumes that make you smell good although it seems that you are not wearing perfume. I would use it especially during the day, being able to serve perfectly as a good option for summer and spring. As for the aroma, it is a soft smell of white flowers, with the lily of the valley, soft and delicate, in the center. It reminds me of Confessions of a garden gnome, although more discreet and less powdery. Another perfume that comes to mind when smelling this is Coreterno's Punk motel. Fully unisex. Thanks to parfums quartana for allowing me to try some of their fantastic perfumes! Scent: 9.5 Longevity: 8.5 Sillage: 6 Versatility: 8.5 Originality: 9 Overall: 9.5

Lily of the Valley by Parfums Quartana is soapy, dew-kissed lily of the valley, a whisper light sweetness of roses, a woody vetiver, and soft supple leather. This scent is a total chameleon and is laced with hints of eroticism. To me this is the good-girl gone bad. This is a doll-faced young woman in white lingerie and thigh high leather boots. The contrast of the purity and innocence of the lilies with the crack of a leather whip. It smells amazing and the longevity is stunning. I catch sweet breezes of roses throughout the day, can smell the vetiver and leather when I bring it to my nose, and the lovely scent could of lilies stays around me all the time when I wear this. I absolutely love this!

It took a while for me to get to appreciate this. At first it feels like a floral cloud. After many wears, I've picked up on more than white florals. There's this sheer cucumber-green melon gossamer that emerges after an initial blast of orris that feels a bit make-up-y in a familiar department store way. Moss, green rose, clean lavender notes surface in the dry down. There are some faint fruity notes that elude description. Feels like a feminine vibe overall but walks the line of feeling like an expensive spa product. I've really grown to like this.

I love this one.. don't let the name fool you. Even though there is a hint of LOTV I get a lot more of the rose, dark leather & neroli at first and then in the dry down more of the sandalwood, vetiver & vanilla... but that tranquil dew dew dew all the way through!!! Leans a bit feminine but I'm a man and I love it! Projection is a good arms length and longevity is a good 4 to 6 hours... Definitely worth a sample.

Clean, soapy, pretty floral that's mature but not old-ladyish, vintage but not old-fashioned. Absolutely gorgeous.

Parfums Quartana are consistently so interesting! I love Hemlock and Poppy Soma,so I knew I would at least find something interesting in this, even though muguet is not my favorite note by any means. As beautiful as vintage Diorissimo smells, that sharp green-ness is wears like a beautiful sweater in the Spring palette on my Winter skin. Spraying this one one wrist, and another sweeter richer Oriental Floral on the other, the sharpness of the muguet, and that unstoppable green thing worked for my attention, while the other Floriental without any sharpness began to sing on me. But there is such a warm incensed herbal dark beauty to this, that smells very special because of the "few drop" effect--the darkness of a labdanum leather woodland scent with the sweetness of roses, vanilla and jasmine is lightened, the intensity made into accessibility...The dry down is long-lasting and lovely. I will certainly sample it more, even if a heart of muguet will never be the heart for me.

Lily of the Valley is a very light clean and classy mysterious floral. It's not overpowering, but it is also very unique and gets noticed. It's a favorite of mine for 'proper etiquette required' type of occasions. Tea parties, the office, brunch, PTA meetings, church, etc...

Fresh & soapy. It’s pretty and not your basic white floral. I quite like it actually. I don’t know if I’d wear it outside though. Feels more like a “out of the shower hanging at home” scent. Oop. Nevermind. It’s only been a few minutes and I suddenly have a raging migraine.

This perfume doesn’t smell like the lily of the valley accord you might expect, in fact it seems so different that had I not known the name, I would never have even thought of it. It’s a rather vague and forgettable scent. Initially there’s a strong whiff of baby wipes and cheap bar soap; a clean but sort of clinical smell. Thankfully this settles nicely, leaving you with a white floral soapiness and a gentle dry, powdery laundry effect. It’s a nice perfume, it’s by no means unpleasant but neither is it anything to rave about. I’m not particularly impressed by it at all.

Fresh, light, clean. Pretty. Green, soapy and softly floral. A moderate at best scent bubble. Linear by design. Doesn't have that essential oil heaviness, but I wouldn't be surprised to find a similar scent in a room diffuser. Still, very wearable. Edit: reading other reviews, this has been reformulated at some point. This review seems to match the later, lighter version. I get no leather, mystery, deep back note, etc. It's just a nice, clean floral.

The opening is a floral scent, but it does not smell like lily of the valley. The dry down is even less LOTV; I pick up green notes, soap and pond water. I agree with another reviewer who points out that this is an “earthy white floral” that smells realistic. I don’t dislike it but I’m on the fence.

Lily of the Valley is not Lily of the Valley. Sure, there may be some of the bare elements that would make up a lily of the valley in a perfume, but here they feel scattered, deferred, not quite fully realized. It's more a sketch of flowers that all read vaguely: a smattering of rosiness, a dewy green something or other, hovering hedione, a hydroxycitronellal to serve a purpose, all as if in such a stylized script they are hard to "read." The indistinctness of the whole affair is so unsatisfying, even as its subsumed in an inoffensive leathery, resinous base.

I love the idea of this perfume and would recommend for an earthy white floral that isn't overly perfumey. My issue is that the lily of the valley note always smells like Method soap's sweet water fragrance and it's too overwhelming to me to be able to overcome it. So, not for me, but the dry down is amazing if you don't have this issue.

Not even close to Lily of the Valley =(

Sour wood filling, leather and the least lily of the valley which is the best as lotv is quite disturbing to my senses. 5 minutes in, it goes quite wool like with sour sweet neroli, and slight vetiver, with doses of sandalwood. It's impressive. It feels like a dew drop on plants made of wool and wood fillings. Edit (31st Dec 2021) After 4+ years... i don't like lily of the valley flower in general, and this one is kind of not like the original one, it's soapy, kind of bubbly, with leather, neroli, bergamot, orange blossoms, and vanilla cassis. I really don't like this mix actually cause it gives bubbles, clean, and adding sweet cloying like factor to it which makes it combine the 3 notes that i always tend to get away from, so if you are into bubbles, clean, and sweet then this is def for you.

Pure poison sotto mentite spoglie... Solito bouquet di fiori bianchi accattivante e un cuore velenoso amaro e nero.