Nice simple floral perfumes - rose, gardenia, lily of the valley

[margaretofsavoy]

I want a perfume for summer which is light and genuinely floral - not too complicated. I love the Penhaligons Elisabethan Rose, Gardenia and Lily of the Valley but they are quite ££. I also like Floris White Rose but I think it is maybe too sweet. Are there any slightly cheaper versions which are as good or nearly as good quality? I feel like Penhaligons, though very nice, have become slightly overpriced since they expanded.

Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf is deliciously floral.

Was just reading a blog that might br interesting about a new dolce and gabanna one... www.thesundaygirl.com/2014/02/the-daily-beauty-report-180214.html?m=1

Florentnya from M&S is a good one for everyday fragrance, lovely and floral.

i love insolence by guerlain, violets mmmmmmm

Have been told by people who like these sorts of scent that Paul Smith Rose is lovely.

Crabtree & Evelyn do some nice flower fragrances. Caldey Island lavender water is lovely too.

And Yves Rocher do a nice simple rose as well for very good value.

The Chloé rose one is lovely. Paul Smith Rose good too.

Stella McCartney L.I.L.Y, Ralph Lauren Romance, the various versions of Gucci Flora which each have a different flower eg gardenia, magnolia?

Jo Malone have some lovely ones which i often buy for relatives as gifts

Philosophy have a new range of flower fragrances out, I saw them in John Lewis. There's a gardenia one, the packaging was so lovely.

try done of the l'occitane ones, v beautiful scents. I have the peony which would probably suit too

I just sprayed myself in Burberry London and it's very nice, quite strong on the jasmine

Single flower perfumes are called soliflores. Yves Rocher and L'Occitane do decent budget perfumes but the cheaper you go the more strident the notes will be. Notes like gardenia and lily of the valley are always fully synthetic but if your roses and white florals have some natural essences (rose, jasmin, orange blossom, tuberose...) they can be of mind-blowing complexity and depth. That's why budget perfumes can be a bad choice. You can make a credible jasmine with three or four synthetic ingredients and a bare bones rose with just one (whereas you'd have dozens or hundreds of ingredients in the naturals), but they will be a bit screechy. White florals in particular can veer over to the toilet bowl cleaner territory...

Personally I think Annick Goutal makes lovely soliflores. There is a house devoted to rose perfumes, Parfums de Rosine, and their sampler is inexpensive. Many French perfume houses do exquisite lilies-of-the-valley on May 1. And you should also try Gardenia from the Chanel boutique line, many people like it. Perfume lovers tend to buy samples and decants, it makes more expensive perfumes more affordable.

Has anyone tried Fragonard?

I quite like Pivoine by L'Occitane. It's quite an unusual smell.

Hello. I can see that price is an issue, so I'm going to point you in the direction of marks and Spencer's own brand perfumes. They have a floral range , which includes a lovely rose, a soft lavender, and a couple of others. As a previous poster mentioned, they also do a range of perfumes, including florentine (which comes in a couple of versions-including a very "white flowers" version, which I love!). M and S also carry Crabtree and Evelyn - their rose, lavender and iris are lovely.
M andS perfumes are amazing value -really cheap. Crabtree and Evelyn a bit more pricey.
M and S also stock Fragonard and roger and gallet. I think you' d like some of those ranges. However, they are pricier than MandS own range - but cheaper than Jo Malone- by a long way.
M and S also sell Lynn haris " les fleurs" - a white flowers floral - you might like that and it is£12.50 at the moment.

Blimey. I spell/punctuate better than that! 'Phone posting is a different technique altogether, isn't it?

Paul smith rose.

I love frugalfashionista's reply!
May I ask why there is a special solid lore day in the perfume calendar, frugalfashionista's?
And can I also say that cotton and cologne stock rosiness and they often have sales?

I've tried some Yves Rocher ones, the Rose and Lilac are lovely but I wasn't keen on the Lily of the Valley. Be warned, once you're on the mailing list you will be bombarded with mailshots with masses of offers, free crap gifts etc.

I'm wearing Crabtree and Evelyn Verbena and Lavender at the moment, lovely and fresh.

I bought pivoine for a friend and agree it's unusal - lovely though. Gucci do some nice soliflores, but I can't remember which of the range I like. Stella Summer Rose is nice too.

Have you tried Lush perfumes? I like Sikkim Girls (jasmine) and they also do a rose perfume.

Fleur d'Osmanthus by Roger & Gallet is nice and comes in a lovely body oil. In fact there's a few in their range that might fit your bill.

Next New York is quite a simple rose and orange blossom perfume that is nice for every day too.

Roger and Gallets Rose is a very simple lovely light perfume.I also love Acca Kappas Calycanthus - a light warm Jasmine scent.I got these on sale from M&S but it looks like many of them are not being stocked any more sadly.

Cat May 1st & muguet explained here.

Good soliflore references:
Jasmin - A la nuit by Serge Lutens; High street - Bulgari's Jasmin Noir series (can smell fecal though), more ideas here
Rose - Rosines, Goutals, Une Rose by Malle, Rose Noir by Byredo, the cheap but good Tea Rose by Perfumers' Workshop, more suggestions here
Muguet - Diorissimo

Once you've tried these you will not be able to wear the Guccis...
For cheap but very stylish perfumes, also remember Parfums Nicolai.

Oh and M&S 'fumes are worth a try, have not tried them personally but lots of perfumista friends like them!

Thanks everyone. Some nice ideas here. I had forgotten about Crabtree and Evelyn/l'Occitane as I rarely go in there.

When I say cheaper I mean, say, £50-55 max rather than £65+

I don't mind paying more for really nice perfume (my standard scent is Mitsouko) but I just feel Pens is a bit overpriced now - it was about £15 cheaper not long ago. But I guess they have to pay for their expansion and new premises somehow...