Shopping

Scents of Spring: Our Favorite Floral Perfumes Right Now

The season’s fresh batch of floral perfumes evokes feelings of happiness . . . and romance.

'Tis the season for perfumes featuring floral scents. Photograph by Michael Kraus

Floral fragrances and springtime go hand in hand–and experts believe we’re drawn to the smell of roses, lilies of the valley, and other blooms because of the pleasant memories they can trigger.

Holly Chapple of Leesburg’s Holly Heider Chapple Flowers says that floral fragrances are not only subtle and classic but often feature flowers commonly found in “Grandma’s garden”–and so bring us back to memories of our youth.

Rick Davis, owner of DC’s Amaryllis Floral & Event Design, believes that flower scents can spark happy feelings of another sort: “Spring is the season of love, and fragrant flowers such as roses and peonies are seen as romantic.”

And if you’re looking for love? “Jasmine is a seductive scent,” he says, “better suited to nighttime wear.”

This article appears in the May 2012 issue of The Washingtonian.

Sarah is the Editor-in-Chief of Washingtonian Bride & Groom, and writes about weddings, fashion, and shopping. Her work has also appeared in Refinery29, Bethesda Magazine, and Washington City Paper, among others. She is a Georgetown University graduate, lives in Columbia Heights, and you can find her on Instagram at @washbridegroom and @sarahzlot.