Please help me Identify a Perfume/Fragrance

March 29, 2009 4:21 PM

I'm trying to figure out what this perfume is so I can get some for my wife...I know it sounds crazy, but the smell of it is pretty singular.

It's lemony but barely, like lemon blossoms. It smells just incredibly clean and natural, better than fresh air. It hits the pallet like cucumber water because it is so fresh. It's been around for at least 20 years and might be a European thing...I've witnessed it there, many years ago, and recently here in California while in a crowd of Euro tourists.

Forgive me if this is silly, but it sounds like something that might be common or easily identifiable among MeFite women/girls.

Many thanks in advance!

posted by snsranch to clothing, beauty, & fashion (25 comments total)

I doubt this is the exact fragrance you're searching for but Stila's Jade Blossom perfume has lemon verbena & cucumber notes. I'm guessing it is lemon verbena that has caught your attention, since you mention both lemon & what I would think of as "green" notes, and there are several perfumes that incorporate it. Good luck!
posted by katemcd at 4:31 PM on March 29

It's only been around about 10 years, but could it be Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue? On the right person, it's very fresh and very light. It's got notes of citron and apple, as well as rose and bluebell... the first time I smelled it, it reminded me exactly of the first time I ever inhaled the scent of an open-air fruit and vegetable market in Europe when I was a kid.
posted by scody at 4:34 PM on March 29 [1 favorite]

I doubt these are the exact ones either, but there are several lemony scents that I enjoy. Demeter's Pink Lemonade and Meyer Lemon are quite literal. Fresh's Sugar Lemon is a light, lemony fragrance. (Actually, one of their other scents, sugar, is a little lemony as well, but more subtle. I like them both, but prefer Sugar, and think it might be closest to what you are trying to find.) Bliss also carries a Lemon and Sage line of body wash & body lotions that might be appealing.

Good luck finding what you're looking for!
posted by bedhead at 4:42 PM on March 29 [1 favorite]

Eau De Guerlain, perhaps? It's been around for over 20 years and definitely has lemon notes.
posted by LittleKnitting at 4:43 PM on March 29

It's only been around about 10 years, but could it be Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue?

Seconding this. I've dated two women that preferred this perfume, and as a guy who otherwise doesn't take notice of that sort of thing, I was struck by it.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 4:46 PM on March 29

Maybe Acqua di Parma's Colonia line? It's Italian, been around since 1916, and is predominantly a fresh citrus smell.
posted by cocoagirl at 4:53 PM on March 29

I was also thinking that Fresh's Sugar Lemon or Sugar could fit the bill.
posted by cmgonzalez at 5:05 PM on March 29

2nding Verbena.
posted by furtive at 5:06 PM on March 29

Before I read the answers, I thought D&G's Light Blue too. So...thirding that.
posted by AlisonM at 5:15 PM on March 29

You can try the Basenotes search. It shows some disappointing news for you, though. I entered:
- Lemon note
- For females
- In production currently
- Launched after 1989
It returned 500 (!) fragrances.

For a fresh lemony scent, I vote for L'Occitane Verbena products... maybe the eau de toilette?
posted by Houstonian at 5:18 PM on March 29

I'm seconding L'Occitane Verbena. I wear it when I can be bothered wearing perfume at all, and I've noticed plenty of other people wearing it - the ligthness and freshness have the same kind of punch as the OP is describing.

Another classic lemony scent that's been around for years, nay decades, is, of course, 4711.
posted by andraste at 5:39 PM on March 29

Just in case you became as intrigued with Light Blue as I did by scody's description, my quick internet shopping led me to the discovery that Amazon has a it cheaper than Sephora.
posted by birdie birdington at 5:43 PM on March 29

When I wrote verbena I was thinking precisely of L'Occitane Verbena.
posted by furtive at 6:38 PM on March 29

In case you don't already know, once you get some suggestions of scents it might be, Sephora has all their perfumes out so that you can sample them. And if you ask for an especially perfume-knowledgeable salesperson they might be able to suggest some further options.
posted by MsMolly at 6:41 PM on March 29

Biotherm's Eau Vitaminée smells just like your description, and it's apparently very popular in Europe. I've heard it's huge in Spain, in particular, but this is just annectodal. It's more like a cologne or fragranced water, somehow, than fully fledged perfume, and very prominant in the citrus-y notes.

I think it's a really lovely scent - not at all overbearing, almost androgynous and incredibly fresh. It's also pretty inexpensive.
posted by lottie at 7:18 PM on March 29 [1 favorite]

How about 1916 by Myrurgia? It's an old Spanish fragrance with a very clean, yet sweet, lemony scent. It's been around forever. A friend bought me some in Europe because he loved it so much. I think it is readily available online but not anywhere you could smell it (like Sephora).
posted by nikitabot at 7:23 PM on March 29 [1 favorite]

WOW!! Thanks everyone! I wasn't really expecting so many responses. It sounds as though even if I follow these leads, even if I don't find the exact thing, that these are some fragrances that not to be missed!

Thank you, and I will be checking these out.
posted by snsranch at 7:43 PM on March 29

I am a bit late to this thread, but the first thing I thought of was Eau D'Hadrien by Annick Goutal.
posted by dropkick queen at 10:36 PM on March 29

I also thought of Eau D'Hadrien by Annick Goutal. It's terribly French!
posted by exquisite_deluxe at 11:31 PM on March 29

post back when you figure out what it is! now I want some.
posted by Ollie at 8:53 AM on March 30

I thought of Eau D'Hadrien too! It sounds like you have a lot of great suggestions though.
posted by apricot at 9:01 AM on March 30

I'm going to suggest Davidoff's Cool Water Woman. To me it's not citrusy but it definitely has that cooling, cucumber water scent you mentioned. It's also the only perfume I can recognize and put a name to. It's been around for a while.
posted by Rora at 12:08 PM on March 30

I'd also suggest Perfect Veil by Creative Scentualization, which is very clean soft lemony skin scent that smells very very clean and airy.
posted by kumquatmay at 1:32 PM on March 30

It is possible that it's Cristalle by Chanel. I wore it for years and years. (sorry...I know I'm later than late to this party...)
posted by littleflowers at 4:33 PM on July 1

Thanks folks for the MANY leads! I'm still working on it and will let you know what it is when I find it.
posted by snsranch at 4:54 PM on July 21