Azalee
Weddings, summer parties and the sort of occasion that wants a proper flower are what Lalique Azalee Eau de Parfum is built for.
It opens softly. Peach is velvety rather than juicy, freesia light and faintly peppery, and bergamot gives just enough clean bitterness to stop the start being sweet. None of it is sharp and none of it lasts long, because the flowers underneath are the point of the fragrance.
Gardenia leads them, and it is the richest of the white flowers, creamy and heavy with a green edge to it. Jasmine deepens it with a warm, slightly heady fullness, and rose rounds the arrangement out and keeps it from tipping into anything too exotic. It is a classic bouquet, confidently done.
Patchouli, musk and sandalwood hold it up. Patchouli brings earth and a faint dampness, musk a clean warmth that keeps the flowers near the skin, and sandalwood a dry creaminess that suits gardenia particularly well. Nine materials, three to a stage, with nothing out of place. Michel Almairac and Mylène Alran are named as the perfumers. As an eau de parfum it has the weight to last a long evening, six hours or so, projecting for the first hour and then staying within arm's reach. Warm weather brings the gardenia out and cool weather makes it more restrained, so it works in either. It reads feminine and it is better suited to occasions than to a desk.
Lalique's own perfume brand is relatively recent, dating from 1992 and opening with Lalique de Lalique, but the company is much older: it was founded in 1888 by Rene Lalique, a French jeweller and glassmaker celebrated for his Art Nouveau and Art Deco work, and it had been making perfume bottles for other houses since a Coty commission in 1907. Crystal flacons are still part of what it does.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
The Scent Vault
Join thousands earning on every order
Earn points as you shop, redeem for money off, and unlock member perks.
Find out more
The Scent Vault Gift Cards
Give the gift of choice
One card, every scent. Let them pick the fragrance that is truly them. Send it instantly by email, or schedule it for a future date with a message of your own.
Shop gift cards
