If you are looking for a lily of the valley fragrance and don’t care for Diorissimo, Muguet des Bois by Coty is worth a try. I have not been able to find a list of the notes online, but this is a soliflore and I don’t smell any notes other than lily of the valley with a touch of green. It is a sweeter, cleaner, less sparkling fragrance than Diorissimo, and has a slight hint of soap.
Edmond Roudnitska, the master nose who created Diorissimo, said of Muguet des Bois:
I remembered that Coty had a lily that was called Muguet des Bois. No better lily note was ever made. It pushed the green note of the flower. As a lily note, it was magnificent. It was much better than the one I had made myself. I wondered how they had managed to create such a masterpiece in the Thirties, with so little means. But it never became very successful, because it wasn’t a perfume one could wear. (quoted in Michael Edwards Perfume Legends, p. 113)
I have been puzzling over his statement that it was unwearable. I vastly prefer Diorissimo, but Muguet des Bois is a less complicated, more approachable fragrance. Perhaps he simply meant that its simplicity rendered it not interesting enough to wear? Another possibility, of course, is that it has been reformulated beyond recognition in the intervening years.
It is insanely cheap, and you should have no trouble finding it at an online discounter for less than $15. Another lily of the valley worth trying is Caron Muguet du Bonheur, which I will review another day.
I will not be able to post again until Saturday, hope to see you then!
19 Comments
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Growing up in Brooklyn, my family lived with my grandmother and aunt. There were lilies of the valley growing in the backyard, and my aunt often wore Muguet des Bois. I've always loved this scent, as it was part of my childhood and one of my earliest scent memories. I still love to smell MdB, though I'm not inclined to wear it.
Karen, what a nice memory!
You haven't happened to notice if the MdB smells different, have you? I am now very curious as to how much it has been reformulated.
Thanks, Robin. I haven't sniffed MdB recently, but you've piqued my interest and I will do so the next time I spot it and let you know. I'll probably end up hunting it down somewhere today!
Thanks for reviewing the “little” fragrances, as well as the unique, expensive ones.
Hi R! I have not tried this (and most Coty perfumes). May 1st in Paris (and rest of France) is glorious as there are muguet sellers in every corner. I get a bunch from my husband each year (whenever we have stayed in France) on May 1st.
How lovely N! I do not think I have ever seen lily of the valley in a florist here — I think of it as a garden flower only.
Hope you are feeling better today!
My mother and I have always loved Coty's Muguet des Bois, but I haven't seen it around and am looking for it. I like the roll-on perfume which is more concentrated. My mother likes the eau de toilette.
Does anyone know where I can go to smell it and make sure it's the same quality in terms of fragrance (note) and strength, before buying it??
Also, if I were to purchase it online, would I risk getting a “synthetically” manufactured product?? I don't mind paying money for what I want; I just don't want to be duped!! Thanks.
I'm afraid I have no idea where you can smell it in person, but it is so cheap that it might be worth buying just to try it.
By “synthetically manufactured product” do you mean a counterfeit product? That is not likely to happen at any reputable online dealer. Frankly the Coty is so cheap that I doubt anyone would bother to counterfeit it anyway.
This has been a favorite of mine over the years but I haven't seen it for a long time.
The last bottle of scent didn't seem to be quite the same to me tho I can't say how.
I would love to know if Coty is planning to re-release this line again including the powder,
etc. Even if modified, I still love this scent.
Thanks!
Hi,
Coty Muguet des Bois is easily found, check http://www.perfumebay.com or http://www.fragrancex.com. I am not seeing the dusting powder online anywhere, sorry! You could try emailing Coty to see if it is still made.
It was very nice to follow your posts. Reminded me of years past. I just got a bottle for my wife who loves the smell of the lily of the valley. It does smell right – the choldhood smell of the June forest, a little dump, a little somber and at a small clearing, in the shade of big trees, beautiful white flowers… I bought a bottle for ten buckes from perfumebay.com. Arrived in two days (it's good to be local!)
In a call to Coty I learned that Muguet des Bois is no
longer available except for a limited amount of 'flacon mist' currently being marketed. Per that spokesperson, Coty has no plans to re-release this scent.
Too bad…it feels like a 'comfort' scent for these complexe times.
Ten dollars is a deal, it really is a lovely fragrance. You might as well stock up, according to the comment below it looks like Coty might be letting this one go.
Thanks so much for commenting, I think I may buy another bottle before this one disappears!
Check Ebay! A seller has the talc and a mini on sale right this second. The roll-on and the solid are also available, as well as a couple of bottles of vintage.
I love Diorissimo, but for pure, clear muguet, Caron's Muguet de Bonheur is THE best. I would hate to think it has been reformulated, so I hope that is not true. It is the Platonic ideal of muguet.
The Caron is lovely, and I need to revisit it one of these days. I'm afraid I have no idea if it has been reformulated or not.
I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while, and this was the first entry I ever read. I ended up buying Muguet des Bois, and I love it a lot for a green spring fragrance. Now, I spend a lot of time searching for fragrances on your site. While many of the perfumes are a little out of my budget range, I enjoy reading about them nonetheless. Who knows, someday I might be able to afford them
You also have a nice range of affordable fragrances, like this one. Keep up the good work! Thank you for writing about perfumes in such detail, it’s very helpful.
Hi and welcome! And so glad you found something affordable you could love (and I can’t afford half the stuff on here either).
I recently bought a bottle of Coty’s Muguet Des Bois. I loved that fragrance 40 years ago and was thrilled to find it on Amazon.
Alas, it smells like chemicals. There is the barest whiff of lily of the valley and the after smell is more like disinfectant than cologne. I am truly disappointed. On your site, I found the names of other lily of the valley scents which I am anxious to try.