Stephanotis
Floris (1786)

I was having a discussion with a friend of mine a few months ago on the topic of wedding fragrances. Despite her love for citrus aromatics, she vowed to wear a big white floral scent as her choice on her big day.

I thought about this some more and concluded that I too felt that the essential wedding day scent would be flowery, strong and innocent. Stephanotis as I read somewhere was a popular choice for these particular events, so I was eager to discover what made this fragrance symbolise such a holy unity between two people.

Stephanotis opens as a potent white floral. Strong and alcoholic for at least the first five minutes or so, I had my doubts of ever liking it.

When settled, Stephanotis is buttery jasmine and soapy lily of the valley. I can see why women think 'wedding' when they smell Stephanotis. It's feminine and beautiful with that somewhat innocent touch.

Some may relate the scent to a grandmother or an old-fashioned garden, however I see luxourious soaps and an image of the 1900's.

This fragrance unfortunately doesn't last too well, with the fragrance almost completely vanished after four hours on the skin.

I was surprised to see that this fragrance was produced in 1786, however it is believable to an extent. Stephanotis has that good, old-fashioned floral appeal.

This is a straightforward white floral, soapy and clean, but sadly somehow not rounded in my opinion. I found Stephanotis rather generic and a little sharp. It's very likely that I would love the soap, but the fragrance never convinced me.

Floral and soapy. I feel like I washed up in grandmother's bathroom (she was a classy lady). Think of it less as perfume and more of it as history in a bottle.

Floris' Stephanotis smells exactly like a huge wedding bouquet! It is utterly divine!

I love this fragrance for its timelessness and sense of free-spiritedness. Stephanotis is supposed to be a bridal floral that signifies constancy, if I remember correctly. Sounds kind of blah but the scent of the flower itself is not; it's both spicy and soapy, very spirited and lively, anything but prim, blushing or even romantic. It's very aromatic as well, very pronounced - again, neither shy nor retiring. Think of it as the bride who can't be bothered with being all fussy and solemn and runs into and out of the church laughing her head off in joy. (Speaking of which - it does bring to mind, in some ways, Patou Joy, itself a touch soapy and spicy.) I have enjoyed wearing this on both casual and more formal occasions, and have gotten many a compliment.