Jonquille Thé is a woody floral fragrance released in 2017 by Los Angeles perfume house Musc et Madame. The perfumers who created this fragrance are Linda Sivrican and Mike Sivrican.
Jonquille Thé is described as “Enigmatic & Powerful”.
Having spent most of my life in the Midwestern U.S., I’ve grown to love flowers that grow from fall-planted bulbs. They spend the whole winter waiting to bloom, just like me. I really dislike cold weather, and sometimes it feels like it will never end. But when you start to see daffodils and hyacinth, you know you’ve survived another winter. I get as excited as a child on Christmas morning when the first crocus come up in the yard.
To plant bulbs in the fall is to have faith. Faith in nature or a higher power to make the bulb grow, faith in the seasons to change so that spring will come again, and faith in yourself to still be here at the end of winter to see the flowers come. During my early adult life there were many “rough patches,” and we moved a lot. I appreciate the stability and security I have now, that allows me to grow and blossom safely in one place. I love planting bulbs and perennials, and watching them come back again and again. You can’t fake the first flowers of spring, just going down to the garden store for instant gratification and quick installation. You have to plan ahead, and then have patience and faith.
Right now it is April in Ohio, and there is snow on the ground. I’m restless and impatient, I can’t wait for winter to be over. I’m sick of coats and boots, shivering, scraping windshields, cleaning muddy dog paws. Driving along in my road salt-crusted car under gloomy gray skies, I can see clusters of spring here and there as the daffodils are blooming. A jonquil fragrance is just what I need right now to lift my spirits as I wait for spring.
JONQUILS AND NARCISSUS
My birthday is in March, and I grew up reading that the jonquil is the “birth flower” for March. I thought I understood the difference between jonquils and daffodils — daffodils were common, and jonquils were special, like little girls born in March. It turns out that is NOT the difference, but a difference does exist. The lines become even more blurred in perfumery, where the name “narcissus” gets thrown around, so I’ll take a moment to explore the different flowers and their scents.
Narcissus is a genus that includes hundreds of species. And daffodil is the common name for any of these species. So, all narcissus are daffodils, and all daffodils are narcissus. So far this is easy. Two of the most common narcissus are Narcissus pseudonarcissus, known as the “common daffodil,” and Narcissus tazetta papyraceous, known as the “paperwhite.”
A jonquil is a specific type of narcissus/daffodil. This species is Narcissus jonquilla. Jonquils have dark green, narrow, tube-shaped leaves like reeds. Other types of daffodils have flat leaves. Jonquils also have clusters of several flowers coming from one stem. Other types of daffodils typically have only one flower per stem.
The outer six petal segments are called the perianth, and the center is called the corona. Common daffodils have large coronas that look like trumpets. Jonquils have small coronas that look like cups, giving the flower the appearance of a cup and saucer. Jonquils can be white or yellow, and sometimes the corona is a different color.
JONQUIL FRAGRANCE
When people use narcissus, daffodil, and jonquil interchangeably, they’re technically not wrong. It’s just that jonquil is a more specific name than either of the other two, so not all narcissus/daffodils are jonquils. And this matters a bit in the fragrance.
Narcissus absolute is one of the most expensive of all floral extracts. The smells of different varieties of narcissus vary a bit. All narcissus have a heady sweetness and a slightly-dirty, indolic tone usually seen in white flowers. And all have some tart greenness. Most have a floral note similar to hyacinth. Some varieties, like paperwhites, smell particularly indolic and reminiscent of manure. Others smell spicy, or vanillic, or pissy. Many smell musky. Narcissus could be any or all of these smells, it is a blend of narcissus flowers.
Jonquils are particularly fragrant, more than all other narcissus varieties. They are more heady and indolic, like jasmine, with a bit of warmth and honey, and rich, moist tobacco leaves, and almost amber-like musk. Jonquil absolute is like a “premium grade” of narcissus absolute, because it contains only jonquils. Jonquille Thé from Musc et Madame uses jonquil absolute to bring this exceptionally luxe scent front-and-center in the fragrance.
JONQUILLE THÉ FRAGRANCE REVIEW
Jonquille Thé has a dark straw color that looks rich and thick in the bottle. Having a great love for classic narcissus fragrances like Vol de Nuit and Narcisse Noir, I couldn’t wait to dig into this one. It looks like liquid gold.
Jonquille Thé opens with a burst of honeyed jasmine and bright linden blossoms. The linden smells zesty and sharp, keeping the white flowers from going too girly as an almost boozy bergamot warms on my skin. Wherever this scent is going, I’m happy to be along for the ride.
Within 10 minutes, the jonquil is fully present and glorious. Sweetly herbaceous, dripping with honey, dark and raunchy. The smell is rich and animalic. There is just a hint of clove-like spiciness and dry, musky tobacco. Swirling around beneath the jonquils is a stream of bittersweet tonka. The scent is deep and round, and assertively sexy. If flowers made sounds, these would be purring like a lioness.
As the first hour goes on, the white flowers and animalism fade into more greenness. First like crushed leaves, and then becoming more terpenic. There is a phase that is vaguely reminiscent of cannabis. At the beginning of hour two, I smell a smoky, rooty vetiver, tinged with burnt rubber. Still present and shining are the jonquils, which smell like hyacinths dipped in creamed honey — sweet upon sweet, unashamed decadence.
After three hours, the jonquils have become less narcotic and more powdery and musky, like yellow flowers. The honeyed aspect is still there, but it is touched by an airy sweetness, like the flowers are sprinkled with icing sugar. There is a damp, earthy, bitter smell that is reminiscent of tea.
At this point, the lioness has become a proper lady. In the fourth hour, I smell black tea and honey with a base of tonka, and a sunny floral musk.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Jonquille Thé promised jonquil absolute, and it delivered. The quality of the raw materials used to make this fragrance is obvious, and it smells luxe. Because jonquil absolute is so rare and expensive, you usually find it blended into a floral “bouquet”. It’s exciting to find a fragrance that displays it so well.
Most spring flowers are associated with joy and friendship, but jonquils are associated with desire. Their smell is heady and intoxicating, indolic, and suggestive. The name “Jonquille Thé” sounds like it could be sweet and girly, but thankfully it is very true to the nature of the flower — sensual and voluptuous, a little naughty. I am excited to smell other fragrances from Musc et Madame, because showy florals that are a little raunchy are exactly MY “cup of tea.”
JONQUILLE THÉ DETAILS
Total longevity on my skin was about 8 hours. Sillage was medium. Jonquille Thé is a feminine perfume but men who are comfortable wearing florals will love it.
Perfumer’s listed notes are jonquil absolute, orange blossom absolute, apricot, black tea, orris root, jasmine sambac, tagetes, vetiver, bergamot, tonka bean, linden blossom, leather, velvet, and lipstick.
Jonquille Thé by Musc et Madame is presented in EdP concentration. A 50mL bottle is currently offered for $125 at muscetmadame.com.
