Tuberose

Of course, some perfumes are more flowerdy than others. That's a word sometimes used by kids in Texas to describe things that are overly filled with flowers, like certain gardens or prints on fabrics. That's why the whole family of florals in perfumes gets a bit complicated.Technically, floral scents are those which are dominated by notes derived from flowers.

Take a bottle of Givenchy's Simply Irresistable. It remains one of my favorite perfumes and it always reminds me of a big bouquet of roses. It's a great perfume for newbies because it is a textbook floral.

But then you have to start looking a broad types of florals. Simply Irresistable is a pink floral. It's not because the bottle is pink (although it is) but because rosy scents tend to be called "pink." (Yes, I know, roses come in al colors.) Goddess by Baby Phat is a pink floral.

 But there are other florals that have a different flair to them. It's almost like a key in music; pink florals are one key, white florals are another. White florals get their name because typical flowers used in them (lillies, muguet de bois, frangipanis) are white. Among these white florals is the tuberose.

Tuberose is a funny name for a plant. It's not a rose at all; it's a flower, true, but it's related to the agave plant (from which tequila is made). It is thought to be native to Mexico, but it is also common in India and Hawaii. In Hawaii, it is often used to make leis, those ceremonial flower necklaces given to welcome guests.

The tuberose was known in Victorian England and used mainly for casket coverage, that is, along with the lily, it got relinquished to the role of funeral flower.

Tuberose is popular in perfumes today because it is richly fragrant. It's sometimes described as sexy or mysterious. It's a night-bloomer which means it lends a perfumey scent to the night air when it grows wild. Such scents are often characterized as being rich, voluptuous, and sensual.

The best introduction to tuberose is Tuberose Garden by Estee Lauder. Actually, it's the first perfume since the late great Estee Lauder's line was taken over by family members. Despite the strange name and the strength of the fragrance, it's a great perfume. It's rich, but not overwhelming.

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