Continuing with the orange blossom perfume discussion that started with Santa Maria Novella Acqua di Colonia on Sunday (with apologies for the brief interruption caused by Barbara Bui), here is a round-up of some other orange blossom scents I have tried. I started to include Serge Lutens Fleurs d’Oranger, which had several mentions in the comments to Monday's orange blossom post, but in the end I left it out. It is a much more complex perfume than the others listed here, and refused to be summed up in a few easy sentences. I will give it more space on another day.

Côté Bastide Fleurs d’Oranger: This is a basic but pretty orange blossom, with just a touch of green and possibly some light citrus notes. It is dry, but not in the least bitter. It is an Eau de Toilette and has no lasting power to speak of, but it does come in a huge bottle at a very reasonable price, so you can afford to splash it on. Perfect for summer!

Czech & Speake Neroli: A strong, dry neroli fragrance with a hint of spice and a nice woody base. Very nicely done & excellent lasting power. I prefer Eau Pour Le Jeunne Homme (see below), but if the Côté Bastide was too little and the Eau Pour Le Jeunne Homme was too much, this is probably what you want.

Maître Parfumeur et Gantier Eau Pour Le Jeune Homme (bottle shown above): This starts very strong and sharp, with heavy bergamot and other citrus notes. The first few minutes are a bit hard to take, but when it calms, it smells like orange blossom, fresh squeezed orange juice, and orange peel, with spicy notes of coriander & nutmeg and a nice woody base. I love this stuff. The lasting power is so-so. To my nose it is unisex, but if you lean heavily towards feminine fragrances, it might not work for you.

Norma Kamali Zagara: The ad copy warns that "a small amount goes a long way", but the spray-tester in the Norma Kamali boutique I visited did not allow for much portion control. A brief whiff of a paper test strip almost knocked me over. This is an uncompromisingly strong, rather dry orange blossom with citrus notes. The shop did not have samples (why?) so I was not able to give this a fair try, but I would guess it is too much of a good thing for me.

Parfums de Nicolaï Cologne Sologne: Sparkling citrus top notes with a touch of rosemary, and a soft, clean orange blossom dry down. I like it but it is regrettably short lived, possibly even more so than the Côté Bastide.

What did I miss?