The 14 Best Spring Perfumes to Fall For

If ever there was a season for fragrancephiles, spring is that time. The very backbone of most scents—blooms and blossoms, sprouts and tendrils—are all born in spring. Not to mention, most fashion houses choose to launch their most exciting offerings during this verdant season. Of course, there is no set definition of a spring fragrance—or any other fragrance modifier, for that matter—because what smells good to you, and what qualifies as a vernal victory, is all in the nose of the beholder. Still, a few pointers.

What makes a spring fragrance?

Most of the offerings below are floral. No getting around it. But rather than the kind of heady bouquets you might encounter in August, during the end-of-summer flower glut, spring fragrances are lighter, more tentative, and slightly more green. White flowers reign supreme, as do traditional first-bloomers like lilacs, lily of the valley, and hyacinth. Often, you'll find a citrus counterpoint, something zingy and exciting, something that encapsulates the promise of spring, of warmer weather, of bikes with baskets, lemonade with honey, and wine with bubbles. This year, novel citrus—Italian lemons, pomelos, blood red oranges—snuck in for an unexpected olfactory experience.

Spring fragrances are about continuity. After a long, dark winter, spring will always arrive, knowing nothing of the blizzards or the cold. Spring arrives with optimism in spite of it all, with persistent growth, cheerful sprigs, and a covenant of what's to come. Ahead,  fragrances that best embody the inimitable spirit of spring.