I did a post on lilacs already last year and on the conceptual level have nothing to add – still love lilacs, still love their scent and colour. Some specifics haven’t changed either: En Passant continues to be absolutely lovely and I remain without a lilac cashmere sweater, as I cannot find one anywhere. But there are some new products that I have discovered and need to share while the flowers in question are still in bloom.

First of all, I have found another lilac perfume – and not just ‘a’ perfume, but a really good one. La Parfumerie Moderne is a small and discerning French line with only four scents available so far. In times where everybody and their hamster is launching seven hundred perfumes a year, this is something I really appreciate. All scents are well done and come in beautiful art deco-inspired bottles, if you care about that sort of thing. I find that a nice bottle never hurts.

Predictably, Desarmant turned out to be my favourite of the four. It is recognisably a lilac fragrance, but more complex and deeper than others I’ve tried. If En Passant is a charming watercolour, this is a classic oil-on-canvas. The lilacs here are slightly powdery and purple rather than white. There is an interesting leather nuance and some vanilla that work very well together. If I didn’t hate that word, I would say it’s a very feminine fragrance – in a lush, non-wimpy way.

If Desarmant is out of your budget, another good lilac is Lilas Mauve by Yves Rocher. I don’t own the perfume itself (as I’ve got two lovely lilacs already), but I have the shower gel that is beautiful and cheap and recommended. An alternative to this – both in perfume and shower gel form – is French Lilac by Pacifica. I have never tried it, but it’s been repeatedly recommended by trustworthy sources, so do check it out when you have the chance.

I feel that the next item is a bit of a cheat, despite being called Lilac – it’s a Dior nail polish that looks more like a pastel pink to me than true lilac. But it does have that cool, lilac/violet undertone that I love in my pinks and it’s my favourite polish from Dior spring collection (still available in some places). Darker, but in a similar category, is MAC Versicolor lip stain in Long Distance Relationship. This is the closest I’ve found to my beloved YSL glossy stain in 16 that has been criminally discontinued. I haven’t worn it too much yet, but my initial impressions are good, although longevity is not comparable to YSL. Again, if you like your pinks on the cool side and with a dose of lavender, check it out.

Now, if I could only get that sweater, all would be well with the world.