English Lavender
Bourbon French Parfums

ENGLISH AND FRENCH LAVENDER (Bourbon French)

Bourbon French organizes their two lavender scents by gender, relegating the English Lavender to women, and the French Lavender to men. I will be comparing them here and publishing the results on both Basenotes pages.

I applied the English Lavender to one wrist and forearm, the French to the other, and went back and forth as they both dried down.

Somehow I expected the English Lavender to be soft and powdery and the French to be strong and sharp. The assigned gender bias would then make sense. What my nose experiences is the opposite effect. The English is strong, vegetal and pungent, green and slightly harsh; the French is so smooth and soft, it is barely detectable in comparison. My spouse, experimenting with me, agrees, so I know my nose is not misbehaving.

Both lavenders are strong, neither whispers nor insinuates. So, in a sense, both are economical, requiring small doses for maximum effect. A most interesting experiment for me. I can recommend both, but in opposite classifications than intended by the house.