If you were to take a look at my fragrance collection, you would see a vast variety of scents. I have everything from unisex perfumes to a TikTok-viral fragrance that embodies a circus (think popcorn and candied apples) and don’t even get me started on my hoard of gourmands and vanilla perfumes. But one olfactive family my collection is lacking in is florals.
I blame my grandma, who drenched herself in Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door—a concoction of freesia, rose, jasmine, and ylang-ylang—and gave lots of too-tight hugs while I was growing up. Now, I find any similar scents as mature and downright grandmotherly. Not even cult-favorite floral fragrances from Gucci or Valentino could sway my opinion. However, it was when I met with Phlur’s Creative Director Chriselle Lim nearly a month ago to preview the fragrance brand’s newest launch, Golden Rule, that I saw their allure.
