Taking a Closer Look at Neiman Marcus’ Perfume Wonderland in Clearfork — 10 Scents to Know

While many of us lean on a signature perfume that we return to year after year, it’s also nice to have a dressing table filled with options. From old favorites to new fragrance finds. It’s fun to be able to match your scent to your mood and your wardrobe, but spring is also the perfect season to perk things up.

What works for fall and winter doesn’t always translate to warmer months. Which is also why finding a pumpkin spice latte can be tough in July. It just doesn’t belong there.

Of course, choosing the right fragrance is a very personal decision. Scent can take you back to a moment in time. Like the profuse smell of Polo cologne at a nightclub in the 1980s. Or a thick lacquer of Opium to go with your closet full of even thicker shoulder pads. Fragrance takes you back like a laser beam. My grandmother wore Estee Lauder Youth Dew and it still makes me weepy when I get a whiff of it.

Neiman Marcus’s design wonderland at Clearfork debuted five years ago, but it’s more relevant than ever today.

One of its most magical departments is its fresh take on cosmetics, with both traditional full service brand counters and self serve, grab-and-go options with products easily accessible. The showstopper for me is stepping into the perfume bar, which arranges fragrances into neat groupings, making it easier for customers to find just what they are looking for. Everything is arranged by floral/fruity, fresh/citrus, woody/musk, spicy/warm, sweet/savory and unisex scents.

It’s a light filled wonderland, with plenty of beautiful bottles to sniff and sample.

Neiman’s cosmetics department manager Erin Meek took PaperCity Fort Worth on a tour through the perfume department recently. I was in search of the best new fragrances, as well as some simply perfect spring and summer scents.

Here are a 10 of my favorites:

Creed ― Wind Flowers

This storied Parisian fragrance house has a 250 year history. Wind Flowers is floral and fresh with a touch of amber. While most Creed bottles come in the traditional shield shape, this latest women’s perfume from the House of Creed is inspired by the movement of a dancer.

The fragrance opens with sweet jasmine, wrapped around the zesty scent of Tunisian orange blossoms. It is softened by a fresh and a fruity peach note, along with delicate jasmine flowers, tuberose petals and a touch of creamy praline.

$405 ― 2.5 ounce Eau de Parfum

The Harmonist Yin Transformation

A Neiman Marcus exclusive, The Harmonist Yin Transformation is wrapped inside a teardrop shaped pearlized blue bottle. The Harmonist composes its fragrances with rare and natural ingredients collected from all over the world. This signature scent is a riot of almond milk, ylang-ylang, Calypso orchid and iris, with mandarin and Bulgarian rose.

$305 ― 1.7 ounce Parfum

Jo Malone Sea Daffodil

Typical for the Jo Malone line, the new Sea Daffodil is made to be layered with other Joe Malone fragrances. This newly released cologne is like summer in a bottle with a squeeze of mandarin, a heart of sea daffodil and a base note of vanilla grounding it all.

$150 ― 3.4 ounce Cologne

Maison Francis Kurkdjian – Aqua Celstina

Wrapped in its crisp glass bottle with a pale blue hue, Aqua Celstina’s color is meant to evoke a bit of the sky as well as the ocean. It’s part of the brand new Collection Forte. Aqua Celestina is a very crisp and clean scent. At its heart is blooming yellow mimosa from Provence. This floral is tempered with freshness from lime, cool mint and blackcurrant, all softened by the powdery mimosa.

$235 ― 2.4 ounce Eau de Toilette

Tom Ford Rose d’ Amalfi

Released as part of a trilogy, Rose d’ Amalfi tries to channel the essence of spring and summer. Ideally you’d be perched atop an Amalfi cliff, watching the Mediterranean waves. Soft musky rose envelopes Italian bergamot, while rose water and almond-like heliotrope merge with bay rose.

$270 ― 1.7 ounce Eau de Parfum

Glasshouse ― Kyoto in Bloom

Glasshouse perfumes, diffusers and home scents have taken Australia by storm. Now they are landing in a Neiman Marcus near you. This is a floral, woody musk fragrance for women and men alike. Still relatively new, Kyoto in Bloom launched in 2019.

Its top notes are pineapple, citruses, green notes and whipped cream. In the middle are blooming favorites like camellia, iris, lotus and clover. Vanilla, sandalwood, amber, patchouli, musk and Tonka bean underpin it all. This one is so new it is currently only available at Neiman Marcus Dallas or you can order it for delivery or in-store pick up at Fort Worth Clearfork within two to four days.

$100 ― 1.7 ounce Eau de Parfum

Guerlain Coconut Fizz

Each of the now 14 fragrances in Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria line are topped by golden bee hive. Each expression in the line focuses on two key ingredients. And they are meant to be layered together to suit your mood.

While not the newest, Coconut Fizz takes you to your favorite beach very quickly with its key notes of citrusy, green and floral bergamot, with coconut and coconut water.

$140 ― 4.2 ounce Eau de Toilette

Yves Saint Laurent – Capeline

The parfum collection of Le Vestiaire Des Parfums ― a collection of fragrances that represent the centerpiece of the YSL wardrobe ― includes Trench, Caftan, Jumpsuit and Blouse. With its slight blueberry tint, this is an elegant ode filled with Moroccan lily with a touch of smoothness from vanilla. The capeline embodies the elegant hat that topped off so many great designs.

$250 ― 4.2 ounce Eau de Parfum

Van Cleef & Arpels – Gardenia Petale

Part of Van Cleef & Arpels Collection Extraordinaire, which features six rare single flower fragrances, this is a unique scent. What could evoke spring more than the clean floral smell of blooming gardenia? This enveloping floral fragrance opens with white flower, jasmine and vanilla, leading to green notes, lily and creamy gardenia

$150 ― 1.5 ounce Eau de Parfum

Aerin – Limone Di Sicilia

For the citrus floral lover, this one is inspired by the brilliant sunlight of Sicily with notes of fresh bergamot and muguet de mai. It leads with lemon primofiore, Italian mandarin and Egyptian jasmine. There’s even a hint of pink pepper. When you are ready to feel the sun on your face, Limone di Sicilia will take you there.

$235 ― 1.7 ounce Eau de Parfum

This spring and summer, there really may be a scent for everyone.