Meanwhile... I'm sure Larsi's other is saying "Damn Mitch..... He's such a bad influence" :P Lmao ;)

Both Mitch and Larsi are the forums "product pushers"lol. Now I'm going to have to try this

I ordered a bottle of this a few days ago, and got it in the mail today. The bottle being sold online is definitely a pink top, like Larsi's :)

Found this yesterday in a target I don't visit often, but was on my way somewhere else and popped in for a few things. Had the pink top, no green tops anywhere. I also found your snuggle fresh spring flowers, Larsi. I took a whiff of both and thought the snuggle smelled off in the bottle, kinda weird smelling, but spring bloom smelled considerably better! I ended up not buying either one though.

And yes I screwed both tops back on tightly cuz I'm not a jerk lol

NO you are not a jerk..none of us here are jerks like that, but I bet there are people out there that are.

Mich did you try the Spring Bloom?

Got my Spring Bloom today, pink lids...my Target had tons of it...stay tuned for my review lol.

I did my first load of Laundry today with the Softener. First off... it depends on when you smell it.

Sometimes you open it, and it's a little Meh. But when I shake it, and it's just right... it smells absolutely amazing. So vintage... and wonderful, so similar to classic Downy April Fresh.

The best part.. is if you open the dryer while clothes are about halfway dry, a beautiful clean mist steams out. And Oooooooh, it smells so clean.. so April Fresh.

Pair this with some vintage Tide Original Liquid, and you've got wonderful linens :)

Yeah.. I think I might love this ;)

I read your post Mich and went running...my first load in Spring Blooms is drying and about half done LOL....I'm gonna tell you now...it a KEEPER. In the bottle even after shaking, it smelled just a tad sweet...but afterwards on the clothes almost perfection at least so far. Good-bye scented Downy. I will still buy the Downy Free and Gain Original as I like these two mixed together they are a brisk herbal flavor that I enjoy, sometimes.

I'll give another review when the clothes come out of the dryer.

Once Upon a Time.....P&G gave us Downy April Fresh Fabric Softener. April Fresh left fabrics smelling light, and fresh, not heavy and sweet. It also left clothing feeling conditioned, smooth and finished, not coated and sticky. Than P&G changed the scent and April Fresh was a thing of the past. Many people complained of the new scent, rightly so, its sweet and cloying, but I noticed something else when the scent changed, and thats how it left my clothes feeling...heavy and almost sticky. Actually unlike many others I Miss how the clothes FELT after using original April Fresh even more than the scent because I can tone down the scent but nothing I did could give me back that finished texture to my fabrics like the original Downy did. I've tried many different Fabric Softeners and even though I came close with a few making my clothes feel like they used to it just wasnt complete...until now...Spring Blooms gave my clothes a soft scent, nothing sweet or cloying but even more important to me is it made my clothes FEEL finished, soft yes, but more smooth, more conditioned without that heavy feeling. The first piece of clothing I pullef from the dryer reminded me of what's been missing Soft Scent and Truely Soft fabrics.

A HUGE Thank You to our Larsi who has been relentless in his search for a replacement to the beloved April Fresh. ...You did it Larsi!!!

Roc.....last night I thought about you after this load came out of the dryer...I know how you feel about FS and if you smell the Spring Bloom in the jug you will probably not buy it...but it does not leave the same scent on the clothes, but rather a soft scent...but towels is what you use FS for and I haven't tested it on towels yet but I will today.

I want to mention I empty my lint screen out after each load..after using Spring Bloom I headed to the trash with the lint and smelled something..it was the lint lol...all the minor sweetness in the product was in the lint leaving the softer scent on the clothes. .pretty cool.

Just a note regarding green/pink cap. A local Target has the pink cap but spotted 1 green cap version. A cursory comparison looks the same BUT the GREEN cap had a "100%" guarantee money back at the back of the bottle in "green" letters. The green cap version may be an intro distribution or will be a promotion with the money back lettering.

MAMAP.....Thank you, but Mitch gave me a heads up about Spring Bloom. I just went out a bought like 100 bottles, and reported back to Mitch and then y'all!!

I 100% agree, my clothes feel so smooth and like you say conditioned!!! The feel and smell is so close to Original Downy. Amazing. I wonder how long Target will keep this??

Went to Target, and they had 3 more bottles of Spring Bloom (pink lid). I bought 3 more ;)

They have so much of their other scents, but so little of the Spring Bloom. Makes me nervous, and there was a label this time......but it said Spring Linen. Odd!!

Larsi...my Target had a bunch of the pink lid and the Linen and Lavender..I'm confused about it also with another one called April Fresh..guess time will tell.

Mich thank you for telling Larsi about the Spring Bloom...I've used it a bunch of times now and I still have to say best scent on the market, after drying, and conditions the clothes perfectly...now lean over so Mama can pinch those cute cheeks..the cheeks on your face you little devil.

I've almost used an entire bottle now of this Spring Bloom, and when used with Original Tide Powder or better yet, Tide with a touch of April Fresh Downy powder...the scent is the closest I have come to find, that is like my beloved and long gone April Fresh Downy!!!

MamaP...Mitch and I are so happy we found a winner for you too!!! Laundry looks, smells and feels AMAZING!!!! Target, Please keep this!!!

I was at both target and Wal-Mart today. I strongly have a feeling that targets spring bloom fs is the exact same item as Wal-Marts Great Value spring blossom fs. The scent is identical, same bottle style and same cap. They probably both come from the same generic company. I bought a bottle of the up and up today and tried it. It came out smelling the same as the Wal-Marts that I have tried. Honestly, I the scent beads in these fabric softeners these days give me a headache. They have a sharp scent to them, especially if the clothing are rubbed together afterwards. If they sit too long, I feel they develope a stale smell. I really miss the old April fresh downy that I used for many years. I just use unscented downy mainly now, and rely on my detergent scents if I am using scented detergent. I use unscented dryer sheets as well to prevent static cling in the winter.

As an aside -- at the end of my pedicure last week, the owner brought out a hot towel for my legs (ah, heavenly). It smelled so good, I asked what she uses for their towels. Out she came with a jug of the current April Fresh Downy. It smelled delightful -- not sickening sweet. When I return, I'll ask what detergent she uses and report back! (I don't use liquid FS, but might have to start, after hearing all of you guys!)

@estysmith, maybe I picked up a bad bottle.. but when I tried doing a sniff test of Walmart's Spring Blossom, I was really put off by the scent. It smelled very different.

I might have to give it another sniff test... but, that's interesting for sure. :)

Beth, hi, nice to see you, how are you and the kids?

I read this post of yours but wanted to sniff the Great Value before posting..and I think your right..I sniffed it at the store tonight and it does smell like Spring Blossom, at least in the bottle. I'm going to have to buy this GV brand and try it out which I couldn't do tonight as hubs would have blown up over another laundry product lol. But soon. It wouldn't surprise me as many store brands are the same. Thank you for the heads up on this Beth and another thing the bottles and caps are the same.. very interesting.

Yes Mich sniff it again and let us know what you think, actually we should do some PI and see if these are made in the same factory.

Thank You Beth and I hope all is well with you and the family.

Mitch, look for the date on the bottle. I saw both bottles at target, green and pink caps. The green one had a date from 2014 and smelled very different from the one marked October 2015. The pink cap smelled much better. That's why I bought it. I sprinkled some on my coat sleeve, and then went to Wal-Mart to get something and also visited their detergent section. I opened the bottle of the great value spring blossom, and it smelled exactly the same. I wonder if there are different scents in the same bottle sometimes. I was in shoprite once and I smelled two fs, same type bottles with two different scents! After I came home from target yesterday, I tried it on some blankets, I got a huge headache. I am very effected by scents. Also, when you rub the garment together, a very sharp scent comes out from the scent pearls. Downy has that the worst in my opinion. I wish they would do away with these scent beads in there.

Hi Cheryl, after I read mitches post last nigh, I didn't notice yours. Maybe we were writing and submitting at the same time. Lol! I knew I wasn't dreaming when I sniffed the graet value. Sometimes some of them sit a while and go rancid. Maybe that's why they can smell different somtimes, or they are packaged at different plants. I know generic brands for supermarkets do that. I once inquired about some packages being slightly different on the same item, and that's what they told me. I so wish they would take out these scent pearls, because that's what is really affecting my nervous system with these fs. Makes them have a sharp side. I really miss my old April fresh downy! The brands that don't use the scent gems are not good either. So I just stick to unscented for now. Hope all is well by you! Take care. Let me know after you try the great value what you think.

I used Gain Island Fresh a few years ago and really liked it. Am currently using it now and it is not the same. Seems that finding that one perfect scent is an ongoing battle. I, too, am tired of the junk available now. and the scent beads or whatever they use now are just horrible. Scratch your arm and the sleeve reeks. And unscented Downy leaves a slight chemical scent.

Esty have you tried the non-concentrated softeners? I'm thinking about trying some of them. But the Target and Walmart ones sound interesting. Maybe I'll try one of those. I wish us all good luck in finding the one elusive softener. :)

Ahh Bea you get that whiff of chemicals from Downy Free also..I have found a tiny bit of scented FS in with the Downy Free not enough to really get much scent but just a small amount gets rid of the chemical whiff.

Thanks for the tip Pinky, I'll try that.

beaglenc....a few days ago I wore a long sleeve cotton t-shirt that had been washed with Tide powder (real stuff ;) and Downy April Fresh. I was sitting in the car, and I scratched my upper arm...and OMG....the scent activated and you could smell the softener and my fingers smelled like strong, chemical perfume. HATE these long lasting scent beads or scent technology!

TARGET Up & Up Spring Bloom does NOT do this!!! I tried last night. I put on a t-shirt to sleep in (clean ;) and it was washed a few days ago with Tide powder and Spring Bloom softener. I rubbed the material, scratched my arm over the shirt....NO scent pearls. You could lightly smell the softener, but it just smelled like laundry from years ago.

Also, this Up & Up softener has the same consistency of Downy from years ago, my laundry feels smooth, silky and so cared for!!!

I happened to be in Target last night, and remembered this discussion. I huffed on a bottle of the Spring Bloom, and it immediately went into my cart. It is very much like the older April Fresh Downy. I rarely even use fabric softener, but I cannot wait to try this today!!

Was just looking on the Target web site and they don't have Spring Bloom listed. But they have April Fresh, in the blue bottle with a green cap. Would that be the same? Thought it strange to label it AF when Downy all ready has that name.

OOPS! I looked at it again and clicked on the image and the bottle says Spring Bloom.

People sure are different. I have mild asthma. I use Tide Free to *escape* scents. I put white vinegar in the FS compartment to be sure all the detergent gets rinsed *out* of my laundry. I put unscented dryer sheets into the dryer if there are synthetics in that load of wash.

I have tried the white vinegar, it did nothing for me.

I know your dryer sheets are unscented but they are made with chemicals, do they not bother you at all?

Bea I think the blue lid I seen before said Spring Bloom and under it said April Fresh.

I used to use white vinegar mixed with FS and my clothes still smelled like vinegar and that was less than half a cup of wv. I did notice more softness but the smell had to go.

LOl...I hate the scent of WV when I was kid the bathroom always smelled like it ..it wasnt till I was an adult till I found out why LMAO

I honestly and truly believe, SORRY, anyone who uses White Vinegar as a fabric softener and says it softens...is cray cray & delusional, LOL!

I have tried it in a Frigidaire front loader, many Miele units, Whirlpool Duet, Samsung, Electrolux units, Kenmore Elite and 2 top loaders.....ABSOLUTELY zero softening, and the slight scent of white vinegar was awful!!

IVe tried it tons of times to use WV after the clothes dry I smell nothing..but its done nothing and as far as pulling detergent residue out of fabrics, will it also hold it in suspension or will it just be redeposited on fabrics??

This is hilarious...I thought I was the only one! And here, I have found
a whole crew of others just like me! Where have you been all my life?
(Or at least since 2002, when the most egregious change happened to Downy April Fresh IMHO...) I quit using it then, but have missed it ever since! Will have to try this Target stand-in for sure! Has anyone ever tried making their own April Fresh with unscented FS and a vial of home fragrance oil that is scented like April Fresh? One thing that intrigues me about this option is the fragrance oils are phthalate-free...

Starflower - I've totally tried fragrance oil in unscented Downy :). I've never found an exact match. There's a downy undertone that the FOs I've tried didn't have.

Starflower..the important thing is you've found an amazing group of knowledgeable, loving, kindhearted and totally crazy group of people here in the Laundry Room. Put your seat belt on..your in for a awesome ride.

Mamapinky0 - I look forward to it!! :-) I switched to Method Sweet Pea baby laundry soap about a year ago, and I
really like it - it's reminiscent of the very, very old-school Downy in
that is a very soft, powdery floral, but it's not as "warm" as April
Fresh. I miss the Downy from my childhood! Happy to know all of you!

As much as I hate to admit this, I love this Spring Bloom softener. I have been using it on almost every load. lol. I only use the minimum dose, but the smell is very classic, and very similar to old school Downy April Fresh. I rarely tumble dry, but towels emerged super soft, and do not feel at all waxy or anything. My line dried clothing is drying much less wrinkled and are holding on to the scent nicely. I am really impressed with this softener, and never thought I would every be saying that. lol. Thanks, Larsi and Mitch, for the tip!

I miss the feel of the old Downy more than the scent. It sounds as if the Target FS comes close to that?

sandy1616...YES. The feel, colour, viscosity and even scent are VERY original Downy April Fresh. I still keep wondering when Target will change this formula, so they can "copy or match" Downy.

@beaglenc (and Larsi) ME TOO!

I had to drive to Target and try this fabric softener just because of Larsi's influence.

I don't even use liquid FS, but huffed some of this at Target last week. Definitely reminiscent of childhood Downy!

Just got the up and up spring bloom today. Paired with tide with a touch of downy April fresh and the downy April fresh dryer sheets. Clothes are in the dryer now and my laundry room smells like what my laundry used to smell like before downy switched to the horrible sent it has now. Also just wanted to add that gain sunflowers and sunshine laundry detergent mixed with the yellow cap downy (no dryer sheets or unscented) smells heavenly!

I have never seen Gain Sunflowers or Sunshine, I don't think their sold in my area.

I like Lemon Sunlight and Mrs Meyers Lemon Verbena paired together.

I was at Target for cat litter and picked this up today. Holy Carp. Just like Mom used to use. Have some sheets in the dryer now and the room and exhaust smells like my childhood laundry.

Still in love with this!!! :) Did several loads of laundry over the past weekend, with this and *real* Original Scent Tide Liquid & Vintage Tide Mountain Spring, in a top loader. Which of course, leave's more scent on fabrics. Words can't describe how great everything still smells ;)

Hi all! Of course, every time get the chance I sniff all the "Downy"-like FS at the grocery store...yesterday I happened across a new generic or "store brand" - it's called "Simply Done" and the bottle is light blue with the hot pink cap. Scent is called "spring scent" - I think it's also a fairly good match for our old-school Downy, but in all fairness did wash the load first in Liquid Tide with AF Downy. Tonight I'll try a load with unscented soap. Would love it if someone else found it and tried it too - for comparison! The Target softener is also wonderful...