Lilac in perfumery
For Sylvaine Delacourte lilac evokes memories of her grandparents' garden, she loved to plunge her face into its colourful bunches.
Its smell alone is enough to evoke the arrival of fine weather, it also evokes sometimes nostalgic songs such as Les Lilas by Georges Brassens, Le Temps des lilas by Barbara or Le Poinçonneur des Lilas by Serge Gainsbourg.
Like all flowers in France, the lilac has a loving significance, white is innocence, mauve is budding love.
Lilac is also a symbol of the Christian religion, it is a flower which was mounted in a rosary to accompany the pilgrims.
Its delicate scent inspired many poets.
Origins of lilac
Botanical name: Syringa vulgaris
Botanical family: Oleaceae
Lilac in native to Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkan Peninsula.
Its name comes from the Persian Lîlak or Nîlak, which means mauve or blue.
There are no less than 30 varieties of lilac, which are planted from November to March and bloom in May.
Lilac is a tree with colours that match the spring colours, sometimes purple, violet or white.
The lilac thrives on neutral or chalky soil.
Its flowers grow in clusters and prefer mild and temperate regions.
Processing and manufacturing of the lilac raw material
It is impossible to extract the odour of lilac by conventional processes. It is therefore impossible to obtain neither lilac essence (cf. Distillation) nor absolute (cf. Extraction with volatile solvents).
One is obliged to reconstitute its scent by a combination of natural and synthetic raw materials (cf. Synthesis).
Nowadays, it is also possible to use the headspace technique which will add naturalness to the top notes.
Olfactive description of lilac
The scent of lilac is delicate, tender and belongs to the fresh, spring-like floral notes of perfumery. Lilac has a facet reminiscent of lily of the valley and another of mimosa. It is reminiscent of pastel. Lilac is powdery, soft, creamy, cosmetic, romantic, almondy and green.
Use of lilac in perfumery
Lilac note is not very frequently used in perfumery as a solinote because the exercise is not easy. It is usually associated with other flowers.
Lilac is a silent flower, like lily of the valley, honeysuckle, sweet pea, seringa, violet and lily.
To reconstitute a lilac, the perfumer will use many similar notes as lily of the valley, but instead of adding the animal note of indole (isolated from jasmine) to the composition, the perfumer will add the animal note of paracresol.
This is a difficult note to work with as it is widely used in home fragrances, candles, shower gels, etc. Lilac is not perceived as an elegant note, it would lack sophistication.
Main constituents of lilac
Linalool, cis-3-hexanol, terpineol, lilial, hydroxcitronellal, citronellol, iso eugenol, APE, heliotropin.
Perfumes containing lilac
Here is a list of perfumes that contain lilac:
- Idylle by Guerlain
- Songs of Aromas by Guerlain
- Champs Elysées by Guerlain
- En Passant by Frédéric Malle
- White Linen by Estée Lauder
- Love by Chloé
- Lilac Path by Aerin
- Lilas Exquis by Jacques Fath
- Parco Palladiano VII by Bottega Veneta
- Ceci n'est pas un flacon Bleu 1.2. by Histoires de Parfums
- Rue des Lilas by Phaedon
- A lilac A day by Vilhelm
- Guilty by Gucci
- Lilac Love by Amouage
- Désarmant by Parfumerie Moderne
- Lilac Mauve by Yves Rocher
- Amour Amour by Jean Patou
- Fleurs d'Interdit by Givenchy
There is also a honeyed lilac, the butterfly tree called Buddleia, in an accord that accompanies the mimosa of Champs-Élysées, the first fragrance Sylvaine Delacourte developed at Guerlain.
Sylvaine Delacourte perfumes
You can find spring floral notes in Dovana from the Musk Collection.
Discover Sylvaine Delacourte's brand with her Orange Blossom, Musk and Vanilla Collections. You can try them thanks to the Discovery Boxes (5 Eaux de Parfum x 2 ml) and rediscover these raw materials as you have never smelled them before.