Osmanthus flower
Osmanthus is a little-known and rare raw material for perfumery, yet it is more and more found in perfume composition, especially in confidential perfumery. Let's lift the veil on this exotic flower that makes many perfume lovers dream. A delight that represents wisdom and the perpetual movement of life.
The origin of osmanthus
Osmanthus blooms in the south of China between Guilin and Yangzhou. It gave its name to Guilin, which means 'osmanthus forest' in Chinese.
Osmanthus flowers are usually white (although the colour can vary) and are no larger than a centimetre in diameter, while its fragrance is extremely powerful and persistent. This doesn't surprise when you consider that osmanthus means 'fragrant flower' in Greek.
The genus osmanthus includes about fifteen species, the one used in perfumery is Osmanthus fragrans. The other species are cultivated as hedges. The tree is a kind of laurel of the Oleaceae family. It can reach 20 metres in height. It grows in China, some in Japan and in Malaysia. But only China produces osmanthus concrete.
The colour of the osmanthus flower varies. It is either silvery white, golden orange or even red. It has only four thick petals, arranged in a rather naive way. The flowering period lasts only 10 days, and it starts in June and continues irregularly until October. The flowers are harvested between September and October. Osmanthus is also known as the 'Fragrant Olive', 'Chinese Olive' or 'Tea Olive'.
The scent of osmanthus
The scent of the osmanthus flower is slightly jasmine, with sensual accents and therefore slightly animal-like. This floral and fruity fragrance is so strong that it spreads several metres around the shrub.
Osmanthus flower has a fruity note (dried apricot), and a leathery facet with an accent of hay that is enhanced by the brine. Osmanthus is one of the rare fruity notes of natural origin. Davana, another fruity flower, and blackcurrant with its recognisable green and acidic fruity note are also fruity notes of natural origin.
The fruity notes are mostly of synthetic origin. They can also exist in the form of a chord, such as cherry which is a raspberry composition (frambinone). It can be dressed up with almond notes (synthetic almond note: benzoic aldehyde, also called benzaldehyde, natural almond note is made from apricot stones).
Nevertheless, natural fruity notes in the form of esters or isolates are increasingly appearing on the perfumers' palette: pear, apple, peach, passion fruit, raspberry, etc.
The process of making osmanthus absolute
Farmers armed with long poles drop the flowers onto a large white sheet spread on the ground. The flowers wither very quickly, so they are soaked in a brine bath (a kind of salty preparation) to preserve them, this is a unique fact in perfumery. This will also allow the production of concrete to be spread over a period of six months. The freshly harvested flowers are immersed in this brine bath for 3 to 4 months, and then are washed before a first extraction. This is followed by other steps such as clarification, filtration, etc. to finally obtain the concrete. The concrete often travels in porcelain pots with traditional Chinese motifs.
720 kg of flowers are used to obtain 750 grams of the absolute.
The production of the concrete is more or less important depending on the variety of osmanthus used, the most efficient variety is Osmanthus Fragrans Var, Thunbergii. Osmanthus absolute is then obtained by ethanol extraction from the concrete.
Among the molecules present in osmanthus are undecalactone, cis-jasmone and ionones (dihydro-beta-ionone etc.).
Use of osmanthus
Osmanthus flower is used to flavour teas, where it acts synergistically as an antioxidant, as well as wines, cakes, honey and perfumes.
Perfumes with osmanthus
- Eau de Dolce Vita by Christian Dior
- 1000 by Patou
- Osmanthe Yunnan by Hermès (soliflore)
- Bambou et Fleur d’Osmanthus by Roger&Gallet
- Osmanthus by Acqua di Parma
- Osmanthus interdite by Parfum d’Empire
- Thé pour un été by L’Artisan Parfumeur
- Mont de Narcisse by L’Artisan Parfumeur
- Osmanthus by The Different Company
- Flora by Gucci
- Good Girl Gone Bad by By Kilian
- L’île au thé by Annick Goutal
- Galop by Hermès
- Mille Feux by Louis Vuitton
- Noel au balcon by Etat Libre d’Orange
- Jeux de peau by Serge Lutens
- Love Osmathus y Atelier Cologne
- Vahina by Sylvaine Delacourte Paris
Osmanthus in Sylvaine Delacourte perfumes
You can find osmanthus in Vahina from the Sylvaine Delacourte Vanilla 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.