Flowers

Flowers are raw materials used in perfumery. There are different categories of flowers in perfumery:

  • Green, spring or vegetal flowers
  • White or sensual flowers, solar flowers
  • Roses
  • Spicy flowers
  • Powdery flowers
  • Atypical or rare flowers

Spring flowers: the flowers of renewal

Spring flowers, also known as flowers of renewal, evoke freshness, spontaneity and cheerfulness. They are made of green and vegetal notes. 

Unfortunately, some of these flowers do not deliver their scent, although very fragrant. They are called silent flowers, such as lilac, buddleia (a more honeyed lilac), honeysuckle, lily of the valley, hyacinth, seringa, sweet pea, wisteria, privet flowers that are a little less green but nevertheless springtime).

Whatever the extraction process used (steam distillation, extraction by volatile solvents, or others), none of them can reconstitute the original smell of these flowers.

If the perfumer wants to obtain scents of “silent” flowers, he will have to make a reconstitution or a reproduction of these notes. Each perfumer will therefore perceive it and restore it in their own way. A reconstitution is the outline of a perfume, it is made up of about ten constituents, both synthetic and natural. Without this work, the perfume Diorissimo by Dior (1956), which is truly an example of "soliflore", would not have seen the daylight.

In the spring floral family only two flowers are natural in perfumes: narcissus and daffodil, whose scents are quite similar.

Narcissus: the flower of character 

History 
In Greek mythology, Narcissus, proud of his beauty, paid no attention to the young nymphs who adored him. One of them, Echo, wounded by his coldness, gradually disappeared until only her voice was perceptible. The angry gods condemned Narcissus to fall in love with his reflection in the clear water of a pond. When he died, he was turned into a flower: the narcissus. It then became a symbol of selfishness.

Origins 
The narcissus comes from Central Europe, North Africa and Asia. The main producing countries are France (Auvergne), Morocco and Egypt.

Harvest 
The narcissus grows wild throughout the Aubrac, from an altitude of 1,000 metres upwards. In spring, the pickers pick the heads of the flowers with special combs (a kind of large rake) and, recently, with a mechanised cart. The most important production is now located in Auvergne. This flower is highly sought after by perfumers, who use it mainly in prestige perfumery, and also in some floral or chypre fragrances (cf. Chypre family).

The narcissus, delicate in appearance, diffuses a powerful perfume with a very green scent, very earthy, spicy, animal, with accents of jasmine and ylang-ylang. It is difficult to work with (cf. Green facet).

Daffodil: the sister of the narcissus

The daffodil is a flower that delivers its fragrance by extraction with volatile solvents and offers particularly distinctive fragrances with an unequalled spring freshness.

 

 

White flowers: the sensual flowers

White flowers are also called sensual or narcotics flowers, because they often share a molecule indole, a natural animal note. Among the white flowers there are :

  • jasmine
  • tuberose
  • ylang-ylang
  • frangipani
  • Tiaré flower
  • gardenia
  • magnolia
  • orange blossom

Jasmine: THE flower 

There are two varieties of jasmine:

  • The Grandiflorum jasmine that can come from France (Grasse), Egypt, India or Italy.
  • Sambac jasmine from India with a more orange and sunny scent.

In order to harvest this natural material, the pickers have to get up very early and the most skilled collect 500 to 700 kg of flowers per hour. 10.000 flowers are needed to obtain 1kg of essence. 

 

Tuberose: the narcotic flower

Tuberose is an exotic and narcotic flower, it comes from southern India and Egypt. In India, it is harvested every morning from May to December. In Hindi the name of this flower means night fragrance. 

Tuberose exists in a natural form in perfumery, it is very expensive. In the past, it was treated by enfleurage. Now it is obtained by extraction with volatile solvents. The tuberose exhales a narcotic odour, a little medicinal at the beginning (a little ointment), but after a few seconds it offers a singular scent between a honeyed and candied nectar, exotic, poisonous and erotic scent.

Some brands cannot afford natural tuberose. In this case, it is always possible to use reconstitution (the scent will always be a little different from the smell of the natural flower). It is a mixture of different notes: natural jasmine, or a composition of jasmine, ylang-ylang, indole, coconut, orange note (such as methyl anthranilate), heliotropine, mimosa, and other elements.

Ylang-ylang: the solar flower

The ylang-ylang flower comes from a tree, its shape is like a large, dishevelled star. In Indonesian it means the flower of flowers. It is very exotic with an exuberant and extroverted nature. It has inherited the volcanoes side (Madagascar or Mayotte), an explosive floral side that gives a lot of colour to the fragrances. It is harvested when the tender green flower turns yellow, a sign that it has reached its olfactory maturity. 

Its scent is halfway between jasmine and tuberose. Ylang-ylang, with its creamy, fleshy notes, is reminiscent of solar monoi (cf. Solar facet). It has a sensual, lustful and intoxicating dimension while being wild and narcotic. 

You can find ylang-ylang in the fragrance Lilylang from Sylvaine Delacourte's Musk Collection, a solar musk fragrance with notes of tuberose, jasmine and ylang-ylang, on a salicylic vanilla base with a lively and sparkling smile brought by lime.

 

Frangipani flower: the flower of the islands

The frangipani flower is a sacred flower in India whose abundant bloom is called by fervent prayers. Like sambac jasmine, the whiteness of the flower symbolises the purity of the soul. This delicate, sacred flower does not give off its fragrance. Perfumers have to use "a laboratory flower", by proceeding the reconstitution, i.e. a formula integrating a dozen components. 

You will find frangipani notes in Vanori from Sylvaine Delacourte's Vanilla Collection, a sunny vanilla fragrance with frangipani, salicylic notes of warm sand, benzoin resin, vanilla, and a grapefruit smile on the top.

Tiare flower: the exotic flower

The national symbol of Tahiti, white tiare flower, grows on a tropical shrub. It is now available as a natural product, but it is used sparingly, as its odour is in the end quite disappointing and is far from being faithful to the original sweet and intoxicating smell of the flower. There is also a local product made by a process close to enfleurage.

Gardenia: the indomitable flower

The gardenia is a small shrub with very fragrant white flowers. It comes from China, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, India and California. The gardenia absolute obtained from the extraction of the gardenia flower, it is not at all faithful to the smell of the flower in its natural state. It is simply used to isolate styrallyl acetate: a green rhubarb note. Perfumers use reconstitutions of gardenia whose main constituents are the white flower accord, green notes accompanied by molecules called tyglates (from mushroom notes).

Magnolia: the fresh flower

The magnolia belongs to the Magnoliaceae family and comes from a tree native to East Asia and China. 

The variety Michelia alba is interesting for perfumery. It is harvested from May to June and from August to November. The flowers are processed by distillation to obtain the magnolia essential oil.

This note is floral, with an important citrus facet. It has a great lemony freshness tinged with green notes. Then a soft sunny floral facet with vanilla accents is revealed. The leaves are also used in perfumery, even if the scent is a little more difficult to use than that of the flowers.

Orange blossom: the multi-faceted flower

Orange blossom comes from the bitter orange tree, it is a magic tree because it provides 4 different raw materials at the same time: 

  1. The bitter orange, whose skin is treated by expression and gives the bitter orange essence
  2. Orange blossom absolute
  3. The essence of neroli
  4. The essence of petit grain

Its botanical name is Citrus aurantium.

The bitter orange tree was originally native to East Asia, but is now cultivated in the Mediterranean basin. The main producers of orange blossoms are Tunisia and Morocco. Italy, Egypt and France (the south) also produce orange blossoms.

In mythology, the fruits of the bitter orange tree were called golden apples, a gift from Jupiter to Juno for their wedding.

Processing and manufacture of the raw material 
Usually, white flowers are too fragile to withstand steam distillation. Orange blossom is the only one that lends itself to the following two extraction methods: distillation and extraction with volatile solvents. Steam distillation of the flowers produces neroli essence. Extraction with volatile solvents produces orange blossom absolute. Finally, by distilling the whole branches (leaves and flowers), we obtain petit grain essence. 

Olfactive description of orange blossom 
Here is a description of the different orange blossom products, from the freshest and most volatile to the most intense:

  • petit grain essence: lavender (see Aromatic facet), green and vegetal, very fresh citrus, and slightly smoked.
  • neroli essence: fresh, airy, lavender, sweet, (a little marshmallow), slightly citrusy, sweet, fresh floral. It can also have a powdery appearance.
  • Orange blossom absolute: more "indolent" (animal note of white flowers), it is darker at the top than neroli. It has a narcotic, animal and sensual side. Its evolution is clear in the top notes, and then more honeyed.

Usage of orange blossom
Neroli essence and orange blossom absolute are not used for the same purpose. Neroli is associated with citrus fragrances and eaux de Cologne. It is also used to reconstitute certain flowers such as tuberose, hyacinth, tiare and frangipani. Neroli is found in the top notes of fresh floral fragrances. 

Orange blossom absolute is preferred for chypre accords, oriental accords, or for white floral fragrances. It is often used to recreate exotic flowers, such as gardenia or tiare flower. Most often, it is present as a heart note. It can also be used to accentuate fruity notes such as apricot (cf. Fruity facet).

Petit-grain essence is mainly used for eaux de Cologne, eaux fraîches, perfumes for men or unisex fragrances.

Roses and rose notes: the changing flower

Among the rose notes there are : 

  • rose
  • geranium rose
  • peony

Rose: the queen of flowers

Origins 
Considered to be one of the two queen flowers of perfumery, the rose comes from different regions: the South of France, Bulgaria, Turkey or Morocco. Two types of roses are used in perfumery: the May rose, or Centifolia rose, that comes from France (Grasse), and the Damascena rose, that comes from Bulgaria, Turkey or Morocco.

Treatment and manufacture of the raw material 
The rose is one of the few flowers that can withstand extraction with volatile solvents as well as steam distillation, that produces rose essence. Nevertheless, the latter technique remains an expensive choice, as it takes around 4 tonnes of rose petals to produce one kilo of essence. Moreover, it has to be harvested very early, at 6 o'clock in the morning. It is also possible to obtain rose absolute by extraction with volatile solvents. This product will be denser, richer, and will act especially as a heart and base note. In order to guarantee a constant quality from one year to another, the rose is often the result of a blend of different essences, which makes it possible to obtain a standard quality.  

Olfactive description of the rose 

  • The May rose from Grasse: a honeyed scent, rounder, warmer, a little waxy.
  • The Damask rose from Bulgaria or Turkey: fresh, more fruity lemony and acidic scent, with a vibration.

Use
The rose is traditionally used in floral fragrances. Its scent can be fresh, like that of a rose that opens in the morning, or darker and more oriental. This fragrance can also accompany chypre accords, including neo-cypresses. 

Pelargonium rose or geranium: the rose for men

Native to Africa, the rose geranium is used for the fragrant properties of its leaves and stems. It is cultivated in many countries but comes mainly from Egypt. Its scent is a rose note, but also green, aromatic, almost minty, and can evoke lemongrass and lychee. It is, in a way, a masculine rose, that goes very well with aromatic notes. Rose geranium is often found in fragrances with a fern accord.

Peony: the fresh and fruity rose

Peony is also a rose note. However, it does not deliver its fragrance by extraction. In perfumery, it will therefore be necessary to reconstitute it with rose essence and fresh elements naturally contained in the rose (phenyl-ethyl alcohol, geraniol), there can be added fruity elements, such as raspberry, and sometimes slightly powdery notes, such as ionones or heliotropin.

 

 

Spicy flowers 

Carnations, cloves and immortal flowers are among the spicy flowers used in perfumery.

Carnation: the rebellious flower

Egyptian Carnation Absolute is a natural product that exists in perfumery. However, it is not widely used because it does not smell like the spicy carnation we all know. The scent of the carnation is often reconstituted with a combination of rose and spices (clove, vanillin and heliotropin). Be careful not to confuse this Egyptian carnation with the marigold, called tagetes, which is also natural, but does not have a scent similar to the carnation we know. 

Wallflower: the sweet flower

Wallflower has a very spicy scent with carnation notes, accents of vanilla and musk. It exists only in synthetic.

Immortal flower: the flower of the maquis

The Immortal is a yellow flower that grows in the maquis of Corsica, Spain and France. Its botanical name is Helichrysum. In perfumery, it is treated by distillation to be used in the compositions of fragrances. Its scent is very spicy, syrupy, with tobacco and honey facets. It also has a slight curry scent. It is a very difficult material to work with. 

You will find it in the Helicriss perfume from Sylvaine Delacourte’s Musk Collection and in the Sables by Annick Goutal.

Powdery flowers 

The powdery flowers used in perfumery are iris, mimosa, cassia, violet and heliotrope.

Iris: the noble flower

It is not the flower that is treated, but the rhizome of the plant (an underground stem on which so-called adventitious roots can form), that comes from Italy or China. It takes three years to grow the root and three years to dry it. It is one of the most expensive raw materials in perfumery.

Iris Pallida is reminiscent of violet and mimosa due to its characteristic powdery smell. Woody accents, a light raspberry note, and also a hint of carrot are attributed to it (sometimes carrot seed essence is also added to accentuate its effect in a fragrance). 

The iris can sometimes have an earthy and austere side, when one concentrates on its rhizome aspect in a perfume.  Nevertheless, it is a raw material with a very elegant fragrance that magnifies on the skin. 

The iris, the origin of the powdery note in perfumes, was used to perfume the first rice powders, hence the use of this term in perfumery. The iris thus brings a powdery, dry and unsweetened scent to perfumes, very elegant and with a retro touch. It is often used for powdery floral accords or for oriental or woody accords.

 

Mimosa: the flower of the riviera

Its name comes from the Latin mimus, which means stuffing, a reference to some of its leaves that retract when touched. There are two qualities: the déabalta and the farnesia.

The mimosa is a flower that is difficult to work with in perfumery. Mainly cultivated in the south of France, India, Egypt and Morocco. This flower is treated by extraction with volatile solvents, a technique that makes it possible to obtain an absolute. The scent of the mimosa is floral, powdery and almond-shaped with a fairly pronounced green facet. The green facet has points in common with the violet leaf, and may also have accents of cucumber or even melon, as the leaves are distilled at the same time as the yellow balls of the flower.

Cassie: the cousin of the mimosa

The cassia flower is a flower of the acacia family, just like mimosas (unlike the latter, there are thorns on the cassia branches). Like mimosa, the cassia flower is a rather difficult flower to work with in perfumery. Its smell is denser and mysterious, with animal notes close to those of ylang-ylang, sulphur effects and aldehydic accents. The cassia flower is rare and rather reserved for fine perfumery. It has a herbaceous, powdery, spicy, woody, balsamic, honeyed, but also aniseed and leathery scent. In perfumery, cassia blends very well with iris, mimosa and violet notes. This shrub, originally from India, is cultivated around the Mediterranean, mainly in Egypt and the semi-tropical regions. 

Violet, Ionone or Methyl Ionone: the shy flower

Ionones or methyl ionones are used to obtain violet scents in perfumes. The first ionone was discovered in 1890. Ionones allowed perfumers to reproduce the scent of violet flowers quite faithfully. Indeed, the violet used in its natural form does not deliver its soul.

Heliotrope or Heliotropine: the vanilla flower

The heliotrope, also called heliotropine, is the name of a plant of the Boraginaceae family. The flower does not give off its fragrance when processed naturally in perfumery, but a synthetic raw material discovered in 1869 by Fittig and Mielk does. It can also be obtained from vanilla (Vanilla Tahitensis). The heliotrope has a floral, almond-like scent similar to mimosa and lilac.

Rare flowers

Among the rare flowers used in the composition of perfumes there are:

Reseda: the retro flower

This herbaceous plant with fragrant flowers spreads a light cloud of honey, lily of the valley and narcissus around it.

Champaca: the strange flower

The Michelia champaca is a very fragrant white flower used in its natural form, it is highly prized in perfumery. Very ambery, it has a hay, dew, honeyed scent, with a ylang-ylang effect, like a heady, spicy jasmine and an animal note in the base.

Broom: the honeyed flower

The broom is a shrub with fragrant and poisonous golden yellow flowers that is mainly found in the South of France. It delivers its fragrance naturally, and has a fruity, bitter, orange blossom-like fragrance, with hints of honey and tobacco.

Pittosporum: the flower of the bush

Pittosporum is native to Australia, South Africa, South-East Asia and the South of France. It is a small tree with beautiful evergreen, glossy foliage and white, greenish flowers. It is impossible to obtain a species or an absolute. There are therefore reconstitutions. Its fragrance is floral, between orange blossom and jasmine.

Mahonia: the mysterious flower

Mahonia is native to America and Asia. It is an evergreen shrub with holly-like, slightly prickly leaves. It has a slight smell of honey, lily of the valley and narcissus (only exists in reproduction).

Karo Karoundé: the charismatic flower

Karounde karo is a spicy flower from South Africa, used as a natural product in perfumery. It has a scent close to narcissus, very green and rather "animal leather".

Other flowers

Honeysuckle

Its scent perfumes the air, but like lily of the valley or lilac, it is a silent flower, that does not deliver its scent. Difficult to pierce its secret! So you have to try to reproduce its fragrance by mixing natural and synthetic notes, to try to get closer to its scent which is rather delicate and is between fresh jasmine, orange blossom with slightly honeyed touches. There are few fragrances on the market based on the dominant note of honeysuckle, as its scent is so difficult to tame.

Floral fragrances

Here is a list of fragrances classified according to the flowers they contain : 

Lily of the valley

  • Diorissimo Dior
  • Muguet Guerlain
  • Muguet de Porcelaine Hermès

Narcissus

  • Mont de Narcisse L’Artisan Parfumeur
  • Cologne Indélébile Frédéric Malle
  • Eau de Narcisse Bleu Hermès
  • Narcisse noir Caron    
  • Eau de Rochas Rochas

Daffodil

  • Vol de Nuit Guerlain
  • Velvet Orchid Tom Ford
  • Eau de printemps L’Artisan Parfumeur
  • Dolce Rosa Dolce Gabanna
  • Je Reviens Worth

Tuberose

  • Tubéreuse Criminelle Lutens
  • Fracas Piguet 
  • Le Premier Parfum Chloé  
  • Poison Dior
  • Nuit de Tubéreuse L’Artisan Parfumeur
  • Jardins de Bagatelle Guerlain
  • Parfum Terracotta Guerlain

Ylang-ylang

  • Lilylang Sylvaine Delacourte
  • Cruel Gardenia Guerlain
  • Terracotta Guerlain
  • Samsara Guerlain
  • Songes Annick Goutal
  • Organza Givenchy
  • Amarige Givenchy
  • N°5 Chanel

Jasmine

  • J’adore Dior
  • Jasmin des Anges Dior
  • Splendida Jasmin noir Bulgari
  • Shalimar Souffle Guerlain
  • A la Nuit Serge Lutens
  • Le parfum Elie Saab 
  • Jasmin rouge Tom Ford
  • Eau des Sens Diptyque
  • La Chasse aux Papillons L’Artisan Parfumeur 
  • Olyssia Sylvaine Delacourte

Mimosa

  • Mimosa pour moi L’Artisan parfumeur 
  • Champs Elysées Guerlain
  • Mimosa Pour Moi Indigo Atelier Cologne
  • Les infusions Mimosa Prada

Cassie

  • Fleurs de Cassie Frédéric Malle 
  • Après l’ondée Guerlain

Gardenia

  • Cruel Gardenia Guerlain 
  • Gardenia Chanel
  • Passion Annick Goutal
  • Songes Annick Goutal

Rose

  • Rose Kabuki Dior (exclusif)
  • Rose Gypsy Dior (exclusif)
  • Rose Sakura Dior (exclusif)
  • Miss dior roses N'Roses Dior (exclusif)
  • Izia Sisley
  • A la rose Francis Kurkdjan 
  • N°5 Chanel
  • Joy Patou
  • Paris YSL 
  • Nahéma Guerlain 
  • Idylle Guerlain
  • Rose barbare Guerlain
  • Drôle de Rose L’Artisan Parfumeur
  • Voleur de Rose L’Artisan Parfumeur
  • Lipstick Rose Frédéric Malle
  • Dovana Sylvaine Delacourte

Geranium

Carnation

Champaca

  • Champaca Comme Des Garçons

Violet / Iris

Iris

  • Après l’Ondée Guerlain
  • L’Heure bleue Guerlain
  • Iris Ganache Guerlain
  • Iris Pallida L’Artisan Parfumeur
  • Infusion d’iris Prada
  • Iris silver Mist Serge Lutens
  • Iris Gris Jacques Fath
  • Bas de soie Serge Lutens
  • Homme Dior
  • N°19 Chanel 
  • Iris Ukiyoé Hermès
  • Florentina Sylvaine Delacourte 
  • Dovana Sylvaine Delacourte

Orange blossom and neroli

Sylvaine Delacourte fragrances

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.