The 5 Most Fragrant Flowers In Perfumery
By Emmanuelle Moeglin, Founder & Perfumer · Classically trained at ISIPCA, 20 years in fragrance
White flowers are some of the most beautiful in the world, and some of the most powerful. Their heady, exotic, spicy and sweet scent fills a room in moments. So how are these flowers actually used in perfumery? Here are five of the most fragrant.
Jasmine
The word "jasmine" comes from the Persian yasmin, meaning fragrance. There are over 200 species of jasmine, but only two are used in perfumery: Jasminum sambac (native to China and India, now mainly grown in India) and Jasminum grandiflorum (native to Afghanistan and Iran, now widely grown in France).
Jasmine in perfumery
Jasmine is the king of flowers, with rose as the queen. Its scent is heady, spicy, slightly sweet and fruity, and beautifully animalic. That animalic facet is one reason white flowers are addictive to some and overwhelming to others. As with most florals, the absolute is obtained by solvent extraction: a viscous brown or yellow liquid. It takes around 750kg of flowers to yield just 1kg of absolute, making it one of the most expensive raw materials in perfumery, which is why jasmine is so often recreated synthetically. You could write an entire post on jasmine absolute alone. Watch the jasmine harvest at Firmenich.
Jasmine is the king of flowers, with rose as the queen.
Tuberose
Tuberose is one of the most powerful floral scents in perfumery. It recalls gardenia but is more carnal and voluptuous, with stronger earthy facets. A well-trained nose can pick out its metallic and buttery hints. Beware, though: this flower does not always smell lovely. As the petals brown, a note of rot emerges, so if you want some at home, keep it in full bloom.
A night-bloomer nicknamed "Queen of the Night", tuberose was so feared in Victorian England that young women were forbidden from its gardens after dark, lest they be seduced by the scent.
Tuberose in perfumery
Tuberose absolute is heady, spicy, creamy and exotic, and one of the most expensive raw materials in perfumery: roughly 3,600kg of flowers yield just 0.5kg of absolute. The natural extract is used in only the tiniest amounts, so most tuberose scents you have met are reconstitutions.
As the petals brown, a note of rot emerges.
Ylang Ylang
Though not white in colour, ylang ylang shares the family traits: heady and spicy with fruity, exotic, sweet facets. Nicknamed the "jasmine of the poor", it originates in South East Asia and now grows in Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas, on either a tree or a vine, both bearing large yellow or green flowers. They are picked at their most fragrant, when they take on a reddish tint.
Ylang ylang in perfumery
Ylang ylang oil comes in several grades: the "extra" and "first" are the most refined, the "second" and "third" less so. Only 400kg of flowers produce 1kg of oil, making it one of the most affordable naturally extracted white-flower materials. Its true character is hard to recreate synthetically. Salicylates (benzyl, hexyl and methyl) are important in ylang accords, bringing the unique solar and exotic notes, and their soft, mild balsamic quality adds a creamy effect.
Frangipani
Frangipani (plumeria) grows on trees as white, yellow or pink flowers, with a scent that is exotic, tropical and sultry. No surprise, given it is native to the tropics of South East Asia, the Caribbean and Brazil. Like jasmine and tuberose, it is most fragrant at night, a trick to lure pollinators, since the flowers produce no nectar.
Frangipani in perfumery
Frangipani is best described as exotic, tropical, heady, solar (sun-kissed), lactonic and sweet, jasmine- and tuberose-like, with notes of apricot, peach and a hint of lemon. It is almost always reconstituted, using lactonic fruity notes such as coconut, solar notes such as salicylates, and white-flower notes. The name has a curious origin: it comes from a 16th-century Italian master glover-perfumer whose perfume, made with orris, spices, civet and musk and no plumeria at all, scented the famous "Frangipani Gloves". The plumeria flower was later named after them by a French colonist who found its scent reminiscent of those gloves.
Narcissus
Narcissus is one of the only wildflowers still used in commercial fragrance. Native to the meadows and woods of southern Europe and north Africa, it is also widely grown across Asia and the Middle East. The name's exact origin is uncertain, but it is often tied to the Greek narke, meaning narcotic, fitting for the scent, and to the myth of Narcissus, the youth who fell in love with his own reflection, fell into the pool and drowned; the flower is said to grow where he died.
Narcissus in perfumery
Like its white-flower cousins, narcissus is rich, heady, spicy and animalic, set apart by green, honeyed, hay-like notes and a notable sweetness. It carries a hefty price: nearly 500kg of flowers yield just 1kg of "concrete" or 300g of absolute. Narcotic as it is, perfumers use it with great care, since the smallest touch can overwhelm a formula.
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Frequently asked questions about flowers in perfumery
▾ What are the most fragrant flowers used in perfumery?
Jasmine, tuberose, ylang ylang, frangipani and narcissus are among the most prized. Most belong to the heady, indolic "white flower" family known for filling a room.
▾ Why are floral absolutes so expensive?
Because it takes an enormous volume of flowers to extract a tiny amount of absolute, around 750kg of jasmine for 1kg, and roughly 3,600kg of tuberose for half a kilo. That scarcity is why many florals are recreated synthetically.
▾ What does jasmine smell like?
Heady, spicy, slightly sweet and fruity, with a beautifully animalic depth. That animalic quality is what makes white flowers so seductive, and occasionally divisive.
▾ Are the flower scents in perfume natural or synthetic?
Often a blend of both. Natural absolutes are costly and used sparingly, so many floral notes are reconstituted with synthetics, which also add stability and radiance.
▾ What is the difference between an absolute and an essential oil?
An absolute is obtained by solvent extraction, capturing the fullest, truest scent of delicate flowers. An essential oil is usually distilled. Fragile florals like jasmine and tuberose are extracted as absolutes because heat would destroy them.
▾ Why do white flowers smell stronger at night?
Many, like jasmine, tuberose and frangipani, are night bloomers that release more scent after dark to draw pollinators. It is also why their perfume feels at its most heady and seductive in the evening.
More on these notes: osmanthus, iris, and rose, the queen of flowers, or find your fragrance family.
