What isa "white flower" smell in perfumery? You'll tell us: easy, it smells like a flower! Of course, but we are talking here more precisely about all the flowers with white petals. Among them, tuberose, jasmine or orange blossom - to name only the most famous.
Prized by fragrance designers for many years, white flowers are used for their elegance, innocence and purity. But beware, appearances are deceiving! At first glance, these flowers are wise, but they reveal much more daring facets than they appear. Carnal, sensual and sometimes even heady, they can also give off animal - or even narcotic - scents, as most of them have a common molecule: indole, a natural animal note. Intrigued? Let's take a look at these deceptively wise white flowers.
Tuberose
Tuberose is a dream for lovers of floral scents. It originates from Egypt and India, in the south of the country, where growing flowers is a popular tradition.
This white flower can exist in its natural form in perfumery. However, choosing a natural tuberose to compose a fragrance has a cost. Harvested by hand, tuberose is a fragile flower that requires precise know-how to extract its absolute. Moreover, it is a white flower with a very low yield: count 2000 flowers to obtain barely 1kg of absolute... That's a lot of flowers.
Originally obtained by enfleurage, an ancestral method which consists of imprisoning the flower petals in a layer of animal fat in order to extract the absolute, it is now generally obtained by extraction with volatile solvents, a less tedious method - and above all, vegan!
A third - and much less expensive - option is available to perfumers: to use a tuberose whose scent has been reconstituted through synthesis.
Whatever the method used, the result is generally the same: an ultra-sensual, creamy, honeyed, sunny and very deep scent. By choosing synthesis, perfumers can choose to focus on one facet rather than another.
Although it is already powerful and heady, its scent becomes even more intense once night falls. For the record: this flower is so fragrant and narcotic that in Italy during the Renaissance, young girls were not allowed to walk in the gardens because the tuberoses found there would have given them ideas that were apparently not very catholic... You can imagine!
Its notes also work well with other flowers. Jasmine and orange blossom are among the white flowers that go best with tuberose.
This marvellous marriage can be found in Pleine LuneThe floral and very "white flowers" eau de parfum from Bastille where tuberose is associated with neroli, orange blossom and jasmine. If you want to get an idea of what it smells like, dip your nose in Pleine Lune, you won't be disappointed!
Jasmine
Jasmine is one of the king ingredients for perfume manufacturers. A white flower with a pure scent, jasmine boasts a privileged relationship with the world of perfumery. There are more than 200 varieties of jasmine worldwide but two of them are generally used for composition: Grandiflorum jasmine and Sambac jasmine.
The first variety is widely cultivated in Egypt, Italy, India and France, notably in Grasse, alongside the famous centifolia rose. Grandiflorum jasmine is recognised by its opulent, rich, green scent with a medicinal aspect and fruity tones.
As for Sambac jasmine, the second variety of jasmine, it comes mainly from India and its scent is characterised by more animalic notes, with fruity nuances of banana but also sunny orange blossom.
Regardless of variety, jasmine is a prime white flower for the production ofeau de parfum, perfume and eau de toilette - the distinction between these three terms is sometimes thin, but real. However, it is still an expensive raw material. The extraction of its absolute, whether it is Sambac or Grandiflorum jasmine (either by enfleurage or by volatile solvents as for tuberose), requires a lot of time and, as for tuberose, precise know-how: the harvest is done by hand, very early at dawn in order to preserve the quality of the jasmine and requires unparalleled skill! To obtain 1kg of flowers, 10,000 flowers are needed and for 1kg of absolute, count on about 4000€.
Orange blossom
Orange blossom is to perfumery what herbs are to cooking. There is always a good reason to use them.
Although it is known to have originated in the Far East, its essence and scent have led to its spread throughout the world. In the Mediterranean basin, in the rich valleys of Egypt as well as in the flower fields of Italy, the orange blossom answers the call of the horticulturists.
Its richness and success lie in its ability to produce 4 raw materials with very different olfactory facets:
- Neroli essence, obtained by steam distillation of the flowers - it's the only white flower to withstand this extraction method - is fresh, lavender, citrusy, sweet and even powdery. You'll find it in Rayon Vertour new spring-scented eau de parfum. In this fragrance, neroli expresses its citrus facets and adds freshness to the composition.
- Theessence of petit grain, also obtained by steam distillation but this time from the flowers AND leaves, is greener, more vegetal and lavender.
- The bitter orange, whose skin is treated by expression and which gives theessence of bigarade orange has more bitter, zesty and acidic facets.
- Finally, the famous orange blossom absolute. Obtained by extraction with volatile solvents, its essence is more intense, more indolent/animal, sensual and narcotic than its three companions.
Orange blossom's olfactory versatility naturally bridges scents and emotions, making it a highly prized white flower for perfume houses. It also forms dreamy associations with other white flowers such as frangipani, gardenia and Tiaré flower.
Tiaré flower
Speak of the devil! Tiaré is an exotic flower straight from Tahiti. In fact, it's the emblem of both Tahiti and French Polynesia. This white flower, which blooms in tropical climates, is well known to Bastille and every perfumer. Its fragrance is sure to remind you of your summer vacations. Because yes, the monoi that accompanies you to the beaches in summer doesn't come from the monoi flower, but from the meeting of the Tiaré flower and copra - or coconut - oil.
Naturally, the Tiaré flower gives off a sensual scent with notes that make you travel.
Obtained by extraction with volatile solvents or by a local technique similar to enfleurage (to obtain the famous monoi oil), the Tiaré flower brings to the compositions a sweet and intoxicating scent with exotic and solar nuances.
In its natural state, Tiaré flower is often used sparingly: it is a flower with character that needs to be treated very delicately. Otherwise its natural smell after extraction can be very disappointing. In this case, and as with other white flowers, perfumers can also choose to reproduce its scent using synthesis.
The frangipani flower
Often confused with the Tiaré flower, the frangipani flower is a sacred Asian flower with vanilla and almond scents that smell like holidays and sunshine.
Symbolising the purity of the soul because of its whiteness, the frangipani flower brings sunshine to compositions.
It goes wonderfully well with floral fragrances, particularly for its gourmand and powdery facets, but also with oriental fragrances for its ultra-exotic notes.
To the dismay of perfumers, this sacred flower does not deliver its fragrance in its natural state. In other words, it is a "mute flower" from which no extraction method can extract its delicate fragrance. Perfumers must therefore reproduce it by reconstituting its scent: a clever mix of natural raw materials (such as ylang-ylang) and synthetic molecules.
The magnolia
The fertile lands of the Far East and China are home to a flower that blooms (from February to June) with a sweet and fragrant scent. This is the magnolia, a white flower which, depending on the time of flowering, ranges from pristine white to pink to pinkish white.
The flower has the ability to attract pollinating insects, but not only that. Perfumers also use it to create intoxicating and voluptuous fragrances. Its sunny, green, almost citrus notes make it a mysterious white flower prized for its many facets.
At Bastille, the home of natural, vegan, made-in-France perfumes, the magnolia plays an irreplaceable supporting role in the Bataille. This eau de parfum, with its predominantly woody notes, delivers magnolia in its quintessential form and brings a green, citrus twist to the composition. Top, middle and base notes work together to create the perfect coup for a fragrance with character: a true battle between water and fire.
With zero hidden ingredients, as with all the fragrances in the collection, Bataille captures the fragrant qualities of magnolia: fresh, green, lemony but also sunny and slightly vanilla.
Gardenia
Snow-white at its peak, the gardenia has a scent that is permanently imprinted on the subconscious. It is a flower that comes from India, the Philippines, Japan, China and the United States. This white flower is appreciated by perfumers for its unforgettable scent.
Unforgettable in its natural state, but its absolute, obtained from the extraction of the gardenia flower, unfortunately bears no resemblance to what nature lets us smell.
Its scent must therefore be reproduced in a laboratory using a mixture of natural essences and synthetic molecules. However, gardenia generally brings green, floral, fruity and woody aspects to compositions.
Ylang ylang
Last olfactory journey to the tropics with the ylang-ylang flower! Native to South-East Asia and more particularly to the Molucca archipelago located in the east of Indonesia, this white flower is, for this country, the "flower of flowers". Nowadays cultivated in the Comoros archipelago and in Madagascar, ylang-ylang is particularly appreciated by perfumers for its richness and olfactory power.
The absolute of this ultra seductive flower obtained by steam distillation has a very different smell from its fresh flower. Very exotic, ylang-ylang is an exuberant, sunny, colourful yet wild, narcotic and sensual raw material. Its smell is halfway between jasmine and tuberose: floral, fruity and even spicy.
With its multiple facets, ylang-ylang has a major advantage: it can be combined with many olfactory families and compositions. It can brighten up rather "wise" floral compositions by bringing depth and sensuality, soften very hesperidic perfumes or accentuate perfumes with musky notes. A true Swiss Army knife, ylang-ylang can also accompany fruity perfumes with its exotic facet and can be found in oriental perfumes for its creamier facet which combines wonderfully with spicy notes such as vanilla.
Be careful though, because in the wrong dosage, this white flower can quickly smell like an overripe banana or even worse, reveal medicated notes... not crazy. Expressing the good aspects of ylang-ylang: a real balancing act for our friends the perfumers!
Now you know all about these mysterious and multi-faceted flowers! So what are your favourite white flowers?
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Photos: Nick Prideaux, Yoann Leveque, Flavia Sistiaga and Inconnus
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