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Florientals & White Florals

White Camelia
I spent the last two weeks teaching two courses back-to-back: Oriental Week and Floriental Week. So naturally I'm a bit obsessed with white florals right now... This fragrance category is arguably the most popular of all florals, even more than roses. So now seems like an aptly timing to discuss them and shed some light on this concept.

As with most perfumery terms, the name is borrowed from another realm or sense - in this case vision. Most of what we call "white florals" originate indeed in flowers whose colour is white, such as jasmine, gardenia and orange blossom. However, it is not their actual colour that determines whether or not they belong to this category; but rather their chemical makeup and character. Some white flowers don't belong to it, such as lily of the valley, which is actually "green"; while others don't have a scent at all, as the camellia pictured above (taken at Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver's Chinatown). Other flowers which belong to this category but are not necessarily white are ylang ylang and jonquille (the first is a creamy yellow-green, and the latter is as bright yellow as its relative the daffodil). Lilies are another great example – even though some lilies are pink or orange (like the tiger-lily), their scent is so heavy and narcotic they would be considered white florals as well.

White florals are characterized by a complex chemical makeup that is experienced as heady, narcotic, heavy and animalic all at once, at times also creamy. On the natural perfumer's palette this includes natural absolutes or enfleurage extractions of jasmine, tuberose, ylang ylang, gardenia, tiare, orange flower, narcissus, jonquile, etc. While the animals component of these flowers can vary from leathery to fecal, they all seem to possess a sweet, fruity, heavy, grape-like quality due to the presence of methyl anthranilate in some amount or another, and they all have benzyl acetate in common, which is an overall light, white floral, pleasant but rather ethereal molecule, and according to Jean-Claude Ellena are reminiscent of bananas. I think it also smells a little like acetone.

In his book "Perfume - The Alchemy of Scent", nose Jean-Claude Ellena defines the characterisic of "white flowers" as relying on the combination of methyl anthranilate and indole, and includes honeysuckle in this category (which is not altogether inappropriate, but to me honeysuckle smells more soapy, fresh and aldehydic). He classifies Ylang Ylang under a "Exotic of Spiced Flowers", alongside lilies and carnation - notes that are characterized by the combination of benzyl salicylate and eugenol. I don't completely disagree with him, but don't agree either.

As a visual representation of the various nuances among the white florals, I like to arrange them in my mind as a circle, each sharing a key quality with the two essences on each side. This is what I like to see in my head:

Narcissus - the greenest of all white florals, and with unusually mushroomy quality. It is floral and even a bit spicy. Very dark and complex and difficult to find and easy to get lost in a composition if not well-proportioned. The animalic aspect here comes from the purring leathery molecule paracresol. There is also an underlying note of coffee and hay which give it a surprising richness and allure. The main constitutes of narcissus: benzyl acetate, methyl benzoate, p-cresol, phenethyl alcohol and indole.

Jonquille - Very similar to narcissus, but a tad more honeyed and sweet. Richly indolic, powdery, animalic and sweet, somewhat green as well.

Tuberose - The creamiest of all white floral, also with green and fungal (mushroomy) aspects, and therefore I like to place it near the narcissus notes (narcissus absolute and jonquille, which by the way, are also tuberose's botanical relatives). The animalic aspect here is paracresol - an acrid, dry, with an almost leathery quality. Tuberose also has distinctive medicinal components, such as methyl salicilate (reminiscent of wintergreen) and camphoreous, eucalyptus-like notes. Alongside the methyl anthranilate grapeyness, it's no surprise many associate it with cough syrup.

Ylang Ylang - Creamy as well, and also shares the paracresol as its animalic aspect with tuberose, as well as the medicinal nuances, but is also more fruity, with banana esters being the most prominent. Ylang ylang also has some spiciness to it, from eugenol. Ylang ylang is also very similar to lilies, which I would place in close proximity to the tuberose and gardenia as well.

Gardenia - very similar to jasmine sambac, but less orange-blossom-like and more creamy and milky fruity qualities.  This is of course in relation to gardenia absolute.

Jasmine Grandiflorum - Jasmine shares the fruitiness and jam-like qualities with ylang ylang - only instead of bananas I'm smelling peach and apricot. There is some of the leatheriness of paracresol but it's far more subdued in comparison to the dominant fecal notes of indole and skatole.

Jasmine Sambac - Shares many aspects with jasmine, but with a far more dominant methyl anthranilate quality to it. The indole and skatole are very muted in here. Jasmine sambac is intensely fruity, juicy and exotic, reminiscent of gardenia but far greener.

Orange Blossom Absolute - Methyl anthranilate can really jump up here, but so are other more typical citrusy-floral elements such as linalyl acetate (present in bergamot and petitgrain, among others)

Orange Flower Water Absolute - This links nicely between the orange blossom and back to the narcissus absolute with started with - because it has more green and earthy qualities.

P.s. I've been asked several times since posting this, about which of my perfumes are white florals. So here's a short list of all: GiGi, Moon Breath, Narkiss, Schizm (a Chypre Fantasy), Tamya, Treazon, White Potion, Yasmin, Zohar

Lavender Nuances - Olfactory Profiling

Lavender Harvest & Steam Distillation Festival at Sacred Mountain Farm

LAVENDER VARIETIES
Lavender is a native of the Mediterranean basin first and foremost, but has such a flexible and hardy constitution, that it is now cultivated all over the world. Of particular interest is English lavender, which develops unique characteristics (sweet and warm) despite the lesser amount of sunshine than ideal that it receives than in its native Provence; and I've sampled some exceptionally beautiful lavenders grown in relatively mountainous areas in India (Kasmir) and also from Tasmania (Australia). And even the Canadian ones I've experienced, despite its relatively low yield, is lovely when grown with tender care in small organic farms. Whichever is the case, sample your lavender first before you cast an opinion based only on the stamps on its passport.

Not only the type of lavender grown, but also where it has grown and under what conditions - the resulting aroma profile would be noticeably different. The following are brief impressions of several specimens I've studied and worked with. Most of them (unless otherwise specified) are from Lavandula angustifolia. Lavender that was grown in higher altitudes develops a much finer aroma due to a higher concentration of esters. But that is not the one and only reason for the superiority of high-altitude lavender: in high altitudes, water's boiling point is only 93 celsius, which means that less components get ruined in the process, and the more of the delicate esters also remain in the finished oil!

The reason esters are so desirable? They form among the most pleasant-smelling (functional) group of molecules. Among the esters you'll find many fruity nuances, but not nearly in-your-face as the fruity aldehydes. Most of the esters found in lavender oil are terpene esters: Linalyl acetate, geranyl acetate, octene-3-yl acetate, lavandulyl acetate (which is an insect pheromone, and might explain why the bees love lavender so much!) and neryl acetate. I detect a hint of pear in the high-altitude lavenders I've smelled, which must come from the latter (it is described as a floral, rosy, sweet, soapy, fruity, dewy with orange blossom and pear-like notes).

The effects of terroir and the particular hybrid or type of lavender selected for distillation, as well as the method of distillation makes a difference in the finished raw materials. This could be either very subtle (as the difference between the same species, L. angustifolia, in various countries or elevations) or extremely different (as we'll see when comparing lavender that was steam distilled versus solvent extraction).

The following are my own impressions from specimens that are in my collection:

Lavender Hydrosol
Artisan distillation by Dabney Rose. Curiously, it was distilled from the Mailette variety, while immersed with an amethyst crystal. It has a pure, clean aroma and the coumarin content is noticeable. I use it as a facial toner, but high quality lavender hydrosol could also be used in small amounts in eau de colognes as well.

Lavender grown in high elevation (France)
Herbaceous, a little like rosemary. A hint of rose-geranium. Slightly musty undertones. You can kinda smell it had hard time growing on the Alps... Smells like a very short, struggling plant. Dry down: hints of musk & wood base.

Lavender Maillette (France)
A cultivar of L. angustifolia Dray, clean, floral, woody. Sweet, hint of bery. Crystalline. Clean, clear, almost rosewoody. Has a higher content of linalyl acetate than any other lavender cultivar.

Wild Lavender (France) - Lavandula angustifolia 
Opens sweet and soft and floral, almost rosy even. Dries down into a sweet and grassy, airy lavender.

Lavender Oil (Tasmania, Australia)
Berry, myrrh-like, soft, green yet spicy-herbaceous. Light yet warm & comex. A little like sage/clary sage?

Lavender Super (Bulgaria)
Heavy, dirty, earhty. Herbaceouse, very fern-like. Slightly wine-like. Clean-herbaceous undertones.

Lavender Kashmir
Velvety, suede, smooth, powdery, potent, powerful but soft. Slightly herbaceous, hardly medicinal. Floral, powdery like scented leather gloves. Woody, slightly musty undertones.

Lavender Jerusalem
Wild lavender from the mountains surrounding Jerusalem that I had many years ago and ran out of. A little more camphoreous and herbaceous than the others reviewed so far. It might have been lavandin, but the labeling (in Hebrew) did not have the scientific name, unfortunately.

Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia)
A hybrid which was created in the 1950s, and therefore does not produce seed but requires slips to reproduce. Lavandin is a cross between "Spike Lavender" or "Aspic" as it's known in French (L. latifolia) and "True Lavender" (L. angustifolia), this variety has a very similar appearance to true lavender, except that it has longer, slightly winding flowering tops. It has a tremendously higher yield at 2-2.5% per hectare (compare to L. angustifolia at 1% per hectare). While this is a blessing for the farmers and distillers, from a perfumer's point of view lavandin is inferior to lavender. The higher yield is due not only to the longer flowering tops, but also to a higher content of components such as cineole and camphor. Lavandin in general is less complex and more rustic than lavender. Comparing to the highly resourceful lavender - lavandin is relatively useless in aromatherapy and for healing purposes; but has been enthusiastically embraced by functional perfumers, who use it primarily in soaps, candles and household cleaning products due to its low-cost appeal and less delicate constituents. Lavandin also makes wonderful sachets that repel insects such as moth from ruining natural fibres.

Lavandin Grosso (Lavandula x intermedia)
What is referred to by some as "French Lavender" is really lavandin - a cross between true lavender (L. anguvstifolia) and spike lavender (L. latifolia). It is what is most commonly used to stuff sachets that are used to scent linens and keep moth away from wool and silk. Perhaps that is why when I first encountered lavandin oil in Grasse, France - it smelled more like lavender to me on blind tests than the true lavender oil did.
Lavandin gross is one variety of lavandin with an earthy, more camphoreous character than that of true lavender.

Lavandin Super (Lavandula x intermedia)
Lavandin super has a more bright aroma than the grosso, and also more delicate almost fruity nuances - I'm guessing from a higher ester content. But smell it again, this time after you've smelled fine high-altitude French lavender - and it smells rather aggressive and herbaceous in comparison.

Lavender Absolute (Lavandula angustifolia) - France
Musty turquoise colour liquid. Penetrating. Musty, airy, etheral. Ambery base. Musty/musky yet clean & sweet, a little lemony even?

Lavender Absolute (Lavandula angustifolia) - Bulgaria
Dark green, almost opaque colour. Strong coumarin presence. Very similar to the real, living plant.

Lavender Concrete 
Olive green paste. Even more realistically plant-like than the absolute. It is wonderful is créme parfums. It reminds me a bit of lavender tea (either in a blend with other herbs or in a Lavender Earl Gray). 

Spike Lavender (Lavandula spicata)
"Spike lavnder (spica) is warm and dry, and its warmth is healthy. Whoever cooks spike lavender with wine, or if the person does now have wine, then with honey and water, and drinks it lukewarm often, soothes the pain in his or her liver and lungs, and makes his or her thinking and mind pure". 
(Hildegard von Bingen, "Physica"). In her entry on galangal in the same book (spelled galingale) she prescribes a remedy for palsy made of pulverized galangal, nutmeg, spike lavender, githerut (gith, AKA nigella or black cumin), lovage, female fern and saxifrage. I do not have any essential oil from spike lavender - and it is not much in use nowadays as lavender is far superior to it, and lavandin, its hybrid with spike lavender, has a much greater commercial success. 

Seville Lavender (Lavandula stoechas subspp. luisieri) - Spain
I have a L. stoechas bush in my garden, and it has an intensely animals, almost goat-like aroma, recalling herding on the Mediterranean hills. The flowers of this species also look very different than other lavenders - rather than a stem with many little tiny buds, they look more like a spikelet of wheat, with a purple flame of petals at the top.
The absolute I have smells like a non-lavender lavender. Raspberry, hay, almost like osmanthus and linden blossom. Sweet is not the right word but sour isn't either. Fruity in an odd, fascinating way. Dark like a herbal witch brew - over steeped rosemary and sage. Resinous and sweet, a little like fir absolute.

Seville Lavender (Lavandula stoechas)

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