Spicy notes in perfumery
Coralie Frébourg
Black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, ginger: spices are the little kick of warmth (or freshness) that changes everything. In perfumery as in cooking, they need precise dosing. Here's everything you need to know.
What is a spicy note?
Spicy notes bring warmth, freshness, bite and sparkle. They pair particularly well with woody and floral notes, thanks to their many facets.
Widely used, they are nonetheless not one of the six original olfactory families defined by the French Society of Perfumers (SFP): floral, citrus, woody, oriental, fougère and chypre. They are a facet.
A bit of history: the spice route
Spices are among the oldest fragrant materials. Precious, expensive, brought from the East along the spice route, they were used as much to perfume as to heal or preserve. In modern perfumery, they found their place at the heart of the great orientals such as Opium, but also in florals (carnation owes a lot to clove).
Warm spices or fresh spices?
Spicy notes fall into two main categories:
- Warm spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, cumin, saffron): enveloping, gourmand, sometimes leathery. They sit mainly in the heart and base.
- Fresh spices (pepper, pink pepper, cardamom, ginger, coriander): sparkling, zesty, bright. They light up the top of a perfume.
Key raw materials
Natural materials are marked with an asterisk.
Warm spices
- Cinnamon essence*: cinnamon, cola, balsamic
- Clove essence*: peppery, carnation, powdery
- Eugenol: clove, powdery, peppery
- Isoeugenol: vanilla, carnation, smoky
- Nutmeg essence*: warm, terpenic, peppery
- Cumin essence*: cumin, warm, dusty
- Safranal: saffron, leather, honey
Fresh spices
- Black pepper essence*: sharp, aromatic, woody
- Pink pepper essence*: peppery, fresh, terpenic
- Cardamom essence*: lemony, peppery, fresh
- Ginger essence*: peppery, lemony, resinous
- Coriander seed essence*: spicy, citrus, seedy
- Elemi essence*: peppery, zesty, incense
Iconic perfumes
- L'Air du Temps, Nina Ricci (1948), Francis Fabron: carnation floral
- Opium, Yves Saint Laurent (1977), Jean-Louis Sieuzac: spicy oriental
- Héritage, Guerlain (1992), Jean-Paul Guerlain: spicy woody
- Déclaration, Cartier (1998), Jean-Claude Ellena: spicy woody (cumin, cardamom)
- Safran Troublant, L'Artisan Parfumeur (2002), Olivia Giacobetti: spicy oriental
- Five O'Clock au Gingembre, Serge Lutens (2008), Christopher Sheldrake: spicy oriental
- Cardamusc, Hermès (2018), Christine Nagel: spicy musky
This list is not exhaustive: there are many beautiful launches, some iconic, others more commercial.
Where to find spices at Versatile?
At our place, spices come straight from the kitchen. The cinnamon and cardamom of the chai in Oh My Chaï. The pepper and spiced rum of Gueule de Bois. The touch of wasabi in Culot Thé. The fizzy cardamom of Dimanche Flemme. And for body care, the gourmand cardamom of Le Beurre Doux.
FAQ
Are spicy notes warm?
Not always! Pepper, cardamom and ginger mostly bring freshness and sparkle. Cinnamon, clove and cumin, on the other hand, warm things up.
Why does carnation smell of clove?
Because they share the same molecule: eugenol. That's why perfumers often recreate carnation with spicy notes.
Are spices allergenic?
Some molecules, such as eugenol or cinnamal, are among the allergens that must be declared on the label. Learn to read it in How to decode a cosmetic label.
