The floral family in perfumery
Coralie Frébourg
Rose, jasmine, tuberose, iris, orange blossom: the floral family is the largest and most-worn in the world. And contrary to what marketing taught us, flowers are not just for women. Let's decode it.
What is the floral family?
Florals are one of the six original olfactory families defined by the French Society of Perfumers (SFP), alongside citrus, woody, oriental, fougère and chypre.
It brings together all perfumes whose heart is a single flower (soliflore) or a bouquet, with many sub-families: white flowers, rosy, powdery, jasmine-like…
A bit of history: thank you, Marie-Antoinette
Perfume has existed since ancient Egypt, yet flowers only really took over quite late. For centuries, people mostly wore resins, spices and animalic notes (civet, castoreum, ambergris, musk), very effective at covering body odors at a time when hygiene was not a priority.
In the 18th century, with Marie-Antoinette, the era of refinement began. The queen adored flowers (rose, iris, violet…) and inspired the perfumers of her time. The fashion never left us. That's also where the (very debatable) association between floral perfumes and femininity comes from: we explain why it's a cliché in Stop the clichés in perfumery.
What do florals smell like?
It depends on the flower! And a little surprise: in their natural state, many flowers don't smell the way we imagine. Rose evokes artichoke or geranium, jasmine is animalic and medicinal. Synthesis softens, rounds off and even recreates “silent” flowers such as lily of the valley, whose scent can't be extracted.
Most floral notes are heart notes, the ones that give body to a perfume.
Key raw materials
Natural materials are marked with an asterisk.
White flowers
- Ylang-ylang essence*: solar, spicy, creamy
- Tuberose absolute*: heady, creamy, hay
- Benzyl salicylate: white flower, almondy, solar
Rosy
- Damask rose absolute*: lychee, honeyed, artichoke
- Geranium essence*: lychee, bright, herbal
- Citronellol: lychee, soft, soapy
- Phenylethyl alcohol: lilac, rose, winey
Powdery
- Iris concrete*: earthy, buttery, leather
- Ionones: violet, woody, fruity
- Methyl ionone gamma: iris-like, violet, soft
Jasmine-like
- Jasmine grandiflorum absolute*: solar, indolic, fruity
- Jasmine sambac absolute*: fruity, orange-like, ripe melon
- Benzyl acetate: fruity, jasmine, solvent
Orange blossom
- Neroli essence*: honey, fresh, green (all about neroli)
- Petitgrain bigarade essence*: aromatic, tea, fresh
Fresh and transparent
- Linalool: zesty, lavender-like, coriander
- Hydroxycitronellal: lily of the valley, watery, soft
- Hedione: transparent, jasmine, watery
Iconic perfumes
- N°5, Chanel (1921), Ernest Beaux: aldehydic floral
- L'Air du Temps, Nina Ricci (1948), Francis Fabron: carnation floral
- Diorissimo, Dior (1956), Edmond Roudnitska: lily of the valley floral
- Paris, Yves Saint Laurent (1983), Sophia Grojsman: floral bouquet
- Poison, Dior (1985), Édouard Fléchier: tuberose floral
- L'Eau d'Issey, Issey Miyake (1992), Jacques Cavallier: aquatic floral
- J'adore, Dior (1999), Calice Becker: jasmine floral
- Flower, Kenzo (2000), Alberto Morillas: musky floral
This list is not exhaustive: there are many beautiful launches, some iconic, others more commercial.
Where to find flowers at Versatile?
No “floral” aisle at our place (and no pink bottles on the left, blue on the right). But flowers are there, twisted the food way: the jasmine of Culot Thé, with tea, apricot and a hint of wasabi. The rose of Accrodisiaque, with blueberry, matcha and leather. And the sunny neroli of Sea, Sud & Sun. All genderless, of course.
FAQ
Are floral perfumes feminine?
No. It's a marketing legacy. In the Middle East, rose is worn by men as much as by women. A perfume has no gender.
Why is lily of the valley synthetic?
Because it's a “silent” flower: its scent can't be extracted. Perfumers recreate it with molecules such as hydroxycitronellal.
What is a soliflore?
A perfume built around a single flower, which it puts center stage: a rose, a tuberose, a jasmine…
