Flowers, so evocative of feminine beauty and delicate charm, form an integral part of a woman's world be it surrounding herself with fresh blooms or her fragrances. Hardly any woman would claim that she doesn't have a favourite among floral notes.
Recently Carolina Herrera ignited the imagination of a lot of women when she kick-started a "floral madness" fever of sorts with the launch of her women's floral perfume CH L'Eau. The entire campaign was centred around floral workshops that allowed women to arrange their own potted blooms, to celebrating flowers with floral origami papers as well as floral printed fabrics.
We know the effect flowers have on women. Which is why we found ourselves wondering how perfumers translate them into beautiful olfactive creations day after day. Olivier Cresp, the perfumer of CH L'Eau, who grew up in Grasse (France) surrounded by flower fields that were harvested and refined for perfume creations, dissects ten of his floral perfumery favourites. Cresp says jasmine, orange blossom, tuberose and gardenia are opulent blooms and therefore usually loved by sensual women. On the other hand, mimosa and violets have a powdery edge and are preferred by softer women who like comfortable scents. Heliotrope and lily of the valley are more subtle floral fragrances that are preferred by the discrete women. And the rose, of course, is the archetype of femininity and finds preference across the board. Here Cresp describes the blooms in words:
Orange blossom
A "sunny" flower, orange blossom grows in Spain, South of France and Morocco. Its scent is zesty, which is both sweet and bright. In perfumery, orange blossom is revered because of its ability to bring together a bouquet of aromas when blended with other scents. Orange blossom brings softness and luminosity to CH L'Eau.
Mimosa
With its floral, powdery and honeyed scent, mimosa is an emblematic flower of the South of France. For Cresp, the smell of mimosa brings back fond childhood memories. The flower concrete is obtained through solvent extraction (spraying fresh flowers with volatile solvents). The mimosa absolute (essence) is then obtained by rinsing the concrete with alcohol. Mimosa was brought to Europe by the end of the 17th century and firstly adapted to the climate of Great Britain. It quickly spread along the Mediterranean coast of Menton. Now it is mainly cultivated in Southern France, Egypt, India and Morocco.
Lily of the valley
Delicate little bell-shaped flowers, which bloom on forest floors in May (they are also known as May Bells or May Lily). Its scent is sweet and similar to nutmeg. In legends, it is the sweet scent of the lily of the valley that attracts the nightingale back to the woods. Its scent is delicate and green, but it is so fragile, it cannot be distilled and so has to be replicated synthetically. Cresp used it in CH L'Eau where he presented it as a tender and green scent.
Heliotrope
Deep purple flowers that have an intense fragrance, which is warm, sunny with hints of vanilla, honey and almond - a very comforting smell. In Greek, the word heliotrope means "turn to the sun", as the flowers always look to the East in the morning and follow, facing up, the sun to the West throughout the day. In floral terminology, heliotrope represents devotion and faithfulness. Cresp used heliotrope in CH L'Eau to add a subtle powdery note similar to lilac or mimosa.
Violet
The appearance of the violets in Grasse in February signals the beginning of Spring and warmer weather therefore bringing a feeling of optimism and happiness. Violets are used in perfumery because olfactively speaking they are both suave and iridescent and have a persistent and very characteristic trail. To "picture" their scent, imagine the Parma Violet sweets. Cresp used violets in CH L'Eau to bring a roundness and delicacy to the fragrance.
Gardenia
A part of the white floral olfactive family, gardenia's fragrance is opulent, green and tuberose-like. Originally from North America and China, gardenia blooms in sunny and temperate climates. There is no gardenia essential oil as such, but the perfumer can reconstitute its fragrance from his palette of raw materials. The flower owes its name to Alexander Garden, an 18th century Scottish botanist who was the first to describe it. Full of spiritual connotations, the gardenia is often used during ritual ceremonies to symbolise love wishes.
Rose
One of the most cultivated flowers of the world, the scent of a rose can be described as rich and opulent with little touches of spices, wood and honey. Today, we can count over 3,000 species of roses but the two top roses used in perfumery are the Rosa Damascena and the Rosa Centifolia. A very fragile flower, it has to be harvested in the morning to fully extract the freshness of the night and the first sunlight of the morning. Once the roses are gathered, the blooms have to be taken to a distillation plant for the oil to be extracted by steam distillation as soon as possible. The weight of oil extracted is about 1/3000 to 1/6000 of the weight of the flowers; for example, about 2,000 rose flowers produce 1ml of rose oil.
Tuberose
A herbaceous plant with bulbs and a long floral stem featuring clusters of highly perfumed white flowers. The velvety white petals emanate a suave, enveloping scent. In perfumery, the tuberose scent is described as a floral, opulent, fruity lactonic accord. It has both jasmine and orange-like tones. Tuberose originated in India and Mexico and was imported to Europe by 1600. Tuberose concrete is obtained through volatiles solvent extraction of the fresh flowers. The tuberose absolute is then obtained by rinsing the concrete with alcohol.
Freesia
For Cresp, freesia conjures the images of a bright, sunny day and he loves it in all its varied colours. Soft and enticing, freesia emanates a sophisticated floral scent, that can be described as intriguing, long-lasting and enigmatic. There is a light and luminous tone to the scent, which is similar to jasmine or orange blossom with a slightly fruitier touch. Some may offer bouquets of roses, but Cresp says, he'd rather offer freesias. In CH L'Eau, he used yellow freesias.
Jasmine
Jasmine, said to be the king of scents, is one of Cresp's favourite raw materials. The extraction process begins with the hand-picking of the flowers after they open at night. Harvesting continues through to the morning, before the sun drives the aroma from the flowers. Jasmine oil starts its journey as a "concrete" (aromatic compounds obtained after submerging flowers in a solvent). An "absolute" (essence) is then obtained from the concrete, by separation with alcohol. The essential oil is then produced from the absolute by steam distillation. In CH L'Eau, Cresp allowed the jasmine to reveal itself gradually in order to bring a sensual edge to the fragrance.
