Cardamom perfumes

Seed pods with a cooling edge

Cardamom is the seed of Elettaria cardamomum, a plant from the ginger family. The pods are opened, dried and then distilled or extracted for perfumery. India and Guatemala are well-known sources, and houses sometimes say which one they use. The aroma is aromatic, fresh and a little camphorous, with citrus-like and eucalyptus-like facets and a green sweetness that stays cooler than cinnamon or clove.

A top note that sometimes goes deeper

Most pyramids put cardamom at the top, where its freshness registers in the first minutes and lifts bergamot, lavender and other lively notes. It is spicy without being heavy, so perfumers also use it to cool a sweet composition. A few houses place it in the heart, where it threads through rose, iris or nutmeg, or in the base, where it runs as a dry green line through woods and resins. It pairs well with citrus, lavender, rose, iris, incense, coffee and sandalwood.

How houses use cardamom

• Fascent Red Flag lists cardamom first in the top, with beetroot accord and ginger, ahead of iris and frankincense and a base of tonka, Palo Santo, vetiver and patchouli. Fascent calls it woody, earthy iris.
• Byredo Pulp sets cardamom after bergamot and blackcurrant, over fig, red apple and tiare, with cedarwood, peach flower and praline in the base. Byredo files it as fruity.
• Reinvented Eureka moves cardamom into the heart beside jasmine, black pepper and nutmeg, under bergamot, coffee and violet leaf. Reinvented calls it oriental spicy.
• Xerjoff Erba Gold names Guatemalan cardamom in the heart with cloves, green apple, melon and pear, under lemon, orange, bergamot and ginger. Xerjoff files it as Fresh, Fruity.
• Roja Parfums Enigma Pour Homme puts cardamom first in the base, ahead of ginger, pepper, patchouli, cognac and tobacco, below a heart of geranium, rose and neroli. See Roja Parfums.
• Lorenzo Pazzaglia Ginfusion places cardamom in the base with cedarwood, vetiver, sandalwood, wild juniper, oakmoss and amber, under a crowded heart of green tea, juniper, gin spirit and tarragon. Lorenzo Pazzaglia calls it Citrus · Aromatic.
• Le Labo Santal 33 is a flat list with no tiers: Le Labo gives cardamom, iris, violet, Australian sandalwood and cedarwood.

Choosing a cardamom perfume

Decide whether you want cardamom as a fresh spark or as a spice with weight. In the top, with citrus, ginger or lavender, it keeps a perfume bright and dry. In the heart, beside rose, pepper or nutmeg, it turns more aromatic and warm. In the base it melts into wood and amber. Look at its partners too: vanilla, tonka and rum soften it into warm sweetness, while iris, vetiver and incense keep it cool and dry.