Floral perfumes

One word, many gardens

Floral is the broadest family in perfumery. Some flowers can be turned into oils or absolutes, among them jasmine, rose, orange blossom and tuberose. Others, such as lily of the valley, lilac, freesia and peony, give no usable extract, so perfumers recreate them from aroma molecules. That is why pyramids sometimes read floral bouquet or white flowers instead of naming a single bloom.

Five styles of floral

• Fresh and green: leaves, stems and watery blossoms.
• White floral: jasmine, tuberose, gardenia and orange blossom, creamy and heady.
• Powdery: iris, violet and heliotrope with musks.
• Rose-led: rose with fruit, spice or resin.
• Floral woody or amber: flowers resting on sandalwood, cedar, labdanum or incense.

Floral perfumes in the collection

• Byredo Bal d'Afrique is filed by Byredo as floral: South African buchu, African marigold, bergamot and blackcurrant open, cyclamen, jasmine petals and violet form the heart, and tonka bean absolue, cedarwood, musks and vetiver close.
• Frederic Malle Carnal Flower shows one flower in two lights: tuberose with a fresh aspect at the top beside water fruits (melon) and vegetal notes, and a milky aspect in the base with musk. Frederic Malle calls it floral.
• Xerjoff Cruz del Sur II opens on apple blossom, mango and pineapple, moves through green leaves and a floral bouquet and rests on cedarwood, musk and vetiver. Xerjoff lists it as floral.
• Sospiro Dolce Melodia combines mandarin, orange and saffron with a heart of rose, jasmine, gardenia, pear and blackcurrant, above sandalwood, vanilla and white musk. Sospiro calls it floral.
• Tiziana Terenzi Cassiopea is a soft floral: passion fruit, lemon, cassis and fern, then carnation, lily of the valley and Rosa tea, then sandalwood, fava tonka and musk. See Tiziana Terenzi.
• Pernoire Luvani is floral and sweet according to Pernoire: moonflower, incense, jasmine and tuberose at the top, hazelnut leaves, vanilla, guaiac wood, nutmeg and white flowers in the heart, then Ambrostar, cedarwood, olibanum and white rose.
• Fragrance Du Bois Cavort is a floral woody from Fragrance Du Bois: saffron, davana, geranium and cinnamon above rose absolute, orange flower, ylang-ylang and jasmine, resting on patchouli, labdanum, sandalwood and Indian incense.

Finding your floral

Start with which flowers you already like. If you prefer clean and light, choose green or watery bouquets and citrus. If you like presence, white florals with tuberose or jasmine and a creamy base deliver it. Powdery irises and violets suit a quieter, more formal mood, while a floral over wood, resin or incense gives depth for cooler months. A fruit or spice in the top changes the character quickly, so read the whole pyramid, not only the flower names.