With the exception of Osmanthus and Blackcurrant Bud Absolute, the majority of fruity notes used in perfumery are created using synthetic materials.
Although it is possible to find some natural isolates now that can add fruity notes to your fragrance formulations naturally.
Gamma Undecalactone (C14) is used for a peachy/apricot effect with other materials such as Raspberry Ketone, Benzaldehyde (for cherry) and Allyl Amyl Glycolate for a sour pineapple note. The large aroma chemical manufacturers produce ready made compounds to make adding fruity notes to a fragrance composition less of a challenge. Dewfruit a speciality base from Givaudan gives a raspberry and lychee note note used in a variety of commercial fine fragrances.
FRUITY FLORAL FRAGRANCES
The most popular and much maligned mass market fragrance family is the fruity floral which is used in everything from shampoo and body spray to fine fragrance launches.
They tend to be very linear fragrances with traditional floral notes of rose and jasmine in the form of phenyl ethyl alcohol and hedione placed on an inconspicuous woody musky base (iso e super and synthetic musks) along with obvious high impact fruity notes such as peach, apricot, raspberry, and apple.
The forerunner to this category was Escada’s Chiffon Sorbet, and pretty much every disposable celebrity scent since then has fallen back on the fruity floral often pushing the cloying aspect of the fruit note to extremes.
Fruity notes can also be used on their own for toiletries products and cosmetics as well as being added to other fragrance types such as Chypres, Ambers and Gourmandes, which will be covered in future posts. Mitsouko by Guerlain and Femme by Rochas are fruity Chypres.
We have seen a surge of fruity patchouli fragrances in recent years for which one perfumista coined the term “fruitchouli” – Chanel Coco Noir and Guerlain’s Le Petit Robe Noir are examples of this.
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