White florals are my least favourite perfume category but I know there are lots of people that adore their bold and heady sexiness.
I don’t know whether it was growing up in the 80’s and having a bad first experience with Dior Poison or that Giorgio Beverly Hills with it’s huge cloying fruity white floral pineapple accord filled the air of every department store.
I have a supsicion that it was working on the Carolina Herrera promotion in the 90’s and being saoked in the heady Jasmine scent every day for a few weeks.
I never quite got on with tuberose fragrances which started life with the 1948 classic Fracas by Robert Piguet. Orange Blossom notes I learned to love in the (sadly discontinued) beautiful Séville à l’Aube created by Bertrand Duchafor for L’Artisan Parfumeur in collaboration with Denyse Beaulieu for her book “The Perfume Lover”
There are many modern interpretations of tuberose including the radiant and definitely more wearable Carnal Flower by Dominique Ropion for Editions de Frederic Malle.
If Tuberose is your thing then check out The Candy Perfume Boy’s guide HERE
White florals are also sometimes known as narcotic florals due to their heavy, sweet almost narcotic effect in a fragrance.
If you are just using naturals in your fragrance creation there are many absolutes available such as Tiare, Gardenia, Orange Flower, Tuberose and Ylang.
With the exception of perhaps Ylang which is available in a variety of grades these materials offer a low yield and so are quite costly.
In commercial fragrances synthetic materials such as Aurantiol and Methyl Anthranilate are used instead. White florals also contain traces of the chemical indole (also present in Jasmine) which can be added to a fragrance in trace amounts for effect.
WHITE FLORAL FRAGRANCES TO TRY:
- Fracas By Robert Piguet
- Seville a l’Aube By L’Artisan Parfumeur
- Honour Woman By Amouage
- Carnal Flower by Frederic Malle
*Disclosure: Any Amazon links used are affiliate links. By buying through the links I may receive a commission for the sale. This has no effect on the price for you.
Want to learn more? Why not come to a live perfumery class or study at home with my online perfumery course
P.S If you want to make an oil-based perfume we create a white floral fragrance in the Make A Perfume Oil Masterclass
