Flowers

Featured Flower

Jasmin De Grasse

If there is a Queen of flowers in perfumery than it must surely be the Jasmin. There is hardly a fragrance that is without an element of Jasmin notes, even if the real thing is too expensive for everyday perfumery.

Two Jasmin species typically are used for the extraction of Jasmin Absolute. (A distilled essential oil is not viable as the flowers cake together in the still).

• In Europe the absolute from Jasmin Officianale var. Grandiflorum with its white tubular funnel shaped flowers is the principle source.
• In China and South East Asia an absolute is produced from the blooms of the variety Jasminum Sambac.

Inspiration for Jasmin perfumes comes from the constituents identified in natural Jasmin;

Benzyl Acetate, Benzyl Alcohol and cis-Jasmone give the fruity aromatic jasmin qualities, Linalool and Farnesol give the flowery character and Methyl Anthranilate and Indole give the narcotic animalic backgound. Whilst the above few materials will pass as a jasmin they do little justice to the natural absolute with its 300 plus other components.

The Sambac variety has a higher Linalool level and more green notes from the family of cis-3-Hexenol esters.

Until recently Jasmin frgrances depended on the addition of alpha-Amyl Cinnamic Aldehyde, even though it has not been identified in nature it has very pleasant oily Jasmin character which helps to soften the harsh fruity chemical notes of synthetic Benzyl Acetate. Unfortunately due to skin sensitisation it's use has declined considerabely after International Fragrance Association (IFRA) issued guidlines prohibiting its use in fragrances for skin applied products. A poor substitute has been found in Hexyl Cinnamic Aldehyde close in odour but its greener nuances make it less attractive and harder to use. In the last 30 years the introduction of Methyl Dihydro Jasmonate (Hedione - Firmenich) has revolutionised the Jasmin note with its soft but incedible radiant properties. Despite the diffusion experienced with Hedione it is very tenacious.

The biggest challenge with a Jasmin fragrance is getting in as much Benzyl Acetate in as possible without the harsh chemical character dominating. Clever combination with smoother notes is necessary. If you can buy a finer grade of Benzyl Acetate than is generally offered tihs goes a long way to help (the term "Extra" may be applied to the name. Benzyl Acetate Bentiene - BBA is another example).