Jasmine smells sweet, rich and radiant, with a fruity, slightly green freshness and — in larger amounts — a warm, heady, faintly animalic depth. It is one of the most important flowers in perfumery, found in a great many florals and in the hearts of perfumes from every family. Two species dominate: Jasminum grandiflorum, grown in India, Egypt and historically around Grasse, which is fruity and elegant; and Jasminum sambac, grown especially in India and South-East Asia, which is greener, more tea-like and more intense.
What jasmine smells like
Words often used: sweet, heady, radiant, fruity, green, tea-like, creamy, warm, sensual. A fresh jasmine flower smells bright and almost fruity; the absolute and many jasmine accords are deeper and warmer.
Why jasmine can smell "animalic"
Jasmine naturally contains small amounts of indole, a molecule that in high concentration smells unpleasant but in traces gives flowers a warm, living, slightly skin-like depth. White florals rich in it are sometimes called "indolic". Some people find this facet beautiful; others find it heavy. Modern jasmine notes vary from clean and transparent to frankly indolic.
How jasmine is extracted
Jasmine flowers are too delicate for ordinary steam distillation, which damages their scent. They are usually extracted with solvents to make a concrete and then an absolute: a rich, dark, intense material, very costly because of the quantity of hand-picked flowers needed. Historically the flowers were also processed by enfleurage, laying them on fat to absorb their scent — a method now rare. See How Perfume Ingredients Are Extracted.
Jasmine without jasmine
Because jasmine absolute is expensive and varies with the harvest, most jasmine notes combine some natural absolute with aroma molecules. One of the best known, discovered in the twentieth century, gives a transparent, airy, slightly citrus jasmine effect and is used in an enormous number of perfumes, often where no jasmine is listed. See Are Perfume Notes Real Ingredients?.
Jasmine is the flower that makes others bloom: a trace of it, and a whole bouquet seems to open.
Where jasmine appears
- White floral perfumes — jasmine with tuberose, orange blossom, gardenia; rich and radiant. See Floral Fragrances.
- Floral bouquets — jasmine and rose together, the classic heart of many perfumes. See Rose in Perfume.
- Chypres — jasmine between citrus and moss.
- Woody and amber perfumes — a touch of jasmine adding warmth and life.
- Tea and fresh perfumes — sambac jasmine’s tea-like character.
Jasmine and culture
In South and South-East Asia, jasmine flowers are worn in the hair, strung into garlands and offered in temples, and sambac jasmine is used to scent tea. These everyday uses give the flower associations quite different from those of European perfumery, and in India jasmine is also one of the flowers distilled into traditional attars.
How to wear jasmine
Jasmine-heavy fragrances can project strongly and grow richer on warm skin, so a light application suits close quarters. Lighter, transparent jasmines are easy everyday choices; indolic ones suit evenings. Test on skin, where the warm facets show most. See How to Test a Perfume.
Common questions
Is jasmine a top, heart or base note?
Usually a heart note, though its sweetness can last into the dry down.
Why does jasmine smell different at night?
Many jasmine flowers release more scent in the evening; the absolute and accords in perfume do not change with the time of day, but the flower’s reputation as a night scent remains.
What is the difference between jasmine and jasmine sambac?
Grandiflorum jasmine is fruitier and more elegant; sambac is greener, more tea-like and often more intense.
Further reading
Jasmine is one of the materials introduced in What Is Perfume Made Of?. For perfumers, RUŌOD Lab explains how jasmine, tuberose and orange blossom are built in White Floral Accords, and describes the transparent jasmine molecule mentioned above in Hedione in Perfumery.
