What does jasmine smell like? The night-blooming heart of perfume

Jasmine is one of the pillars of perfume. Perfumers sometimes say that rose and jasmine are the two flowers every great fragrance is built on. Walk past a jasmine bush on a warm evening and you will understand why: the scent fills the air long before you see the flowers.

What does it smell like?

Sweet, rich and heady, with a surprising animal warmth underneath. Jasmine is much more than "pretty". In one sniff you might notice:

• Honey and fruit: a sweet, ripe note, sometimes like banana, pear or apricot
• Green tea: a fresh, slightly bitter, tea-like side
• Creaminess: a soft, buttery smoothness
• Skin and animal: a warm, slightly dirty note that makes jasmine feel sensual
• Light and air: a radiant, glowing quality that seems to lift a perfume

That warm, slightly "dirty" side comes mainly from a molecule called indole. In large amounts indole smells unpleasant, even faecal. In the tiny amounts found in jasmine, it gives the flower its rich, living, skin-like depth. Some jasmine perfumes play this up. Others clean it away for a fresher, soapier flower.

Where it comes from

There are around 200 species of jasmine, but two matter most in perfume.

Jasminum grandiflorum, sometimes called royal or Spanish jasmine, is the classic perfume jasmine. Its smell is fruity, green and transparent. It is grown mainly in Egypt and India, and in small amounts around Grasse in the south of France.

Jasminum sambac, or Arabian jasmine, is a bushier plant with creamier, more honeyed and more intense flowers. It is grown in India, China, the Philippines, Thailand and other warm countries. It is the national flower of the Philippines, where it is called sampaguita, and it is widely used for garlands, tea and religious offerings across South and Southeast Asia.

Jasmine flowers are picked by hand, usually before dawn or in the early morning, when their scent is at its peak.

How jasmine is made

Jasmine is too delicate for heat. Steam distillation spoils its fragrance, so there is no true jasmine "essential oil". Instead:

1. Solvent extraction (today). Fresh flowers are washed with a solvent, which pulls out a waxy, fragrant paste called a "concrete". That paste is washed with alcohol to give the absolute, a thick, orange-brown liquid.
2. Enfleurage (historically). In old Grasse, flowers were laid on trays of cold, purified fat. The fat slowly soaked up their scent, and fresh flowers were added again and again. It was slow, costly work, and it has almost disappeared.

The amounts are staggering. By some estimates it takes around 700 kilos of jasmine flowers, or several million blossoms, to make a single kilo of absolute. Grasse jasmine is among the most expensive floral materials in the world. Egyptian and Indian jasmine cost much less, which is why most jasmine absolute today comes from those countries.

A short history of jasmine

• Asia and the Middle East: Jasmine has been loved for centuries across South Asia, Persia and the Arab world, worn in hair, woven into garlands and used in oils. The name is believed to come from the Persian yasmin.
• China: Jasmine-scented tea has been made for centuries by layering tea leaves with fresh flowers.
• Southern Europe: Jasmine is widely believed to have reached Spain with the Moors, and it later spread into southern France.
• Grasse: By the 1800s, fields around Grasse were full of jasmine grown for perfume. The town's perfume skills were recognised by UNESCO in 2018. Chanel has worked with a farming family near Grasse since 1987 to grow jasmine for No. 5.

Jasmine in modern perfume

Jasmine is in the heart of many of the world's best-known perfumes.

• Chanel No. 5 (1921) uses Grasse jasmine with rose and aldehydes.
• Joy by Jean Patou (1930) was marketed for its huge amounts of jasmine and rose.
• Eau Sauvage by Dior (1966) was one of the first perfumes to use Hedione, a synthetic molecule inspired by jasmine. Hedione gives a fresh, airy, glowing effect and is now in a large share of modern perfumes.
• J'adore by Dior (1999) and Alien by Mugler (2005) made jasmine central to big modern bestsellers.

Real vs synthetic jasmine

Most jasmine in perfume is a mix of natural absolute and synthetic molecules.

• Natural jasmine absolute has hundreds of aroma compounds. It is rich, deep and slightly animalic. It is also costly and contains natural allergens such as benzyl alcohol and linalool, which must be listed on labels in some regions, including the EU.
• Synthetic jasmine is usually built from benzyl acetate (sweet and fruity), Hedione (airy and fresh), indole (warm and animal) and a few other molecules. It is cheaper, more consistent and easy to make cleaner or dirtier.

What jasmine pairs well with

• Rose: the classic floral pairing.
• Orange blossom and tuberose: together they form the "white floral" family, creamy and heady.
• Sandalwood: makes jasmine creamy and smooth.
• Vanilla and amber: make it warm and sensual.
• Green tea and citrus: make it fresh and light.

Perfumes to try

From light to heady:

• Jasmine Sambac & Marigold by Jo Malone: bright, sheer and easy to wear.
• J'adore by Dior: a smooth, golden, crowd-pleasing floral.
• Alien by Mugler: jasmine sambac with warm woods and amber. Bold and sweet.
• Jasmin Rouge by Tom Ford: spicy, rich and sensual.
• À la Nuit by Serge Lutens: a realistic jasmine, indole and all.

How to wear jasmine

• Use a light hand. Jasmine is strong and carries far.
• Sheer jasmines suit daytime and warm weather. Rich, indolic ones suit evenings.
• Give it time. The opening can be sharp. The heart, after 15 to 30 minutes, is often the best part.
• It is not only for women. Jasmine sits in the heart of many classic men's perfumes, often unnoticed.

Who will love it

Lovers of rich florals, anyone who enjoys a sensual, warm perfume, and people who like scents that feel alive on the skin. If heavy white flowers overwhelm you, start with a sheer, tea-like jasmine first.