OROriginally from the mountainous regions of Persia, the Lilac owes its name to its color and fragrant scent, and is a flower symbolizing love and beauty. Thus lilac perfumes are intense, bright and unexpected floral fragrances. The reason? They combine fresh and green scents with other powdery ones, giving life to slightly old-fashioned bouquets but with great charm.
Lilac scents, the flower of Paradise
Associated in Greek mythology with the story of Pan, God of the forests, lilac flowers (Syringa Vulgaris) have a botanical name that means “cane”. In fact, the story goes that Pan, in love with a nymph who did not correspond to his love for her, blinded by her passion, chased her to a pond where she threw herself, transforming into a rush of water. Pan therefore collected the stems of the reeds transforming them into his flute so that he could “speak” with her for eternity.
A flower native to Persia at the end of the 16th century, the lilac was introduced to the court of the sultan of Constantinople, Suleiman the Magnificent. And in 1758 it arrived in Nancy thanks to Jean-Marie Pelt’s botanical garden, which housed as many as 200 different varieties of this plant.
Today the lilac flower is among the most exclusive ingredients of niche perfumerythanks to its notes that are sometimes soft and delicate, sometimes floral, green and pink or slightly powdery with a hint of anise.
From Dior to Jacques Fath, lilac in perfumery
«Lilac is a fresh floral note with green and powdery accents, giving the fragrance a strong sensation of naturalness and transparency» begins to explain Luca Maffei, nose and CEO of Atelier Fragranze Milano.
«The first fragrance to introduce lilac notes into the heart was Dear God, one of the masterpieces created by Roudnistska in 1956 for Dior. Another iconic fragrance based on this flower with green and honey nuancesand and En Passant by Olivia Giacobetti created for Frederic Malle», continues Maffei.
«Personally, as a nose, I have addressed this topic twice in profoundly different agreements. For example in Parfum Histories 1.2, where I played with the typical color aspect of lilac to give light to the typical pastel color of the flower, while in Lilias Esquise I wanted Jacques Fath instead recreate the strong transparency and the green and spicy character of the typical top notes, to create a strong realistic effect, an olfactory photograph.”
Lilac, the “silent flower” of fragrances
«The lilac is one of the so-called “mute flowers”, which have a strong olfactory connotation that is impossible to capture: In fact, there is no natural lilac essential oil. This flower is very delicate and it is therefore impossible to obtain a natural extract from it to use in perfumery, which is why it represents a real challenge for noses who have to recreate its fragrance using different ingredients” continues the expert.
The olfactory characteristics of this flower? «A unique feeling of refinement. Its olfactory nature is characterized by green and honeyed accents combined with floral tones that recall those of jasmine” continues Maffei.
The olfactory accords with which to combine lilac perfumes
«The classic combinations are those with others white flowers such as jasmine, gardenia, ylang ylang or narcissus to create bouquets with a strong personality“, continues.
«For a feminine trail, lilac could be combined with an essence of Turkish rose, to increase the transparency of the accord and convey delicacy. While in a composition masculine I would see it well with a wet woody note like vetiverto tone down the smoky accents or why not something bolder like tobacco notes” concludes the nose.
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