Iconic, chic, and feminine! Jasmine is the note which stands for the regal aura of young woman these days. Today’s women do not settle for anything less. They want perfumes with the real Jasmine like smell. This is because the scent of this flower is so royal and Elie.
But with the increase in demand and the brands, it has become hard to understand Jasmine’s natural fragrance.
You’ll hardly find any perfume without Jasmine. It is the most common ingredient in perfumes and about 80% of the fragrance created in the last century contained the Jasmine.
Because of curiosity, I tried to find out the reason behind the difference in the smell of Jasmine in perfumes.
Before getting on the actual part, let me tell you about some basic information about this plant.
Origin and basic information-
The Jasmine word came from the Latin word that is Jasminum, which means “present from God.” It belongs to the genus of evergreen shrubs as well as the olive family that includes 200 species. Some close relatives of Jasmine are osmanthus, lilacs, the ash tree, and the olive tree.
Which jasmine variety is used in perfume?
For making perfumery, the white Jasmine is most commonly used, and they are also known as Jasminum officinale.
This plant can be easily seen in the Himalayas and is easy to cultivate. In the 17th century, the white spread distribution of this plant was seen across the Mediterranean because of its easy cultivation.
White Jasmine is also found to have various names like royal Jasmine or Spanish Jasmine or Catalan Jasmine. Jasmine odorant is cultivated widely for its use in perfumery. You can easily find it China, India, Egypt, France, or other countries.
Eight million Jasmine flowers are handpicked to make 2.3 kilos concrete and this, in turn, gives 1 kilogram of jasmine absolute. Production of 5 to 6 tons of royal Jasmine absolute takes place every year.
The price for absolute Jasmine in France is $15000 per kilo. The cost of absolute varies from place to place, and in Egypt, Italy, and Morocco, the price is relatively less than France.
The increased cost of jasmine and increased demand of industry have made chemists research jasmine’s scent composition.
Components responsible for fragrance-
Jasmine absolute contains various ingredients that are known for a long time. Jasmine absolute extract contains 5% benzyl alcohol, benzyl acetate 34%, linalool 8%, benzyl benzoate 24%, indole 2.5%, and cis jasmine 3%. All these make up about three fourth of the whole mass of Jasmine absolute.
Some other components of the Jasmine absolute contain farnesol, geraniol and para cresol, etc. But these component doesn’t add up to Jasmine aroma.
Jasmine aroma is radiant and deep, which is one of the most notable characters of jasmine. Also, the smell of jasmine is a little fruity!
Some researchers also found that the Egyptian Jasmine concrete contains a substance name methyl jasmonate. After studying its structure, scientists came up with a saturated methyl Jasmine 8 derivative known as Hedione.
Hedione changed the definition of the modern fragrance industry. Before, perfumer used to make use of the micro quantity of Jasmine. However, now, its percent change to a double-digit number. Hedione plays a vital role in jasmine fragrance.
Hedione is also seen in nature and is present in micro-content in the aroma of tea and sweet lime orange.
Methyl jasmonate is a hormone that regulates the growth and development of the plant. It is formed from Linolenic acid.
The Monopoly of royal Jasmine was affected by Jasmine sambac, also known as Arabian Jasmine. It is found in South Asia, and there is a difference in the absolute extracted from Jasmine Samback. Because it contains a lower quantity of indole and a higher quantity of farnesene. Also, cis 3 hazel acetate’s presence imparts a green note to the fragrance of the flower.
The presence of methyl anthranilate imparts orange blossom and tuberose like fragrance to sambac.
The green teas are perfume using Jasmine sambac, and there is a song “mo ki Hua’ Chinese folk song dedicated to this variety.
When we talk about the production of royal Jasmine absolute to that of the Jasmine sambac, then royal Jasmine absolute production is high.
Other Jasmine odorant classes, which are similar in the structure, are pyran derivatives such as jasmelia and jasmonyl. They are reminiscent of Jasmine as well as posses the scent of jasmine lactone with the celery mushroom undertone.
Jasmine offers intensity and richness to the fragrances: a sweet floral note with the dead sexy muskiness. Concentrated absolutes of Jasmine smell differently- some smells sweet, some medicinal, some green while other musky.
It is bizarre that a single plant can smell differently depending on where it is grown. This is the reason why perfumers are blending fragrances to construct sent to wear.
How is the scent extracted from the flower?
The process which is used to extract Jasmine’s scent is known as enfleurage. In this process, the flowers are pressed between the layers of fat, and the scent from the flower migrates to the fat, and then it is easily extracted for use.
Also, some industries create synthetic Jasmine fragrance and put the name as real jasmine. But they are not from the Jasmine flower. If you want to smell Jasmine, you can try perfumes in aqua De Paema, la Fleur, Bulgari, etc.
Also, Habibi Jasmine oud is becoming iconic. In this liquid, gold oud’s musky dark odor is combined with the floral absolute.
I hope that it is clear about what does jasmine smell like? The components in the Jasmine are responsible for the distinctive smell. Today, the industries are using synthetic components to create a mix of fragrance and to improve the perfumes’ quality. When you try the Jasmine containing perfume from different brands, you will see the difference in their smell!
