Rarely does perfume come to mind when one thinks about leaves, but plant leaves have played an important role in perfumery since people began to enjoy wearing scents. While the flowers of most plants used in perfumes are essential so, too, are the leaves of those plants. Leaves normally hold more oil than flowers since they are the life-support of the blossoms. While petals and other parts of the flower are used for their aroma, leaves provide many of the oils used to mix perfumes to the correct scent and consistency.

In the middle ages, leaves were a very important source for the perfumers of the royal courts, for the flowers were often allowed to be harvested only at the pleasure of the ruling monarch. The flowers would grace the tables and halls of nobility until they wilted, rendering them useless for scents, while the leaves still retained much of the essential oils that perfumers needed to make their creations.

Leaves have continued to be used in perfumes, particularly the leaves of herbal plants. Basil leaves are not just for cooking, but is included in many perfumes including Dune by Christian Dior. Dune combines the leaves of basil, mandarin and sage with moss and cedarwood for a truly unique and delicious scent that definitely doesn’t smell like a kitchen!

The leaves of herbal plants are very aromatic due to the oil that the plant manufactures. They are very easy to cultivate and quite inexpensive, making them a favorite ingredient of many perfumers. Oil from the leaves is usually recovered by crushing or grinding, strained for impurities and decanted for later use. The process is very simple and had been done by hand for hundreds of years before the age of machines.

Many people are surprised when they learn how many varieties of leaves are used in the scents that they love. Coriander, for instance, isn’t just a prominent ingredient in your favorite salsa but when Moschino perfumers mix it with rose, gardenia, carnation and vanilla it becomes the popular perfume Moschino. If you think you aren’t familiar with coriander, that’s because it’s more commonly called cilantro.

Wormwood has also been used, particularly in France where the plant thrives. Its aromatic leaves have been used as a base for many years, imparting a fresh herbal scent and pleasing consistency to both liquid and solid perfumes. In the Middle East, jasmine and myrtle leaves as well as cinnamon leaves were and still are used in perfumes. Other leaves used in prominent perfumes on the market today include lavender, rosemary, sage, caraway and thyme.

Tim Walt

Perfumers make use of many elements when they search out new and different scent combinations and roots are one of many sources they tap Although roots aren’t used as often as blossoms or leaves, the few that they do make use of are very special.

Vetiver root is a highly prized ingredient in many perfumes. The plant itself is tall with leaves that are long, thin and rigid with flowers of brownish purple. It doesn’t sound like a very remarkable source of scent until you consider that the roots absorb the essence of the soil in which it grows. Where it is grown determines the scent! Some, grown in India, is smoky while those grown in Sri Lanka impart an earthy woodiness. Haitian Vetiver has an array of aromas from clean grassy scent to citrusy to a light floral bouquet.
The Haitian variety is particularly prized by perfumers. When harvested, the oil is thick and dark brown, with a smoky, earthy sweet odor that’s very seductive.

Sassafras, usually thought of as an herbal remedy, tea or cool drink, is distilled by perfumers and the resulting oil is called safrole. It is usually used sparingly and mixed with other oils such as flowers or woods. Its strong olfactory flavor adds tang and excitement to many scents.

Sandalwood, probably the best known of any common scent, is not so common when blended with complimentary fragrances. Its oil is distilled from the wood and root of the tree into the unmistakable exotic fragrance most people know and love. Sandalwood is an important part of many perfumes, particularly the Oriental types. Lair Du Temps by Nina Ricci is a very good example of the use of sandalwood in a wonderfully feminine and exciting perfume. Mixed with gardenia, rose, carnation and musk, the sandalwood adds a hint of the Orient and helps to bring out the exquisite combination of musk and blossoms.

Another root commonly used in perfumery is Angelica Root, also known as Holy Ghost Root or Archangel Root. Aside from its medicinal qualities, it has a woody, fresh and peppery aroma that is excellent for mixing with florals. It is often used in high grade perfumes to give them musk-like notes. Angelica Root is a beautiful plant nearly five feet in height with a long, fibrous root prized by perfumers. The plant has a very tangy taste and odor but, like many attractive plants, is poisonous if eaten raw. Once cooked for a dish or processed for perfume, it is perfectly safe. Its stalks are often candied and used as decorations for cakes and desserts in Europe, or to flavor liqueurs and wines.

Tim Walt

We’ve all tasted vanilla in various foods and frozen treats and appreciated its remarkable flavor. Perfumers have long known that the scent of vanilla is even more inspiring in perfume than it is in food and have used it for hundreds of years to impart a warm, velvety fragrance to everything from incense to perfumes for royalty. These days, nearly everyone can enjoy a fragrance of sensuous vanilla weaving its way through the other notes of a fine perfume. 

Vanilla, however, is very costly to grow and manufacture, requiring intense labor from nurturing the plant through pollination and harvest. Vanilla planifolia, a member of the orchid family, is a vine that can climb up to three hundred feet high and often is grown in the shade of larger trees due to its sensitivity to the rays of the sun. The beautiful blossoms of the orchid must be pollinated in order to produce the pods from which the oil for perfumes is extracted by distillation. Insects and hummingbirds are not considered reliable enough so workers begin at dawn to pollinate each blossom, which opens in the morning and closes forever by afternoon. The process is so labor intensive and the fruits of that labor so valuable that each individual pod is marked to prevent theft. 

So you can see why vanilla is so highly prized and is an ingredient in so many of the finer perfumes. Shalimar Light by Guerlain blends vanilla with jasmine petals and bergamot to produce a light and invigorating scent that is unmistakably feminine and alluring. Kenzo uses vanilla with violet and rose to make Kenzo Flower, a refreshingly light floral fragrance. Jean Paul Gaultier, the renowned designer, created a perfume by the same name using amber and wood essences with vanilla for an irresistibly male fragrance that exudes confidence. The use of vanilla in perfume is limited only by the skill and imagination of the perfumer.

Vanilla has also been produced synthetically due to the exorbitant cost of producing the natural product. In creating the aroma artificially, perfumers have put the wonderful fragrance of vanilla within reach of nearly everyone who enjoys its wonderful scent. In fact, synthetic vanilla often retains its aroma longer than the natural version due to its chemical composition. 

The rich, warm bouquet of vanilla has been prized for hundreds of years and rightly so. As far back as 1000 B.C., vanilla was a treasure both for the cupboard and for personal wear. This very basic yet indescribably delicious scent is a must for everyone’s perfume collection.

Tim Walt