Fascinating Floral Notes: O is for Osmanthus
One of the things I love about being a natural perfumer is having the opportunity to work with so many beautiful botanical essences. There are hundreds of them, all amazing, and I’d love to tell you about each one. But today I’d like to focus on a fascinating floral essence called osmanthus.
Osmanthus, commonly known as tea olive, is a small flowering tree native to eastern Asia (botanical name: Osmanthus fragrans). The tree produces dense clusters of flowers that have a very powerful apricot-like scent. Osmanthus absolute, the raw material used by natural perfumers, is obtained from these flowers by solvent extraction.
Osmanthus absolute has quite an unusual scent profile. It’s an intensely rich, sweet and fruity-floral fragrance that smells rather unexpectedly like a cross between apricots, leather and tea. Sounds strange, I know, but it really does evoke the animalic scent of leather while at the same time conveying delicate notes of honeyed apricot, tea and dried fruits.
Hints of raisins, plum and peach, traces of black pepper and soft green notes, and an unusual, slightly waxy aromatic component round out this lusciously complex floral essence. The scent of osmanthus starts out gently, like a nostalgic memory, but soon displays an element of sophistication that is complemented by its seductive leathery undertones.
A middle to base note in perfumery, osmanthus absolute is very tenacious and delivers a long, luxurious dry-down. I personally love the scent of osmanthus and have used it as a component of leather accords, as well as in chypre, gourmand and amber fragrances. It’s truly a unique and multi-faceted floral note that’s unlike any other.
Osmanthus absolute is considered a precious aromatic oil, primarily due to the relative difficulty of obtaining it. One thousand kilos of osmanthus flowers are required to produce one kilo of osmanthus absolute. The flowers are harvested by hand, a labor-intensive process. These factors add up to a high market cost of approximately $360 per ounce.
CUSANI fragrances that feature osmanthus as a key note are Lotusland and Mystic Rose. Three other CUSANI fragrances ... Westport, Tonka Chic and Neroli Noir ... contain osmanthus as an accent note. Let me know if you'd like more info about this fascinating floral! — Claudia