The Most Romantic Fragrances

 

With Valentine’s around the corner, we caught up with our ‘nose’, Hélène, to quiz her on the most romantic scents, and why certain scents are so intertwined with the idea of romance.

 

Red roses and romance often go hand in hand, and this stems (sorry for the pun!) back to Greek mythology when it was believed that red roses were created by Aphrodite, the goddess of love – a symbol of love until death. They are so fragrant that often just the petals of a rose was used in a room to scent it. Roses are some of the most beautiful flowers to look at, but also they are known to be a cornerstone of fragrance making. The rose has many attributes, sometimes powdery, sometimes woody, musky, fruity or just feminine – but one thing always rings true - the rose is always intensely romantic.

It takes approximately 252,000 individual petals (or 8,000 rose flowers) to produce one 5ml bottle of rose oil. No wonder rose oil is one of the most expensive essences.

Classically romantic notes tend to be floral. Floral fragrances in particular have always been the most popular scents around Valentine’s day. Romantic perfumes are typically associated with femininity. But through history, romantic fragrances have evolved from standard florals to heavier florals with more depth, richness and spice, such as amber fragrances. Think of rose, jasmine, amber, musk, vanilla and patchouli as core romantic notes.

 While rose is the timeless symbol of love and luxury, it doesn’t translate on it’s own into home fragrance as well. At Plum & Ashby we like to create unique, layered scents that nod to romance, while remaining fresh and contemporary.

Those who prefer a light floral and more subtle-scented flowers will love our Geranium & Orange scent, part of the floral family, which means the scent is romantic and feminine. The scent has a refreshing opening of sweet orange, mandarin and bergamot lays on a floral heart of garden fresh geranium, earthy lavender and a base of soft musk and tonka beans that creates a beautiful, feminine, grounding fragrance.

 

Surprisingly, Geranium essential oil is steam distilled from the leaves and sometimes the stalks but not the flowers, while the aroma is distinctly and intensely floral. You only need to touch the leaves to release the rosy scent!

For those who prefer a scent with more depth and character we recommend our Tonka & Patchouli scent. It contains rose and carnation and is from the amber fragrance family, whose scents are typically passionate and sensual. Citrus, green and fruity notes give way to a floral accord of soft rose, powdery carnation and cyclamens. The base notes of musk, tonka bean and vanilla give this fragrance a lingering edge.

 

Musky, floral and woody, Patchouli essential oil is steam distilled from the lightly fermented or scalded oval leaves of the tropical aromatic plant Pogosteman cablin species grown in Indonesia. In Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh Tutankhamun was believed to have arranged 10 gallons of Patchouli essential oil to be buried with him in his tomb.