My second fragrant note is dedicated to flowers – a natural choice with the arrival of spring. With their multiple varieties and innumerable facets, flowers represent an infinite source of inspiration and creation. However, that doesn’t make them any less challenging when it comes to composing. Reinventing this olfactory family, which has won the favour of perfumers and the general public alike, is always a highly ambitious task.

The rise of floral fragrances dates back to the 18th century. At the time, floral motifs were invading the decorative arts while the popularity of musky fragrances was on the decline. Floral scents created as a tribute to Royalties and Monarchs (bouquet à la Reine, bouquet d'or du Roi), Emperors (bouquet Napoléon) or inspired from English aristocracy (bouquet des dames anglaises) began appearing on the dressing tables of elegant ladies and refined gentlemen. But floral compositions really took off around 1880 with the introduction of synthetic molecules.

Not only did extraction methods alter the olfactory facets of flowers whose essential oils could be obtained, but most of these flowers were “mute” to perfumers! Undoubtedly among the most famous of these were lily-of-the-valley and violet, which, like many other flowers, do not produce an essential oil.