OUD
satin mood

Despite its readily identifiable and popular perfume, the violet is a mute flower, as it is impossible to extract its perfume naturally. Only the leaves and stems can be used for extraction. The green scent of spicy cucumber they exude is antithesis to the flower's scent. To reproduce the fruity, gourmand and slightly woody fragrance of its petals, Francis Kurkdjian uses odorous molecules called Ionones (ionos means purple in Greek), discovered and made available to perfumers at the end of the 19th century. In feminine perfumery, the violet lends a powdery facet or a gustatory sensation that blends beautifully with rosy notes. Its green facet is widely used in men's fragrances.

Native to Southern Africa, this plant can be brightly colored, but the Rosat geranium variety very often grown in Egypt and used in perfumery has pale pink flowers. Rubbing its leaves with the fingers suffices to show that they hold the perfume. The oil obtained by distillation of the leaves of Pelargonium graveolens delivers a green, lemony, minty top note reminiscent of lemongrass, which extends into the heart with a rosy floral effect. Nothing surprising since nearly 35% of the compounds it contains are similar to rose oil. Although used in women's fragrances, geranium is generally considered to be a masculine flower, since it is part of the Fougère accord present in shaving soaps.

The power and complexity of its musky, woody, leathery, smoky and honeyed scent is only matched by the mystery of its creation; largely random since it depends on the fungal infection of a Southeast Asian tree also known as Agarwood (Aquilaria). Only diseased specimens produce an aromatic resin that is distilled to obtain an oil. It is among the most sought-after ingredients in the East and in Asia, and is also one of the most expensive, resulting in poaching. This is why Francis Kurkdjian has chosen an Oud from Laos produced according to the principles of fair and sustainable trade. He combines its vibrant notes with intense flowers, spices and other woods for a bewitching sillage.

Also called the May rose - because that is the month of its flowering - the Centifolia rose Pays blooms in Grasse, in the south of France. It is the other variety used in perfumery, along with the Damascena rose. Its name, "one hundred leaves" in Latin, is explained by its numerous overlapping petals. Particularly delicate, it flowers only once a year which explains its rarity and its high cost. The roses are picked by hand, early in the morning. Too delicate to be distilled, the harvested rosa Centifolia blooms are extracted with volatile solvents to obtain an absolute. This rose absolute is used in the heart and base notes of a perfume. Its generous and complex rose floral notes stand out by their beautiful petal-like effect and honeyed facet.

In perfumery, only two varieties of rose are used for their fragrant properties: rosa damascena and rosa centifolia. The Damascena rose or Damask rose's appeal lies in its highly distinctive honeyed accents and slightly spicy scent. Originally from Persia, this very old variety is the most used in perfumery. It is now cultivated in Bulgaria, Turkey or Iran. Different perfumed products, such as rose water, rose oil and rose absolute, are obtained by using various methods of extraction, each with their distinctive olfactory characteristics. The rose absolute is obtained by volatile solvent extraction. It has generous rosy floral notes used mainly in the heart and base of a fragrance.

The amber used in perfumery has nothing to do with the yellow amber stone, which is ornamental but has no smell, nor with ambergris, which refers to an animal extract from the sperm whale. The amber accord inspired a series of successful perfumes launched at the beginning of the last century. It included two flagship ingredients, cistus labdanum, with its warm, resinous, animal facets, and vanillin, a new, sweet aromatic compound, which is the primary component of vanilla. Since then, the combination of these two warm and persistent notes has been considered to form the amber accord, generally enriched with tonka bean, coumarin and resins such as benzoin or incense, which are all base notes.

This spice is derived from a tropical tree, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, and the best quality comes from Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). Widely used in food, it flavors mulled wine, gingerbread and many pastries: it is a real gustative comforter. Its oil, obtained by steam distillation of its bark, gives off a warm woody but also sweet and powdery gourmand scent. Its leaf can also be distilled and yields a more raw result. Used in top and heart notes, cinnamon is often associated with oriental and woody accords. Francis Kurkdjian likes to blend it with flowers for its highlighting effect.