- Latin name
- Ficus carica
- Family
- Mulberry family (Moraceae)
- Origin
- the scent is created in the laboratory (a rare leaf absolute exists)
- Parts used
- leaves, fruit, milky sap
- Raw materials
- green-milky accord, fig leaf absolute
- Extraction
- extraction of the leaves; the accord — synthesis
- Olfactory group
- green, fruity
- Position in the pyramid
- heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- lactones (coconut-milky), green molecules
The fig tree is one of the oldest cultivated plants of the Mediterranean. In perfume “fig” is not only the fruit but the whole tree: large rough leaves, the milky sap of a broken twig and sweet ripe fruit.
How it smells: green, milky and slightly coconut-like: crushed leaves, white sap, warm bark, and behind them the soft sweetness of ripe fruit. Fig smells like the shade of a big tree on a hot Mediterranean day.
Fig fragrances became a theme of their own in niche perfumery in the 1990s, when perfumers managed to capture the feel of the fig tree itself — greenery, milkiness and sun — and not just the fruit.
What it pairs with: with cedar and cypress — a “Mediterranean garden”, with coconut and milky notes — creamy greenery, with citrus — fresh summer compositions, with incense — resinous shade, with iris — powdery greenery.
Good to know: botanically the fig “fruit” is an inflorescence turned inside out: the flowers hide inside and are pollinated by tiny wasps.
