- Latin name
- Syringa vulgaris
- Family
- Olive family (Oleaceae)
- Origin
- the scent is created in the laboratory
- Parts used
- no material is obtained from the flowers
- Raw materials
- floral accords
- Extraction
- synthesis
- Olfactory group
- floral
- Position in the pyramid
- heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- terpineol, heliotropin, indole (traces), floral bases
Lilac is a shrub with lush clusters of white, mauve and purple flowers that bloom in May. Its scent is familiar to everyone from childhood, but obtaining natural material from lilac is practically impossible, so perfumers recreate it as an accord.
How it smells: fresh, floral and faintly powdery: damp spring flowers, green leaves, honeyed sweetness and a light almond shade. Lilac sounds tender, nostalgic and very springlike.
Lilac is one of the so-called “mute” flowers: it smells beautiful but yields its scent neither to distillation nor to extraction. The perfumer builds it from individual molecules, trying to capture the living smell of a flowering bush after rain.
What it pairs with: with lily of the valley and jasmine — bright spring bouquets, with rose and peony — romantic floral compositions, with heliotrope and almond — powdery softness, with green notes — garden freshness, with musk — tender transparent fragrances.
Good to know: lilac is a relative of the olive, ash and jasmine: they all belong to the same olive family.
