Marigold (Tagetes)
2 fragrances with this note
Part of accords: Fruity, Green, Green herbal, Herbal
- Latin name
- Tagetes minuta, Tagetes erecta
- Family
- Daisy family (Asteraceae)
- Origin
- Egypt, South Africa, India
- Parts used
- flowering tops of the plant
- Raw materials
- tagetes essential oil
- Extraction
- steam distillation
- Olfactory group
- fruity-green, herbal
- Position in the pyramid
- top note and heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- fruity-green bases (the oil is strictly limited by IFRA rules)
Marigolds (tagetes) are bright yellow-orange flowers familiar to everyone from flower beds. For perfumery the flowering tops of a wild species, Tagetes minuta, are distilled into a thick orange oil with a very distinctive scent.
How it smells: green, fruity and tart: crushed leaves, ripe apples and pineapple, a faintly bitter and spicy herbal note. Marigold sounds bold, natural and a little wild.
Tagetes oil is strong and can irritate the skin in the sun, so the international IFRA rules strictly limit its amount. In perfume it is used by the drop — to add a fruity-green spark to a composition.
What it pairs with: with blackcurrant — fruity-green openings, with bergamot and mandarin — fresh citrus compositions, with rose — a natural “garden” rose, with galbanum — intense greenery, with vetiver — a dry masculine base.
Good to know: in Mexico orange marigolds are the main flower of the Day of the Dead: their bright colour and scent are believed to help souls find their way home.
