- Latin name
- Prunus domestica
- Family
- Rose family (Rosaceae)
- Origin
- the scent is created in the laboratory
- Parts used
- no perfumery material is obtained from the fruit
- Raw materials
- fruity accords (lactones, plum molecules)
- Extraction
- synthesis
- Olfactory group
- fruity
- Position in the pyramid
- heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- lactones, Prunol, plum bases
Plum, like most fruits, gives no perfumery material, so its scent is recreated as an accord. Depending on the formula, plum in perfume can be fresh and juicy or dark, prune-like and almost liqueur-like.
How it smells: juicy, dense and darkly fruity: ripe plum, plum jam, prunes, with a faintly winey and almond-like shade. Plum sounds deeper and more grown-up than peach or pear.
Dark plum often adds velvet and mystery to a fragrance: it is loved in evening floral and chypre compositions, where it pairs with rose, patchouli and spices.
What it pairs with: with rose — a dark fruity rose, with patchouli — a fruity chypre, with cinnamon and clove — spicy winter compositions, with oud — oriental plum luxury, with vanilla — a “plum dessert”.
Good to know: in Japan and China plum blossom is one of the first signs of winter's end, and the plum flower is revered as a symbol of resilience.
