Saffron
36 fragrances with this note
Part of accords: Warm spicy, Leather, Soft spicy, Oriental, Spicy oriental, Saffron
- Latin name
- Crocus sativus
- Family
- Iris family (Iridaceae)
- Origin
- Iran (most of the world's harvest), Spain, Kashmir
- Parts used
- dried stigmas of the crocus flower
- Raw materials
- absolute, CO₂ extract, tincture
- Extraction
- solvent or CO₂ extraction
- Olfactory group
- spicy, leather
- Position in the pyramid
- top and heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- safranal, Safraleine
Saffron is the tiny red stigmas of the saffron crocus, an autumn-flowering crocus. Each flower has only three, and they are picked by hand in the morning, just as the flower opens. That is why saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.
How it smells: a warm, dry, honeyed-leathery scent with a metallic and faintly bitter shade. In perfume saffron adds luxury and “velvety leather”, making a fragrance resemble expensive suede.
Natural saffron is costly in perfumery, so its character is often recreated with molecules — safranal (the main odour substance of saffron) and Safraleine with its leathery-spicy sound. They are behind most modern saffron fragrances.
What it pairs with: with rose and oud — the classic of Middle Eastern perfumery, with leather — luxurious suede, with jasmine — warm floral spice, with vanilla and amber — sweet depth, with raspberry — a modern berry-spice combination.
Good to know: a kilogram of dried saffron takes more than 150,000 flowers — each picked by hand.
Fragrances with Saffron
