Spicy perfumes

What is a spicy perfume?

A spicy perfume puts spices at its heart: saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, clove. There are warm spices, such as cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and saffron, and fresh spices, such as pink pepper, ginger and cardamom. In the classifications, spicy is more a facet than a family of its own: perfumers speak of “spicy amber” and “woody spicy”, and warm spices feel most at home in the amber family, once known as oriental. That is precisely its strength: it enriches the other families and gives them warmth and character.

Most spice essential oils are obtained by distillation, with steam or water: this is how cinnamon bark, cardamom, clove and pepper oils are made. For some spices CO2 extraction is also used, and for saffron there are the absolute and the CO2 extract. Eugenol is the typical molecule of clove; cinnamaldehyde, typical of cinnamon, is also produced by synthesis.

Essential oil, CO2 extract or molecule?

A spice can reach the bottle in three different ways.

This is why “saffron” or “pepper” in a list of notes may mean an essential oil, an extract or the perfumer's interpretation: either way, it is their character that gives the perfume its signature.

From the spice routes to Spicebomb

For centuries spices set the world in motion: cinnamon and cassia were already reaching the Middle East at least 4,000 years ago. Then modern perfumery made them the stars, from spicy florals to the great ambers. The main milestones:

1. 1501The Portuguese fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral returns from India laden with spices along the Cape of Good Hope route, opened by Vasco da Gama in 1498.
2. 1602The Dutch East India Company is founded, after the fleets of 1595 and 1598 had returned laden with cloves, mace, nutmeg and black pepper.
3. 1843The first nutmeg seeds reach Grenada from the Banda Islands: the island will become the “Isle of Spice”, among the world's leading producers, and will carry the nutmeg on its flag.
4. 1937Early American Old Spice by Shulton, commissioned by William Lightfoot Schultz: a women's fragrance with a spicy character.
5. 1948L'Air du Temps by Nina Ricci, created by Francis Fabron: a spicy floral built on an accord of pink carnation and clove. The house presents it as the first spicy floral in history.
6. 1953Youth-Dew by Estée Lauder is born as a bath oil and then worn as a perfume: the house classifies it as spicy amber and describes it with opulent flowers, rich spices and precious woods.
7. 1965Habit Rouge by Guerlain, created by Jean-Paul Guerlain: the house presents it as the first oriental for men in history, the family we now call amber.
8. 1977Opium by Yves Saint Laurent is launched with the China-inspired Autumn-Winter 1977 collection: a warm perfume with spicy notes.
9. 1990Chanel launches Égoïste, created by Jacques Polge.
10. 2008Studying Shiraz wine, a team of researchers recognises rotundone as the compound behind the aroma of pepper, present in far greater amounts in black and white peppercorns.
11. 2012Spicebomb by Viktor&Rolf, created by Olivier Polge: a woody spicy fragrance with pink pepper, cinnamon, saffron and paprika.

Today niche perfumery takes spices in every direction: fresh, floral, woody, amber and gourmand.

The raw materials of spicy perfumes

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Saffron is the flower's stigmas, picked by hand: it takes about 150,000 flowers to make a single kilo of saffron. Among its molecules, safranal stands out: it forms from picrocrocin, the spice's bitter molecule, and is the most abundant component of its volatile fraction. In perfumery saffron comes as an absolute or a CO2 extract, alongside molecules such as safranal and Safraleine.

Spicy perfumes with saffron

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The seeds are used, enclosed in small pods that are picked by hand. Guatemala, where it arrived in the early 20th century, is today one of the world's leading producers and supplies much of the international market. The main components of its oil are α-terpinyl acetate and 1,8-cineole.

Spicy perfumes with cardamom

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With true Sri Lankan cinnamon, it is not only the bark, dominated by cinnamaldehyde, that is distilled: the leaves also give a steam-distilled essential oil whose main component is eugenol, the same molecule as clove. In the last decades of the 18th century the Dutch of the East India Company began growing it on plantations; before that, true cinnamon was gathered in the wild forests by the peelers of the Salagama community.

Spicy perfumes with cinnamon

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Despite its name, it is not a true pepper: it belongs to the same botanical family as the cashew. The dried berries are distilled into an essential oil and also give a CO2 extract, even richer and fuller.

Spicy perfumes with pink pepper

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It is native to the Malabar Coast of India, but today the world's leading producer is Vietnam. Black, white and green pepper come from the same plant: black pepper is made by sun-drying fruits picked as they begin to turn red, which turn dark, white pepper by removing the dark outer layer. The bite of piperine does not pass into the essential oil, which keeps only the aroma.

Spicy perfumes with black pepper

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The rhizome, the plant's underground stem, is used, and gives an essential oil whose main component is zingiberene. In Madagascar the fresh rhizomes are distilled right after harvest, for an oil with lemony notes.

Spicy perfumes with ginger

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The same fruit gives two spices: nutmeg, which is the seed, and mace, the red net that wraps it. The Banda Islands, the historic heart of its trade, came under Dutch control, and under the Treaty of Breda of 1667 the Dutch kept the tiny island of Run and left Manhattan to the English. In 1843 the first seeds reached Grenada, which nutmeg turned into the “Isle of Spice” and which carries it on its flag.

Spicy perfumes with nutmeg

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Cloves are the flower buds, picked by hand just before they open and dried in the sun. Their signature molecule is eugenol, which can exceed 80% of the oil: the same molecule that dominates in spicy-scented carnations, which is why the spice and the flower smell alike.

Spicy perfumes with clove

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The resin that seeps from cuts in the Boswellia trunk has a peppery, citrusy character, which is why it feels at home in spicy perfumes. In 2016 chemists from the CNRS in Nice and the University of Turin discovered olibanic acids, molecules never before seen in nature that give frankincense its “old church” note: from 3 kg of essential oil they isolated about one milligram. Each species has its own signature: the oil of Boswellia papyrifera, from the Horn of Africa, is dominated by octyl acetate.

Spicy perfumes with frankincense

The nuances of spicy perfumes

The spicy facet runs through the families: it can be fresh and bright or warm and enveloping. From the freshest spices to the warmest, here are its main faces:

In our collection the most frequent second families are woody and amber: to explore every nuance, use the fragrance family or note filters.

When to wear a spicy perfume

Warm spicy perfumes, with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and saffron, are the scents of autumn and winter and are at their best in the evening. Fresh spicy perfumes, with pink pepper, ginger and cardamom, are perfect in summer and by day too.

Longevity depends above all on the base the spices rest on: woods, resins, musks and gourmand notes give the perfume body and staying power. In our collection of spicy perfumes the most frequent base notes are patchouli, musk and vanilla; the spices most often found in the opening are saffron, cardamom and pink pepper.

Frequently asked questions

What does “spicy perfume” mean?
It is a perfume in which spices take centre stage, such as saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, nutmeg and clove. Rather than a family of its own, spicy is a facet that enriches the other families, above all amber and woody.

What is the difference between spicy and amber (or oriental)?
“Amber” is the name now used for the family once called “oriental”: warm perfumes of amber and resins. Spicy, instead, is a facet: when warm spices rest on an amber base we speak of spicy amber, and when they meet woods, of woody spicy.

Are spicy perfumes for men?
Not only. Over its history, spicy has shaped great classics for both women and men, as the timeline above shows, and today many niche spicy perfumes are made for everyone. The best way to choose is to try them on your skin.

Are there fresh spicy perfumes for summer?
Yes. Pink pepper, ginger and cardamom are fresh spices: they bring brightness and lift, and spicy perfumes built on them are perfect in hot weather and by day too.

Are spicy perfumes long-lasting?
It depends above all on the base the spices rest on. Many niche spicy perfumes rest on rich, enveloping bases: in our collection the most frequent are patchouli, musk and vanilla.

Can I try a spicy perfume before buying it?
Yes. With every order over €100 you receive 10 free samples, and you choose 5 of them yourself: it is the easiest way to discover a spicy perfume on your skin before buying the bottle. If you are near Rome, you can try them in person at our boutique in Nettuno.