Cyclamen in perfume usually smells fresh, watery and floral, with clean, green, airy and slightly marine sides. It often suggests cool petals, fresh air and clear water rather than a rich or sweet flower. The cyclamen note used in modern perfume is normally created with fragrance molecules rather than extracted from garden cyclamen flowers. It is mainly used in the heart.
What Does Cyclamen Smell Like?
A cyclamen accord can feel transparent, dewy and almost ozonic. It may combine soft floral sweetness with green leaves, fresh water and a faint marine effect. IFF describes Cyclemax as a clean, watery and ozonic cyclamen-style floral, while Givaudan’s Cyclamen Aldehyde Extra is fresh, green, floral and marine.
Where Does Cyclamen Come From?
Cyclamen is a group of flowering plants that includes Cyclamen persicum, native from the eastern Mediterranean region towards western Asia. The perfume note is usually reconstructed with floral, watery, green and ozonic materials. This provides a more stable and recognisable cyclamen effect than relying on the variable scent of living flowers.
How Cyclamen Is Usually Described
Watery
Floral
Fresh
Green
Airy
Marine
How Is Cyclamen Used in Perfume?
Cyclamen is used in floral, aquatic, fruity, citrus and musky fragrances. It blends well with lily-of-the-valley, freesia, lotus, pear, citrus, jasmine, musk and pale woods. It can give a floral heart more space or add a clean watery quality to fruit and marine notes.
Jasmine in perfume usually smells rich, sweet and floral. It can also seem creamy, green, fruity or slightly spicy, depending on the type of jasmine and the other...
Citrus in perfume usually smells bright, fresh and zesty, with juicy, bitter, green and peel-like sides. The term does not describe one fruit because lemon, bergamot, orange, mandarin,...
Melon in perfume usually smells juicy, watery and softly sweet, with fresh green, fruity and sometimes cucumber-like sides. Some melon accords suggest ripe cantaloupe, while others feel paler,...
Musk in perfume can smell soft, warm, clean and slightly powdery, often with a smooth quality that is compared with fresh skin or clean fabric. Some musk notes...
Pear in perfume usually smells juicy, fresh and softly sweet, with crisp green, watery and sometimes slightly floral sides. Some pear notes feel like a firm green pear,...
Woody notes in perfume can smell dry, warm, earthy, smoky, creamy or resinous. They do not describe one single ingredient because different woods and woody materials have very...
Freesia in perfume usually smells fresh, airy and softly floral, with green, citrusy and slightly peppery sides. It is lighter and more transparent than rich white flowers such...
Hyacinth in perfume usually smells fresh, green and floral, with watery, earthy, slightly spicy and dewy sides. It has more leafy sharpness than many soft spring flowers. Some...
An icy accord in perfume usually smells cool, clean and watery, with ozonic, airy, minty and sometimes metallic sides. It is an abstract effect rather than an extract...
Lily-of-the-valley in perfume usually smells fresh, clean and green, with watery, dewy and softly sweet floral sides. It can suggest small white spring flowers, cool air and fresh...
Lotus in perfume usually smells airy, watery and softly floral, with clean, green, herbal and lightly fruity sides. It is often used to suggest delicate petals floating above...
Marine notes in perfume usually smell fresh, watery and airy, with salty, ozonic, mineral and sea-breeze sides. They are constructed accords rather than liquid extracted directly from seawater....