Forget about the winter a few minutes by discovering exotic notes. Between sweet and juicy fruits, and bewitching fragrant flowers, perfumers have fun adding tropical touches to their compositions. Learn more about the secrets of these raw materials from far away and their olfactory associations!
Perfumed trip to the tropics
What are exotic notes?
If perfume is an excellent way to express our personality, spraying a few drops of our favorite essence also gives us the opportunity to escape from our daily lives. Indeed, since the advent of modern perfumery, noses have never ceased to integrate ingredients from far away into their compositions to give them scents from elsewhere. And it is for this reason in particular that the exotic notes were born in perfumery. To bring tropical nuances to the fragrances, the creators of perfumes can thus count on a broad pallet of natural ingredients or materials of synthesis. We think of spicy essences of lemongrass or chili pepper for example, but especially tropical flowers and exotic fruits. These notes often rhyme with fresh, sweet and sunny nuances.
The emergence of exotic notes
The use of exotic notes is quite recent in perfumery. Indeed, these tropical scents have long been frightening, the noses preferring to rely on the power of oriental notes or the wisdom of floral juices. Too sweet, too fruity, exotic notes have long been relegated to hygiene products such as shower gels or deodorants. Until the 1980s, the fine fragrance industry even tended to consider these ingredients as a bit naive, even downright vulgar. But the sweet wave that accompanied the 90s brought a wind of revival. Juices overdosed with sweetened molecules opened the way to a fruity trend with exotic accents.
At the same time, the technical progress of synthetic chemistry has also allowed the development of new accords with a perfume of escape. Banana, mango or carambola are all ingredients that are impossible to extract naturally but whose perfume could be reproduced in a laboratory. Little by little, exotic juices have made a place for themselves on the shelves of perfumeries; to “renew” very gourmand perfumes that some people have ended up getting tired of.
How to put exoticism in a perfume?
Exotic fruits
Banana, papaya, guava, coconut… Just by mentioning their names, our nose is all tingling! And for good reason, these tropical fruits remind our olfactory memory of soft, sweet and sunny scents. Well-known in the cosmetics industry, these fruits were first invited in perfumery in summer collections with lighter juices than classic perfumes. However, it is impossible to extract an essential oil from these ingredients naturally. To recreate these appetizing and refreshing notes, noses usually work with flavorists, experts in the composition of flavors, especially for the food sector. Together, they develop scents that are as close as possible to the natural smell. Thus, they create olfactory molecules that are not too sweet or cloying but that transcribe all the facets of the fruit. For example, coconut, which is sometimes a little too heavy and very milky, becomes waterier with a woody side.
Flowers from far away
But exotic inspirations aren’t just fruity. Flowers can also infuse your fragrances with a true vacation scent! If the noses can recreate a solar atmosphere thanks to a well-known synthetic note that we talk about here, they can also use tropical flowers. Tiare flower, ylang-ylang, frangipani, passionflower… There are many nuances to exploit! Generally, exotic flowers reveal sunny and balmy notes with sensual and acidic aspects. They are also ingredients that allow to lighten the compositions by bringing them a greener and brighter note. Some flowers reveal their essences naturally, but as for exotic fruits, the scent of many of them is reproduced through synthesis.
Carrément Belle and the exotic notes
White sand beaches, tropical forests or turquoise lagoons, La Baigneuse also likes to explore these exotic lands in its fragrances! That’s why exotic notes illuminate some of our creations.
ippi patchouli under the coconut trees
Most famous fragrance of our collection, ippi patchouli gives itself an exotic pleasure by integrating a note of coconut into its formula. The slightly milky and subtly sweet scent enhances a floral heart. The woody wake released by the patchouli of Indonesia is then adorned with a multitude of reflections that will undoubtedly make you travel…
ippi patchouli clair, the companion of beautiful days
Like its elder brother, ippi patchouli clair reveals its desire for elsewhere. If its construction is also woody, its heart is solar thanks to the water and tiare flowers. This new sparkling freshness gives the fragrance luminous accents, like a fine summer rain after a heat storm. If you like ippi patchouli, your nose is likely to succumb to the scent of this warm variation!
Do you know the different ingredients that allow you to recreate exotic notes? Do you like to smell these scents in your fragrances?
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