Lavender is one of the most misunderstood perfume ingredients. “Too simple” is a common response from many who’ve long grown to associate it with aftershaves and soaps. Among perfume materials, lavender may not have the femme fatale allure of jasmine or tuberose, but in terms of versatility, the essence derived from the tiny violet flowers outflanks much more exotic blooms. You can find it in fragrances all over the perfume map.
The scent of lavender captures the essence of summer, and few visitors to Provence in August are unmoved by the heady aroma wafting from the fields. This experience inspired perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena to create Brin de Réglisse for Hermès. Brin de Réglisse marries lavender with licorice, salty with sweet. It sounds unusual, but the combination works perfectly. You can close your eyes and smell the sun warmed grasses and the salty Mediterranean breeze of the French Riviera.
Equally unexpected is the addition of lavender in Maison Martin Margiela Coffee Break, a milky orange blossom composition with a twist of roasted coffee and woods. In this dark, luscious context, lavender reveals that it has plenty of drama, and it adds a dose of shimmer to the composition.
While the floral note of French lavender in Jo Malone Silver Birch & Lavender is used in a classical manner as a fresh cologne, the result is sleek and contemporary. The lavender is blended with soft woods and laced with bitter citrus. The effect is uplifting and vivid, with decent longevity. (Don’t expect a sillage bombshell, however.)
If one wants lavender with minimal adornments, then Caron Pour Un Homme is the best choice. Its place on the masculine side of the fragrance counter should not prevent women from seeking out this classical gem. Pour Un Homme blends lavender with vanilla and sets it into a layer of translucent amber, proving that only a perfumer’s imagination is the limit for using this iconic ingredient.
Yet, if you were to ask to point out one exceptional lavender perfume, I won’t be at loss for an answer. Serge Lutens Encens et Lavande. Christopher Sheldrake created it in 1996, but when I stopped by Serge Lutens’s boutique at Le Palais Royal, this composition still stood out to me. Lavender blended with an impressive overdose of frankincense (nearly 16% of the formula!) is made as soft and wispy as the finest of Cambrai lace. Nothing prim or clean about this marvelous fragrance. It’s a contradiction in terms, oscillating from lush to radiant, from gauzy to velvety. While the start is cool, as is typical of the aromatic herbs like lavender, the drydown offers an addictive warmth. Not so simple indeed.
What are your favorite lavender fragrances or perfume with lavender notes?
Photography by Bois de Jasmin
35 Comments
Vikky: My one and only lavender is discontinued Lavender Extreme by Tom Ford, even Caron can’t replace it January 13, 2025 at 9:04am
Donna: Thank you for this dose of freshness & the atypical lavender perfume thoughts! January 13, 2025 at 9:28am
Yulia: Thank you so much for the lavender inspiration! Never tried Brin de réglisse, however, I like Eau Noire from Dior. Further favorites of mine are Lavande romaine (Perris Monte Carlo) and Le Passant (Ormaie) January 13, 2025 at 9:29am
Sandra: Chanel’s Jersey January 13, 2025 at 9:31am
Katherine1: Second that Sandra! Plus it so reminds me of my grandmother Ada. She layered all kinds of scents and lavender was among them at times – a lotion or soap or splash. Jersey reminds me of her scent (as does Je Reviens Worth – which of course has nothing to do with lavender). January 13, 2025 at 5:40pm
Amalia: Beautiful article! January 13, 2025 at 9:32am
carole: Lavender fragrances I enjoy include Jicky parfum and EDP, and Annick Goutal’s Eau de Lavande. I find in North America lavender has been used so often, and so badly, in functional products that I have an aversion to it. I’m surprised I even asked for a sample of the parfum. The beautiful ladies at Guerlain made me enormous samples of it-I think they gave me about 16 ml of it. I’d love the buy the parfum in the beautiful bottle.
I also tried SL Fourreau Noir, but it’s a fougere and those tend to not suit my skin. January 13, 2025 at 9:56am
Dorothy: I love Caron Pour un Homme, but like you I discovered I cannot wear fougere: there’s some part of the scent I just can’t get past. So I can only sniff from the bottle or on someone else! January 13, 2025 at 10:44am
MMKinPA: I have never gravitated to lavender forward perfumes, but one of my favorites with an unusual lavender note is Sarah Jessica Parker Covet. It’s a weird melange – lemon, chocolate, lavender – but somehow it smells really great on me. January 13, 2025 at 9:59am
Alita: Hello MMKinPA,
I agree with you. I love SJP Covet and its unusual lavender note. Unfortunately, it isn’t available in Argentina, where I live, at this moment. January 13, 2025 at 11:00am
Karina_NL: When well blended with other notes, I find lavender to give a refined uplift to perfumes. My favourite perfumes with a lavender note are Maître Parfumeur & Gantier Ambre Précieux and Dusita La Rhapsodie Noire. January 13, 2025 at 11:27am
rickyrebarco: I need to sniff Covet again. It’s been years since I tried it. January 14, 2025 at 11:20pm
Jaye Bissmeyer: My favorite lavender is April Aromatic’s Lavandeluce. It’s this beautiful mix of honey, lavender with a little bit of hay, cardamom, and vanilla. It’s so delicious I wish it was an ice cream. Definitely a forever buy for me. January 13, 2025 at 10:03am
Tara C: Encens et Lavande is the best for me too. January 13, 2025 at 10:16am
Lori M.: Chanel Jersey to-date but I am new to the world of fragrance so I am intrigued by your description of Serge Lutens Encens et Lavande. January 13, 2025 at 11:14am
Hamamelis: Lovely piece, and indeed not so simple! Vero Profumo Kiki in any version is a favourite…but nothing is more beautiful to my nose than the scent that comes directly from a lavender angustifolia plant, or a good quality lavender essential oil, Bulgarian or even from Kashmir! January 13, 2025 at 11:30am
Karina_NL: When well blended with other notes, I find lavender to give a refined uplift to perfumes. My favourite perfumes with a lavender note are Maître Parfumeur & Gantier Ambre Précieux and Dusita La Rhapsodie Noire January 13, 2025 at 11:31am
Aurora: You do justice to lavender, Victoria. I’d love to try Encens et Lavande some day. Like Sandra I love Jersey, the edp, I also adore Guerlain AA Lavande Velours (so many of the early AA were gems) and like many Jicky, of course, and Dior Homme Intense. January 13, 2025 at 12:18pm
Nina Z: I really enjoy using lavender fragrances for calming properties and sleep. My favorite by far is Killian’s A Taste of Heaven, which unfortunately is discontinued, though I do have a good supply. Still, I’m always on the lookout for a replacement. I do remember liking Encens et Lavande very much but that’s extremely expensive to get in the US, I believe. The only other one I like a lot–though I’ve only sampled it so far–is Scotch Lavander from Oriza L. Legrand. January 13, 2025 at 12:38pm
Emily: Mmmmm, MEM by Bogue. Got a sample early on in my fragrance obsessive phase & then a decant. My first prismatic encounter. Haven’t smelled it in too long, you’re inspiring me to address this lack.
Still haven’t experienced vintage Jicky but it’s on my olfactory bucket list. January 13, 2025 at 12:58pm
MaryAnn Hardy: No matter where or when I am wearing Demeter Lavender by Demeter I am asked about my lovely scent. There is something about it that is so pure and clean that it seems to be massively appealing. I save it to wear for outdoorsy activities or with groups of people I don’t know There is always someone who will complain: “EEK! FRAGRANCE!” Demeter Lavender by Demeter never gets a complaint 🙂 My favorite garden activity is to trim down my huge patch of English and French lavender ! An hour in the warm sun among the fragrant stems makes me deliriously happy! January 13, 2025 at 4:29pm
Shan: Encens et Lavande singlehandedly sold me on lavender fragrances not only as a concept but also as something that I personally would love to wear! its truly beautiful to me. i hope to one day buy a full size for myself – its impossible to source where i am unfortunately. i’m keen to try your other suggestions as well! January 13, 2025 at 4:49pm
Vivienne: I discovered Jicky in the late 70s – it was closer to the original formulation then, but the modern versions are less likeable. I don’t understand Mon Guerlain and don’t wear it now. One day I will go to the Osmotheque to experience the original Jicky and other Guerlain perfumes.
YSL Libre is interesting and much better than Mon Guerlain. I noticed Burberry Goddess and the Intense recently – but I am not convinced about them either.
Most Lavender perfumes – the note on its own or with other notes to complement it, but without the complexity of something like Jicky are somewhat disappointing – old fashioned.
I think Lavender needs a creative perfumer to take it to the ‘next level’ – to create something truly original.
Could someone take the main components of lavender and use synthetic molecules and captives to create a unique perfume that transcends?
Perhaps a green perfume similar to Vent Vert with an overdose of lavender and with other very heavy green notes – gardenia, Daphne, Lily of the valley, fern, violet, iris… just an idea I’ve had.
The other thing about modern perfumes is the spray mode – would prefer going back to the ‘dropper’ bottles where you used a few drops only on the pulse points. It might be the one thing that would bring the use of perfume back… to the essential quality of subtlety. January 13, 2025 at 7:07pm
Vivienne: Perhaps Habanita by Molinard with Lavender? January 13, 2025 at 7:14pm
Julia: While I do love the smell of lavender, I think the only perfume I own that has it is Jicky. I love this perfume and I think part of the reason I don;t own lavender forward perfumes is if it smells at all Fougere or Barber Shop, then I don’t care for it as it smells masculine to me no matter how lovely it smells. January 13, 2025 at 9:49pm
Hilde: As you mentioned, Victoria: ‘Lavender is one of the most misunderstood perfume ingredients’.
I have had to learn loving lavender based fragrances, but a fragrance with a prominent lavender note is now one of my favourite perfumes: Bvlgari Eau parfumée au Thé Bleu.
I only know one fragrance of the Burberry company that I became to know by coincidence: Burberry Brit Rhythm for Women. A beautiful fragrance which leaves a soft veil on my skin and that I tend to wear especially in winter.
Yardley English Lavender – when it still had the Royal Warrant by Appointment emblem: simply classic English elegance.
Although it is a bit leaning to the gourmand side and therefore it doesn’t belong to my favourite perfumes, Mon Guerlain Intense is well done, I think.
I cannot wait to try Serge Lutens Encens et Lavande. The combination of frankincense with lavender is my cup of tea. January 14, 2025 at 4:43am
Martha: I’m so glad you mentioned the old Yardley’s Old English Lavender. In 1965 my brother gave me a box of three soaps and I at age 9 fell in love with Lavender. It hasn’t smelled the same to me for many years, though. I didn’t realize it had a royal warrant. Thanks! January 27, 2025 at 12:50pm
joan ramirez: Lavender is marvellous. I use it as a lotion, calming element, and a pleasant way to drift to sleep. In fact, my heroine in my historical suspense also loves it. Stay tuned for more news on this and the charming owner of this newsletter. January 14, 2025 at 11:02am
OnWingsofSaffron: My favourite lavender fragrance: Jicky. I own two vintage editions (edt and extrait), and by golly, they are downright „dirty“ (that civet).
I also love sniffing Pour un homme by Caron.
I‘d love stumbling over an Encens et Lavande bottle by Serge Lutens, however it absolutely never pops up on ebay! January 14, 2025 at 12:13pm
Old Herbaceous: Like others here, I love Jicky, specifically the eau de toilette in the bee bottle. I’ve just ordered a bottle of the newest version, Les Legendaires Jicky eau de parfum, on sale at a discounter because it is no longer on the Guerlain website. January 14, 2025 at 5:49pm
Ina: Genuinely and pleasantly surprised by how good Burberry Goddess Intense is – lavender and vanilla. January 14, 2025 at 7:13pm
rickyrebarco: My favorite lavender is Lutens’ Encens et Lavande. It’s unmatched in capturing the essence of lavender. I enjoy the lavender in Mon Guerlain, too, but it can’t hold a candle to the masterpiece that is Encens et Lavande. January 14, 2025 at 11:17pm
sunny: Caldey Island Lavender. It is a one-note lavender cologne made by Cistercian monks in Wales, and their webshop ships it anywhere in the UK. Luca Turin mentioned it as the perfect lavender fragrance, so I gave it a try and was very pleased with it. The only lavender I love! January 16, 2025 at 8:19am
Gillian: So pleased to see they have recommenced making this again. Was very sad when it seemed to have been discontinued Have just ordered. A beautiful fresh cologne that I love to wear in cold weather January 23, 2025 at 5:14am
Kaisa: Thank you for this interesting article about lavender. I like the smell of lavender (true lavender more than lavandin), but in perfumes I find it a difficult note. It can dominate, and some combinations of lavender and sweet notes (tonka, which I don’t like anyway) make me queasy, Libre being a good example. On the other hand, I do enjoy a few lavendery perfumes: Rimbaud by Celine is nice and light, and Chanel Jersey isn’t bad though a bit dense for me. Unfortunately Jicky is not for me (halitosis, or worse…). I do very much want to get my nose on Fourreau Noir and Encens & Lavande just to see how those are done. January 17, 2025 at 12:41pm