Jasmine is a white flower of the genus Jasminum, in the same family as the olive tree. Two species matter in perfumery: Jasminum grandiflorum, the jasmine of Grasse, and Jasminum sambac, Arabian jasmine. Their flowers are too delicate to be distilled. They are turned into a concrete and then an absolute by solvent extraction, and many jasmine notes also rely on molecules such as benzyl acetate or hedione.
Two species under one name
The genus Jasminum includes some two hundred species of shrubs and climbers from the warm regions of Asia, Africa and Oceania. Not all of them are fragrant: winter jasmine, with its yellow flowers, has almost no scent.
Jasminum grandiflorum is a climbing plant with star-shaped flowers whose buds are often tinged with pink. It is also called Spanish jasmine. Around Grasse, it is grafted onto common jasmine, Jasminum officinale, which copes better with the cold. This is the species of classic French perfumery.
Jasminum sambac grows as a shrub with rounder flowers, single or double, native to southern Asia. It is the national flower of the Philippines, where it is called sampaguita, and of Indonesia. In India and Southeast Asia, it is strung into garlands and used as an offering. In China, it is the flower that scents jasmine tea.
Picked at dawn, from Grasse to Egypt
The grandiflorum flower opens during the night. Its scent is at its richest in the early morning, before the heat wilts it. It is therefore picked by hand at dawn, and the flowers leave for the factory the same morning. It takes several thousand flowers to make one kilo. Sambac tends to open late in the day. For jasmine tea, the buds are picked during the day and mixed with the leaves in the evening, as they open.
Grasse was long the centre of jasmine growing for perfumery. The fields shrank sharply in the 20th century with urban growth and the cost of labour. A small, very expensive production remains, often reserved by contract for a few major houses. The perfume skills of the Pays de Grasse have been on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage since 2018.
Most jasmine now comes from elsewhere. Egypt, in the Nile Delta, is one of the main producers of grandiflorum concrete. India grows both species, mainly in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, for perfumery as well as for fresh flowers. Madurai jasmine, a sambac from Tamil Nadu, holds a geographical indication there.
Concrete, absolute and molecules
Steam distillation damages jasmine and yields very little oil. The flowers therefore go through volatile solvent extraction, which first gives the concrete, a waxy paste. Washed with alcohol and freed of its waxes, it becomes the absolute. It takes several hundred kilos of flowers for one kilo of absolute. Enfleurage, long practised in Grasse, has disappeared from regular production. Our article on how raw materials are extracted describes these processes in detail.
The most abundant compound in grandiflorum absolute is benzyl acetate. It also contains benzyl benzoate, linalool, indole, cis-jasmone and methyl jasmonate. Sambac absolute is richer in linalool and contains methyl anthranilate, which is also found in orange blossom.
Research on methyl jasmonate led, in the early 1960s, to a related molecule, methyl dihydrojasmonate, sold by Firmenich under the name hedione. It smells of a light, transparent jasmine with a lemony touch, and it has become one of the most widely used molecules in perfumery. Together with benzyl acetate, indole and linalool, it makes it possible to build a jasmine accord without the flower. In most perfumes, the jasmine combines these molecules with a share of absolute. A product page that specifies "sambac", "grandiflorum" or "absolute" reflects a choice by the house, without saying how much of the formula it represents.
What jasmine smells like
Jasmine is a white floral, rich, sweet and heady. Its fruity facet comes partly from benzyl acetate, which recalls pear or ripe banana. Its animalic facet comes from indole: at low doses, it gives jasmine its warm, sensual quality, while on its own it smells strong and unpleasant. Indole is also found in orange blossom and tuberose. Cis-jasmone and methyl jasmonate add a green facet, close to tea.
Perfumers often describe sambac as greener and fruitier, and grandiflorum as rounder and more radiant. Jasmine usually sits in the heart notes. With rose, it forms the most classic floral pairing, and it blends with other white flowers, citrus, tea, sandalwood, vanilla and musk. With oud, leather or spices, it takes a darker turn.
Tree jasmine and other "jasmines" that are not jasmine
Many plants with fragrant white flowers bear the name jasmine without belonging to the genus Jasminum. The star jasmine of gardens is Trachelospermum jasminoides, from the oleander family. Cape jasmine is gardenia. Night jasmine, or lady of the night, is Cestrum nocturnum, which fills the evening air with scent. Carolina jasmine, Gelsemium sempervirens, has yellow flowers and is toxic.
The name tree jasmine also refers, depending on the country, to various trees with white flowers. In Southeast Asia, it often applies to Millingtonia hortensis, a tall tree with long tubular flowers that are fragrant at night. A product page that mentions a "tree jasmine" does not necessarily specify the species.
Jasmine perfumes in our catalog
All the perfumes below list jasmine in the pyramid published on their product page. Some specify the species or the absolute, others pair it with tea, fruit or oud.
Sambac and grandiflorum together
Moonlight Silken Veil N°L32, by ChuJian, names both jasmines. Composed by Ralf Schwieger, it opens on bitter orange, bergamot, lemon and blackcurrant. The heart brings together peach, rose, ylang-ylang, jasmine sambac, jasmine grandiflorum and oregano, over a base of fir, musk and moss. Its Chinese name means "a veil of white silk under the moon". Our article on ChuJian introduces the house.
Jasmine sambac absolute
Jasmine Sambac, by Shaman Perfumery, is a soliflore built around jasmine sambac absolute, with geranium, tuberose absolute and rose in the heart, mandarin and neroli in the top, and ambergris in the base. The product page links it to the offerings of Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia. See our introduction to Shaman Perfumery.
Lamoon, by Tada Parfumeur, places the same absolute in a milky register. Orange blossom and pandan in the top, jasmine sambac absolute and a palm sugar accord in the heart, then sandalwood, ambrette, coconut cream and vanilla. Our introduction to Tada Parfumeur tells the perfumer's story.
Jasmine grandiflorum
Hua Qiang Ye Meng, by Cinojad, puts jasmine grandiflorum in the top, with camphor tree blossom and wild rose. The heart pairs banana leaf, frangipani and borneol, the base elemi, Burmese rosewood and benzoin. The product page describes dawn in the forest of Xishuangbanna, in southern China. Our article on Cinojad presents its other creations.
Jasmine and tea
Oolong Rocking Green N°P26, by ChuJian, takes its name from a step in making oolong tea, when the leaves are tossed to release their aroma. Bergamot, grapefruit and pear open onto a heart of jasmine, orange blossom, ylang-ylang, rose and orchid. Oolong tea appears in the base, with vetiver, moss and musk.
Jasmine with tuberose
Luvani, by Pernoire, brings together moonflower, incense, jasmine and tuberose from the opening. The heart moves to hazel leaf, vanilla and guaiac wood, the base to frankincense, cedar and white rose. The moonflower, which opens at nightfall, gives the perfume its theme. Our introduction to Pernoire covers the Swiss house in detail.
Hili, by Widian, is inspired by the royal garden of Abu Dhabi. After a top of bergamot, pink pepper and cinnamon, the heart combines jasmine, tuberose, ylang-ylang and tiare, over a base of amber, vanilla, coconut milk, sandalwood and tobacco.
Dark jasmine
Lynch, by Spiritica, places a nocturnal jasmine in the top, with saffron, clove and a cherry cake accord. The heart brings together Latakia tobacco, oud, myrrh and styrax, the base dark woods, benzoin, patchouli and vanilla. The house is presented in our article on Spiritica.
Divine Oud, by Aaron Terence Hughes, sets jasmine sambac in the heart with black cherry, chocolate and rose, between a top of neroli, coconut and peach and a base of Thai oud, sandalwood, vanilla and ambergris. Our introduction to Aaron Terence Hughes explains the house's concentration.
Fruity jasmine
Samar, by Widian, opens on raspberry, clove and pink pepper. The heart pairs jasmine and osmanthus, a flower that smells of apricot, over a chypre base of patchouli and labdanum. Our article on Widian introduces the house.
Lost in a Fluffy Nest, by Tada Parfumeur, is softer. Grape, bergamot and cotton candy in the top, geranium, jasmine and rose in the heart, then lily of the valley, musk and ambrette. The product page describes it as an intimate perfume that stays close to the skin.
Jasmine and citrus
Iyokan, by Tada Parfumeur, is named after a Japanese citrus fruit. Iyokan, bergamot and neroli in the top, then yuzu, jasmine, lily of the valley and orange blossom absolute in the heart, over a base of cedar, amber, musk and oakmoss.
Green jasmine
Raw, by Zhufu, starts from bergamot, coriander and grass. The heart combines jasmine, lotus and violet, the base amber, cedar, incense and musk. Here the jasmine feels fresher than heady. Our article on Zhufu introduces the house.
A tree jasmine
Home Town N°Lon-02, by MysNyx, lists a tree jasmine in the heart, between a top of guava leaf and a base of two Thai ouds, from Nakhon Si Thammarat and from Trat. The product page describes this jasmine as radiant, neither indolic nor heavy. See our article on MysNyx.
More jasmine compositions can be found in our selection of floral perfumes. Jasmine also appears in several oud perfumes, presented in the article What is oud.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between jasmine sambac and jasmine grandiflorum?
They are two species of the same genus. Grandiflorum, grown in Grasse, Egypt and India, has star-shaped flowers and a round, fruity, slightly animalic scent. Sambac, native to southern Asia, has rounder flowers and a scent often considered greener. It is the one that scents jasmine tea.
Does a jasmine perfume contain real jasmine?
Not always. The absolute is expensive, and many jasmine notes rely on benzyl acetate, hedione and other molecules, alone or with a little absolute.
What is indole?
It is a molecule found naturally in jasmine, orange blossom and tuberose. At low doses, it gives white flowers their warm, sensual side. A jasmine described as "indolic" brings this facet to the fore.
What is hedione?
It is methyl dihydrojasmonate, a synthetic molecule developed by Firmenich in the early 1960s from research on jasmine. It smells of a light, airy jasmine and is used in a very large number of perfumes.
Is jasmine a feminine scent?
No. In India and Southeast Asia, it is part of everyday life and rituals for everyone. In perfumery, it appears in florals as well as in oud or tobacco perfumes. The effect depends on the composition more than on the note itself.
Further reading
Jasmine is one of the materials covered in our Perfume materials guide, along with rose, its most frequent floral partner, sandalwood and vanilla. To compare a jasmine sambac, a green jasmine and a dark jasmine on your own skin, the perfumes mentioned are available as 2 ml samples, depending on the house, on our samples page.