What Does Tuberose Smell Like? Night-Blooming Narcotic

Top: intensely sweet, green-fresh, creamy-floral. Heart: heavy, narcotic, buttery richness, opulent and almost overwhelming. Base: sweet, creamy, slightly animalic warmth with a waxy depth. The night-blooming character gives tuberose a sensuality that few other flowers match.

Tuberose, Polianthes tuberosa, produces one of the most powerful and intoxicating floral absolutes in all of perfumery. The waxy white flowers, which open at night and intensify their scent after dark, yield an absolute of extraordinary richness, heaviness, and complexity that has earned tuberose a reputation as both seductive and overwhelming.

The flowers were historically cultivated around Grasse for the French perfume industry, but production has largely shifted to India (particularly around Mysore) and Morocco, where labor costs make the intensive hand-picking economically viable. Like jasmine, tuberose flowers are gathered in the early morning hours and immediately processed to prevent the rapid loss of volatile compounds.

Tuberose absolute is a waxy, orange-brown semi-solid mass with an overwhelmingly sweet, heavy, creamy-floral scent. The dominant character is a narcotic, almost buttery richness, a heady blend of sweetness and creaminess with a subtle green-leafy undertone. The animalic, slightly rubbery facet that appears in lower grades or over-extracted material is either prized or despised, depending on the perfumer.

In perfumery, tuberose is used sparingly because of its incredible power. A tiny amount can dominate a composition. Used with skill, it adds opulence and sensuality to white floral bouquets, orientals, and creamy compositions. It blends with jasmine, ylang-ylang, gardenia, neroli, sandalwood, and vanilla to create some of perfumery's most legendary feminine fragrances.

At Premiere Peau

GRAVITAS CAPITALE, Buddha's Hand citron cut into green tuberose. Shishito pepper and mineral asphalt.