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Cactus Blossom

Q: Is Cactus Blossom natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: No commercial extraction exists. Night-blooming cactus flowers are too ephemeral (8-12 hours) for viable harvesting. Entirely fantasy..

FLOWERS / floral · fresh · green

Cactus Blossom

Category	FLOWERS
Subcategory	floral · fresh · green
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Selenicereus grandiflorus / Epiphyllum oxypetalum
Appearance	Pale yellow to colorless liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	Mexico, Morocco, Mediterranean
Pyramid	Heart

Sweet, waxy-white, nocturnal. Night-blooming cereus opens at dusk, floods the air with vanilla-tinged narcotic florality, and wilts by dawn.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Sweet, waxy-white, intensely floral. Vanilla-tinged, heavy, narcotic — maximum scent for maximum pollinator attraction in darkness. Tuberose-adjacent but with a green-waxy succulent undertone. Explicitly nocturnal.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Intense sweet-waxy white floral, vanilla warmth

After a few hours

Heavy narcotic florality, green-waxy undertone

After a few days

Vanillic-sweet persistence, faint waxy memory

The Full Story

Cactus blossom primarily carries night-blooming cacti — Selenicereus grandiflorus and Epiphyllum oxypetalum — whose large white flowers open at dusk, flood the air with fragrance, and wilt by morning.

Sweet, waxy, heavily floral, with vanillic and jasmine-adjacent qualities. Moth-pollinated, their fragrance is white, sweet, highly diffusive, detectable at distance in darkness. The scent does all the work that color does for day flowers.

No commercial extraction exists. The fantasy accord uses heavy white florals (tuberose, jasmine bases), vanillic sweetness, and a waxy-green note from the succulent stem.

The flowers' brevity is part of the concept: intense beauty lasting a single night. Some species bloom only once per year.

This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Rose Monotone. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Selenicereus grandiflorus flowers open in a single evening, typically between 9 PM and midnight, and are dead by dawn. 'Night-blooming cereus parties' were fashionable in Victorian England — guests gathered to watch the flower open in real time.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: No commercial extraction exists. Night-blooming cactus flowers are too ephemeral (8-12 hours) for viable harvesting. Entirely fantasy.

Molecular Formula	Complex mixture (floral extract)
CAS Number	N/A — natural floral extract
Botanical Name	Selenicereus grandiflorus / Epiphyllum oxypetalum
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	Cactus Flower
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Appearance	Pale yellow to colorless liquid
Specific Gravity	0.870 to 0.920 @ 25 °C (est)

In Perfumery

Fantasy night-floral providing heavy, waxy-sweet white florality. No extraction exists. Built from tuberose/jasmine bases, vanillic elements, and waxy-green notes. Functions in nocturnal, Amber, and heavy floral compositions.