Hay

NaturalGREENS, HERBS & FOUGERESwarm · earthy · green

Seven perfumesOne of them is looking at you

BasePyramid

—Strength

—Tenacity

1Origins

Specimen

Hierochloe alpina / Anthoxanthum odoratum / Lolium perenne

Definition

Hay absolute is a material made by solvent extraction of dried grasses. Its smell is that of freshly cut hay, sweet and coumarin-like.

SWEET HERBAL POWDERY WOODY WARM TOBACCO

Hay oil, hay essential oil, sweetgrass absolute

Type: Ingredient
Olfactive family: Green
Subfamily: Hay-coumarinic notes
Cluster: Green-grassy notes
Source: Dried grasses

Instruments

Pyramid

TTop

HHeart

BBase

—Strength

Powerful

Powerful

Tenacity on blotter

Very tenacious

Producing countries

France

Scent

The aroma is powerful, extremely sweet and diffusive, rich in coumarin-like notes and faintly herbaceous, like freshly cut hay. It is also described as suave and very tenacious. A sweet jam-like undertone recalls fig preserves. A technical description gives a soft, sweet herbal, woody scent reminiscent of tobacco and moss. Dried meadow grass, the source of the material, gives a warm, herbaceous scent strongly evocative of summer. Hay absolute is often described as having a 'happy smell'. Its technical descriptors are hay and powdery. Its odor type is hay.

In PREMIEREPEAU

DISCOVERY SET7 × 2 ml →NUIT ÉLASTIQUEExtrait →EXTRAIT DE PARFUMThe seven extraits →

The Full Story

Hay consists of dried meadow grasses and is used around the world as a stock feed. The plant named for hay absolute is Hierochloe alpina, a grass of the family Gramineae. Hay oil is found in several common fodder grasses, including Lolium perenne and Anthoxanthum odoratum. A hay absolute from the Grasse area is attributed to Hierochloe odorata. That absolute is certified with the Geographic Indication Absolue Pays de Grasse, approved by France's National Institute of Industrial Property.

The Grasse label covers the historic perfume-plant area that spreads across the Alpes Maritimes, the Var and the Alpes de Haute Provence.

Anthoxanthum odoratum, sweet vernal grass, is a short-lived perennial grass native to acidic grassland in Eurasia and northern Africa. Its scent is particularly strong when dried and is due to coumarin, a glycoside, and benzoic acid; it smells like fresh hay with a hint of vanilla. Sweet vernal grass grows in tufts with stems up to 70 cm tall and flowers in late spring and early summer. Perennial ryegrass, Lolium perenne, is an important pasture and forage plant.

Coumarin is an aromatic organic compound with the formula C₉H₆O₂ and a molecular weight of 146.14. It belongs to the benzopyrone chemical class and is considered a lactone. Coumarin is a colorless crystalline solid with a sweet odor resembling the scent of vanilla and a bitter taste. It is found in many plants, where it may serve as a chemical defense against predators. Its name comes from coumarou, the French word for the tonka bean. Coumarin can be prepared by a number of name reactions, and the Perkin reaction between salicylaldehyde and acetic anhydride is a popular example. Salicylaldehyde is converted to coumarin using acetic anhydride, with acetate as the base.

Hay absolute is a dark green to brownish green viscous material that ranges from very thick to nearly solid at room temperature. It is partially soluble in fixed oils and soluble in 190 proof alcohol.

The acute oral LD50 in rats and the acute dermal LD50 in rabbits exceeded 5 g/kg. The GHS classification of hay absolute carries the signal word Warning and the hazard statement H317.

PREMIEREPEAU uses hay absolute from Grasse as a fond note in Nuit Élastique, where it anchors the jasmine-carnation heart with coumarinic warmth and tobacco-like tenacity.

This note in PREMIEREPEAU. Nuit Élastique. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Did You Know?

Coumarin is often found in artificial vanilla substitutes, despite having been banned as a food additive in numerous countries since the mid-20th century. The fougère accord was first developed for soaps before being adapted to fine fragrance.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method

A primary extraction with a volatile solvent on fresh or dry biomass yields a concrete or resinoid. The absolute is obtained via a second purification step. Hay absolute is prepared by washing the concrete with alcohol. One producer's hay absolute is made by solvent extraction with ethyl acetate, followed by washing with sugarcane-derived ethanol to recover and refine the aromatic fraction. For a hay absolute of the Grasse area, independent farmers cut the hay between June and August from both cultivated and wild meadows in the Var. The cut grass is left to dry in the field, under the sun, and then delivered to a plant in the South of France for processing.

Formula: Complex natural mixture (key constituents: coumarin C₉H₆O₂)
CAS: 8031-00-3
Botanical: Hierochloe alpina / Anthoxanthum odoratum / Lolium perenne
Appearance: Dark green to brownish green viscous liquid
Odour strength: Powerful
Lasting power: Very tenacious
Synonyms: Hay oil, hay essential oil, sweetgrass absolute

IFRA status

See note

No IFRA Standard for the material itself (51st Amendment)

Physical properties

Flash point: 100 °C / 212 °F

In Perfumery

Hay absolute is used in fern, aromatic and lavender fragrances. Coumarin has been an integral part of the fougère genre of perfume since 1882. In a fougère, the scents of oakmoss and of coumarin, similar to the scent of new-mown hay, become noticeable as the more volatile components evaporate. PREMIEREPEAU features hay absolute from Grasse as a fond note in Nuit Elastique (/products/nuit-elastique-jasmine-night-perfume), where it contributes coumarinic warmth and tobacco-like tenacity beneath the jasmine-carnation accord.

Role in the formula

01modifier

02signature note

03volume builder

04fixative

Available as

absolute

Hay