Continuing to sample Le Jardin Retrouvé’s scents passed them to me from cpf via LJR.  The flower scents: Citron Poivré (Spicy Lemon), Eau de Tubéreuse (Tuberose), Jasmin (Jasmine), Verveine (Verbena), The Lys (Lily), and Chèvrefeuille (Honeysuckle).  I will do the roses in a separate category.

Jasmin:

Yuri Gutsatz imagined an abundant bouquet composed of Carnation also called French Marigold, enhanced by a splendid flowery core of Sclaree Sage, Ylang Ylang and Coriander dominated by the absolute essence of Jasmine (Jasminum Grandiflorum), imported directly from India.

Jasmine:

The word jasmine comes from the Persian yasmin, meaning "gift from God."   It grows as a shrub or vine and is in the olive family.  There are about 200 species.

In English, we often say night-blooming Jasmine, because it blooms only at night in the early evening, though it may be cut in the morning when the flower petals are closed, then kept until evening, when they will open.  The scent of jasmine on the air is sweet and redolent.

How is Jasmine used throughout the world?

Jasmine is the national flower of the The Philippines, Indonesia and Pakistan.  Damascus, in Syria, is called the City of Jasmines.  It is often worn in the hair.

In the Philippines, it is strung on garlands and used to decorate religious images.  Ethnic Indonesians, especially in Java, use it in their wedding ceremonies.  In Thailand, jasmine flowers symbolize the mother.

The Chinese drink it in tea (Jasmine tea) which is often served in Chinese restaurants around the world.

There is also a Jasmine syrup.

Jasmine essential oil or absolute is used in perfumery and in making incense.

How is the essential oil obtained?

Jasmine flowers are either extracted by the labour-intensive method of enfleurage, in contrast to steam distillation which would ruin the fragrance of a delicate flower, or through chemical extraction.

Enfleurage, developed in France in the 19^th century, is the process by which flower petals are immersed in either hot or cold odorless fats until their fragrance is absorbed into the fats.  The petals are replaced with fresh ones until the degree of scent saturation reaches the optimum level for its particular use.  It is time consuming and expensive, but was the only way known to obtain the scent until the more modern method of fluid extraction The method is now superseded using liquid CO₂ or similar gases.

Is it expensive?

Yes, because a large number of flowers are needed to produce a small amount of oil.

The flowers have to be gathered at night because that is when they are more heavily scented.

The flowers are placed on cotton cloths soaked in olive oil for several days and then extracted leaving the true jasmine essence.  ~ Wiki

Who produces jasmine essential oil?

Some of the countries are India, Egypt, China and Morocco.

Where is it grown for perfume?

Grasse, the center of French perfumery, has the most expensive jasmine.  It is also grown in Italy and India (and the above countries.)  Jasmin de grasse is sweeter than other jasmines which makes it more highly prized.

Which jasmines are used for perfume and tea?

Jasminum grandiflorum is used the most.  And it is in LJR’s Jasmine.

Jasminum sambac is a nightblooming jasmine used to flavour Chinese tea.

What is the difference between the two?

Jasminum grandiflorum has a fruity aspect to it.  But this is not simply fruit.  It is far more sensual and rich.

Jasminum sambac has more indoles and thus is more sensual, animalic and darker.

My thoughts:

I have found that not all jasmine is created equal.  Some is more wearable for me than others, depending on how the indoles are handled, whether they are dominant or not.  When harsh, they are animalic and even skanky.  Ya gotta try them to see, as far as I’m concerned, no matter which fragrance jasmine is in.

What is this fragrance it like?

This fragrance is not sweet.  It begins with an indole feeling, but it doesn’t pass into that place where it is too much.  The sage and coriander take it to a different place.

What does it remind me of?

It reminds me a lot of the perfume version of Rochas' Femme.  I have only tried the perfume – as opposed to the edp or edt -- once, and it was vintage.  I found it too indolic and I wondered if it had turned, so I declined to wear it.  I do not know if a fresh perfume would smell the same.  The seller told me it would.  I dunno about that.

LJR’s Jasmine is similar, but far more wearable.   It has that chypre feel to it, even though oakmoss is not listed as a note.  So it must be the form of jasmine.

Another Jasmine I like is Aftelier’s, but hers is sweeter.  She packaged the solid form with a solid licorice.  The two together are magnificent.

If you could imagine the mix of Aftelier’s minus the licorice note, but retaining all other notes, you can catch a glimpse of LJR’s Jasmine, even though it is not as sweet.

Who can wear this?

This could easily be worn by a man or a woman.

Is it modern or traditional?

That’s a hard one to answer.  I’d say neither.  It is similar to Femme, and if you enjoy wearing Femme, you likely would love this.   Femme is as new today as it was when it came out in 1944.  It wasn’t traditional then.

I think I would term this, as well as Femme, classic.

Could you layer this?

Yes

What I like about it:

I like that it’s not a sweet floral.   I love the way it dries down and stays true to the original scent while becoming softer.

It is not a soliflore in the usual sense.  It is animalic and dark, while remaining light.  I even get a hint of leather, though none is listed.

My take:

It’s a 4 out of 4.

What do you think?

Have you tried any of his fragrances? (If not: Ask Le Jardin Retrouvé for Free Samples - All around the world.) Do you like jasmine fragrances? If you have, do you have a favorite? Learn more about Le Jardin Retrouve house and Yuri Gutsatz.

Best,
Karin

This post is by Karin of Savvy Thinker, guest blogger. Karin loves perfumes, especially vintage or artisan. She has a wide range of interests including but not limited to books, cosmetics, business, and jewelry, including beading.

Photo Credits: http://www.lejardinretrouve.com/

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Categories:

Guest Blogger, Le Jardin Retrouvé, Women's Perfume, Yuri Gutsatz

Tags:

absolute essence, chemical extraction, chinese restaurants, cpf, delicate flower, enfleurage, flower petals, flower scents, french marigold, gift from god, intensive method, jasmine flowers, jasmine tea, jasmines, Le Jardin Retrouvé, national flower, night blooming jasmine, religious images, steam distillation, verveine, wedding ceremonies in Thailand, Yuri Gutsatz