What Is Heliotrope?
Heliotrope is a plant in the borage family. Its name comes from the Greek words helios (“sun”) and trope (“turn”). True to its name, its flowers open toward the sunlight.
Greek mythology tells the following story. Clytie, a water nymph, fell in love with Helios, the sun god. But Helios was already in love with a princess and paid Clytie no attention. Taking pity on the heartbroken nymph, the gods transformed her into a flower so that she could keep looking up at Helios as he crossed the sky.
As a Fragrance Material
Its powdery, vanilla- and almond-like scent also resembles cherry pie, earning it the name “cherry pie flower.” With a softer, powdery sweetness than vanilla, this flower’s soothing scent is used in Oriental (in Japanese) and gourmand (in Japanese) perfumes. Heliotropin and vanillin can create a similar scent, but cannot match the natural fragrance. It is cultivated in small quantities in Grasse.
I recommend perfumes with heliotrope to anyone who finds vanilla too sweet and wants a lighter vanilla-like sweetness, who would like to wear a sweet vanilla-like scent in summer but finds it too heavy, or who enjoys gently sweet, powdery scents. Its sweetness and powderiness also bring a comforting, baby-like softness and a sense of security, which is why I think heliotrope-centered perfumes are ideal to wear at bedtime.
One famous perfume featuring heliotrope is Guerlain’s Après l’Ondée (in Japanese) by Jacques Guerlain. Heliotrope lovers should also try Frédéric Malle (in Japanese)’s L’Eau d’Hiver (in Japanese) by Jean-Claude Ellena (in Japanese), a modern interpretation of Après l’Ondée.
What Does It Smell Like in Perfume?
In perfume, heliotrope is a soft, sweet floral scent reminiscent of almonds, vanilla, and cosmetic powder. HELIOTROPIN BASE is a synthetic base centered on mimosa-like notes, layered with almond and milky sweetness to create a creamy drydown. Josenol is a synthetic molecule with notes reminiscent of lily of the valley, mimosa, and anise, adding transparency and diffusion to a fragrance. Neither is an essential oil extracted from the flowers; they are creative fragrance materials used to construct a heliotrope impression.
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