Ingredient Guide
Saffron is one of the world’s most expensive spices, obtained by drying the pistils of the saffron crocus, a flower in the Iridaceae family. Also called the King of Spices or Red Gold, it has purple petals and three distinctive red pistils (in fact, a single pistil divided into three).
To obtain 1 g, around 200 pistils must be harvested. The highest-quality saffron costs ¥5,000–¥7,000 per gram, while even lower-priced saffron costs around ¥1,000 per gram.
By comparison, vanilla costs ¥200 per gram, and ordinary spices such as cinnamon cost less than ¥20 per gram.
What Does It Smell Like in Perfume?
In perfume, “saffron” does not refer to just one raw material. The dried stigmas of Crocus sativus, safranal, the principal component shaping its characteristic aroma, the synthetic molecule Safraleine, and accords built from several materials are all different things. Safraleine has a powerful scent suggesting warm leather, tobacco, spices, and natural saffron, with enough tenacity to last a week on a blotter. It adds dry heat and leathery depth to perfume, but it is a different molecule from safranal.
Choosing a fragrance with saffron
Saffron fragrances can be chosen for dry, leathery spice or sweetness accompanied by flowers and amber.
- Warm leather: Leather or dry woods suit a taste for a more distinctive spicy character.
- Bright fruit: Citrus or berries create a contrast with dry spice.
- Flowers and amber: Jasmine and gourmand sweetness may appeal if you enjoy a softer, enveloping fragrance.
Two fragrances featuring saffron
Black Saffron Eau de Parfum (Byredo)
Saffron is accented with juniper berries and pomelo, then layered with violet, rose, leather, raspberry, woods and vetiver. It combines bright fruit with the dry texture of leather and woods.
Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum (Maison Francis Kurkdjian)
Jasmine and saffron meet an ambergris-like accord, dry woods and ethyl maltol’s sweetness. Flowers and woody amber merge in a sweet scent, distinct from Black Saffron’s leathery character.
Find your next fragrance
In Fragrance Finder, choose “Favorite fragrances & notes” on the home screen, then look for notes you enjoy under “Favorite notes”. Select from the available suggestions and press “Next”.
