One of spring’s favourite flowers, hyacinth gets its name from the Greek language: ‘flower of rain’. There’s a romantic (if slightly gory) Greek legend woven around hyacinth, actually: according to myth, the flower grew from the blood of Hyacinthus, a youth accidentally killed by Apollo – and even today, in Greece, the flower stands for ‘remembrance’. (In fact, Hyacinthus ambréeis originated in Syria, but it’s now grown ornamentally all over the world.)
Intensely green – green as spring itself – the smell of hyacinth develops as the flower blooms. In tight bud, the scent’s lightly, almost ethereally floral; as it opens, the scent becomes pumpingly potent and intoxicating (though still with that damp greenness). It’s widely used in white florals, and scents seeking to capture springtime-in-a-bottle, but because real hyacinth oil – produced by a process of extraction – is heart-stoppingly expensive, can’t-tell-it-from-real synthetic hyacinth notes are what perfumers turn to, nowadays.
Smell hyacinth in:
Goutal Paris Grand Amour
Goutal Paris Heure Exquise
Bond No. 9 High Line
Boucheron Bracelet Jaipur
Chanel Cristalle
Chloé Love
Crabtree & Evelyn Lily
E. Coudray Jacinthe & Rose
Escada Escada
Estée Lauder Private Collection
Floris Edwardian Bouquet
Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gio
Grès Cabotine
Gucci Envy
Guerlain Chamade
Guy Laroche Fidji
Hermès 24 Faubourg
Hermès Un Jardin Sur Le Nil
Juicy Couture Juicy Couture
Juicy Couture Peace, Love & Juicy Couture
Oscar de la Renta Live in Love
Robert Piguet Fracas
Serge Lutens Bas de Soie
Vivienne Westwood Boudoir
Yves Saint Laurent Y
