CaFleureBon:Tropical Flowers and Fruits in Perfumery + 12 Perfume Postcards From Paradise Draw

 

 

Tropical flowers and fruits bring to mind soft breezes, warm air, and rich fragrances with a deep blue ocean in the background.  Tropical flowers are used for welcome, for decoration, for scenting and pampering the body, for health, and for filling the garden to overflowing. Paradise is closely tied to the smell of sweet, rich, mouth-watering floral  and  fruit scents that fill the air. In the Virgin Islands, white frangipani hangs from the cliffs, the delicate white blooms obvious in a sea of verdant green.  Many times the tough gray trees with their fragile, fragrant blossoms are hanging from pure rocks on the seaside cliffs over the blue waters of the Caribbean. 

The Tiare flower of Tahiti glows white and pure above the dark green leaves of the shrub, is a traditional aid to Tahitian beauty, and has been an important part of island life for nearly 2,500 years. Macerated in coconut oil, tiare buds produce Monoi oil for the skin and hair; it is tenderly rubbed into newborns to keep them from dehydrating or even from getting cold.  Frangipani and Tiare aromas are languid, heady, exotic, and sweetly floral with undertones of vanilla.  Frangipani often smells of peaches – ripe and juicy ones!  These are the flowers of welcome and are beautifully used in personal decoration behind the ears, as leis or floral necklaces. 

Frangipani is also known as plumeria from the scientific name and is native to Mexico and Central America. It’s a member of the same family as dogbane and related to oleander. With its beautiful flowers, amazing fragrance and ease of transplanting, it was a popular plant for early explorers to transport and is now found in tropical and sub-tropical areas around the world.  Christian missionaries in Australia arriving from Samoa and Vanuatu brought sacred frangipani trees to plant around the missions in remote northern tropical areas. The missionaries eventually abandoned the missions but the frangipani, coconut palms and mango trees have survived harsh weather and fires. The name plumeria comes from the French botanist, Charles Plummier, who first catalogued the plant.  Frangipani, on the other hand, was the name of a popular perfume in Europe during the time of the explorers who discovered the plants and they named the flower after the perfume. So we have a flower named after a perfume instead of the other way around. Frangipani flowers can symbolize shelter and protection or peace and tranquility, but are also symbols of death and funerals in Bangladesh. 

 Sunlight and silver won't kill a Pontianak… move over Dracula, Lestat and Eric Northman

In Malaysian folklore, the scent of frangipani is associated with vampires known as Pontianak, women  who died during childbirth and became undead, seeking revenge and terrorizing villages . According to myth, men who are not wary will be killed and castrated when she morphs into a hideous being who feeds on the blood of her victims which include pregnant women and babies. –MC

Frangipani is also  closely associated with religion and is known as the pagoda or temple tree. The flowers form a nearly perfect spiral in the bud and open to a spiral shaped blossom with 5 petals; the blooms can be white, white and yellow, yellow, orange, pink or deep red.  The tree itself has grayish-green bark and the branches are stubby and cylindrical.  They break easily and if left on the ground will sprout and begin to grow new leaves.  Frangipani flowers are too delicate for distillation and are solvent extracted producing a lovely absolute that is semi-solid, strongly fragrant and heady, with definite tropical notes. In addition, the blooms continue to release their scent upon being picked and many artisan perfumers will create an enfleurage with the blooms by placing them on a solid fat until the scent is soaked into the fat. The resulting pommade can be used as is or can be further extracted with alcohol for an absolute de pommade that is very true to the smell of the frangipani blossom.

Tiare, the Queen of Polynesian flowers, is a striking, white, star-shaped flower that is actually a gardenia. It grows on a small shrub in the family Rubiaceae, a large family that also contains coffee. The scent of tiare flowers is described as reminiscent of both gardenia and tuberose, green with just a hint of apple blossom. This is a gentle flower, exhibiting affection, welcome, and the ceremonies of the islands. It is native to Tahiti and is symbolic of that lovely island. In the language of flowers, a tiare bloom is placed behind the left ear of a person who is happily in love, behind the right ear it means the person is available and if placed on the nape of the neck it beckons one to follow. Polynesians have been known to use these flowers to cure migraines, mosquito bites, earaches or just float them in a bowl of water to scent the home.

The Tiare Apetahi blossom is a variety that has dagger-shaped leaves and grows high in the mountains of Raiatea Island between Bora Bora and Tahiti. There is a legend about a beautiful woman who lived on the island and married a fisherman.  Together they had a daughter name Tiaitau who grew up to meet the king and become his lover.  When the king went to war she was so sorrowful she cut off her hand and buried it in the soil of the mountain to be a symbol of her love. The delicate, five-fingered flower that grew in that soil is reminiscent of a woman’s hand. An alternative version has a broken-hearted woman dying on the mountain after cutting off her hand in sorrow. The Tiare Apetahi will not grow anywhere else but on the rocky soil of the Temehani Plateau on the island.

 

Tiare is used in the production of monoi where the flowers are extracted using coconut oil to produce a lovely scented oil.  The production of monoi is strictly formulated and is a form of enfleurage.  The flowers are picked when they are still unopened and are quickly placed in refined coconut oil.  The flowers are left for 15 days until the characteristic scent is present. A minimum of 15 tiare flowers must be used for each liter of coconut oil to maintain the high quality. For use in perfumery an absolute is produced that is very rare and very expensive, requiring thousands of flowers per kilo and is not generally available.  The absolute does not smell like the more familiar Monoi but is woody and green with the floral aspect apparent when skillfully blended.

The perfect tropical accents for these floral aromas are mango and coconut – fruity and buttery with slight touch of nuttiness.  Coconuts are hardy trees that are widespread in the tropics, growing easily on sandy shorelines.  Because the fruit can float for long distances and still germinate it is widespread both from natural means and by humankind. The coconut is one of the most extensively used and grown nuts in the world and is an important crop in many tropical countries. It is also valuable as an ornamental and the source of coco frio – a refreshing drink made from the liquid in green coconuts. The three holes at the base of the shell resemble a grinning or grimacing face and is the origin of the name – coco meaning grin or grimace.  The scent of coconut in perfumes is generally obtained through fragrance chemicals but the artisan perfumer will often tincture coconut in pure alcohol to obtain a lovely accent note for perfumes.  The absolute exists but is quite rare and the odor is not strong but has value in mellowing and sweetening other notes such as vanilla.  The smell is described as sweet, buttery, nutty and fatty. Beaches, sunshine, tropical breezes, a cool drink and a coconut tree to sit under – paradise!

 

For the perfumer requiring only botanical materials, the scent of mango fruit must be created as a doppelganger.  In perfumery, a doppelganger is a blend of materials that mimics a scent that is otherwise unobtainable.  For mango, a perfumer may use citruses with florals and a touch of green to produce a fruity, sweet aroma reminiscent of ripe mangos.  There is, actually, an absolute made from mango leaves that is deeply green in scent with a subtle undertone of the fruit. Mangos themselves exhibit a variety of shapes, colors, aromas and flavors and may range from citrusy and sharp to mellow with coconut undertones. Some are quite floral and may provide a touch of jasmine for your palate.  At the Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami, Florida, the Mango Festival occurs every summer to celebrate this versatile and lovely fruit that is grown throughout the world. The mango tasting is the high point of the festival where people can taste mangos large and small from around the world and decide whether they like their mango a bit tart and citrusy or sweet and rich like honey with a bit of coconut.

Elise Pearlstine, Contributor 

Art Direction Michelyn Camen, Editor-In-Chief

 For our draw:

From Euro Parfums 100ml Montale Paris Intense Tiare available at MiN New York

From Ormonde Jayne The Travel Purse Spray Collection with 4 x10ml of Frangipani

Courtesy of Fragrance & Arts  50 ml of Manguier Metisse Huitieme Art

From  our friends at L'Artisan Parfumeur  50 ml Batucuda

Courtesy of Sarah Horowitz Thran of Sarah Horowitz Parfums the new 1.7 0z  EDP of Perfect Coconut Milk

Thanks to En Voyage Perfumes by Shelley Waddington 1 oz of Nectar des Isles composed by Juan Perez

From Honoré des Prés 100% eco cert organic I Love Coconut by Olivia Giacobetti available at Ron Robinson.com

Courtesty of Charna Ethier of Providence Perfume  6 ml travel atomizer  All Natural Lei Flower EDP available at Beauty Habit

Courtesy of our Author and Natural Perfumer for BellyFlowers  10 ml  EDT Tea Olive

Thanks to Natural Perfumer JoAnne Bassett 6 ml refillabale Island Memories

Thanks to Francesca Brice of Pacific Perfumes Love the Mango  from the Original range which uses both man made and natural essential oils

Thanks to Liz Cook of One Seed Co. 5ml of  All Natural Frangipani

 For our draw please leave a detailed comment with something interesting  that you have learned from this article about tropical flowers and fruits in perfumery, and your choices of fragrances (WITH AT LEAST ONE NOTE NOT MENTIONED IN THIS PIECE)  that you would like to win in this random draw (PLEASE INCLUDE  AT LEAST ONE NATURAL PERFUMER'S GUILD PERFUME IN YOUR CHOICE these folks sponsor these ingredients draws every month).  Draw closes July 11, 2012

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume

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86 comments

  • Its sort of creepy to learn that in Malaysia folklore tells that Frangipani is associated with Vampires known as Pontianak which are women that died during childbirth and then seeking revenge and terrorizing villages as the Undead. And according to myth, men who are not wary will be killed and castrated when she morphs into a hideous being who feeds on the blood of her victims which include pregnant women and babies. Now that is interesting and unsettling all at once. Since I have Joanne Bassets new creation on the way to me already my choices would be SHT Perfect Coconut Milk (tried a sample of this and loved it) or Ormonde Jayne Frangipani. Note in OJ Frangipani is Linden Blossom and Note in SHT Perfect Coconut Milk is Egyptian Musk. Awesome draw, thank you.

  • This is just the most informative and entertaining article
    There are so much fascinating information but for sake of brevity I thought it was amazing that tiare is 2500 yrs old and is used in aromatherapy to cure migraines
    I would be thrilled to win any of these fragrances but manguier metisse with tea and lei flower with caramelized sugar sound edible
    Thank you and great art ; it brings the article to life

  • Wow I loved reading this article and there was so much that was new to me
    Between the Malaysian vampire pontianak and the heartbroken handless lady legends along with the opposite connotations of religion. beauty and peace frangipani and Tiare are very interesting culturally
    I would be thrilled to win any of these fragrant beauties but I am going for fruit today
    Honore des pres I love coconut by Olivia Giacobetti because I am such a fan girl with tonka bean. I love the mango sounds great too and I want to try a solid fragrances /lime
    Thank you do much … Great job

  • farawayspices says:

    Sometimes I think Cafleurebon reads my mind, as I’ve been obsessed with tropical scents lately, more than I was any other summer.
    I was not aware that coco means “grin or grimace”…I will certainly never look at the round impressions on a coconut without smiling now! 🙂
    I would be delighted to win Manguier Metisse with its notes of mango and frangipanni, my natural choice would be One Seed Frangipanni which includes notes of frangipanni.

  • Wow, I found the vampire/frangipani connection to be the most interesting and disturbing item in the piece. I think people in developed countries just take tropical flowers to be so inherently lovely and otherworldly, we don’t consider the complexity of other cultures. 🙁

    I would truly be happy with any of the perfumes in this draw, but my top two choices would be One Seed’s Frangipani with notes like honey, jasmine, blackcurrant, and bezoin, or JoAnne Bassett’s Island Memories with notes of frangipani, orange blossom, tangerine, and tobacco.

  • I loved the part about frangpani and Malayasian Vampire women! I totally copy and pasted part of that to a chat with a friend who just came back from there 😛

    I would love me some: En Voyage Nectars Des Iles with green citron, jasmine auriculatum, and Osmanthus. Or some Ormonde Jayne Frangipani with tuberose, plum and magnolia. Both sound mind blowingly lovely.

  • I found the story of the Pontianak vampire women to be interesting and sad – I’ve always thought it would be devastating to be a mother ‘on the other side’ who could not be with her own precious baby.

    I’d most like to win the Montale Paris Intense Tiare with its notes of coconut milk and roses, or the Manguier Metisse Huitieme Art with its notes of mango and tea.

  • Great article! I love the part that Polynesians have been known to use tiares to cure migraines, mosquito bites, earaches or just float them in a bowl of water to scent the home. So interesting!

    My choice is montale tiare with roses and love the mango with lime, thanks

  • I guess every foodstuff has a festival of some sort, but I wasn’t aware that Miami holds one in honor of the mango. I love the fruit, so it would be a kick to try mangos from around the world. The ones I eat come from Whole Foods. 🙂

    Thank you for the draw. My pick would be the OJ Frangipani. Water lilies and linden in combination sound interesting.

  • peonies4c says:

    Ah! Such a fantastic article.

    I had no idea that frangipani flowers were so colorful or that their history is so… well… colorful. Vampires and zombies and missions! Oh my! They are so intensely fragrant and EXPENSIVE. I love that they were named for a perfume flipping convention on its head. Given the hearty survivalism of the flowers / trees I wonder why their EO is so expensive.

    Aside from the scents… Paul Gauguin was a butt dart. He abandoned his wife and kids in France to go to Tahiti and paint the stunning polynesian women. He was a naughty naughty man who died from a drug overdose attempting to mollify the discomfort of syphilis.

    Back to our noses… It is my understanding that gardenia, tiare or otherwise, do not give up their gorgeous voluptuous scent. Not to enfleurage or solvent extraction or CO2 or steam. So the whole monoi oil seems like a big marketing scheme of fancy coconut oil. I still have not had the pleasure to smell a monoi oil that really represented the gardenia scent. The coconut always comes through however not the gardenia. Dopplegangers unite!

    PS I loved the mango info as well however I didn’t want to write you a book report. = ) Thank you for the gorgeous information.

  • Cheesegan says:

    I love that newborns in Tahiti tiare buds are macerated in coconut oil and newborns are rubbed in it to protect their skin. Those must be some beautiful smelling babies.
    I also enjoyed learning about absolute made with mango leaves that is very green with a subtle hint of the fruit. This sounds like something I should try.

    If I was to win, I would choose Sarah Horowitz Parfums the new 1.7 0z EDP of Perfect Coconut Milk which has notes of coconut, almond, f orange blossom, gardenia, tonka bean, vanilla and Egyptian musk.

    I would also choose BellyFlowers 10 ml EDT Tea Olive which has notes of osmanthus absolute frangipani, tuberose, mimosa, fir balsam, mandarin, violet leaves and clary sage

  • Linnea Wiedeman says:

    i love the story behind the Tiare Apetahi blossom.
    I like the I love coconut with notes of tonka bean and white cedar. i also like the Lei flower with honeysuckle and musk ambrette. thank you for all the wonderful information.

  • Learning about the mythical meanings and distillation processes of Frangipani was very interesting. Especially the quite macabre mythical Malaysian associations! I am afraid that I will never care for Coconut at all, however… My choice would be certainly be Manguier Metisse (with tea and Frangipani). My Natural Perfumer’s Guild choice would be One Seed co.’s Frangipani (with Sandalwood). Thanks!

  • Here we are back with the ca fleur bon draw, Amazing this month on tropical flowers and fruits. Frangipani wow I love that flower. Here where I am living in the middle east they have them growing everywhere,even in parks and in my place of work.Never knew that they were frangipani until recently. when i ordered the essnetial oil and was doing some research on it then I found out how they looked.
    Being from a tropical island myself I love the use of tropical flowers and fruits in perfumery, unfortunately it is almost impossible to find natural oil of these exotic fruits, passion fruit, litchi (wow) (my back garden back home is full of them) mango, coconut, bananas, peach , apricot, pineapple and so on.I cannot wait when i go on holiday back home to drink fresh coconut milk The fruits oils have to be composed of other oils that make that scent but the real thing is not available, this is called a doppelganger, its a real shame actually because I love fruity scents and would love to find the original naturals witout having to improvise.
    Frangipani is associated in the tropical islands with love, yet in Malaysia it is associated with death and vampires and blood.
    if chosen I would like “nectares des Iles”, even the name is in My native language of French

  • I didn’t know about the died-in-childbirth blood sucking femme fatales from Malaysia. Yikes! Nor the point that coco comes from the “funny-face” of the coconut’s eyes. I’m curious about the ” jasmine powder” in the Montale Paris Intense Tiare so I’d like to try that one if I win. On the Natural side I’m intrigued to get something with Frangipani since I *love* that smell and it brings back great memories of time on the Caribbean Island of Bequia. That could be Liz Cook’s frangipani or Ormonde Jayne’s version. Thanks for this great contest.

  • I loved learning about the various tropical flowers and their uses and histories. The one that seems most appealing to me is the Tiare. I liked learning about its symbolic uses in Tahiti: When placed behind the left ear it means the individual is happily in love, placed behind the right means the individual wearing it is available..etc. I also loved hearing about the Polynesian uses of Tiare to cure such ailments as migraines and mosquito bites.

    My choices of perfume would be L’Artisan Batucada (with notes of lime and Caïpirinha accord) as well as Providence Perfume 6 ml travel atomizer All Natural Lei Flower (with notes of toasted coconut and an almond base)

  • Christy C says:

    I loved learning about the language of flowers in Tahiti and about the vampire women of Malaysia.

    I would be interested in the En Voyage Perfumes Nectar des Isles with its green citron, osmanthus,and gardenia notes, and Honore des Pres Love Coconut with coriander leaf and white cedar.

  • Oh what a treat to read about tropical flowers ,especially plumeria blossoms. Coming from a tropical Island, it is the the smell of freshly picked dewy frangipanis that I miss the most every single morning.. It is funny how each interpretation is different but never quite beats the newly blossomed flowers wafting away. I love the legends associated with these flowers, especially about the hand cut out of love and buried ,thus being the origin for the divine smelling tiare flowers…
    I would love to win Bellyflowers Tea Olive with the notes of osmanthus,tuberose and mimosa blended with frantipani…and EnVoyage’s Nectar des Iles which promises a gorgeous tropical paradise with notes of ylang ylang, gardenia,jasmine and tahitian vanilla amongst others..
    Thank you for the draw.

  • Florentina says:

    The article itself was like a paradisiac journey among tropical, wonderfully scented flowers, I loved it!
    I enjoyed, as always, the legends surrounding flowers, but it’s strange that such a beautiful flower as frangipani could symbolize death and vampires… I didn’t know that.
    My choices for the draw: Tea Olive (frangipani, osmanthus,tuberose) , Island Memories (frangipani, tobacco, sandalwood) and Love Coconut (fresh coconut milk, coriander leaf).
    Thank you!

  • I was surprised to find out that the smell of frangipani was associated with vampires in Malaysian folklore. Such a lovely flower, associated with such a thing?!
    I’d love to win L’Artisan Parfumeur Batucada, with lime; Huitième Art Manguier Metisse, with tea; En Voyage Nectars des Îles, with sandalwood; and Honoré des Pres Love Coco, with coriander leaf. Although I would love any from this draw, as I am a sucker for anything exotic!

  • I didn’t know tiare was used for monoi oil and that it was so complicated (and it sounds expensive as well) to get. BUt I love the smell of monoi oil. 🙂
    My choices of the perfumes included in this article would be Love the Mango (lime and black pepper), Perfect Coconut Milk (orange blossom and gardenia!), Montale Intense Tiare (ylang-ylang).

  • I love these articles by Elise. They are a wonderful combination of botanical, cultural and perfume-making information. And I always learn a great deal.

    From this article I learned how plumeria, frangipani and coconut got their names and that missionaries brought frangipani to Australia; that monoi oil is rubbed on babies to keep them from dehydrating or getting cold and that Polynesians have used tiare to cure migraines, mosquito bites and earaches; and how artisan perfumers can create a coconut tincture and that a mango scent needs to be created with the use of other ingredients and hence is a “doppelganger”.

    I’d be delighted to win any of these fragrances, but my top three choices are Elise’s own Bellyflowers Tea Olive with fir balsam and violet leaves to enhance it’s fresh green aspect; Ormonde Jayne’s Frangipani with linden blossom, plum and green orchid oil; and En Voyage’s Nectar des Iles with wild oranges, sandalwood from Vanuatu and Tahitian vanilla.

    Thanks for the great information, including on the creepy, frangipani-wafting Pontianak, and the fabulous draw opportunity.

  • One of the most interesting things I learned from this article comes from the naming of frangipani: “Frangipani, on the other hand, was the name of a popular perfume in Europe during the time of the explorers who discovered the plants and they named the flower after the perfume. So we have a flower named after a perfume instead of the other way around.” That doesn’t happen too often! I would love to win Batucacda, with lime and Caïpirinha accord, as I just tried a sample of it and adored it; also, Tea Olive, with tuberose and mimosa, or Montale Intense Tiare, with ylang ylang, and EnVoyage Nectar des Isles with its gardenia sounds beautiful, too. I would be so happy to win any of the listed fragrances, of course! Thanks for the generous draw.

  • Very interesting read. I had no idea the scent of mango fruit must be created as a blend of materials that mimics a scent that is otherwise unobtainable.  For mango, a perfumer may use citruses with florals and a touch of green to produce a fruity, sweet aroma reminiscent of ripe mangos.

    I would love Montale intense tiare with coconut milk and ylang ylang, Ormonde Jayne Frangipani with green orchid oil and magnolia or Love Mango with lime.

    Thank you for the draw.

  • Well, that’s quite a stimulating type of draw!
    I usually don’t feel attracted by tropical kind of scents and their often heavily sticky kind of fruity twists, but I enjoy tuberose, so, after reading this article I thought “why not!?”.
    I got particularly interested by the vampire part! Since I’m so fond of vampire stories, I guess that if I could choose anything from this draw, I should turn towards frangipani 😀
    The enfleurage technique fascinates me too, it sounds as mesmerizing as learning potions at Hogwarts! Except that it is for real! Now you got me wondering what kind of “fat” is used for frangipani enfleurage!
    And so, again if I could chose anything displayed here, well first it would be one of the 100% natural stuff! I think Lei Flower would be too sweet for me, and Tea Olive too green… But I’d certainly be interested in Island Memories, for its tobacco touch! Frangipani from One Seed sounds good too, even though I’m not a musk fan!
    Thanks for that draw!

  • I fell in love with frangipani/plumeria on a trip to Maui a few years ago. I love the scent, as well as the shape and color of the flowers – so much so that I purchased a pendant shaped like a frangipani flower, and wear it all the time. Interesting to read about its history in various cultures. Kind of horrible to hear in Malaysia they’re associated with woman vampires. I’ll pretend I didn’t read that. 😉

    Fragrances I’d most be interested in from your list: Nectar des Iles and I Love Coconut, Thank you!

  • Oh, sorry – forgot to add notes that don’t appear in the article. Please include in my answer above.

    For Nectar des Iles – website says tiare and frangipani, so no additional notes to add here

    For Love Coconut – coriander

  • ringthing says:

    I am impressed by the tenacity of the frangipani and it’s ability to sustain new growth from fallen branches; even the flowers living on after “death”, so to speak, releasing their fragrance. No wonder there is so much religious symbolism associated with their use! I also like the imagery of coconut oil macerated Tiare being tenderly applied to newborns. My family visited Hawaii in the mid 1960s, when I was about 5. My main memory is of the leis put round our necks everywhere we went, the flowers decorating everything from dinner plates to people, and that wonderful scent. For that reason, I would love to win Joanne Basset’s Island Memories, which specifically mentions leis and has an intriguing sounding tabacco note; also I Love Coconut by Olivia Giacobetti, because I adore the smell of coriander seeds & leaves in perfume, along w/coconut, of course. Thanks so much!

  • Amazed by the Malaysian Pontianak tale…. Sounds creepy…

    If I win I would like Mondale tiare intense with roses note or love coconut with the coriander note, thanks

  • Move over True Blood, the beautiful frangipani flower (I mean plumeria) has got a wild history of its own! I was intrigued learning all the fascinating details of one of my favorite notes, frangipani. And that it was named after the perfume and not the other way round. I will refer to the flower as plumeria from now on.
    I really enjoyed this post. It was jam packed with all sorts of fabulous details. Thank you for all your research!

    I would love to win any of these, you’ve offered such a lovely assortment…
    Montale Intense Tiare Eau de Parfum which also includes ylang-ylang
    Manguier Metisse Huitieme Art that also includes a tea note
    Sarah Horowitz Coconut Milk which also contains almond

  • Like previous posters, I was surprised by the Malaysian vampire folklore connection with frangipani. I associate vampire myths with Eastern European lore, probably because of Count Dracula. 🙂 (Did Count Dracula have a scent? I guess I would associate something heavy and dank with the Count; certainly, not a tropical flower!)

    I would love to win L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Batucada, with lime, cachaça accord, and tiaré, or Ormonde Jayne’s Frangipani, with linden blossom and plum.

    (I have a sample of Nectar des Isles and it just opens up beautifully in this weather.)

  • Thanks for reading, everyone. Caroline: the fat is usually a solid fat like palm oil shortening for enfleurage. Historically it was animal fat that was processed to remove the scent. Thanks again for the opportunity Michelyn! It’s really fun working together on these.

  • Thanks for this amazing article about tropical flowers and fruits which automatically trigger memories of sunny humid holidays by the sea.. Frangipani and Tiare have so many myths and religious significance attached to them, I had no idea…and that the juicy and sunny plumeria blossoms could have dark gothic sybolisms is downright frightening ;and this (amongst all the examples described by Elise Pearlstine) shows the importance of flowers and their scent in different cultures of the world!
    I would love to win Ormonde Jayne’s interpretation of Frangipani with notes of linden blossom,magnolia flowers, plum, white frangipani among others and,or JoAnne Bassett`s Island Memories with notes of orange blossoms, tobacco absolute and sandalwood accompanying frangipani absolute.

  • I’m such a sucker for anything vampire-ish (teehee :p) so learning about the Malaysian vampire folklore connection with frangipani was just awesome.

    Manguier Metisse with mango, tea and frangipani sounds wonderful. Wouldn’t mind Ormonde’s Frangipani with lime, plum and amber to boot, either.

  • I love coconut and in the summer use organic coconut oil all over my body to soften my skin and make it smell great. i did not know the origin of its name- grin/grimace. If I were to pick for myself it would have been the Honore des Pres I Love coconut (with notes of vanilla). But given that my daughter loves frangipani and my son loves melon I would choose Metisse Huitieme Art with an additional note of tea if I were to be so lucky as to win!

  • I love this article it is always so nice to hear the stories, myths and folklore about flowers and perfumes. What I didn’t know and impressed me greatly has to do with Frangipani that was actually the name of a popular perfume in Europe during the time of the explorers who discovered the plants and they named the flower after the perfume. Haha having a flower named after a perfume instead of the other way around is really something I would never expect!!!
    Thank you very much all for the gracious draw and I reall can’t pick a favorite, I will randomly say Montale Intense Tiare Eau de Parfum which also includes ylang-ylang, roses, vanille etc and Ormonde’s Frangipani with lime, plum and amber .

  • My next door neighbor is from Tahiti, and he brought me back a bottle of traditionally made Manoi oil about a year ago. Talk about Skin Decadence! I found it very interesting that the Tiare Apetahi will not grow anywhere else but on the rocky soil of the Temehani Plateau on the island. That sounds like one rare flower!

    I’m a huuuuuge fan of Mantale’s fragrances–so Montale Tiare would be my pick. I’m also a huge fan of all of JoAnne Bassett’s perfumes–so I’d choose Island Memories with notes of orange blossoms, tobacco absolute and sandalwood accompanying frangipani absolute. Yum!! If I won, my neighbor would be so incredibly jealous!!

  • I didn’t know almost any of the background of the plants that you discussed here, but to be more spicific… I was thrilled to learn that i can easily take a branch and bring it to root, I have many trees growing near my sister in law, and just recently wondered whether I can grow one in my area, I will try.
    If my name comes up in the draw, I would like JoAnne Bassett’s Island Memories
    That sounds so good and interesting, with notes of Orange Blossom, Tangerine, Tobacco and Sandalwood surrounding the Frangipani Abs.
    Thank you
    Hemla

  • I already think of mistletoe as the vampire plant, but the Malaysians have convinced me that frangipani also deserves that name because of the almost-mother vengeful spirits called Pontianak.

    L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Batucada has lime, which I find very attractive and a lovely compliment to tiare. Ormonde Jayne has such a deft hand that though I’ve never smelled it I’m sure that Frangipani with its plum and linden blossom notes would please me.

  • I was mostly fascinated with the recipe for monoi oil as i always use pure cococnut oil for moisturizing, i can’t even begin to imagine how much more delicious would be with the addition of tiare flowers. I’d love to be able to make my own.
    If I would be lucky enough to be one of the winners of the draw I would love to get Ormonde Jayne Frangipani and, or Huitieme Art Manguier Matisse and, or Providence Parfume Lei flower. Thank you

  • Oh forgot to mention the notes:1. Ormonde Jayne Frangipani :jasmine, rose and tuberose absolutes, water lilies, plum, and green orchid oil 2.Huitieme Art Manguier Metisse: mango, tea, frangipani3. Providence Parfume Lei Flower: caramelized sugar, tropical fruits, toasted coconut

  • Lovely article and beautiful postcards (flamingos with woman is gorgeous).

    It’s amazing how gruesome yet titillating legends can be sometimes (ie, the Tiare Apetahai blossom that resembles a woman’s hand).

    Tincturing Coconut in alcohol–never thought of that! Just a personal little note on coconut. My daughter’s name is Coco and now I know her name means grin or grimace. And that she does, a lot.

    Lei Flower from Providence Perfume with it’s carmelized sugar and almondy base looks yummy. And also Tea Olive from Bellyflowers–one of my favorite materials is fir balsam and I’d love to experience that with the tropical bloom of frangipani. Many thanks for the article and draw.
    Suzy Larsen

  • rosiegreen says:

    Lovely article on tropical flowers. I was interested to learn that Tiare is actually a gardenia and related to the coffee bean.
    Any of the fragrances would be lovely but I am most interested in the Montale Intense Tiare with its notes of jasmine and ylang-ylang; Honore de Pres I love coconut with the note of coriander- a favorite in food- and also the Huitime Art Manguier Matisse with its notes of mango and tea.

  • Jaqueline says:

    What didn’t I learn from this article that other readers didn’t mention
    From the demonic history of Malaysian frangipani and that Tiare was in the same species as coffee beans this article was really informative and fun
    Montale intense Tiare has been on my wish list forever so winning this would be a dream come true note of lime
    I love the mango also sounds amazing with …lime
    Thank you for the opportunity and I am glad I was googling montale Tiare and found your lovely blog

  • Interesting that there would be such a gruesome story related to fragipani.
    I’d love the Love Coconut with Coconut and Vanilla.

  • I liked this article very much, especially I liked to read about Tiare as I love this flower and I like Monoi oil, so it was amazing to read about it 🙂
    My choice is L’Artisan Batucada (lime) and Ormonde Jayne The Travel Purse Spray Collection (plum)

  • Elizabeth Ryerson says:

    What a lovely article to read through over the last few days of intense heat here in Toronto and all over North America. I loved learning about how the frangipani flowers are handled for extracting the scent as well as the artisan perfumers who create their own coconut tinctures! I would love to experience Honore De Pres Coconut fragrance and/or the Bellyflowers Tea Olive. Thank you.

  • Janet in California says:

    I love anything tropical and/or coconut. Coconut/ tiare enfleurage sounds wonderful! I can imagine getting a beautifully scented massage on a tropical vacation.

    Montale Intense Tiare with the jasmine powder is my choice.

  • facepalm edit:

    My Natural Perfumer’s Guild choice would be One Seed co.’s Frangipani with clementine, champaca, honey and sandalwood.

  • Paul Bunch says:

    I enjoyed learning about the vampire aspect of frangipani and that tiare is a gardenia.

    I am most interested in One Seed’s Frangipani with sea buckthorn, Bellyflowers’ Tea Olive with osmanthus (which I also learned about here), and JoAnne Bassett’s Island Memories with tobacco!

  • What is interesting is how frangipani can survive harsh weather and the branches on the ground grow new leaves
    Very resilient considering it’s not living in the true sense which may be connected to the story of the Malaysian vampires the Pontianak
    Probaly a wild assumption
    I traveled to Hawaii and the smell of frangipani was captivating so I will choose ormonde Jayne frangipani with rose and one seed frangipani with buckthorn

  • d3m0lici0n says:

    Frangipani and vampires! That is simply awesome, I love reading that kind of stuff and I really found it really interesting and I will dig a little more about that.
    In case of winning i’d like to get Manguier Metisse with notes of mango extract and tea leaves and/or Bellyflowers Tea Olive with notes of osmanthus, tuberose and mimosa. Thanks!

  • Wow, I learned loads of things – notably, that Frangipani was the name of a European perfume when the explorers were discovering the plants in the sub-tropical and tropical parts of the world, and that they named the Plumeria flower after the perfume!

    I’d love to win Frangipani by Ormonde Jayne (which contains Linden blossom), or En Voyage’s Nectar des Iles (containing green citron), or Honore des Pres I Love Coconut (including white cedar).
    All the choices are so compelling! Thanks for the generous draw.

  • It was interesting to know that Frangipani is also known as the Plumeria, I thought they were separate flowers. Also that the Tiare is a gardenia.
    I would like to win either Montale Paris Intense Tiare (coconut milk) JoAnne Bassett’s Island Memories (sandalwood) or Nectars des Iles (tiare petal accord)
    Thanks for the draw!

  • I dind’t know that the scent of mango needs to be replicated with other notes (as lily of the valley). I always asked me why this happen. Also I didn’t know that the frangipani absolute is semi-solid, i used to think that was liquid, as other flower’s absolute.
    I would like to win Ormonde Jayne’s Frangipani (that includes tuberose) and Tea Olive from Bellyflowers (with violet leaves).
    Thanks for the draw!

  • Another beautiful article Elise. Thank you for all the time you put in to write these each month. I loved learning that Frangipani flowers can symbolize shelter and protection or peace and tranquility. I would love any of the perfumes from these nautural perfumers. It’s hard to choose but I would say Island Memories which includes tobacco and sandalwood, Frangipani which includes honey and gardenia or Tea Olive with tuberose and mimosa. Thank you for such a great article and draw!

  • Tourbillion says:

    It is interesting to me that most coconut scents aren’t natural and that coconut absolute is rare.

    My choices: Montale’s Intense Tiare with vanilla and coconut milk, Honore des Pres – Love Coconut with coriander, and vanilla or even L’Artisan’s Batucada with mint and Caïpirinha accord.

  • TimeaZsofia says:

    I found very interesting, that: “In the language of flowers, a tiare bloom is placed behind the left ear of a person who is happily in love, behind the right ear it means the person is available and if placed on the nape of the neck it beckons one to follow.”
    I really loved the legend of Tiaitau and the five-fingered flower.
    If I would be one of the lucky winner, I would choose:
    Manguier Metisse Huitieme Art with sugar and tea notes and Natural Perfumer for BellyFlowers 10 ml EDT Tea Olive with tuberose and mimosa.
    Thank you for the draw.

  • What a colourful article!

    I found it interesting and fascinating to read that Christian missionaries would plant frangipani trees upon arriving in Australia. Good to know that some of these have survived the heat and natural disasters in the area. As a fellow Australian, this I did not know. However they must grow up North, whereas I live down South where the weather is not ideal for growing frangipani or anything suitable for a tropical climate.

    If I was so lucky to win, I would love to win Manguier Metisse with notes of frangipani, tea and mango or Island Memories with notes of frangipani, orange blossoms and tobacco.

  • Great article! I learned alot about the Frangapani I planted one in my backyard a few years ago and was very surprised that it grew! I never knew that Frangapani flowers can symbolize shelter and protection or peace and tranquility. Thank you for an imformative article 🙂

    If I win I would love to win Natural Perfumer JoAnne Bassett 6 ml refillabale Island Memories or Travel Purse Spray Collection with 4 x10ml of Frangipani or The Cocount Milk 🙂

  • As a huge mango lover (to eat), I was fascinated to learn that mango is one of those scents perfumers must create and get close to the smell of a real mango.

    I would love to win L’Artisan’s Batucada with it’s intriguing notes of mint and cachaca (I LOOOOVE caipirinhas!) – especially that cachaca note. Or, I would love to win EnVoyage’s Nectar de Iles, with it’s amazing sounding notes including osmanthus nectar and wild orange. 🙂 But honestly, I’d take any of them! Thank you for the draw.

  • Liked the pay about the legend of tiare, such a romantic tale…

    If I win, I will like Montale with notes of roses or Frangipani one seed with honey note, thanks

  • I enjoyed the part about pontianak and tiare…

    My choices are Montale with coconut milk and tea olive wirth Mimosa

  • Lovely article! I found it interesting that the newly discovered plant was named frangipani after a perfume that was popular in Europe … that seems a little backwards. lol

    I would choose the Ormonde Jayne Frangipani travel sprays. I love the idea of a plum note along with the frangipani and jasmine. OR maybe Joan Basset’s Island Memories, with notes of orange blossom, tangerine, and tobacco.

  • Lots of news to me here. I did not know that monoi oil is rubbed into infants to keep them from dehydrating or getting cold!

    l would like to win the Montale, which contains coconut milk, ylang ylang and roses, and Belly Flowers Tea Olive, which contains osmanthus and clary sage…

    Thank you for this article and draw!

  • Great article!!!! Never knew Frangipani have so many stories behind…

    I would like to win montale with coconut notes or frangipani with buckthorn

  • I found it all interesting, but like many readers, the Malaysian zombie/vampires was the most surprising. How do they connect that to such a beautiful flower?!
    I would be thrilled with any of these. To name a few choices, SHT’s Coconut Milk with wild orange, Shelley Waddiington’s Nectar des Iles, Charna’s Lei Flower with coconut, or Ormande Jayne’s Frangipani. Thanks to all the perfumers and Cafleurebon for the draw.

  • I have never seen the fragiapani flower before and I love the fractal pattern. “The flowers form a nearly perfect spiral in the bud and open to a spiral shaped blossom with 5 petals”. I would love to try l’artisan’s Batacuda. The mint and cachaca notes intrigue me on this hot day.

  • I have often wondered about the difference between frangipani and plumaria. I feel a bit silly to find out that they are the same plane, but, gee, it’s nice to know that after all this time!!

    Both the Ormonde Jayne with it’s lime peel and plum, and the Bellyflowers’ Tea olive with it’s clary sage and violet leaves(YUM!) sound lovely.
    Thank you for the drawing.

  • Great post- tropical florals are my favorite. The most interesting thing I learned was the Tahitian tradition of rubbing monoi into a newborn’s skin to keep them from getting cold or dehydrated. Makes me want to try this on my own 6 week old baby!
    All of the choices are wonderful, but I would most like to win Island Memories (with orange blossom and tobacco) by Joanne Bassett, Perfect Coconut Milk (with almond and gardenia) by Sarah Horowitz Parfums, or Honore des Pres Love Coco (with coriander and white cedar) by Olivia Giacobetti. Thanks for the draw!

  • I found it interesting that tiare has been used by Polynesians for migraines and earaches. Thanks for the very informative articles. I would love to win Coconut Milk with it’s notes of gardenia and Tea Olive with it’s sage and balsam.

  • Amberosmanthus says:

    A quote from the article that grabbed me was, “The three holes at the base of the shell resemble a grinning or grimacing face and is the origin of the name – coco meaning grin or grimace.” I had no idea and found it fascinating. I also love all the symbolic meanings of the different flowers. They make such beautiful calling cards – no wonder.

    I would love to win any of your offerings, but I’m most intrigued by One Seed Co.’s Frangipani with ambrette seed, Nectars des Iles with Green Citron and Osmanthus Nectar, and from Ormonde Jayne The Travel Purse Spray Collection with Linden blossom and magnolia flower. Thank you!

  • I did not know that there was a mango leaf absolute – will have to check that out. I would like to win Nectar des Iles (contains osmanthus), but it looks like the only Natural Perfumers’ Guild selection is Providence Perfume’s Lei FLower. It’s the only one with the green seal, anyway.

  • I didn’t know the process of production for monoi oil nor did I know that it comes from tiare flowers.
    I am a bit confused about the number of prizes won in this draw but I will choose two offerings as the commentators above.

    I wish I’d win (*sigh) Nectars des Iles with notes of Jasmine Auriculatum and Sandalwood absolute and Manguier Metisse with note of tea leaves.

    PS: btw the new captcha thing is awful. Doesn’t always work

  • Michelle U says:

    I just love when exotic flowers can be used for more than perfumes and art.

    I was really happy to read this “tiare buds produce Monoi oil for the skin and hair; it is tenderly rubbed into newborns to keep them from dehydrating or even from getting cold.”

    Nature is a good doctor and it provides the medicine we can find!

    Honore des Pres – Love Coconut sounds really good with coconut, vanilla and tonka beans!

    Sarah Horowitz- Coconut milk for it’s coconut, almonds, gardenia and vanilla

    En Voyage Perfumes-Nectars des Iles for it’s oranges, vanilla, Gardenia and Fragipani.

    L’Artisan Parfumeur -Batucuda for it’s lime, tiare flowers and coconut.

    Pacific Perfumes-Love the Mango for it’s mango, lime and black pepper.

    Thank you and Good Luck!

  • I didn’t know there were any florals associated with monster stories, let alone that in “Malaysian folklore, the scent of frangipani is associated with vampires known as Pontianak….” Wow. I wasn’t really at all familiar with these flowers, other than recognizing the names. Didn’t know what frangipani looked like (pretty pic–kind of reminds me of pinwheels) let alone that they are associated with religion/temples/pagodas. And Vampire ladies who castrate the unwary.

    I always love geeking out a little over new botanical knowledge–learning about tropical flowers reminded me of the osmanthus and orange blossom articles, particularly. and tuberose. Thank you for the detailed, informative article! And all the pics.

    I am not very knowledgeable about these kinds of scents so am pretty much open to anything…would love to try literally any of these! Thanks to everyone who contributes to the draw! Not sure if we are supposed to narrow it down to two or just list the every one of the fragrances we would enjoy…I started looking at all of them but have run out of steam and need to post.

    Nectar des Iles is at the top of my list, I remember reading glowing reviews of it, it also contains osmanthus and sandalwood.

    Also OJ Frangipani with green orchid…

    But they all look amazing to me:
    Bellyflowers Tea Olive with osmanthus (I also learned about this note here!)

    oneseed frangipani with bergamot (one of my favorite notes, and I love their cadramom-creamsicle scent ‘devotion’!)

    Honore des Pres – Love Coconut Eau de Parfum with coriander

    love the mango with black pepper essential oil looks interesting too, pairing a mango accord (which, I learned from this piece, is what perfumers have to do to create a mango scent since there is not mango fruit essential oil/absolute. too bad because I love eating mango!)

    Sarah Horowitz Coconut milk with almond and orange blossom

    Providence Perfume Co. Lei Flower also with almond and caramelized sugar (mmm)

    Manguier Metisse has tea…now I’m craving my mango black tea, and wondering what’s used to flavor it.

    L’Artisan’s Batucada with caipirinhas (have no idea what this is)

    pretty sure I left some great ones out but I really do need to run…thanks for all the tempting links, they sucked me in…

  • I had no idea that monoi oil is derived from Tiare! I have a monoi-based lotion from Bath and Body Works that features monoi oil and I absolutely love it. So I’d love to win the Montale Intense Tiare (because I love the addition of rose) or the L’Artisan Batucada (because the lime in it makes me think of Caipirinhas on the beach), but I’m also intrigued by Natural Perfumer’s Island Memories, because of its surprise addition of tobacco!

  • I have been craving a great tropical fragrance so I am delighted to read this well researched and visually beautiful article
    I really didn’t know much about any of the ingredients history mythology or use in perfumery
    I now know coconut is rare in natural perfumery and that mango can’t be produced using real mangos in natural perfumery
    My choices are many but Batacuda with lime and lei flower with coconut (since its so rare) sound gorgeous as does perfect coconut milk with almond
    It is a perfume lovers paradise thanks to all the sponsors

  • I did not know that tiare flowers were macerated in coconut oil to produce monoi oil. It smells delicious!
    And I have learnt that coconuts can float for long distances and that’s why coconut trees can be found in many places.

    I’d like to try Manguier Metisse, which contains leaves of tea, mango and frangipani. I have read wonderful reviews about it in this blog.

    Perfect Coconut Milk, with almond, orange blossom and gardenia, sounds lovely too.

    Tea Olive by Bellyflowers sounds interesting, with mimosa, fir balsam, mandarin, violet leaves and clary sage.

    Any of them would be great if I win. Thanks to the sponsors!

  • Amazing what you can learn about mango. They are one of my favourite fruits and it is fascinating to read about them being used in fragrances through a doppelganger. And I would love to attend a Mango Festival. Who knew that the fruit came in different shapes, sizes, fragrances etc.

    My choice would have to be “Love the Mango”.

  • Who knew how many diverse and symbolic meanings could be attributed to one flower?! I love the idea of of solid frangipani, mmm…
    I would love to win the OJ Frangipani; it’s the note of lime peel that’s so lovely in the frangrance. The green orchid oil also sounds quite fabulous!

    The Honore des pres love coconut would be equally wonderful. Thanks for the competition!

  • It’s amazing that in Malaysian folklore, the scent of frangipani is associated with vampires! I’ve never associated a monster with a scent before, it’s a neat exercise. I have tried some perfumes that turned out to be monstrous, though I won’t name names. :p

    I’ve never tried anything from OJ, and want to try Frangipani. I love linden blossom, which is one of the top notes. Jasmine and orchid in the heart notes, and musk in the base notes indicate this has my name written all over it.

    Thanks for the draw!

  • LumpkinLuv says:

    I found it interesting that Frangipani was native of Mexico and central America also how in Bangladesh they are symbols of death. The other tropical note I would like noted would be pineapple. My choice is I love cocunut by Olivia Giacobetti

  • I had heard of monoi but did not know how it was produced. Monoi is made using a process called enfleurage, which allows the scent from the tiare flower to soak into coconut oil. I’d love to try Nectars des Iles–the jasmine in the heart and sandalwood in the base sound lovely. I love orange blossom, so I’d also like to try Sarah Horowitz’s Perfect Coconut Milk. Joanne Basset’s Island Memories with neroli also sounds beautiful.

  • Had no idea that frangipane is a native of Mexico and Central America.
    O.J. Fragipane, Joanne Bassett Island Memories, and Batucuda would be my choices for the draw. Thanks!