What does Apricot smell like?
Perfumery apricot smells of fruit left on the tree a day too long. Think melting flesh and a creamy roundness that edges toward jam, cut by a tart note near the stone. Next to peach it feels thicker and more orange. On skin it blends quickly with white flowers and musks. It can also lean toward soft leather, as in osmanthus, a flower that smells naturally of apricot.
Origin and production
The apricot tree (Prunus armeniaca) owes its Latin name to Armenia, where the Romans thought it came from. It actually originates in Central Asia and China. The fruit gives no essential oil. Apricot kernel oil is fatty and almost odourless, used as a cosmetic base. So perfumers rebuild the fruit with gamma-lactones such as gamma-decalactone. Gamma-undecalactone, nicknamed aldehyde C-14, serves both apricot and peach.
How perfumers use it
Perfumers place apricot in the top for a juicy opening, or in the heart to round out flowers. It pairs with osmanthus, orange blossom, jasmine and vanilla. Giorgio Beverly Hills (1981) folds it into a loud fruity opening ahead of a tuberose bouquet. Dior Hypnotic Poison, composed by Annick Menardo in 1998, opens on it before almond and vanilla. Lighter, Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet sets it in the top ahead of peony and rose.
How to wear it
Apricot works from late spring into autumn, mostly by day. Cacharel Amor Amor feels younger than Hypnotic Poison, which we keep for winter evenings.