What does Bamboo smell like?
Snap a fresh bamboo cane and you get a very clear cut-grass smell, close to cucumber. The bamboo accord borrows that idea: a juicy, watery green with no bitterness. There is also a faint woody side, like a pale wooden chopstick. On skin it doesn't last. Its job is to bring air to the top or heart of a perfume.
Origin and production
Bamboo covers hundreds of species of giant grasses, mostly Asian. None is grown for perfumery. The smell is built in the lab from green leaf notes, watery molecules and sometimes a pale woody touch. The name conjures Asia, calm and freshness more than a specific material.
How perfumers use it
Bamboo is there to lighten. It shows up with apple, pear, lotus and pale woods. Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue (2001) puts it in the heart with jasmine and rose, behind the apple. Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline (2005) opens with it alongside nashi pear in a very sheer aquatic floral. Calvin Klein Truth (2000) pairs it with clover up top for a leafier green. Parfum d'Empire Yuzu Fou (2008) surrounds it with citrus and mint.
How to wear it
Bamboo belongs to summer, office days and hot afternoons. These scents are light enough for four sprays, and Omnia Crystalline stays close to the skin.