What does Ivy smell like?
Crush an ivy leaf and the smell is green, waxy and a little bitter, over damp earth. It isn't the fizzy freshness of mown grass. It's a shade green, like a stone wall in the woods. In perfume the accord picks up that dark sap. It gives backbone to compositions that would otherwise be too round. It fades quickly, yet it changes how everything after it comes across.
Origin and production
Common ivy (Hedera helix) grows across most of Europe, on walls and tree trunks. Its berries are toxic and the plant provides no material for perfume. The perfumer rebuilds its smell from synthetic green notes, sometimes with a touch of galbanum or violet leaf. Results vary widely from one brand to another.
How perfumers use it
Ivy sits in the top, ahead of flowers or gourmand notes. Lolita Lempicka, composed by Annick Menardo in 1997, pairs it with star anise and violet before a heart of licorice and cherry. That bitter green stops the perfume from sliding into candy. Balmain takes ivy in a masculine direction in Carbone de Balmain (2010), with pepper and elemi. Dior opens Forever and Ever (2002) with it, alongside freesia and jasmine.
How to wear it
Ivy suits spring, or autumn in woody compositions. It doesn't change a perfume's strength. With Lolita Lempicka, two sprays are enough.