What does Pear smell like?
Perfumed pear is watery and crisp, with the sweetness of light syrup and a green facet of peel. Depending on the accord it can lean toward candy, Williams pear brandy or an almost floral freshness. It stays sparkling and clean, never heavy. On skin it shines mainly in the first minutes before giving way to flowers, praline or woods, leaving a light fruity trace behind.
Origin and production
Like most fruits, pear cannot be distilled into a fragrant essence. Perfumers rebuild its smell with esters such as hexyl acetate, amyl acetate and the so-called pear ester, ethyl decadienoate, which faithfully reproduces Williams pear. These molecules occur naturally in the fruit. Pear rose to prominence in perfumery from the 1990s and 2000s onward, with the boom in fruity florals and modern gourmands that favoured juicy, approachable openings.
How perfumers use it
Placed in the top, pear offers a fresh, appetising first impression. It pairs with blackcurrant, iris, jasmine, freesia, praline and patchouli. Jo Malone's English Pear & Freesia makes it the centre of an autumnal fruity floral; Lancôme's La Vie Est Belle pairs it with blackcurrant before a praline base, and Yves Saint Laurent's Black Opium uses it to brighten its coffee and vanilla accord.
How to wear it
Pear works all year round, especially in spring and autumn. It appeals to fans of fruity, fresh, easy-to-wear fragrances.
