Ginger

Spicy Oriental scents for captivating and powerful fragrances. Known since the dawn of time for its therapeutic and culinary properties, ginger originated in China and was then brought to ancient Egypt… for the mummification of mummies! Yet as early as antiquity, the Romans, won over by this intoxicating and almost miraculous spice, imported it for its medicinal and aphrodisiac qualities but also for its intense peppery and rosy fragrance. Today ginger is a spice particularly used in the olfactory family of Oriental fragrances for women, as well as woody or citrus fragrances for men.

Ginger and its essential oil produced in perfumery

Ginger is a rhizomatous perennial plant about 1 meter in height. Discovered more than 2,000 years ago in Asia, it was brought to ancient Egypt and then to the Romans for its curative properties. Since the Middle Ages, ginger (or more precisely its rhizome) has been considered a powerful aphrodisiac, which incidentally gave rise to many legends. History would have it, for instance, that Louis XV regularly had the places where he met his beloved (Madame du Barry) scented with the tonic, lemony fragrance of ginger, and that she succumbed to his charms thanks to the magical scent of the Oriental rhizome!

In any case, from the moment spices could be distilled into essential oils, perfumery devoted itself passionately to using all manner of sweet and delicate spices such as ginger, offering fragrances evoking distant lands to women but also to men who dreamed of Oriental journeys.
The essential oil produced from ginger rhizomes is a luxury raw material in perfumery, yet creators have never lacked the creativity to showcase it in their finest fragrances.

The Oriental fragrance family and ginger

After centuries in which our delicate noses were intoxicated by spices, spicy fragrances lost some of their aura at the beginning of the last century in favor of lighter fragrances such as Eau de Cologne. However, since the creation of Shalimar by Guerlain in 1925, which brought Oriental fragrances back into fashion, many other fragrances for women and then for men have made use of spices.

Often used as a heart note for the power of its fragrance and the longevity of its scent, ginger is very often paired with the masculine spicy and woody family, but also with citrus fragrances.
Certainly one of the first and most famous fragrances to use ginger for men would be Déclaration by Cartier, which in 1998 brought spicy woody fragrances back into fashion with its warm notes of ginger, cardamom and cinnamon combined with cedar notes.
As for the masculine citrus family, there are many fragrances that play out the freshness of citrus over spicy base notes in the range of sporty and virile fragrances, such as Allure Homme Sport Cologne by Chanel.

As for feminine fragrances, the introduction of ginger among the raw materials is older but has nonetheless remained more discreet. However, to this day, some great perfumers no longer hesitate to pair the powerful spice of ginger with florals, as in Miracle by Lancôme, or to continue exploring the Oriental family through ever more surprising blends, such as Armani Code Femme by Armani.

Thus, the warm and sensual scents of ginger, known for millennia, have continuously found new expression in numerous fragrances. Today this natural raw material seems to be, just like its cousin cardamom, thoroughly in fashion.
Finally, for the unconditional lovers of ginger, we offer what is certainly one of the most successful fragrances of recent years built around this spice: Five O'Clock au Gingembre by Serge Lutens. An exceptional and utterly addictive juice!