Karo karounde

Karo karounde is a rare species, easily mistaken for a species of jasmine, except when one knows how to recognize its sweet scents... For the distinctive feature of the karo karounde flower is that it possesses scents that are both floral and spicy, two facets that perfumers have known how to showcase in both feminine and masculine fragrances.

The karo karounde flower, often mistaken, never equaled!

The delicate karo karounde flower grows in South Africa on what the local population calls the “rock shrub.” Discovered in the colonial era of the early 19th century, botanists initially took an interest in it for its resemblance to jasmine, believing this shrub to be a new variety of it. Thus karo karounde essence was initially sold and named under the label “absolute essence of Guinea bush jasmine.” A mistake!

Indeed, while the shape as well as the flower of karo karounde may bring jasmine to mind, its scent cannot be fully compared to it. Karo karounde notes recall the softness of gardenia and jasmine, while being more floral on its ylang-ylang facet and more powerful in its green notes, all while maintaining a light spicy touch.

This karo karounde flower could not be ignored by noses curious about new raw materials, so as soon as it was discovered, the production and manufacturing principles used in Grasse were imitated to turn it into an essence ready to be used in great perfumes.

The karo karounde note in perfumery: a star with multiple faces

The karo karounde note is a luxury raw material in perfumery, both because of the flower’s rarity and its low yield. Thus, creators long used this magnificent flower from South Africa in rare bottles or very sparingly.

One had to wait for the floral oriental Panthère by Cartier, released in 1987, to discover karo karounde as a heart note paired with jasmine, gardenia and tuberose. That same year, Nino Cerruti pour femme also used karo karounde in the heart notes, pairing it with rose and tuberose in a woody oriental fragrance.

A few years later, in 1993, Oh Lala by Azzaro featured karo karounde this time as a top note paired with peach, orange blossom and mandarin to offer aromatic, floral and then typically oriental scents. An intoxicating fragrance for some, a bit too powerful for others...

Until the 2000s, the karo karounde note was mainly used in oriental or chypre perfumes for its exotic floral facet and the power of its scent. Once the new millennium had passed, karo karounde was paired with lighter fragrances, mainly woody ones, such as Marron Chic by Nez à Nez or Timbuktu by L'Artisan Parfumeur, but also floral and fruity ones, as in Paco Rabanne Pour elle, where karo karounde comes across as softer and powdery...