Honey

Honey is a sweet substance made by bees from flower nectar. Honey is stored by bees in a hive. Composed of more than 80% carbohydrates, honey is an energy-rich food. An undisputed source of vitality and energy, honey is endowed with numerous therapeutic properties. In perfumery, beeswax absolute is used. After the honey is extracted, the wax is treated with volatile solvents. The resulting product is washed with alcohol to obtain the absolute. The honey note can also be reproduced using synthetic molecules, such as phenylacetic acid.

Honey, a warm and sweet note

Honey is widely used in perfumery. It brings sweetness to floral fragrances and a more animalic touch to oriental fragrances. Honey notes are warm, sweet, fruity, nourishing and sun-kissed. Honey also brings herbaceous, gourmand fragrances or fragrances close to that of tobacco. Ever generous, honey offers its tenacious and natural notes to compositions. A great alchemist of nature, the bee is the emblem of the house Guerlain, which incorporates it into numerous perfumes, such as Aqua Allegoria (Flora nymphéa), a floral for women. Here, honey is positioned as a base note. Paired with fruity notes and jasmine, Aqua Allegoria (like all the series of the same name) is a true tribute to nature. In order to obtain a high-quality royal jelly, the house Guerlain has set up, in Sologne, 200 hives exclusively dedicated to the production of this royal jelly, which is also widely used in cosmetics.

Honey and its pairing with different olfactory families

Honey pairs wonderfully with all olfactory families. Depending on the origin and diversity of the honey (Provence honey, acacia honey, white honey or mountain honey…), the facets it offers are slightly different. Some are greener, others sweeter, which is why the honey note can be found in a great many perfumes. Honey is indeed very often found in great floral perfumes such as Ange ou Démon (Le secret poésie d’un parfum d’hiver 2011) by Givenchy. Fruity, floral and slightly spicy, Ange ou Démon brings to mind a treat enjoyed in secret. Honey can also be found in unexpected compositions, such as Avant-Garde by Lanvin. A masculine, oriental and woody fragrance, where beeswax is paired, as a heart note, with cardamom and nutmeg… A sillage that is both chic and relaxed.

An undisputed sweetness, honey has offered us its virtues since the dawn of time. In perfumery, honey, or beeswax, has also won over the hearts of perfumers. With its multi-faceted notes, by turns sweet, fruity, gourmand and herbaceous, honey never ceases to surprise us. It is found extensively in floral compositions, where it lends its sweetness. It can nevertheless also be discovered in oriental, woody, chypre, aromatic or citrus perfumes… A raw material of great significance.