Shiso

Cultivated since Antiquity across the Asian continent, shiso is at once a food plant, an aromatic plant, and a plant with medicinal and olfactory virtues. The essential oil obtained from shiso leaves is therefore a natural raw material of choice in perfumery thanks to its green, almond, or spicy facets depending on its use and variety.

Shiso, the sacred plant of Asia

The name shiso is derived from the name of the plant in Chinese, zǐ sū, since contrary to what one might think, shiso was cultivated in China before being brought to Japan. Indeed, the cultivation of the different varieties of shiso began as early as Antiquity in China, whereas its introduction to Japan dates back to the 3rd century.

From the same family as mint and thyme, shiso has flavored numerous Asian dishes with its delicate flavors since time immemorial. But shiso is also used in traditional Chinese medicine for its dermatological virtues, acting on skin as a soothing and healing remedy.

Having arrived in Europe thanks to the Japanese-inspired trend in cuisine, shiso now enhances some of our dishes with its green, fragrant leaves. Of course, perfumes seeking to achieve an Asian atmosphere use the shiso note to bring a fresh, exotic, and aromatic touch to original fragrances.

Travel to Asia through the shiso note in our perfumes!

The shiso note has a relatively recent use in Western perfume bottles. However, this aromatic note from Asian lands allows a fragrance to offer powerful scents that have the merit of creating a note unlike any other. It can therefore be noted that every perfume containing shiso presents a different olfactory palette.

Shiso appears in different olfactory families: the oriental family for its spicy effluvia, while woody, fougère, and citrus fragrances use it for the freshness of its herbaceous and deliciously exotic note. On the other hand, shiso appears both in masculine perfumes and in unisex perfumes.

Regarding oriental perfumes, État Libre d'Orange and Thierry Mugler respectively used the shiso note in their perfumes Fils de Dieu, du Riz et des Agrumes, released in 2012, and Cuir Impertinent, released in 2015. The shiso note appears among the top notes of these two fragrances; for Mugler, shiso is paired with anise, while for État Libre d'Orange, shiso is combined with precious aromatics and bergamot.

Regarding citrus fragrances, mention must obviously be made of Eau de Shiso by Roger & Gallet, which created a vibrant tribute to the lovely aromatic by giving it a sparkling bottle, rich and velvety with woody notes. Shiso is of course featured prominently as a top note paired with citrus. Tom Ford's citrus fragrance Mandarino di Amalfi plays on these same top accords with shiso to create floral and aromatic accords.

Regarding woody and fougère fragrances, shiso appears in major designer bottles such as Terre d'Hermès PARFUM, TOKYO BY KENZO, or Calvin Klein's ckIN2U him. Shiso is, for these three fragrances, among the heart notes, paired depending on the juice with sometimes very original raw materials such as cocoa or chili pepper for Calvin Klein.

Shiso is therefore a raw material in perfumery that allows for numerous olfactory accords thanks to its fragrant sillage with multiple facets. It is regrettable, however, that shiso appears only very rarely in feminine perfumes, when it could bring, as in Cartier's L'Heure Folle (X), an exotic and fresh touch to fruity notes, for example…