Fruity fragrances

Fruity notes in perfumery are almost entirely synthetic, and that's not a shortcoming but the only option. Apart from citrus, which is pressed from the peel, fruit can't be distilled — strawberry, peach or lychee in a still yield nothing usable, at best a smell of cooked jam. Modern fruity accords therefore rest on lactones for creamy peach, on damascenone for juicy plum and rose, and on esters for pear and apple. That's why fruity in a fragrance rarely smells of a specific fruit — it smells of the idea of a fruit, which is often more pleasant than the original. In our range 28 fragrances have a fruity note, surprisingly many for a category considered light. The reason is simple: fruity gets along with everything — wood, oud, vanilla — so it ends up in compositions that don't look fruity at first glance.

Xerjoff Erba Pura: The category reference. Sicilian fruit and citrus over a vanilla base — if fruity interests you, start here.
BDK Parfums Pas ce Soir: Fruit is the first accord, with white florals beneath it. Fruity without the candy, which is harder to achieve than it seems.
Guerlain Oud Nude: Fruit over oud and almond. Proof that fruity isn't necessarily summery and isn't necessarily light.
French Avenue Vulcan Feu: Tropical fruit and spices — the loudest fruity pick in the catalogue, with no shyness at all.
Bond No. 9 NoMad: Fruit with rose and oud. The New York school, where fruity is always a bit sweeter than in Europe.
Parfums De Marly Delina Exclusif: Pear and lychee with rose. The fruitiness that has settled into almost every women's fragrance in recent years — here in its most expensive version.

Why doesn't a fruity fragrance smell of real fruit?

Because there's no real fruit in it. Apart from citrus, fruit can't be extracted by distillation, so all fruity notes are built from synthetic molecules that imitate the scent. The result is closer to a memory of the fruit than to the fruit itself.

Is fruity the same as sweet?

No, although they often go together. Fruity can also be sour or green — unripe pear, rhubarb, blackcurrant. Sweetness comes from vanilla, caramel and tonka in the base, not from the fruit up top.

Are fruity fragrances only for young people?

That's a prejudice from a time when fruity was a synonym for cheap. Guerlain Oud Nude and Delina Exclusif are fruity and neither cheap nor youthful — the difference is what the fruit sits on.

Which season suits fruity fragrances?

As a rule spring and summer, but not without exceptions. Fruity on a woody or oud base holds up in autumn too. The rule is simple: the lighter the base, the more summery the fragrance.

Why does fruity show up so often in men's fragrances too?

Because fruit up top makes the first impression pleasant, then quickly disappears and leaves room for wood or leather. Armaf Club de Nuit Intense Man is one example — pineapple at the start, smoke and leather at the end.