Blackcurrant in perfumery: the bud that divides opinion
The bud, not the fruit
The blackcurrant berry gives nothing to perfumery: a fruit full of water and sugar cannot usefully be distilled, and accords that smell of blackcurrant jam are reconstructed from scratch. The real raw material lies elsewhere, in the bud. It is harvested from Ribes nigrum in late winter, before the buds open, when the bushes are pruned — a pruning that exists first of all for the liqueur and juice trades, notably in Burgundy, which makes perfumery a secondary user of an agricultural by-product. Extraction is done with volatile solvents: it yields a concrete, then a green, sticky absolute. Availability therefore depends on prunings and frosts, and the price follows.
What does blackcurrant smell like?
Everything depends on the dose, and that is what makes this one of the most argued-over notes on the palette. At low concentration it gives a green, tart, sparkling fruitiness, an almost electric flash with nothing sweet about it. Pushed a little further, another facet appears: sulphurous, animalic, frankly feline, which many describe bluntly as the smell of cat urine. That is not a manufacturing flaw, it is the same molecule: the thiols of the bud are perceptible at minute concentrations and tip from one register to the other depending on dosage. That is why people love or hate blackcurrant, and rarely anything in between. It should be clearly distinguished from the other fruits on the palette: raspberry is jammy and sweet, pear is watery and soft, whereas blackcurrant is green, tart and sulphurous. Its closest chemical relative is grapefruit, which owes its bite to the same sulphur compounds.
Blackcurrant perfumes at Le Soleil d'Or
Enchanted Forest by The Vagabond Prince, signed by Bertrand Duchaufour, is the rare case where blackcurrant is the subject of the perfume rather than its opening: dark, woody, held up by berries and oakmoss. Aventus by Creed uses it more conventionally, at the top, alongside pineapple, to give that smoky acidity that has become a signature. From the same house, Silver Mountain Water draws a transparent, almost mineral reading from it, set against tea. Bouquet de Hongrie by BDK Parfums, composed by Serge Majoullier, sets it on a floral of rose and pear, and A l'ombre d'Artemis by Hellenist, by Suzy Le Helley, places it in a green woody composition with fig.
Blackcurrant accords and fragrance families
Its most frequent use is in chypre perfumes, where it provides the fruity bite that answers bergamot and oakmoss. Paired with rose, it forms an accord that has become a classic in floral perfumes: blackcurrant brings the acidity that keeps the flower from thickening. With galbanum and vetiver it pulls towards green perfumes; with grapefruit and pink pepper, towards nervy hesperidic perfumes. Finally it serves as an acid counterpoint in a great many woody perfumes, where a few traces are enough to open up a composition that would otherwise be massive.
Who is it for, and when?
Blackcurrant is unisex and is worn the same way in either wardrobe; it is found on fruity masculines as readily as on florals. Its tart freshness points it towards spring and summer, and it loses much of its interest over a very warm winter base. Two things to know before buying. First, it does not last: its volatility makes it almost always a top note, ten to twenty minutes, and a perfume that smells of blackcurrant all day does not exist. Second, the sulphurous facet comes out faster on warm skin — a composition that won you over on a blotter may surprise you after a quarter of an hour. This is a note to try on yourself, not to order from a description.
How to choose your blackcurrant perfume
The only method worth anything is to spray it on skin and wait. The first ten minutes will tell you whether the sulphurous side pleases you or bothers you, and that is the deciding question: nobody is lukewarm about this note. Then look at what takes over, since blackcurrant will have vanished long before the end of the day — the heart and the base are what will decide your purchase. The bespoke discovery box brings together five 2 mL samples composed by hand, each to be worn for a full day. To get your bearings, compare a blackcurrant treated as the subject, dark and woody, Enchanted Forest, with a transparent blackcurrant opening, Silver Mountain Water.
Blackcurrant at Le Soleil d'Or, a Lille perfumery since 1953
Founded in 1953 by Jeanne Muyllaert on the Grand'Place in Lille, Le Soleil d'Or is an independent perfumery passed down from one generation to the next. Hubert Maes (third generation) turned it into a reference for niche perfumery; today his daughters Victorine and Apolline Maes (fourth generation) uphold the same standards at 22 rue de la Clef, Lille (59800). Our team will let you smell the blackcurrant perfumes in the catalogue, with expert advice and guided trials, and can point you in the right direction using our guide to fragrance families.
Delivery & free in-store collection in Lille
Within mainland France, Colissimo delivery is free from 49 € to a pickup point and from 79 € to your door. Within Europe, it is free from 90 € to a pickup point and from 120 € to your door; we also ship worldwide. Live in Lille or nearby? Free in-store collection at 22 rue de la Clef is the fastest and most economical option. Full terms on our shipping page.
