Honey in perfumery: the gourmand note that smells animalic
A beeswax absolute, not a syrup
Unlike most gourmand notes — caramel, praline, candyfloss — which exist only through synthesis, honey does have a genuine natural raw material. It is not obtained by distillation: beeswax is treated with volatile solvents, giving first a concrete and then a beeswax absolute, thick, dark yellow and extremely odorous. Honey absolutes, prepared from honey itself, also exist. In both cases yields are low and the material expensive, so it is rarely used in large quantities, and it is nearly always supported by synthetic molecules that extend its effect and soften its rough edges.
What does honey smell like?
Not of sugar, at least not at first. Beeswax absolute is warm, waxy and dry, with a smell of hay and blond tobacco that far outweighs the expected sweetness. Then comes the disconcerting part: at high doses a frankly animalic, urinous facet appears, close to the smell of a stable, due in particular to phenylacetate. This is not a manufacturing accident but the character of the material itself, and perfumers use it to give body to compositions that would otherwise fall flat. It is worth saying plainly: a well-built honey perfume never smells of a honey pot, and many people are taken aback on first trying one. The same waxy warmth is found in immortelle, and a comparable honeyed facet in the absolutes of orange blossom and tuberose. On skin, honey lasts a long time, stays close to the body, and turns more animalic as the hours pass.
Honey perfumes at Soleil d'Or
Oro e Miele by Giardini di Toscana gives the gentlest reading: honey is melted into heliotrope, vanilla and iris, in a powdery register that all but erases the animalic side. At the opposite end, Or du Sérail by Naomi Goodsir, signed by Bertrand Duchaufour, embraces beeswax alongside tobacco and rum, dense and warm. Nektar by Laboratorio Olfattivo, composed by Pierre-Constantin Guéros, pulls it towards leather and frankincense. Naxos by Xerjoff sets it on an accord of tobacco and cinnamon, while La fille de Berlin by Serge Lutens uses it to thicken a red rose, which it turns fleshy and almost heady.
Honey accords and fragrance families
Honey belongs first to oriental perfumes and amber perfumes, where it works with labdanum, benzoin and vanilla. Its most classic accord remains the one with tobacco: with tonka bean and rum it builds those warm bases filed under gourmand perfumes without ever really being sweet. Its animalic facet brings it close to leather perfumes, where it usefully replaces the animal materials of the past. On the floral side it thickens and fleshes out rose, orange blossom and osmanthus, giving floral perfumes far more density than average. Finally, a touch of saffron or cistus is enough to draw out its dry leather side rather than its confectionery side.
Who is it for, and when?
Honey is unisex, but it is not a consensual note: it is in fact one of the most polarising on the palette, because its animalic facet leaves nobody indifferent. That is worth knowing before you buy. Its warmth points it firmly towards autumn and winter, where it settles beautifully on wool and on a scarf; in high summer, and especially on warm skin, it gains animalic intensity and can become cumbersome. It also lasts a long time and projects, so it should be dosed with restraint in an office or on public transport. The floral and powdery readings, on the other hand, go anywhere without difficulty.
How to choose your honey perfume
The question to settle is simple: do you want honey on its floral, powdery side, or on its waxy, tobacco, animalic side? The same word covers two very different experiences. Never judge it on a blotter alone, and never within the first quarter of an hour: it is after two or three hours, once the material has warmed on skin, that the note shows its true face. The bespoke discovery box brings together five 2 mL samples composed by hand, each to be worn for a full day; it is the best way to check that the animalic facet suits you before buying a bottle. To get your bearings, compare a powdery, reassuring honey such as Oro e Miele with a waxy, tobacco-laden one such as Or du Sérail.
Honey at Soleil d'Or, a Lille perfumery since 1953
Founded in 1953 by Jeanne Muyllaert on the Grand'Place in Lille, Soleil d'Or is an independent perfumery passed down from one generation to the next. Hubert Maës (third generation) turned it into a reference for niche perfumery; today his daughters Victorine and Apolline Maës (fourth generation) uphold the same standards at 22 rue de la Clef, Lille (59800). Our team will let you smell the honey 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 €59 to your door. Within Europe, it is free from €99 to a pickup point and from €149 to your door, depending on the destination; we also ship worldwide. Live in Lille or the surrounding area? Free in-store collection at 22 rue de la Clef is the fastest and most economical option. Full terms on our shipping page.
