Lavender is a fresh, herbal floral note steam-distilled from the flowering tops of Lavandula angustifolia. It belongs to the aromatic family and smells clean, floral and slightly camphoraceous, with a sweet, hay-like softness that makes it a foundation of fougères and many modern men's and unisex fragrances.

What does Lavender smell like?

True lavender smells floral and herbal at once: clean, slightly sweet and soothing, with a bright, soapy freshness from linalool and linalyl acetate. Lavandin, a hybrid, is sharper and more camphoraceous, and spike lavender is harsher still with a eucalyptus-like edge. Lavender absolute, made by solvent extraction, is darker and more hay-like, with a coumarin sweetness that works beautifully with vanilla and tonka.

Where Lavender comes from

Lavender is grown on high, sunny plateaux in Provence and in large volumes in Bulgaria, which has become one of the largest producers of lavender oil. The flowering tops are harvested in summer and steam-distilled soon after cutting.

• Also known as: True lavender, English lavender, fine lavender
• Fragrance family: Aromatic
• Type: Natural
• Main origins: Bulgaria, France (Provence), Ukraine, China
• How it's obtained: Steam distillation of flowering tops; solvent extraction for absolute
• Key aroma molecules: Linalool, linalyl acetate, lavandulyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, camphor

Lavender in perfume history

Lavender has been used for scented washing water since Roman times, and lavender waters were popular in Britain from the 18th century. It became a cornerstone of modern perfumery with Houbigant's Fougère Royale (1882), which paired lavender with synthetic coumarin and gave its name to the fougère family.

Lavender in modern perfumery

Lavender is central to fougères, barbershop-style scents and many modern men's fragrances, and it has also been reimagined in feminine perfumes that pair it with vanilla or orange blossom. Climate change and disease have affected French crops, while Bulgaria's output has grown.

How Lavender wears and what it pairs with

Lavender is a top-to-heart note: bright and fresh at first, softening into a hay-like, herbal glow. It pairs with bergamot, geranium, rosemary, coumarin, tonka bean, vanilla, oakmoss substitutes and vetiver.

Fragrances featuring Lavender

• Guerlain Jicky (1889)
• Caron Pour un Homme de Caron (1934)
• Serge Lutens Gris Clair (1996)
• Yves Saint Laurent Libre (2019)

Safety and regulation

Lavender oil contains linalool and limonene, EU-declarable allergens, and lavender absolute can contain coumarin. Oxidised linalool is a known skin sensitiser, so formulas are protected with antioxidants.