Night Blooming Jasmine is a white floral note based on Cestrum nocturnum, a shrub from the nightshade family native to Mexico, Central America and northern South America. Despite its name it is not a true jasmine; its tubular greenish-white flowers release a powerful, sweet and slightly spicy scent after dark, and in perfume it appears as a lush, tropical-feeling accord.

What does Night Blooming Jasmine smell like?

The living plant can scent a whole garden at night: sweet, rich and almost sugary, with a honeyed floral heart, a clove-like warmth and a green, sappy undertone. Analyses of the flower oil report phenylethyl alcohol, the rosy-honey molecule, as the main component, alongside benzyl alcohol and eugenol, which explains the spicy nuance. That profile sets it apart from true jasmine (Jasminum), whose character depends on benzyl acetate and indole. In perfume, the note is usually softer and less animalic than jasmine absolute, with a fresher, almost fruity sweetness.

How perfumers create Night Blooming Jasmine

There is no commercial extract of Cestrum nocturnum, so the note is an accord. Perfumers combine phenylethyl alcohol, benzyl alcohol and a touch of eugenol with white floral materials such as Hedione and benzyl salicylate, and often add green notes and fruity esters to suggest the tropical night air.

• Also known as: Lady of the Night Flower, lady of the night, night-scented jessamine, dama de noche, raat ki rani
• Fragrance family: Floral (white floral)
• Type: Accord (created by the perfumer)
• Key aroma molecules: Phenylethyl alcohol, benzyl alcohol, eugenol

Night Blooming Jasmine in perfume history

The shrub has spread from the Americas throughout the tropics and subtropics, including South Asia, where it is a familiar garden plant, and it is now considered a weed in some countries, notably New Zealand. It has no classical perfumery history; the note grew with the late twentieth-century interest in nocturnal, exotic florals and is closely linked to the lady of the night image in Latin American and South Asian gardens.

Night Blooming Jasmine in modern perfumery

The note is used in tropical white florals, niche soliflores and body care, often as a softer, spicier partner to true jasmine. It is distinct from the night blooming cereus note, which is a cactus flower with a creamy, vanillic interpretation, and from the jasmine notes derived from Jasminum.

How Night Blooming Jasmine wears and what it pairs with

It sits in the heart with moderate to good longevity and a sweet, slightly spicy trail. It pairs with tuberose, gardenia, ylang-ylang, frangipani, coconut, clove, sandalwood and musk.

Safety and regulation

The plant is considered toxic if eaten, but perfumes use a reconstruction. Eugenol and benzyl alcohol are EU-declarable allergens that must be listed on labels above set thresholds.