Strawberry Leaf is a green note that evokes the crushed leaves and stems of the strawberry plant rather than its fruit. Created by the perfumer as an accord, it combines leafy, cucumber-like freshness with a faint hint of red berry, and is used in green, fresh and fruity-floral fragrances.

What does Strawberry Leaf smell like?

Strawberry leaf smells like brushing through a strawberry patch: sappy stems, cool green leaves and damp earth, with the ghost of fruit in the background. It is related in spirit to violet leaf and tomato leaf, sharing a watery, slightly metallic greenness, but it is lighter and sweeter than either. Where strawberry itself is jammy and sweet, the leaf note is crisp and almost savoury, adding naturalism to fruity compositions.

How perfumers create Strawberry Leaf

Strawberry leaves are not extracted for perfumery, so the note is built from green materials. Cis-3-hexenol supplies the smell of cut greenery, violet-leaf-type materials such as methyl octine carbonate add a cucumber-and-leaf effect, and a trace of strawberry furanone or glycidic ester hints at the fruit. Galbanum or green oximes can bring stem sharpness.

• Also known as: Strawberry leaves, feuille de fraisier
• Fragrance family: Green, fruity
• Type: Accord (created by the perfumer)
• How it's obtained: Reconstructed from green synthetics with a light fruity touch
• Key aroma molecules: Cis-3-hexenol, methyl octine carbonate

Strawberry Leaf in perfume history

Strawberry leaf has little specific history in fine perfumery. It emerged as a named note in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, when perfumers began pairing fruits with their own foliage to make fruity accords feel more realistic and less candied.

Strawberry Leaf in modern perfumery

Today it is an occasional accent in fresh fruity-florals, green colognes and garden-themed niche scents, where it adds dewy naturalism. It works well for perfumers who want a fruit reference without much sugar.

How Strawberry Leaf wears and what it pairs with

Strawberry leaf is a fleeting top-to-heart note. It pairs well with strawberry, violet leaf, rhubarb, blackcurrant, lily of the valley, tomato leaf, mint and white musk.