Wild Strawberry is a fruity note inspired by the tiny woodland strawberry, Fragaria vesca, known in French as fraise des bois. Built by the perfumer, it smells more aromatic, floral and slightly spicy than the sweet garden strawberry, with a delicate perfumed tartness that suggests forest rather than dessert.

What does Wild Strawberry smell like?

Wild strawberries are famous for being small but intensely fragrant. In perfume the note is less jammy and caramelised than a standard strawberry, with a brighter, winey tang, a floral nuance reminiscent of orange blossom and a faintly green, woodland quality. Some interpretations add a hint of clove-like spice or a soft, musky warmth. The overall effect feels natural and understated rather than sugary.

How perfumers create Wild Strawberry

Perfumers often lean on methyl anthranilate, a material described in perfumery references as giving a wild strawberry effect; it also appears in orange blossom and jasmine, which explains the floral edge. It is combined with a smaller dose of classic strawberry materials such as furaneol and ethyl methylphenylglycidate, fruity esters for juice, and green or leafy notes to evoke the forest floor. The balance is tipped away from sweetness and towards aroma.

• Also known as: Fraise des bois, woodland strawberry, alpine strawberry, Fragaria vesca
• Fragrance family: Fruity
• Type: Accord (created by the perfumer)
• How it's obtained: Anthranilates combined with strawberry, fruity and green materials
• Key aroma molecules: Methyl anthranilate, furaneol, ethyl methylphenylglycidate

Wild Strawberry in perfume history

Fragaria vesca grows wild across much of the Northern Hemisphere and was the strawberry Europeans knew before the large garden strawberry appeared in the 18th century. Nineteenth-century French seed catalogues praised its particular perfume. In fragrance, the name signals a more refined, natural-feeling fruit and became a way for brands to distance a strawberry note from candy.

Wild Strawberry in modern perfumery

Wild strawberry appears in fresh fruity florals, niche garden-themed scents and gentle skin fragrances, often alongside strawberry leaf and green materials.

How Wild Strawberry wears and what it pairs with

It opens as a top note and can linger in the heart when anchored with floral materials. Wild strawberry pairs with orange blossom, rose, violet leaf, fig leaf, moss, black pepper, musk and vetiver.