Heart note · Floral

Ylang Ylang

Cananga odorata

Ylang ylang is creamy, sweet and exotic, with banana-like and spicy facets. Discover the tropical flower at the heart of rich florals and ambers.

What does ylang ylang smell like in perfume?

Ylang ylang smells creamy, sweet and exotic, with hints of banana, custard and soft spice. It brings a sunny, tropical richness to the heart of a fragrance.

What Is Ylang Ylang?

Ylang ylang comes from the drooping, yellow, star-shaped flowers of Cananga odorata, a tall tropical tree of the custard-apple family. It is grown mainly in Madagascar and the Comoros, and its oil is steam-distilled from the fresh flowers.

Ylang Ylang Scent Profile

Here is how strongly each facet of ylang ylang comes through, from our own smelling-strip notes.

How Perfumers Use Ylang Ylang

Perfumers use ylang ylang to give florals a creamy, luminous heart. It pairs naturally with jasmine and other white flowers, and adds warmth to citrus and spicy blends. Its odour impact is high and it lasts a day or more on a strip, so a little carries a long way. The lighter grades suit fresh florals; the heavier ones sit well in ambers.

Growing and harvesting ylang ylang

Ylang ylang trees grow in the Comoros, Madagascar and Mayotte. The flowers start green and turn yellow as they mature. They are picked by hand early in the morning and distilled the same day. Distillation happens in stages, giving grades called extra, first, second and third. Extra, from the first hours of distillation, is the richest and most floral.

The molecules behind ylang ylang’s scent

Linalool gives ylang ylang a fresh, floral lift, and benzyl acetate a sweet, fruity note it shares with jasmine. p-Cresyl methyl ether adds a sharp, heady quality. Germacrene D and benzyl benzoate give the creamy, balsamic depth of the later grades.

Natural or synthetic ylang ylang?

A “ylang ylang” note in mainstream perfumes is often built from benzyl acetate, linalool and benzyl salicylate. Natural ylang ylang is richer and more complex, with creamy, banana-like and spicy facets that a reconstruction struggles to match.

Ylang ylang in history and tradition

Ylang ylang comes originally from the Philippines and Indonesia, and its name comes from the Tagalog language. It is often said to mean “flower of flowers”, though the exact meaning is debated. In the 19th century it was an ingredient in Macassar oil, a fashionable hair oil. Victorian households put cloth covers called antimacassars on the backs of chairs to protect them from it.

How to smell ylang ylang yourself

Ylang ylang trees grow only in the tropics, but the essential oil is easy to find in Britain, often labelled extra or complete. Put a drop on a strip of paper and smell it over an hour. It opens sharp and fruity, then turns creamy and floral, with a soft spice.

Smell Ylang Ylang in Prosody London Perfumes

For ylang ylang at its most expressive, try Paper Flower Fan. After a bright opening of lime, lemon, mandarin and neroli, creamy ylang ylang leads the heart with clove and cabreuva, over vanilla, ambrette seed and benzoin. You will also find ylang ylang in Jacinth Jonquil and Pizzicato Bliss.

What Blends Well With Ylang Ylang?

Questions About Ylang Ylang

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