Floral fragrances

Rose, jasmine, iris. Can be soft and pretty or loud and heady.

What they smell like

• Apple Blossom Pale, airy spring blossom. Fresher and greener than the fruit.
• Bellflower Cool, watery green floral. Delicate and unassuming.
• Broom Honeyed, hay-like, slightly tobacco. Sun on dry grass.
• Bulgarian Rose Fresh, dewy and green. The 'real rose garden' version.
• Carnation Spicy, clove-like floral. Old-school and a bit peppery.
• Chamomile Herbal, apple-like and calming. Quiet and a bit hay-ish.
• Champaca Warm magnolia relative — tea-like, fruity and slightly waxy.
• Cherry Blossom Delicate, powdery, faintly almondy. Smells far less like cherry than the name promises.
• Chrysanthemum Bitter, green and faintly spicy. More leaf and stem than sweet petal.
• Cyclamen Watery, green and airy. Used to make florals feel light.
• Damask Rose The rich, jammy, honeyed rose. Deep and slightly wine-like.
• Frangipani Creamy tropical floral. Suncream adjacent.
• Freesia Crisp, slightly peppery floral. Clean and a bit synthetic in a good way.
• Gardenia Creamy white floral with a mushroomy edge. Lush and old-Hollywood.
• Geranium Rosy and minty at once. Reads masculine more often than not.
• Hawthorn Almondy white blossom. Slightly powdery and hedgerow-like.
• Hibiscus Tart, lightly fruity petals. More juicy than perfumed.
• Honeysuckle Sweet, nectar-like and slightly green. Summer hedgerow.
• Hyacinth Cold, green, watery floral. Smells like early spring.
• Jasmine Heady, sweet and slightly animal underneath. Rarely subtle.
• Jonquil A narcissus cousin. Green, honeyed and faintly animalic underneath.
• Lavender Herbal, clean, slightly medicinal. Barbershop in one note.
• Lilac Cool, powdery spring floral. Nostalgic and slightly soapy.
• Lily A big, creamy, slightly spicy white flower. The kind that fills a room.
• Lily of the Valley Clean, green, dewy floral. Reads as 'fresh laundry' to most people.
• Linden Blossom Honeyed, green lime-tree flowers. Soft, summery and a little like tea.
• Magnolia Lemony white floral. Bright and clean rather than heavy.
• Marigold Bitter, green and herbal. Nothing like the flower looks.
• Mimosa Soft, powdery, honeyed yellow flower. Gentle and comforting.
• Narcissus Green, hay-like and slightly animalic. Strange and beautiful.
• Olive Blossom Green, faintly bitter white floral. Dry rather than sweet.
• Orange Blossom Sweet, soapy and sunny. Neroli's warmer sibling.
• Orchid Creamy, sweet and slightly synthetic. A modern florals staple.
• Osmanthus Apricot-and-leather floral. Unusual, warm and very wearable.
• Peony Pink, watery and slightly peppery. Modern and inoffensive.
• Poppy Soft, powdery and faintly green. Poppy barely smells in nature, so perfumers build an impression of it.
• Rose Can be jammy, green, peppery or soapy depending on the type. Not one smell.
• Rose de Mai Softer, honeyed May rose. Expensive and unmistakably natural.
• Sambac Jasmine Greener, more tea-like jasmine. Less indolic than grandiflorum.
• Sweet Pea Airy, honeyed and a little green. A soft garden flower with a hint of fresh pea pod.
• Tea Rose A paler, greener rose. Less jam, more stem and fresh petal.
• Tiare Creamy tropical white flower. Suntan lotion, in the best way.
• Tuberose Creamy, waxy and enormous. The loudest white flower.
• Tulip Cool, green and barely sweet. A crisp, watery spring flower.
• Violet Powdery, sweet and a bit retro. Parma Violets in flower form.
• White Flowers A blend of creamy white petals rather than one named flower.
• Wisteria Sweet and airy, somewhere between lilac and honeysuckle.
• Ylang-Ylang Banana-custard floral. Rich, tropical and slightly rubbery.

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