Heliotrope has a sweet powdery smell. It mostly resembles almonds, vanilla, and cherry pie. Heliotrope’s smell is also reminiscent of marzipan and cherry pie. It’s a smell that’s closer to sweets than to flowers.
Heliotrope or Heliotropium is a violet flower mostly known for its sweet dry scent. There are over 300 types of Heliotrope flowers growing around the world today. Their smell has been altered considerably given these flowers have been adapted to decorative flowers in many gardens.
We find the smell of heliotrope is still present in floral perfumes. While there has been no valuable heliotrope perfume released in 2021, we have a few very good options to choose from by looking a few years back.
Gucci Eau de Parfum has a strong heliotrope opening. Guerlain L’Heure Bleue has realistic heliotrope in it. Love Chloe perfume is a go-to heliotrope perfume women still love today.
How Does Heliotrope Smell Like?
Heliotrope has a floral smell that resembles deserts such as cherry almond pie. It has intense almond, vanilla, and cherry pie undertones. Heliotrope also smells like caramel but to a lesser extent. The smell of the flower is powdery.
Heliotrope smells like almonds
The smell of almonds is often associated with heliotrope. While some people argue almonds don’t have a smell, they are quite potent in the aroma. Almonds are powdery by nature. This is why heliotrope also has a powdery scent.
The smell of heliotrope can be confused with the smell of almonds. Furthermore, all smells that go well with almonds also go well with heliotrope, particularly in perfumes.
Then there’s the question of intensity. Does heliotrope smell more floral than almond-like? Heliotrope’s is first a floral smell. But it has almond undertones which give it powerlines and a very distinct smell.
Many people expect heliotrope to smell like violet flowers given its violet color. A small number of people expect the smell of heliotrope to be the same as the smell of lilac given both are made up of small flowers. Both are intense but still different. The only similarity between heliotrope and lilac lies in a very intense scent.
Heliotrope smells like vanilla
The smell of heliotrope also has a deep vanilla undertone. This vanilla-like scent is a type of aromatic sweetness. This isn’t a sugar-like sweetness which is why most people compare it with vanilla.
This means the smell of heliotrope is inviting. It often gets you compliments when prominent in a perfume. The vanilla interpretation of the smell also makes heliotrope a rare type of floral scent that goes well in wintertime perfumes.
Heliotrope smells like marzipan
Marzipan is a type of sweet dessert topping. This type of toping is very specific in its sweetness and is often associated with the smell of heliotrope. There are multiple nuances to the sweetness in the smell of heliotrope. Some of this sweetness is tied to vanilla. Other undertones include marzipan sweetness in certain types of heliotrope.
The sweetness in this scent changes and this makes the smell of heliotrope not liner. Simply put, it’s a smell of multiple facets. It’s worth smelling the fresh flower to get a true understanding of what sweetness levels smell like in flowers.
Heliotrope smells like Cherry pie and lipstick
Another facet to the sweet smell of heliotrope is cherry. Distinctly, heliotrope smells of cherry pie or similarly to cherry lipstick. This dewy sweetness which isn’t as raw as the sweetness of sugar is what makes heliotrope playful.
This is why we see heliotrope in a lot of perfumes for teenage girls and perfumes for 20-year-olds. Unlike lilac smell which is often tied to perfumes for mature women, heliotrope works well for a younger crowd, even for men.
Heliotrope smells like caramel
Caramel sweetness is also specific to heliotrope. The smell of caramel is both sweet and salty. The saltiness in this undertone is what gives some maturity to an otherwise sweet smell of heliotrope. As a result, there’s plenty of support to the idea that caramel and heliotrope are two of the notes that go best in perfumes.
Heliotrope smells like anise
The sweet smell of anise is also associated with heliotrope. Sweet, mild, but long-lasting, the smell of anise is also present in some types of heliotrope used in perfumery. You can expect the smell of anise to be the least intense undertone in the heliotrope smell, however.
Heliotrope smells powdery
Powdery by nature, heliotrope can smell dry compared to other floral scents such as ylang-ylang. You can wear the best heliotrope perfume if you don’t like flowers easily. Given heliotrope has a darker side compared to bright florals smells such as the smell of elderflower, heliotrope is an ideal accompaniment to tobacco, vanilla, or boozy fragrances.
Heliotrope’s smell is often compared to an almond cookie
The smell of heliotrope is powdery and cookie-like. This is often compared to lightweight cloud-like desserts such as puffy almond cookies. This cookie nature of heliotrope also means the note lasts long by comparison with other florals.
Heliotrope is one of the most common violet notes used in perfumes. However, we’ve seen fewer perfumes with heliotrope making their way to the market during the last year. It might be a first signal that the note is getting out of style following in the footsteps of lilac.
On the other hand, the complexity of the heliotrope scent might not be easy to mix with other smells when it comes to modern perfumes which tend to be the fresh-type of composition.
Still, heliotrope is very common in the best niche perfumes. These perfumes that aren’t addressed to a mass-market audience have a clear type of customer. People generally look to smell different and to have a perfume that lasts all day gravitate towards niche perfumes. It seems that this is where heliotrope can find its future without trying to be dressed up in something that smells more commercial.