the intriguing note of hawthorn

Hawthorn is a very common wild shrub (short tree). Its white flowers attract myriads of flying insects wasps, bees, ladybirds and so on. The note of hawthorn is very special but often it is avoided in perfumery. In ancient Greek hawthorn is κράταιγος ~ which is a word deriving from the noun κράτος ~ which means associated with power and authority. Google describing the note says very balsamic (herbaceous, medicinal) , subtly honeyed white flowers odour with facets of bitter almond and star anice. However, folks either love its smell or absolutely hate it. Hawthorn pollen includes large quantity of trimethylamine, a pungent natural chemical that reminds you of the sweet suffocating decaying smell of a dead human body. It was inevitable for folks to combine hawthorn flowers and their smell with the smell of death. Maybe the Greeks were right because the lord of the state, the king of the country then ruled all life and death of his people.

An example of an elegant eau de toilette which contains hawthorn flowers: Sous un Mimosa de Provence Eau de Toilette Intense I cannot analyse the perfume too much for I haven't smelled it myself but I can tell you the thoughts of the perfumer who designed it. The scent is full of various white flowers musk, hawthorn, various powdery white flowers. But in the pyramid of notes you get a lot of earthly aromas , earthly notes. Starts with violet leaves, mimosa and hawthorn flowers. The heart of the perfume is white flowers (clean- powdery), tonka beans and patchouli. And the base contains vanilla, sandalwood, musk. /Result: fresh green floral, clean, earthly perfume. Of course like most green florals that end with the aetherial note of musk I place the perfume in the Eastern art of musk perfumery (middle East) the earthly notes are hawthorn, patchouli, vanilla sandalwood.These make the composition a very sophisticated niche perfume. And the perfumer induced them one by one in every layer of the perfume pyramid. Great job done here. If you love musks with white powdery flowers you must have a go on this! And no worries about its green profile there are no green bitter ingredients. The note of hawthorn here with its versatility weavering a delightful game throughout the fragrance. Yes there is mimosa in the edt but mimosas in the name of the perfume are not the key note. Hawthorn with its various facets, pungent botanical, subtly, honeyed white flowery ,sweet and heavy spices facets of bitter almond and star anice playing an interesting game throughout this composition till the end.