Let's Ylang-Ylang

Ylang-ylang can be loosely translated as the ‘deep deep of the forest’. Ylang-ylang can refer both to the perfume material or the tropical Cananga Odorata tree it comes from. The main places of production would be Nosy Be and Comoros (tiny islands north of Madagascar). You might come across a ‘cananga note’ instead of ylang-ylang. It is the same story as with neroli vs. orange blossom, same flower – different methods of extraction.

The ylang-ylang aroma may be associated with spas and skin care, but please do not dismiss it because of that. It’s a fine versatile perfume material. What goes into perfumes is quite different in terms of quality and finesse compared to skincare. It’s not a straightforward girly floral note either. Ylang-ylang has a complex sultry vanilla meets leather odor profile and interestingly can reveal deep balsamic or light powdery nuances depending on the company of other notes in the formula.

In perfumes ylang-ylang quite often is hidden and could be used to complete an accord (such as animalic amber) or is coded as a fantasy note (such as an opium accord or sangria wine, for example). In this edit you will find perfumes focusing on the exotic beauty of ylang-ylang and perfumes where ylang-ylang supports some other idea such amber or leather or is remaning altogether incognito.