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Why cumin as a fragrance note?

post #1 of 17
11/10/06 at 3:48pm
Thread Starter 
I do use cumin in cooking, but the thought of it in a fragrance doesn't appeal to me at all. I don't want to smell like I'm wearing my dinner. In the "plummy" thread someone mentioned Rochas Femme, and I recall that people have said the reformulation has a distinct cumin note, whereas the vintage I believe does not. Some have said that cumin gives them a sweaty BO note, while others seem to like it. I can totally understand cardamom, with its spicy camphorous odor, in perfume, especially in ripe fruity ones, and cinnamon, and anise, and even pepper. But cumin? I just don't get this one. What do you think of cumin as a perfume note? Anyone care to enlighten me?
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post #2 of 17
11/10/06 at 5:58pm
Why not?

There are plenty of fragrance notes which are food based which I consider less pleasant, eg. celery, melon, even tea--although I can think of fragrances that do use them to advantage. I consider cumin a rich spicy note that evokes India to me more than anything else--pungent, slightly sweet, heavy. It can be overbearing at times--but in the right balance can be spectacular. I am one who finds Kingdom to be a masterpiece, and I do like Femme, both the cumin and the un-cumin versions. Why would cumin be any less useful a note than cardamom, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, clove, coriander, or any other intensely fragrant flavoring agent? To my nose, cumin is far from a natural body odor.
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post #3 of 17
11/10/06 at 7:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by docluv45

Why not?

There are plenty of fragrance notes which are food based which I consider less pleasant, eg. celery, melon, even tea--although I can think of fragrances that do use them to advantage.

And don't forget cucumber!

I don't know docluv, to me it just seems like an odd sort of note to go into a perfume. Has it always been used in perfumery? I want you to know that I just went downstairs to the kitchen and rubbed some cumin on my wrist - and it's honestly rather interesting smelling on its own. It's pungent and earthy. I can see it mixing with some funky patchouli in an interesting way. And I'm not picking up any BO, so I'm not sure why people say that. But it still smells like a savory dish to me. Maybe because I associate it with savory foods in Indian, Mexian, Persian cuisines, and maybe sweeter food notes in perfumes are more familiar to me? I wouldn't want to wear the scent of celery seed, or garlic, but I like them in food. I have never smelled Kingdom so can't comment on it. And I don't know the current version of Femme. My mother used to wear the old one.
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post #4 of 17
11/10/06 at 8:28pm
One of my favorite fragrances, Aimez-Moi, has cumin in it. But even though there is cumin in Aimez-Moi I do not perceive that note as 'the cooking' scent of cumin on my skin. Similar situation also happens with Gucci Eau de Parfum. There are other notes in these fragrances as well, and so they take on those different characteristics as well.
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post #5 of 17
11/11/06 at 2:18am
I have Gucci EdP, too, and I find it very nice. It doas not smell gourmand, even if it has cumin as one of it´s ingredients. My nose is not sharped enough to tell you what cumin doas for the frag, perhaps someone else can tell you. But the mixture is fresh and nice. There is thyme in it, too, and that note is really detectable for my nose.

Well, I guess the "noses" are trying to find new frags, and experiments with what they find usefull. I do like cumin both in food and in this frag. The same goes for thyme.
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post #6 of 17
11/11/06 at 6:46am
Thread Starter 
Gucci edp should be fairly easy to find around here (if not Kingdom or Aimez Moi) so I am going to check it out when I have the chance. I really want to smell how cumin works in perfume. Thanks for the responses so far!
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post #7 of 17
11/11/06 at 7:35am
How fun, please, tell us on the board what you think about Gucci EdP and cumin!

It is a fresh frag considering it is an oriental... And that means it is not so heavy and/or sweet as orientals usually are. I have not been fond of it until I started to try to detect notes in frags. So, please, if you don´t like it at the first sniff, give it some more tries.
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post #8 of 17
11/11/06 at 10:35am
I have trouble with cumin. It comes off as too salty. A better alternative for me has been saffron, which provides some of the same kind of bite. Saffron is more delicate and just as stong as cumin. Coriander, on the other hand, is always pleasing to me.
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post #9 of 17
11/11/06 at 10:39am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by purplebird7

I have trouble with cumin. It comes off as too salty.

Yes! Last night as I was sniffing the cumin-rubbed wrist, I kept thinking, "it smells salty." I thought maybe it was just me.
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post #10 of 17
11/11/06 at 11:36am
I just bought my husband a large bottle of Gucci EDT. I don't know if the EDT has cummin, but I can't smell it. It just smells like an expensive wood. I love it on him. I don't wear men's cologne, but I have found that a lot of scents turn to salt on me, especially Hermes Merveilles and Hermes d'Orange so I certainly do understand the salt thing.
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post #11 of 17
11/11/06 at 11:47am
Thread Starter 
I entered cumin as a note in the Basenotes directory and came up with a number of men's fragrances, only a few women's. So, I assume it's more commonly used in men's frags.
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post #12 of 17
11/11/06 at 12:29pm
It works! Cumin is tricky as a fragrance note because it doesn't work on everyone, but imo it adds something special. I like it in spicy fragrances and it adds pizazz, especially to fruit notes (for example, the reformulated Femme edt.) Other good ones with cumin: Dinner by Bobo and Kenzo Jungle.
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post #13 of 17
11/15/06 at 9:20am
I love the cumin in Eau d'Hermes. The entire concoction is a wonderful spicy, leathery citrus smell -- but well blended and very subtle. I believe Roudnitska was attempting to create the smell of the interior of a Hermes bag in creating this. One of my favorites.
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post #14 of 17
11/15/06 at 9:38am
I like cumin a lot in Dinner (by Bobo), SL Arabie and Rochas Femme, but it can be very nasty (and is, too!) in many other scents.
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post #15 of 17
11/17/06 at 12:48am
I like cumin in a perfume. It's such a rich, torrid note. I sometimes crave Kingdom. I understand why people find it sweaty-smelling, but I have no problem with that.
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post #16 of 17
11/17/06 at 1:20am
It's warm, soft, spicy-musky. Adds a lot of tenacity to fragrances. It's especially masculine, stimulating, increases sexual desire, male fertility, good for fatigue. Erotic, exotic and evocative, stimulates flow of bodily juices while warmly pernetrating the senses of man and woman.

Many of the great Lutens frags contain cumin - Santal de Mysore, Muscs Koublai Khan, Cuir Mauresque, Fleurs d'Oranger, Arabie and others. I love Eau d'Hermes. Lots of cumin in that one.

A few good books regarding essential oils, fragrance notes:

Essence and Alchemy - Mandy Aftel
Scents and Scentuality - Valerie Ann Wormwood
The Fragrant Mind - Valerie Ann Wormwood
The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy - Wormwood
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essentail Oils - Julia Lawless
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post #17 of 17
11/17/06 at 6:45am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pluran

It's warm, soft, spicy-musky. Adds a lot of tenacity to fragrances. It's especially masculine, stimulating, increases sexual desire, male fertility, good for fatigue. Erotic, exotic and evocative, stimulates flow of bodily juices while warmly pernetrating the senses of man and woman.

Very interesting! A friend from old days used to say that dining in Indian restaurants made her feel sexually aroused, so looks like cumin must have been playing its part (not to mention the bring-yer-own alcohol). Thanks so much for the information and for the book recs, too.
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Female Fragrance Discussion › Why cumin as a fragrance note?