This article was originally published in the Fragrance Trend Report. Receive your copy here
They have been used in perfumery for over a hundred years, but are now thrilling new audiences with a modern upgrade.
Aldehydes provide a dazzling freshness to fragrance, and when they were first popularised by Chanel No5, they triggered a revolution in perfumery.
An accidental overdose in the use of these compounds – which Coco Chanel, in fact, loved – ultimately became the signature of the iconic formula.
“Think of them as something like ‘rocket fuel’, boosting the ‘whoosh’ of a fragrance when you first smell it,” says The Perfume Society.
“They’re like the fizz of champagne, having the power to make a perfume truly sparkle and effervesce.”
While they are found in natural materials, they are also a family of synthetic chemicals formed by the partial oxidation of primary alcohols, and according to Arnaud Guggenbuhl, Head of Global marketing Insight and Image for Fine Fragrance at Givaudan, they bring “unique sparkle and lift to a fragrance, and an incredible diffusing power.”
He adds: “These molecules, found in coriander and citrus fruits, and naturally produced by the UV oxidation of wet laundry left to dry in the open air, are associated in our imagination with the freshness of clean laundry, while each having its own nuances and personality.”
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