Geraniums immediately remind us of flower arrangements on windowsills, lined with pink and red blossoms adorned with fuzzy leaves, filling your nostrils with an exhilarating scent as you stroll by. These graceful blooms captivate with their vibrant colors, fascinating forms, and above all – their rich, evocative scents.
The geranium we use in perfumery today is really just one of the hundreds of flowering pelargonium varieties, also called cranesbills. And as it turns out, the most often used in perfume is the rose geranium, perlargonium graveolens, which is grown primarily in Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The perfume oil from this particular species (not to be confused with geranium bourbon essential oil) is extracted from its leaves through steam distillation and used in various products, from massage oils to perfumes and everything else in between.
Geranium perfume note is a powerful, green-rose note. It also has a citrusy, slightly minty freshness with a hint of earthiness. As a whole, it’s a calming, refined scent that allows the wearer to relax, unwind, and find inner peace.
Geranium, with its contemporary edge, is frequently used by perfumers either alone or in combination with rose absolute. But where roses typically smell sweeter, geranium has a more pungent aroma. Consequently, it may appear more masculine to some. But in any case, it’s still a wonderful way to bring top and base notes together while adding an extra element of floral sweetness in the process. It also plays a key role in the structure of fougères and chypres.