Vegetables and Aromatic Plants in Perfumery

The recent launch of Maison Chandelier and its collection of scented candles inspired by fruits and vegetables — for which we designed the olfactory direction — rekindled our desire to wander through an imaginary kitchen garden. Sweet carrot, tangy rhubarb, crisp green pea... Creating these unexpected fragrances that challenge the conventions of home scenting sparked in us a deeper curiosity for herbaceous, fresh, and earthy notes, drawn from vegetables and aromatic plants. It’s a creative path we also explored alongside Prince Jardinier, with whom we crafted the Tomate Aristocrate candle — a sun-drenched, authentic fragrance, conceived as an olfactory tribute to the Tomato Conservatory of La Bourdaisière, where more than 700 heirloom varieties are carefully preserved.

A new olfactory era, closer to nature

In recent years, perfumery has grown a green thumb. Seeking authenticity and simplicity, perfumers are turning to more natural, unpolished scents: crisp vegetables, aromatic roots, orchard fruits… These olfactory trails reflect a broader societal movement—a desire for less sugary, more honest, and organic notes.

To meet this new appetite, fragrance houses have embraced advanced extraction technologies. One such innovation comes from Symrise, with its SymTrap process, which captures micro-molecules from the steam of cooked vegetables. These subtle notes now enrich the perfumer's palette and bring perfumery into deeper harmony with nature.

Vegetables: discreet, yet full of promise

Today, vegetables remain mostly behind the scenes in perfumery. The term itself doesn’t yet evoke the same dreamlike imagery as a rose bouquet or amber accord. Yet perfumers are quietly incorporating these green treasures—blending them with care and finesse. Whether entirely natural or masterfully reimagined, vegetable notes are used to enrich, surprise, and create delicate bridges between the layers of a fragrance.

Still underexplored, these ingredients bring unexpected depth and originality to compositions. And it’s clear they’re only just beginning to reveal their potential.

We’ve seen this in the delightful candles by Natalie Bader for Maison Chandelier, and in L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Le Potager collection. Though notably, the vegetable names remain hidden on the labels—perhaps a subtle surprise, or a gentle nudge for a hesitant audience? A shyness we believe deserves to be challenged.

Because behind this discretion lies a bold creative playground—full of future olfactory favorites for those daring enough to let them bloom.

These are fragrances that must be experienced. They cannot be understood on screen—they must be smelled, lived, and tamed. We must allow these curious scents their chance. For it is often when we stray off the beaten path that we make our most beautiful discoveries.