Casablanca Lily
A perfumer's interpretation of the white Casablanca lily, built around gardenia, tuberose, and honeyed warmth. Not a single extracted ingredient but a crafted accord.
Character
How it smells
The white lily imagined, not extracted.
Natural lily absolute yields less than 0.2% from fresh blooms. The flower's delicate structure makes extraction so difficult that perfumers construct accords instead.
Origin
Netherlands
The name references Casablanca, Morocco—a port city where Berber heritage meets colonial architecture and modern dynamism. Byredo founder Ben Gorham, a Swedish artist, drew inspiration from the city's layered identity when creating this fragrance in 2015.
The real Casablanca lily (Lilium Casablanca) is a large white trumpet flower grown commercially in the Netherlands for the cut flower trade. Its fragrance is rich, sweet, and slightly animalic with a green undertone. While the flower itself rarely enters perfume production, perfumers have spent decades trying to bottle its essence.
Byredo's interpretation appeared as part of the Night Veils collection, positioned as an extrait de parfum with high concentration. The fragrance became a signature for those seeking a modern take on traditional white-floral beauty, though the original formulation has since been discontinued.
Wears it best
Fragrances featuring Casablanca Lily
Good to know
Questions, answered
The essentials on Casablanca Lily in perfumery: how it smells, where it comes from, and how it behaves on skin.
Is Casablanca Lily a real flower or ingredient?
Casablanca Lily is a fantasy note. It is an accord constructed by perfumers to evoke the lily flower, not a single extracted ingredient. Natural lily absolute is extremely rare due to the flower's low oil yield.
What notes make up the Casablanca Lily accord?
The accord combines Indian tuberose and gardenia for creamy white-floral character, carnation for spice, and a base of honey and rosewood for warmth. Created by perfumer Jérôme Epinette for Byredo.
Why do perfumers create lily accords instead of using natural lily?
Lily absolute yields less than 0.2% from fresh blooms, making natural extraction prohibitively expensive and inefficient. The flower's delicate structure also degrades during steam distillation.
What does Casablanca Lily smell like?
It opens with fruity plum and creamy gardenia, evolves to reveal spicy carnation and heady Indian tuberose, then settles into a warm honey and rosewood base. The overall effect is rich, sweet, and slightly animalic.
Which perfumes feature Casablanca Lily as a main note?
Byredo Casablanca Lily (2015) is the primary fragrance built around this accord. Perfumer Jérôme Epinette crafted it for Byredo's Night Veils collection as an extrait de parfum concentration.
Is Casablanca Lily still available for purchase?
The Byredo Night Veils formulation of Casablanca Lily has been discontinued. The 50ml bottle sold for approximately $309 before discontinuation.
What is the connection between Casablanca the city and the fragrance?
Byredo founder Ben Gorham designed the fragrance to evoke Casablanca, Morocco—a city known for its blend of Berber, French colonial, and modern influences along the Atlantic coast.
Can I layer other fragrances to recreate Casablanca Lily?
Starting with a white-floral base like gardenia or tuberose, add touches of spicy carnation and sweet honey. Finish with a woody rosewood note to approximate the accord's structure.
