Character
The Story of Grass
The scent of crushed stems and morning dew — grassy notes capture the fresh, green vitality of living vegetation. In perfumery, this facet brings brightness, realism, and an organic earthiness that grounds lighter compositions.
Heritage
The word 'perfume' originates from the Latin per fume, meaning 'through smoke' — a reference to burning aromatic materials as religious offerings, a practice dating to Mesopotamia around 7000 BC. Grasse, France, emerged as the spiritual center of modern perfumery, supplying Persian scent-makers with raw materials since the 16th century. The town's growers and artisans built techniques refined over generations. François Coty, often called the father of modern perfumery, fused natural absolutes with emerging synthetic chemistry around the turn of the 20th century. This marriage — between nature's complexity and laboratory precision — enabled perfumers to capture grassy notes with unprecedented consistency and creativity.
At a Glance
13
Feature this note
Green
Olfactive group
Synthetic
Lab-crafted
France
Primary source region
Ingredient Details
Steam distillation / CO2 extraction / Synthetic
Leaf and stem material
Did You Know
"In 1868, English chemist William Henry Perkin synthesized coumarin — the molecule responsible for the sweet, hay-like scent of tonka bean and fresh-cut grass — marking the birth of synthetic grassy notes in perfumery."
Pyramid Presence
