The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Leslie Girard designed Jasmin & Ylang Solaire in 2017 with a clear intention: to bottle the sensation of light falling through a white curtain onto a bed of flowers. The name says it all, Solaire, meaning solar or sunlit, refers not to a place but to a quality of light. The perfumer wanted to capture that specific afternoon warmth when the sun is past its peak but still warm enough to linger in. Named for the two florals at its heart, jasmine and ylang-ylang are among the most potent materials in perfumery, rich, sweet, and long-lasting. Bringing them together required something to bridge their intensity, to keep the composition from becoming overwhelming. That bridge became coconut.
Jasmine and ylang-ylang share a certain lushness, both are heady, almost syrupy florals that can easily overpower a composition. Together, they risk doubling down on that intensity. Coconut cream solves this by softening the transition between the bright opening and the dense heart, creating a tropical creaminess that tempers without diluting. The clove in the heart adds a quiet spiced warmth, preventing the florals from becoming too sweet. By the time benzoin and vanilla arrive in the base, the composition has softened into something close and warm, not a beach anymore, but the memory of one, hours after you've left.
The evolution
The opening arrives bright and sparkling, blood orange and bergamot give an immediate citrus pop, while mint adds a cool green lift that keeps everything feeling fresh. The coconut appears quickly, not as a dominant note but as a creamy undercurrent that softens the citrus edges. Within twenty minutes, jasmine and ylang-ylang take over. The heart is lush, warm, and undeniably floral, this is where the fragrance earns its name. The coconut doesn't disappear but becomes part of the backdrop, preventing the florals from becoming too heavy. After three or four hours, the base notes arrive quietly. Benzoin brings a warm resinous quality, vanilla adds sweetness, and cedar provides a soft woody structure. The drydown is intimate and close, this is not a fragrance that announces itself from across the room. It stays near the skin, evolving slowly, and on fabric it can linger into the next day as a soft, warm trace.
Cultural impact
100BON introduced Jasmin & Ylang Solaire in 2017 as part of its commitment to natural perfumery and sustainable sourcing, representing a broader movement toward transparency in fragrance production. The brand's approach, championing short supply chains, refillable bottles, and botanical ingredients, positioned tropical florals as accessible luxury rather than exclusive indulgence. This fragrance, with its warm coconut and creamy jasmine character, aligned with the era's demand for gender-neutral scents rooted in natural materials. The solation of jasmine and ylang-ylang as a signature combination influenced how consumers perceived tropical florals beyond traditional Chanel or Guerlain associations.
