The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Pashmina is one of eight fragrances pH Fragrances launched in 2018, each built around the premise that fabrics carry olfactory identities worth exploring. The concept pairs a specific textile with two complementary fragrance notes, a naming convention that doubles as creative brief. For this release, the fabric is pashmina: the ultrafine cashmere weave associated with warmth, softness, and something worn close to the skin. The two notes anchoring the fragrance are tuberose and ylang-ylang, both intensely floral, both with a creamy, almost indolic warmth that translates the fabric's tactile character into scent. Perfumer Yann Vasnier worked within this framework, building a composition that would feel as enveloping as the material itself.
What makes this composition unusual is the pairing of heady white florals with a spiced, slightly smoky base. Tuberose absolute is one of the most expensive and potent natural materials in perfumery, it carries cream, sweetness, and a green-animalic edge that can read as indolic depending on concentration. Ylang-ylang adds a sweeter, rounder floral quality that softens the tuberose without diluting it. The Madagascan clove leaf in the heart is the unexpected move, it introduces a warm, aromatic spice that keeps the florals from floating too far into the abstract.
The evolution
The opening arrives sharp and citrusy, bitter orange and bergamot cut through with an almost minty clarity, ginger adding clean heat that prickles the nostrils. Within ten minutes, the tuberose surges. It doesn't wait politely. This is tuberose that knows what it is: creamy, slightly animalic, unapologetically white-floral. The jasmine absolute thickens the texture. The Madagascan clove leaf keeps the florals grounded in something warmer, spiced, less delicate. By the heart phase, the composition has settled into a rich, solar warmth, this is the part that earns the pashmina name. The drydown is where it gets interesting. Incense arrives last, resinous and smoky, threading through the vanilla and benzoin base like a question that wasn't asked out loud. The ylang-ylang persists, sweet, floral, almost waxy, holding the line against the smoke. On fabric, this fragrance outlasts everything else in the wardrobe. Eight to ten hours, often more. The sillage is strong for the first two hours, then settles into something close, warm, persistent.
Cultural impact
Tuberose carries deep roots in Indian perfumery and temple offerings, while ylang-ylang holds cultural significance across Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean islands. pH Fragrances, founded in 2018 by Camille Le Feuvre, brings these materials together through Givaudan's Orpur programme, which sources ingredients with documented provenance. The Pashmina concept references the luxury textile, connecting the fragrance to a heritage of craftsmanship and sensory indulgence.
