English lavender in French perfumes

In the coastal, Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean areas, we find a number of herbaceous plants and lower, less woody shrubs that attract attention with their scent. Along the sea and on the karst grow wild or cultivated some easily recognizable aromatic species, valued in cooking,beekeeping and in the industry of aromatic essential oils and perfumes.

One of the most famous is certainly lavender or despic, however, under this name the people mean as many as three related species, more precisely, two species and one hybrid, lavender.

By true lavender we usually mean narrow-leaved lavender (Lavandula angustifolia before: Lavandula officinalis), and no less prized is broad-leaved lavender (Lavandula latifolia). Lavender is a plant that we usually call lavender and use as a means of protection against moths.However, lavender, although it has more essential oil than real lavender, is less appreciated because it is a lower quality oil, and the smell of lavender is sharper than the smell of real lavender which is slightly sweeter. There is also French lavender, Lavandula stoechas, which has characteristic inflorescences ending in purple bracts:

By the way, plants from the genus Lavender have been valued since ancient times and it is believed that the Latin name of the plant came from the verb lavare, meaning "follow", because the decoction of different types of lavender was used as a fragrant addition to baths.

This is perhaps, along with mint, one of the most famous plants of the very important plant family Lamiaceae and one of the most economically important lips. Needless to say, many species and varieties of this genus are bred, but it should be added that they sometimes "escape"from the culture and become invasive species. This is exactly the case with French lavender, Lavandula stoechas, in Australia. The problem with the genus Lavender lies in the fact that due to the many species and varieties, many confuse it all. Thus, "French lavender" sometimes means L. angustifolia instead of L. stoechas, probably because L. angustifolia essential oil is mostly used in the perfume industry and some of the most famous French perfumes contain notes of L. angustifolia and not L. stoechas. . By the way, L. angustifolia is also called real lavender or English lavender.So, English lavender is in French perfumes. The highest quality lavender is really produced in France because it is not a plant that likes the proximity of the sea, as we usually imagine, but likes to be warm and not directly by the sea, and the best is obtained at an altitude of 500 to 1500m. Why the Mediterranean species that is not native to England is called "English lavender" is actually not clear to anyone.

Today, perfumers seem to bypass the scent of lavender, because it is a bit old-fashioned. However, in 1995, "nose" Francis Kurkidjian did not hesitate to use a really large amount of lavender when he created something that would become a classic men's perfume: Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male. Perfumes use more often essential oil, which is obtained in the process of steam distillation, but sometimes the absolute is also obtained, obtained by extraction with a solvent, often hexane or, if it is done in the traditional way, with fat that is layered. layers of fresh flowers (this is how jasmine absolute is usually obtained). The absolute is stronger and slightly sweeter than the oil itself.
Only real lavender oil is rich in a number of fragrant and antiseptic substances, mostly monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenes. Some of these substances are α-pinene, limonene, 1,8-cineole, nerol, cis-ocimene, trans-ocimene, 3-octanone, camphor,inalool, linalyl acetate, caryophyllene, terpinen-4-ol and lavendulyl acetate. This is not a definitive list of compounds that make up lavender oil: there are over 100 different substances in this oil, although some of these components are present in very small concentrations.Broad-leaved lavender oil also contains a considerable amount of eucalyptol (about 25-26%), which gives this lavender oil a slightly sharper scent. Lavandula angustifolia oil does not contain eucalyptol. It was the differences in the chemical composition of the volatile components of the oils of these lavenders that were crucial for their separation into separate species.

Although lavender oil is used in aromatherapy and is considered safe to use, it should be said that it belongs to the substances that potentially disturb the hormonal balance and have anti-androgenic properties. In other words, lavender oil can upset the balance of male sex hormones and can be the cause of prepubertal gynecomastia. A paper on this phenomenon was published in 2007 in The New England Journal of Medicine under the title “Prepubertal Gynecomastia Linked to Lavender and Tea Tree Oils”

The aromatherapeutic properties of lavender oil are often mentioned, however scientific studies do not support the opinion that this oil is medicinal. There are indications that lavender can have a positive effect in treating anxiety and insomnia, and an oil massaged into the scalp helps with hair loss. Another little less known thing - there is, although it is difficult to get honey that bees make exclusively on the pasture of lavender flowers. This honey is one of the highest quality honeys, with a very special aroma, bright colors and mild.