Mily notes in Perfumery
In the world of perfumery, gourmand scents reign supreme, adding an addictive touch that seduces and intoxicates. Sometimes refined, sometimes audaciously “ultra-indulgent” for the nose, gourmand notes appear in all forms: from realistic notes evoking the soft texture of butter or the warm sweetness of vanilla, to more suggestive interpretations that hint at barely-there creaminess. But what exactly do we mean by “milky” notes? Which ingredients and olfactory alchemies give perfumes their soft, creamy, enveloping, and almost edible effect?
Molecules with creamy facets
🥥 Fruity Milky Notes (Coconut, Peach, FIg)
Lactones are essential for bringing that fruity creaminess, typical of sun-kissed coconut nuances, velvety peach flesh, or green and creamy fig. Aldehydes like C18 (gamma-nonalactone) and C14 (gamma-undecalactone), as well as many other lactones (delta or gamma), create a juicy, milky, and subtly exotic texture reminiscent of tropical fruits.
🥛 Dairy Milky Notes (Butter, Cream, Milk)
Imagine buttered toast or a small pot of cream... In addition to CO₂ butter extract, molecules such as acetoin (acetyl methyl carbinol) and diacetyl (a creamy ketone), as well as butyl butyryl lactate, ethyl caproate, and butyric acid, are used. In small doses, they provide a soft, creamy effect, recreating the velvety sensation of milk or the creamy texture of cream. Milk lactone is also particularly useful for its ability to develop a soft, rounded note, ideal for evoking fresh milk or cream.
🧀 It’s worth noting that in much higher doses, butyric acid, diacetyl, methyl butyrate, or isovaleric acid shift us into the fermented and intense world of cheese... an olfactory realm that, so far, seems less promising in compositions that tend to favour the comforting sweetness of vanilla milk and whipped cream.
🍰 Pastry and Creamy Cakes : bridging two worlds!
To enhance this gourmand element, vanilla absolute, vanillin, and ethyl vanillin add warm, sweet facets. A touch of sulfurol introduces a creamy, milky note, while isobutavan contributes a sweet, vanilla-like appeal. Powdery tonka bean blends beautifully with floral and milky molecules such as alpha-ionone, coumarin, and soft lactones. Lastly, methyl laitone enhances coconut notes, amplifying fruity and creamy effects.
🧪 Velvety and creamy White Musks
Musks play an essential role in crafting soft, creamy accords, adding an enveloping and comforting dimension to perfume compositions. Musks like Muscenone®, Ethylene Brassylate (Musc T®), Galaxolide® and Helvetolide® are particularly valued for their powdery, milky, and subtly sweet facets. Exaltolide®, Muscone®, and Ambrettolide® reinforce the creamy appeal of both pastry-inspired and floral notes, enhancing the soft, silky texture.
⚪️ Lactonic and creamy white flowers
White flowers such as tuberose, jasmine, gardenia, and ylang-ylang bring unmatched richness and sensuality to perfumery, thanks to their creamy, enveloping facets. These flowers, symbols of voluptuousness and warmth, play a central role in creating deep, intoxicating fragrances.
In addition to natural extracts, often available as costly absolutes, perfumers rely on an extensive palette of synthetic molecules to recreate and elevate these floral notes. Lactones like gamma-nonalactone (C18) and gamma-undecalactone (C14) add creamy, fruity nuances, while methyl laitone softens the blend with its milky undertones. Musks such as Muscenone® and Helvetolide® contribute a velvety, enveloping dimension, while compounds like cis-jasmone and methyl dihydrojasmonate (Hedione®) introduce a green, airy freshness, balancing the creamy qualities of white flowers. Coumarin adds powdery, sweet facets, and Cremefleur® intensifies the creamy floral texture, allowing perfumers to create realistic, rich accords.
🌳 Creamy enveloping woods
Sandalwood, with its soft, milky facets, is iconic among creamy woods. In addition to natural extracts from Australia or New Caledonia that develop a cozy, comforting texture, synthetic molecules like Javanol® and Ebanol® replicate its lush creaminess with warm, creamy woody notes. Santoliff® and Polysantol® are also ideal for harmonizing with musks to create a cocooning effect that is tender, deep, and sophisticated.
The future of culinary notes in Perfumery
While sweet, creamy notes continue to captivate, the world of perfumery is expanding with vegetal accords and vegetable extracts, opening up new, tempting possibilities. Fresh herbs, earthy beetroot, rich mushroom, or crisp bell pepper... these new accords are being crafted into compositions that evoke recipes more than ever!
This trend is exemplified by collections that transform everyday vegetables into olfactory compositions inspired by the garden. Tomato notes or freshly shelled peas whet the appetite before ushering in the gourmand promise of dessert-inspired notes.
Thanks to recent technological innovations, vegetable aromas previously inaccessible to perfumers can now be extracted. Volatile aromatic molecules from the steam of cooked vegetables are captured to create extracts (Symrise), bringing artichoke, leek, and radish into the perfumer's palette in a garden-inspired version.
From whipped cream to creamy vegetable quiche, it’s only a short leap... Time will tell if these vegetable-based creations respond to a desire for lightness and creativity, pushing the boundaries of gourmand scents that risk approaching overindulgence.
Milky notes in Superfumista perfumes
In the following Superfumista's creations, we've explored different creamy nuances and approaches. Dolce Nissa unveils a fruity, gourmand sweetness with delicate milky notes paired with strawberry, marshmallow, and orange blossom. Lemon Delight takes a fresher opening with lemon, gradually giving way to whipped cream and the gourmet Italian dessert, Delizia al Limone. In a cocooning, comforting spirit. Nu Blanc evokes softness and purity with notes of white musks, heliotrope, iris butter, and powdery talc. As for Tuberotic, the stemmed tuberose is carried by jasmine and black tea in a sensual and hypnotic dance.
