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Jasmine is one of those smells that immediately signals a new season — there’s nothing quite as quintessentially summer than a blooming vine of jasmine flowers. Jasmine has also been used for hundreds of years as an aphrodisiac, a calming agent, and as an essential oil in Ayurvedic healing. In Ancient Egypt, jasmine flowers were added to baths and hung around the neck of statues; the word jasmine derives from the Persian yasameen, meaning “gift from God,”; and in India, women often wear it in their hair as a symbol of good fortune.
Because it’s such a distinctive scent, jasmine is one of the most widely-used fragrance notes in perfumes — however, it can take on different scent profiles depending on where the flower was grown and how it’s layered with other ingredients. While there are around 200 species of jasmine, two stand out as the most prized when it comes to building fragrances: Jasminum sambac and jasminum grandiflorum. Jasmine sambac, also called Arabian jasmine, while sweet, is more musky and deep, and jasmine grandiflorum is a bit softer and more green.
Because jasmine is such a strong, sexy scent, it often gets mixed with other ingredients such as sandalwood, tuberose, and other white flowers to enhance its fragrance. Keep reading for our favorite jasmine perfumes that fit any scent profile, from bright floral to rich musk to leathery spice.