Taking note of the scents that inspire us
A new sweet, soft scent sweeps across the Tuscan hills as chilly spring morphs towards warmer temps. Acacia trees, or more correctly, Robinia, grow spontaneously and abundant here. Their elegant flowers make for a graceful entrance for the more dramatically flamboyant blossoms that will soon take center stage. The conical clusters of off-white flowers dance gracefully in the sea breeze and, as they mature, land to create a fragrant petal ground cover.
We’re all familiar with the rich acacia honey found at any local supermarket, tisane, or the resistant timber used in furniture making and flooring, but acacia has held a long tradition in perfumery: It was first used in making incense, symbolizing resurrection and immortality. Egyptian mythology linked the acacia tree with the tree of life, described in the Myth of Osiris and Isis.
The scent has warm, honey, iris-like, powdery and balsamic qualities, which enrich the complexity of fragrances. Like many florals, there is a spice facet to it of faint clove. Of course, when you smell the flowers on the branch, you also get lovely hits of green, earth notes that come up from its surrounding. Acacia is not as bold or recognizable as popular florals such as rose or jasmine. Its scent doesn’t have the animalic depth of those. Instead, it is wonderfully elegant. Sweet without being sugary and just enough talc to give it warmth and a cozy nature. More dreamy than daring which is a welcome background note not just to fragrances but to more “vocal” florals that bloom into prima donnas of the season.
