Cardamom: fragrance edition
Living in the cardamoment
A duo of checked woollen blankets has appeared on my bed. I thought we would have a couple more weeks without, but Autumn is here and a hushed chill has been greeting me in the mornings. Everybody has their Autumn traditions, little ways to welcome in the season physically, mentally and emotionally (‘embracing’ was one of my Monday menu priorities this week). I have a few of my own, and one of them is lacing my coffee with cardamom. I drink coffee black most of the time, but sometimes, I just need a milky mug of comfort: crush up some cardamom and add it to your milk (I opt for almond or soya), warm it up with your aeroccino (or go old school and heat your milk in a saucepan with the cardamom mixed in), brew a good quality espresso and combine into your favourite mug. A little vanilla goes a long way if you wish, but I like mine with just a sweetener or two.
Moving on - cardamom. The third costliest spice in the world, after saffron and vanilla, cardamom is an incredibly exciting note in fragrance. Depending on what it is paired with, cardamom can add a dry spice, be fresh and bright, tantalise, invigorate, sex you up or make you want to cosy on down. Young green cardamom is zesty and light, with a lively peppery spice, most often used as a top note. Black cardamom is smokier, earthier and more of a woodier spice, used in the base. It can be warm or cool, herbaceous and even balsamic or resinous, harmonising with amber notes and adding sensuality to floral notes. When I started exploring cardamom scents, I was surprised at how many weren’t the cosy comforting fragrances I thought I would meet. I kept getting excited as I focussed on the note and found it unfolding in a way I didn’t expect or know. Featuring a mix of high-street and haute, I hope you enjoy my written notes as much as I enjoyed the fragrant ones. I would love to know if you try any.
Milky dragon by Isabelle Larignon, £115 for 50ml, from Saint Cellier
This smells like the taste of a milky oolong tea. It is quite unusual, starting fragrant and bright with citrus and a fresh, slightly fruity, cardamom. It then develops into something more buttery and lactonic, with notes of hazelnut bringing a sweet and nutty undertone. It is woody too - like holding a pound of dry loose leaf tea in your palm and resting your nose above it. There is something a little bit sharp, which reminds me of dry grass, but a subtle floral sings in the background, and warmer touch from the hazelnut and cedar prevent it from feeling too cold.
Nightcap by Who is Elijah, £105 for 100ml
An independent fragrance brand from Sydney, which has recently become available in the UK via Boots, creating luxury but accessible, genderless scents, and has a mantra ‘we make memories not perfume.’ The fragrances are inspired by life’s best moments, and Nightcap is designed to take you back to a midnight moment full of thrill and rebellion, ‘where the night felt never-ending and anything was possible.’ It begins light and green, with sweet pear and cardamom and violet leaf, before developing into a woodier scent, combining orris root, sandalwoods, and cedar, then drying out with vetiver. The spice of cardamom twists and turns from opening to close, journeying with the others as they emerge and disperse. It isn’t the kind of boozy, sensual scent you might expect from such a name, nor is it a sexy skin-scent, like that which reminds you of your lover, but it is an interesting journey from aquatic to resinous to leathery, and a journey quite fun to go on.
Cardamom moss by Experimental Perfume Club, £115 for 50ml
I have yet to try this, but I will be doing soon. It is an intriguing mix of contrasts: warming spices, salty minerals and ‘an overdose’ of Ambroxan. Though cardamom is joined by cinnamon, prickly ginger and warm turmeric, it stands strong (a good thing, considering the title). A mineral green is brought in by white moss and Ambroxan, creating ‘velvety, salt-tinged woods’ with a hint of warm tobacco and powdery musks. If the execution is as good as the description, this will be tantalising and unique, and perfect for the Autumn months.
Mystic moss by Dries Van Noten, £190 for 200ml
Paired with green mandarin and clary sage at the top, cardamom brings its spicy green qualities to the opening, breezy and bright. It then unfolds with geranium: rose pink and lemony, slightly warm, before falling into the earthy, mossy, salty green that the fragrance is known for. I love that the spice of the cardamom stays throughout, and the shot of saltiness feels almost biting, but in a good way, like the salt rim on a Margarita. It offers something far smoother than many minerally-green scents, and is one I enjoyed plenty.
L’Astre by Le Galion, £170 for 100ml
When Ava Gardner met Paul Vacher, the owner and perfumer of Le Galion, he asked her to become an ambassador for another one of his scents. It was a roaring success, and to honour it, she requested a tailor-made fragrance just for her, and L’Astre was created. The 2024 fragrance is a contemporary rewrite of the original, but don’t let that deter you, it is still as overtly sumptuous and glorious as you can imagine. Cardamom sits at the top, married with grilled fennel, ginger and wild thyme to create a herbaceous, fragrant, spicy opening. Then the florals come: jasmine, ylang ylang, tuberose and orange blossom, a blooming bouquet you just can’t escape. Vanilla and amber swoop in with their golden touch, making the experience even more immersive. As it dries down, a soft suede comes through. It is a wonderful, typically glamorous vintage feminine scent, but that opening scene with the cardamom and thyme (which I could smell hours later) gives this a really interesting appeal. Iconic like AG.
Lilyphéa by Diptyque, £255 for 100ml
One of the five fragrances from Diptyque’s newest collection, ‘Les Essences de Diptyque’, which freely reinterpret the treasures of nature; a collaboration between the perfumer, an artist and nature itself. Lilyphea is designed to capture the poetry of water lilies, more specifically, the leaves, ‘crisp, vibrant, glossy and green, plump and fat with sap’, combining cardamom, violet leaf and vanilla to do so. The best way to describe it would be to say it smells like what you see when you look at Claude Monet’s Water Lilies series: wet and green, slightly ambery, lightly sweet. It isn’t very strong, but it is very pretty (and I can’t wait to tell you about the others in the collection)
Cardamom coffee by Lush, £150 for 100ml
I did not think I would be venturing to Lush for their fragrances, but here we are. I tried a few, including their hailed gourmand Chelsea Morning which was, quite literally, as if Buns from Home (or any other bakery that produces intensely sweet pastries), had exploded and all the butter and batter had enveloped me completely. It did make my mouth water, but as a perfume, it was a no from me. Cardamom coffee was more approachable. I was ready to be cocooned by cosiness, but I was left wanting a little more. For me, it felt like a dichotomy of cardamom and coffee, rather than cardamom coffee. The latter element is stark - like ground roast granules lingering at the bottom of your paper cup. The cardamom offers some spice, and there is a slightly oily green note from olive leaf lingering in the background, but I was craving a heavier dose of the former two, or something richer and deeper to give it some voluptuousness. It isn’t offensive, but I think there are plenty other cardamom/coffee/cosy scents that will offer you more.
Tonkade by Laboratorio Olfattivo, £120 for 100ml
Described as ‘a horny gingerbread man’, which put it straight on my love-list without even smelling it! It’s a fabulous mix of sweet and spicy notes: candied fruits, cardamom, neroli, vanilla, cedarwood, amber, incense, musk and tonka beans, to name a few. The emphasis is on delicious tonka bean, but it steers clear from sweet and cloying. Cardamom will add spice, cedarwood will add a natural touch, and the addition of musk will soften it, while allowing the fruits to sing. Woody and sweet, warm and spicy, absolutely ideal for the Autumn and Winter months.
Maharaja d’Or by Rituals, £52.90 for 50ml
You would expect this to be heavy on the oud or amber, given the name, but it is restrained and quite pleasing. It emphasises the green spiciness of cardamom, fresh and bright, but with something warm and musky that pulls it down and takes it into far woodier territory. Though it contains no amber or resins - just cardamom, pine and patchouli - it does have an amber-like quality in there, but it would need the warmth of skin to pull it out (I tried this on paper). Uncomplex and inoffensive, but perhaps a little ‘Zara’ in quality, and double the price.
The Bewitching Yasmine by Penhaligon's, £235 for 75ml
This starts off with a bold hit of spicy cardamom and coffee, quite stark and dry. A strong white jasmine unfurls from the centre, paired with a little vanilla and oud. A smoky incense whooshes in, taking you directly to the souks. I found this jarring on paper but far nicer on my skin, carrying the cardamom and getting creamier as it settles. I did layer this with a baby body lotion, which may have softened its edges a bit. I can see why people love it and would definitely recommend giving it a try.
Some more you might know:
Eyes closed by Byredo
Awake by Akro
Cosmic wood by Tory Burch (I tried this recently and it didn’t appeal)
Red hibiscus cologne intense by Jo Malone (I love this)
Some more to note:
Ego by Memoize London
Vita by Memoize London
Papilefiko by Nishane (Dominique Ropion)
Les Absolus d'Orient Épices Exquises by Guerlain
Gorse by Laboratory Perfumes