This is not a 'tomato girl Summer'

The grown-up fragrance edition

The start of June is the latter end of British Tomato Fortnight (May 27 - June 9 this year), and though British tomatoes are definitely worth celebrating, the lacklustre, unusually wet weather has more than likely caused a bit of disruption when it comes to our usual seasonal fruits and vegetables. It’s definitely delaying the ‘Summer is here’ kind of feeling we should be feeling, now that Summer is actually here.

It is by chance that recent weeks have seen me taking notice of tomatoes in fragrance, more specifically, the tomato leaf, after loving it in Miller Harris’s Celadon, reading a feature on Hilde Soliani (I think in The New York Times or Vogue Italia), consequently exploring her fragrances, and a quick trip to Selfridges to seek out Loewe’s Agua Mar de Coral. Speaking of Loewe, I am sure many of you saw last week’s ‘this tomato is so Loewe’ image which became an actual Loewe tomato clutch bag within days. I originally wrote a bravo to Mr Anderson for such a quick turnaround, but it has since been revealed the clutch had been planned for production already. Of course, tomatoes are nothing new for Anderson, who has been retailing vegetable scented candles at Loewe for a while now. Regardless, not wanting to miss an opporunity to flex my fragrant muscles, share a few recents and hopefully inspire a reader or two to try something new, this week’s Little Dispatches is an ode to the tomato plant, and the bottles where you can find it.

L’Artisan Parfumeur Vetiver Ecarlate

First, it is worth noting that it isn’t yet possible to extract the essence of tomato leaf, so the note is recreated using synthetic and natural molecules (which is nothing to be afraid of). Blackcurrant is one of the most commonly used ingredients, as it contains a sulfur which smells similar to crushed tomato leaves. When recreating the scent, inspiration comes from the whole plant, not just the flower or the fruit or the stem. The result is a note that is both particular and infinite.

There are two main characters that tomato leaf plays. The first is green and vibrant, like walking on a path through a countryside garden at the crack of dawn, ripe tomatoes hanging from vines along the edge, still cool and wet with dew. You pick a leaf and crush it between your thumb and finger, merging the broken fragments with the garden air and the scent of your skin. It smells bittersweet, green and clean; a little juciness comes through like a kiss from the fruits still hanging on the vine. At other times, tomato leaf is more herbaceous and vegetal, akin to being in a forest in early Autumn, encaved by evergreen trees. There’s a slight chill in the air, but the breath of the greenery carries warmth and woodiness. Pure and living.

When looking at fragrance families, tomato leaf appears somewhere in most. It works so beautifully with fresh notes, such as basil and mint and bergamot. In fruity fragrances, it adds a fresh, natural feel, helping to liven up the scent or stop it from being too sweet. In floral fragrances, it brings a natural quality, acting as the stem or leaves. When you get to woody fragrances, such as those using cedarwood and vetiver, it rounds out the green notes and again adds a little liveliness. Particular, yet infinite. Find the fragrance edit below.

The list

Eau de Campagne by Sisley Paris (£90 for 50ml)
I have been led to believe that this is what one would consider the ‘OG’ of tomato leaf fragrances. First released in 1976, tomato leaf plays a starring role, lying at the heart with jasmine, plum, lily of the valley and geranium. It opens with basil, wild herbs and lemon, which awaken the fresh side of tomato leaf, before blooming softly with florals, then turning toward grassier, woodier facets using oakmoss, musk and patchouli. A unisex eau de toilette that sings with the essence of nature, like an impeccable French garden

Gardez-Moi by JOVOY Paris (£145 for 100ml)
The perfect example of tomato leaf serving to bring a natural green to a strong opulent floral (there’s gardenia, ylang-ylang, jasmine, mimosa and lily in there). At the top, tomato leaf is paired with coriander and black pepper, which, paired with the base of oakmoss and cedarwood, bring the ‘plant’ element to the bouquet. Raspberry and vanilla offer a little sweetness, and add some length when it settles. It’s a strong scent that demands a certain kind of women to wear it, but it brings a confident elegance to she who does

Replica: From the Garden by Maison Margiela (£120 for 100ml)
One we know, one we love. Fresh and uplifting, evoking Summer afternoons spent carefree in the garden surrounded by flowers and fruits and everything good that comes with nature. It opens with the brightness of tomato leaf and sparkling green mandarin, giving way to a subtle, earthier note from patchouli and geranium which bring realism rather than dampening the lightness of the fragrance. If like me you can’t get out into your own garden, ‘From the Garden’ is the next best pleasure

Maison Margiela Replica From The Garden

Vetiver Ecarlate by Quentin Bisch for L’Artisan Parfumeur (£170 for 100ml)
Rather than evoking a memory, this fragrance tells the story. It is a tale of how you experience the scent of tomato plants in the Summer: aromatic and fresh, green and earthy. Grapefruit and bergamot, two notes commonly used to arouse the feelings of Summer days, propel the freshness of the tomato leaf, whilst galbanum brings a realistic and forward green note. Blackcurrant captures the voluptousness of the tomato fruit, and a touch of ginger brings an unexpected but refreshing spice. At the base sits a strong and steady vetiver, contrasting with the freshness of the tomato, but completing the olfactory story

Agua Mar del Coral by Loewe (£79 for 50ml)
Zesty, aquatic, light and refreshing: this is for when you’re on holiday and don’t want anything cloying or heavy. The mix of tomato leaf, lemon and yuzu at the top brings a ripe, sparkling zestiness, but rich like limocello rather than lemonade. It softens on the dry down, leaning into a cleaner scent, but with really subtle amber and florals, preventing it from being bleachy clean. Tomato leaf isn’t a dominate note, but it makes a difference to the citrus and green elements which come to the fore as it develops. It’s a very natural, light EDT, so warm, moisturised skin - on both gents and women - will work best underneath

21.1 Orchidivy by Guillaume Paris (€100 for 50ml)
The inspiration behind this fragrance is a little bit unnerving (‘The fragrance of a sylvan divinity, an enchantress, a mutant, mutinous creature living in symbiosis with Nature and plants. Its trail is supernatural’), but goes on to be described as an explosion of vivid green notes of ivy, tomato leaves and gardenia, preceding a heart of hay, tonka bean, raspberry and a ‘massive, creamy vanilla absolute.’ It starts off green but turns sugary-sweet, which overpowers the tomato leaf and ivy notes from before. A real love-it-or-hate it

Cassis en Feuille by Miller Harris (this is currently on sale at 50% off, so comes in at £50 for 50ml, but I don’t know for how long…)
Another glorious garden in liquid form (inspired by a wild garden ‘left to its own devices’), and another which utilises sparkling bergamot and juicy blackcurrant as perfect partners to the green vines of tomato leaf. Of course, no garden is complete without a flower or two, so rose and geranium lie at the heart, with musk and cedar bringing a deeper element. It sparkles, it ripens, it blooms: a beautiful experience for the senses

Un jardin sur le nil by Hermes (£116 for 100ml)
I really like the Hermes jardin fragrances. They are interesting and unique, but light and unimposing. Despite being Egyptian inspired (which are usually jasmine or oud heavy), this is a really fresh floral aquatic fragrance, evoking the smell of gardens on the Nile. There’s grapefruit, green mango, tomato and carrot at the top, with lotus flower, peony, orange, iris and incense following through. It maintains a spicy and warm green note, but dissipates quicker than one would want it to

Italian Leather by Memo Paris (£235 for 75ml)
Intense, sophisticated and expensive (in scent and in value), Italian Leather is one of the more interesting scents, and one you will either love of hate. Tomato leaf, juniper and pink pepper open at the top, but it quickly turns to a soft ambery leather, thanks to leather (obviously), myrrh resinoid and vanilla bean, plus golden florals from iris root and ciste absolute. It is an unexpected mix and one I would be interested in testing on my skin to see how it develops on me personally, though I imagine it to be a little too mature and masculine

Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Nil

Stecca by Hilde Soliani (€190 for 100ml)
As mentioned, I read an interview with Hilde Soliani, the self-declared ‘artista dell ‘ofatto e del gusto’, which means ‘Italian artist lady of smell and taste’ (it sounds so much better in Italian), so naturally had to take a look at what her fragrances were all about. She is a theatrical performer and painter, who established a line of perfumes to celebrate her joie de vivre and creativity. Inspiration ranges from the natural world to the theatre, but every fragrance in supposed to invoke a particular memory or desire, forgotten until discovered by your nose. Stecca is a very pure impression of the tomato leaf: green and fresh and earthy, progressing to an eruption of juicy tomato fruits. It is designed to remind us that sometimes the most pleasurable things in life are the most simple and uncomplicated. The name plays off the theatrical tradition of throwing tomatoes at a stage after a bad performance. I hope the scent performs better

The Dusk Daze by CRA-YON (£75 for 50ml)
An entirely new brand for me, but one I came across when looking at the rise of ‘wellness’ scents, and this particular scent happens to have tomato leaf in there. Described as a fragrance to take you on a journey of inner wellbeing and inspiration, notes include bermagot, grapefruit and tomato leaf at the top, a heart of cannabis, geranium and saffron, and base notes of woods, patchouli, amber and moss. Judging by the combination, this is a scent reminscient of the lush greenery of a forest, like I mentioned in my introduction, but at the end of summer. It sounds natural and earthy, which is undeniably calming, but whether you want to smell like that all day is another matter

French Gallantry by State of Mind (€255 for 100ml)
Strong, intense and vigorous are used to describe this fragrance. Fresh tomato, basil and black tea ‘arise’ from a herby heart of oregano, thyme and laurel, before a smoky base of amber and wood fix the perfume to your skin. It sounds aromatic and spicy, but the tomato leaf will bring a softer, natural element, bridging the gap between the woods and the herbs. It is for men and women, though I think it will be more for the former, and a unique one at that