Herrera Jasmine

In challenging times, nature has always shown us how to prosper and come back stronger than before. Jasmine, our most iconic flower, used throughout our fragrances, fashion designs, jewelry and now makeup, is a beautiful example of this.

A symbol of Hope and Beauty

An olfactive love affair

Jasmine was founder Carolina Herrera’s first scent-related memory. Recalling her childhood in Venezuela, she remembers the scent of a jasmine bush filling her bedroom with its heady scent every summer. This was the beginning of an olfactive love affair between the future fashion designer and this irresistible and mysterious flower—it’s no surprise that her first fragrance in 1988 featured jasmine as the main note. This tradition was continued by her daughter Carolina A. Herrera when she joined the brand as Beauty Creative Director in 1996, using jasmine as a key ingredient for the house’s female fragrances.

Jasmine, a small white, fragile-looking flower that grows in many countries around the world and reaches maturity with the arrival of warm weather, plays an essential role in the history of perfume creation. Rich, sensual, warm and floral, its scent has been used for centuries in Europe, Asia and Africa to perfume the body and our surroundings.

A flower of life

Jasmine has a mysterious nature that makes it particularly fascinating. Small and delicate, this five-petalled flower waits until the night falls to reveal its splendor, pervading the air with its aroma. A symbol of generosity for many cultures, the jasmine flower is also prized for its generosity in perfumery, since unlike other flowers its essence can be extracted.

The scent of jasmine

Jasmine has a beauty that hides in the smallest, the immaterial, and the ephemeral. Its power of seduction is concealed in the depths of its essence. These small flowers have in their metabolism the secret of their splendor: indole, an organic compound that gives a rich, seductive fragrance and activates our sense of smell.

Types of Jasmine

There are more than 200 varieties of jasmine, but only three of them are used to make fragrances. The land where it is grown and the way in which it is cultivated and harvested give each jasmine a unique olfactory personality: from the spiciest and fruitiest variety of jasmine from Grasse to the deep intensity of Sambac. A richness of nuances makes it one of the most prized ingredients in the art of perfumery.

Spanish Jasmine | Also known as Jasmine of Grasse, it has a slightly fruity aroma.

White Jasmine | The most cultivated type of jasmine, it releases a soft, velvety and slightly fruity aroma.

Sambac Jasmine | Prized in perfumery for its intense aroma. A complexity of nuances makes it rich in contrasts.

Beyond perfume

The role of jasmine at Carolina Herrera goes beyond fragrances. It is the inspiration for Falling Jasmine, the jewelry collection started in 2015 by Carolina A. Herrera and artist Grillo Demo. Jasmine can be also found in Wes Gordon’s designs, who interprets the signature floral prints of the house through a modern, ground-breaking and elegant lens. In the luxurious feminine world of Herrera Beauty, the jasmine flower inspires charms that can be used to customize lipsticks and compacts. This lucky charm reminds us that jasmine isn’t just a symbol of femininity and elegance, but one of hope, joy, beauty and closeness to nature.