Fresh · Natural material · Top notes, Heart notes, Base notes
Blackcurrant
Blackcurrant, or cassis, is the scent of the fruit and buds of Ribes nigrum, a small black berry from Europe. It smells tart and fresh like a dark berry, with a sharp green side from the leaves and buds. In perfume, blackcurrant most often sits in the top notes and can also appear in the heart or base.
· Written by the FRAG team
What does blackcurrant smell like?
Blackcurrant smells tart, fresh and juicy like a ripe dark berry. Behind the fruit there is a sharp green note, like a crushed leaf, and a slight sulphurous side that makes it feel alive. That mix of fruit and green sets cassis apart from sweeter red berries.
On skin, blackcurrant is clearest at the start, then shifts into a softer fruitiness beneath flowers or woods.
Where does blackcurrant come from?
Ribes nigrum is a shrub from temperate central and northern Europe and northern Asia. In French, the fruit is called cassis. For perfume, it is the unopened buds that are processed.
Cassis buds are harvested from late November to February, then solvent-extracted into a concrete and refined into an absolute. About 80 to 90 percent of perfume-grade cassis buds come from Burgundy in France. The absolute is one of the few natural perfume materials with a fruity scent, since most other fruit notes have to be built from molecules.
Blackcurrant in a perfume
Blackcurrant most often sits in the top notes for a fresh, tart opening, and is also used in the heart with flowers. Cassis is a classic partner for rose: the rose feels fresher, and cassis adds fruit and green. Cassis bud absolute is also used to build red-fruit accords.
Common partners are bergamot, red berries and blackberry, with musk and patchouli in the base. Cassis with patchouli feels fresh and dark at once.
When to wear blackcurrant
Blackcurrant feels fresh and tart, so it suits class, work or a daytime outing. The tartness of cassis also keeps a fruity perfume fresher and less sugary in hot air. Versions with rose or patchouli are richer and fit late afternoon or evening.
