Gourmand · Accord · Top notes, Heart notes
Hazelnut
Hazelnut is a note that recreates the smell of roasted hazelnuts: warm, sweet, a little savoury and close to chocolate. In perfume, hazelnut is almost always built as an accord. It usually sits in the top or heart notes and gives gourmand blends a dessert feel.
· Written by the FRAG team
What does hazelnut smell like?
Hazelnut smells like freshly roasted nuts: warm, savoury and a little sweet, with a soft buttery side. Many people know it from chocolate hazelnut spread, hazelnut coffee or chocolate cake. In perfume, hazelnut feels plush and slightly dry, and it is less sweet than caramel.
Raw hazelnuts have little scent. The typical aroma appears when the nuts are roasted, as heat turns their sugars and proteins into toasty-smelling compounds. That is why a hazelnut note in perfume nearly always recreates the roasted version.
Where does the hazelnut note come from?
Hazelnut is the nut of the Corylus avellana tree. Turkey is the largest producer, with more than half of world output in 2023. Most hazelnuts go into food such as praline, chocolate spreads and cakes, so the smell is familiar to many people.
A natural hazelnut absolute exists but is rarely used. A hazelnut note is usually an accord built around filbertone, the molecule behind the typical hazelnut aroma. Perfumers add roasted-smelling molecules and creamy lactones so the result smells like sweet roasted nuts.
Hazelnut in a perfume blend
A hazelnut note usually sits in the top or heart, and sometimes in the base. It brings a roasted-nut quality that makes a sweet blend feel warmer and more textured. Perfume evaporates faster in hot weather, so how long a hazelnut perfume lasts also depends on your skin and the concentration.
Natural partners for hazelnut are chocolate, coffee, caramel and praline. Vanilla and tonka bean often sit underneath to add warmth. Hazelnut is common in gourmand perfumes, and it is sometimes paired with woods or tobacco for a drier feel.
When to wear a hazelnut perfume
Hazelnut feels warm and sweet, so it suits evenings, air-conditioned rooms and the rainy season. On hot days, a hazelnut blend with coffee or woods feels lighter than one with caramel and chocolate. For a chilly office, hazelnut with vanilla and a little wood is a sweet choice that still feels neat.
