Geranium in perfume: what it smells like and which FAAN bottles use it

What geranium smells like, and what it does not

The scented geranium that perfumers use is not the red balcony flower. It is a leafy plant, and what you smell is the leaf: green, slightly minty, lemony in places, and clearly rosy underneath. Rub a leaf between your fingers and you get the idea.

It does not smell like a bouquet of roses. It smells like the stem and leaves around the roses. That is why it appears in so many perfumes without anyone naming it: it gives roses and florals a green frame.

How perfumers use geranium: top, heart or base

Geranium is a heart note. Its green side belongs to the early hours and its rose side to the middle. In Honour it sits in the heart, together with patchouli, rose, saffron and orange blossom. Perfumers also use it to make a rose note more complex, since geranium is one of the few materials that smells rosy without being a rose. For the logic of the layers, see top, heart and base notes explained.

Geranium in the FAAN range

Only one bottle lists it.

• Amjad Honour:
• Top: frankincense, elemi, cardamom, lemon, Sichuan pepper
• Heart: patchouli, rose, saffron, orange blossom, geranium
• Base: vanilla, amber, oud, ambergris, benzoin

Honour is an Extrait de Parfum, 200 ml, €44.99. We rate its projection 4 out of 5 and its longevity 5 out of 5, the top of the range for lasting power, and it is listed for autumn and winter, evenings and special occasions.

What it is paired with in this pyramid

Four things sit around the geranium. Rose is the closest relative, and the two together make the heart feel fuller and less sugary. Saffron adds a leathery, warm-metallic edge. Patchouli brings earth. Orange blossom adds a soft white-flower touch. The geranium holds these four together, and it also links to the lemon and Sichuan pepper in the top, because it has a lemony facet itself.

That is the main role of geranium here: a bridge between the bright resin opening and the dark vanilla, amber and oud base.

How to spot it

Do not look for geranium in the first minutes, where the lemon, frankincense and pepper are loud. Wait about half an hour, when the opening has settled, and smell your sleeve. This is the moment when rose, saffron and geranium are in front. The green, slightly cool, leafy edge around the rose is the geranium. By hour three the vanilla, amber and oud have taken over and the geranium is a faint background.

Wearing advice: season, sprays, who tends to like it

Honour is a cold-weather bottle, and the geranium helps it stay lively in the middle hours. One or two sprays are enough, since it is rated 4 for projection. People who like geranium usually like herbal, rosy, slightly bitter things: tea, green leaves, a drop of lemon in a rose scent. Honour is unisex.

If you like the idea of a rose that is not sugary, other FAAN bottles with rose in the heart are Qasida Bakhour, Amjad Mystery and, with damask rose, Qasida Senses. Our guide to rose in perfume covers them all.

If you like geranium, start with Amjad Honour

Since Honour is the only FAAN bottle with geranium, the answer is short. It is also one of our best sellers, so you will find plenty to read about it. Browse the Amjad line or the full range for the rest.

FAQ

Does Amjad Honour smell of geranium?

Not on its own. Geranium is one of five heart notes, so you will notice it as green freshness around the rose, not as a flower.

Is geranium a floral note?

It is classed as floral, but it smells more green and herbal than most flowers.

What if the bottle is sold out?

Use the notify option on the product page. Delivery takes 3 to 6 working days in the Netherlands and 5 to 8 in the rest of the EU.

Related reading

• A notes map of the FAAN range
• FAAN Amjad Honour described note by note
• Top, heart and base notes explained