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Article: Scent Capture & the Living Florals

Caswell-Massey Floral Collection: Image of roses in front of the New York Botanical Garden

Scent Capture & the Living Florals

Caswell-Massey

The Pursuit of Scent

To reintroduce our floral perfumes, we aimed to honor the natural scents perfected by nature while also making sure to craft our interpretations sustainably. This way, we can protect the flowers for future generations to enjoy. These joint missions led us to join forces with International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF). Using IFF's proprietary fragrance capture technology, our perfumers were able to capture the scents of all varieties of living plants without harming, or harvesting the flowers.

Caswell-Massey and The New York Botanical Garden Collection: image of NYBG Conservatory

Capturing Scents of the GARDEN

The New York Botanical Garden

To create our floral fragrances, we sought to create a diverse collection representing some of the most desirable and magnificent flowers available in the US. This naturally led us to our neighbors at The New York Botanical Garden, where our perfumers collaborated with Master Gardeners at the NYBG and Botanical Scientists at IFF to identify the ideal floral inspirations for our fragrances. Each of our six floral fragrances today represent scent signatures captured directly from living flowers that have been masterfully cultivated at the Garden over the past Century.

Fragrance Capture

The Process

By applying the "living floral" fragrance-capture technology, we can identify the scent signatures of unharvested plants. The process requires placing a glass globe, or "headspace," over the blooming flower, at its peak. We then insert a small rod into the headspace to extract small amounts of fragrant pollen, which allows perfumers to "record" the flower's fragrance. Using these "recordings," our perfumers can then recreate “nature-identical” scent molecules without damaging or harming rare botanical species. Our perfumers have reimagined the nature-identical molecules of 6 unique varieties of florals to create our floral perfumes and eau de toilettes.

A peony flower with the glass headspace surrounding the flower showing how Caswell-Massey extract the scent of the flowers without hurting the flower

The Peony Capture

May 2021 at The NYBG

Perfumer Laurent sniffing flowers in search of ideal candidates for application of scent capture technology

Perfumer Laurent LeGuernec finding the perfect flower

A peony flower with the glass headspace surrounding the flower showing how Caswell-Massey extract the scent of the flowers without hurting the flower

Application of the headspace

The Orchid Capture

March 2018 at The NYBG

The Floral Collection

The Results

The results are remarkable, with a diversity of floral scents ranging from the sweet, uplifting Honeysuckle Eau de Toilette to the velvety seduction of Orchid Perfume. First, meet the Perfumes, each containing rich, multi-layered compositions. Next, you'll find our Eau de Toilette fragrances that each feature light and fresh compositions.

Together, this floral fragrance collection offers many ways to enjoy the spectacular olfactory beauty of nature's most-prized flowers.

The Living Floral Perfumes

Rose | Orchid | Peony

The Living Floral Eau de Toilettes

Lilac | Gardenia | Honeysuckle

Caswell-Massey and New York Botanical Garden partnership landing page image of greenhouse at the NYBG

In Collaboration with

The New York Botanical Garden

Every purchase from our Collection of Living Floral Perfumes, Eau de Toilettes, and Bath Soaps directly supports the New York Botanical Garden’s work in plant research, conservation, horticulture and education.

Learn more at nybg.org