Blackthorn
Note Profile
About
Blackthorn is Prunus spinosa and its fruit is the sloe. The one trade source that describes a blackthorn perfumery oil calls it sweetly fruity with a fig-date character, closer to dried fruit than to fresh green fruit. Nature writing describes the spring blossom instead as a sweet almond perfume. The two readings do not agree.
Scent Profile
Blackthorn's fruit, the sloe, gives a sweetly fruity smell close to dried fig and date rather than fresh green fruit. That dried-fruit sweetness runs deep, heavier than a fresh berry. The spring blossom reads differently, closer to sweet almond, a lighter note than the fruit's darker sweetness.
ScentWheel
Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.
ScentArt
Origin
Prunus spinosa, native to Europe, western Asia and locally northwest Africa. Sloes are the small blue-black stone fruit, famously astringent to eat. Gemlite sells a "Sloe Blackthorn EO" for soap and candle use, with no CAS number and no extraction method given, so whether a genuine botanical extraction exists is unconfirmed. No perfumery house publishes a blackthorn or sloe material description.
Usage in Perfumery
Fragrantica lists 9 fragrances and Parfumo lists 2 across 2 brands. Used as a dark, dried-fruit accent. Gemlite gives its blending partners as tagetes, tea tree and elemi.
Similar Notes
Perfumes featuring Blackthorn
A selection of reviewed perfumes where Blackthorn appears prominently.
No perfumes featuring this note have been reviewed yet. Check back soon.