Carolina Reaper
Note Profile
About
The world's hottest chilli, used in perfumery as an idea. The pod's actual smell is fruity, tropical and green. The heat is a contact sensation and does not reach the nose.
Scent Profile
Carolina Reaper, the pod itself, smells fruity and tropical rather than fiery, close to mango, apricot and papaya. A green, vegetal pepper note, the same pyrazine sharpness found in green peppers, runs alongside the fruit. There is a burst of floral pungency too, almost perfumed, the way a freshly cut chilli can smell. A dry, peppery spice sits underneath, but the heat itself is a contact sensation, not a smell that reaches the nose.
ScentWheel
Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.
ScentArt
Origin
Capsicum chinense cultivar 'Carolina Reaper', bred in South Carolina and certified the hottest chilli in 2013. No commercial perfumery extract exists. Premiere Peau states why: capsaicin would be a skin irritant at any useful concentration, and it is not volatile, so it would contribute nothing to the smell anyway.
Usage in Perfumery
A conceptual note. Premiere Peau describes the few compositions that invoke it as 'built from pyrazine-fruity-tropical accords for the aroma and from peppery materials (pink pepper, shishito reconstruction) for the dryness, without actually using capsaicin'. Attested on 3 fragrances at Fragrantica, none at Parfumo. Buyers expect heat and the note does not deliver it, which is the interesting part.
Similar Notes
Perfumes featuring Carolina Reaper
A selection of reviewed perfumes where Carolina Reaper appears prominently.
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