Blue hyssop is one of our more unlikely success stories. Rarely used in perfumery, it is a plant we initially trialled with some doubt. But, it not only produced some oil which our Master Perfumer, Jacques Chabert, had never come across before and rated highly, but it has also had some amazing side benefits!
In our perfume crop fields, it is quite something when in full flower. An attractive evergreen perennial with flowers of the most vibrant violet-blue. Both the leaves and the flowering tops contain essential oil which is sweet in character with a camphoraceous top note and a spicy, herbaceous undertone.
There are two varieties, deep blue and white, and they resemble lavender from a distance. But when you get close, you see the flowers are alive with butterflies and bees! They just love hyssop’s nectar which makes not only for wonderful honey, but also keeps our bees (we have nine hives at the moment) very happy. In turn they then help to pollinate all our other perfume crops, for which we are very grateful.
The harvested blue hyssop plants are taken directly for on-site distillation. The oil we produce from them has an aromatic, herby quality which works really well in woody fragrances.
Hyssop is one of the key notes in Root of all Goodness eau de parfum – give it a try!