The smell of various vegetables can immediately and deeply affect both the mind and the body. Green or yellow vegetables have a fresh, crisp sensation that inspires spring feelings in those who smell them.
Purple-red Indonesian eggplant has an earthy, woody scent with a long, savory finish. Paprika has a spicy, pleasant peppery scent reminiscent of Christmas Eve and candy canes. Room-temperature buttery potatoes have a nutty, creamy, buttery scent that evokes warm autumn days.
Green peas can be described as pleasantly grassy with a touch of sweetness. And all of these are just a small sampling of the wide-ranging world of vegetable aromas.
Vegetable perfume notes:
1. Cucumber
This wonderful, sweet, juicy fruit with creamy white flesh and crisp green leaves is a common ingredient in many perfumes. The scent of the cucumber can range from a slightly sweet, strong-minded odor that permeates the space all around it to a delicate smell that only reaches a person’s nose for an instant.
Cucumber fruity notes describe the distinctly fresh, sweet and clean cucumber smell and green notes describe a mild but distinct scent of freshly cut grassy cucumber.
They are often used to scent the base of perfumes due to their green, almost-earthy smell that is reminiscent of grass and dirt. This makes it a good complement to the sweet and fruity top notes in many perfumes.
2. Pumpkin
This magnificent part of the squash family is trendy in perfumes, especially those that make you feel like you’re in the middle of a flower garden. Its sweet, creamy scent is a throwback to its rippling purples and tangerines.
The smell of ripe pumpkin is rich and sweet with a hint of spice. This scent is often used in spicy florals to create an almost electric feeling during cold weather. It also makes an excellent addition to many holidays scents that include fall smells such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
These pumpkin notes have a floral effect and can be used in many ways because of their unique, sweet and nutty scent. Pumpkin top notes create a fruity impact, while the base provides a wonderfully spicy aroma.
The pumpkin green note adds a little extra texture and creates fabulous pairs with spiced gourmand notes as they struggle with each other for dominance in the scent.
3. Tomato
The tomato fruit is a beautiful example of the unique scent obtained from a vegetable. It has a slightly sweet, meaty smell with a bit of an acidic sourness to it.
The scent of ripe tomato fruit is intensely fruity and fresh but has a sharpness that makes it seem slightly spicy. Because of this, it can be used as a complement to summery floral scents and make them appear more vibrant and alive.
Tomatoes can be used as a secondary note to add a touch of spicy and earthy green notes to any scent, especially those that require a subtly spicy effect. The tomato smell is great for adding depth, color and flavor to a perfume.
4. Rhubarb
This fantastic plant offers many wonderful flavors and scents and is a welcome addition to any scent that needs a little bit of an herbal twist. It has a sour, tangy fruitiness that combines perfectly with floral aromas to create some exciting and extraordinary perfumes.
The rhubarb top note adds a sour, ‘green-ness’ to anything it complements, giving the fragrance more vibrant depth. The rhubarb green note is very much like the vegetable itself (stewed and tart), but it has a more delicate scent that is perfect for delicate scents but needs a little bit of pep.
The rhubarb base note smells of stewed plant flesh and gives off a powerful scent of strawberry jam or raspberry sauce. The green ketchup notes make it a great addition to many sweet and spicy food scents.
5. Pea
The pea fruit is a beautiful, bright green with yellow pea-like petals and a bright yellow stem. Its sweet, delicious scent is fantastic and its use as a perfume ingredient should be much more prominent! The pea flower note has an almost sour, refreshing quality that makes it even better for creating jellies bursting with fresh flavors.
Pea flower top notes add crisp and fresh floral aromas to perfumes, and green notes give a slightly grassy scent that blends well with fresh floral notes. Pea soil smells like a warm, wet feeling like the earth after being drenched with rain.
6. Carrot
The carrot is a wonderful, sweet and spicy root vegetable that adds a unique flavor and aroma to any perfume. It is one of the few vegetables that add spice to scents without overpowering them.
The green carrot top note adds depth to any bouquet without making it too heavy. Carrot green notes are often used to give springtime feelings of grass, leaves, and other outdoor scents when fresh greenery is not easily found in the winter months.
Carrot soil pairs wonderfully with the green notes to add a little bit of deep earthiness, especially if paired with a juicy fruit note.
7. Beetroot
The lovely scent of the beetroot is often used to add just a touch of spice to other, sweeter perfumes. It gives a very slight and crispening effect on a bouquet, making it seem vibrant.
The beetroot top note has an earthy sweetness that is not as strong as some of the other vegetables on this list. This makes it a great light addition to many perfumes, especially those that have sweet grasses or green notes in them.
Beetroot green notes create a very soft, sweet and earthy scent that is perfectly complemented by many perfumes. Beetroot soil smells like sweaty, damp earthiness.
8. Corn Silk
Corn silk has a sweet, grassy, yet woody scent that makes a perfume smell like an open field with wildflowers and a few scattered, late-season sunflowers. The sweetness of the scent helps to brighten up any perfume while the green notes soften it.
Corn silk top notes have a very fresh and breezy quality that makes perfumes smell just a little bit better. Corn silk green notes give off fresh, sweet smells that are wonderful with many florals. Corn silk soil has a fresh, sweet smell that adds brightness to any perfume.
9. Mushroom
Mushrooms are an essential part of the smell of fall and their rich, earthy scent is a beautiful addition to many perfumes. While the use of mushrooms in perfumes is not as common as it could be, it is often found in gourmand blends and adds a wonderfully complex earthy feel.
Mushroom top notes have a very intense yet fruity aroma that is perfect for making any perfume smell like food or adding more texture to a spicy floral. The mushroom green note has an earthy, musty quality that is wonderful with floral smells.
10. Artichoke
The artichoke vegetable is a large, creamy green part of a plant with its roots in the ground and its flower bud in the top. Its fleshy, yellow-green leaves are more like tiny heads of garlic.
Artichoke top notes have a slightly sweet fruitiness that is very sweet and strong but not as strong as some of the other vegetables on this list. It makes a great addition to brighten up perfumes that are already fruity or floral scented.
Artichoke green notes have a slightly sweet and tangy smell that is perfect for making an ordinary perfume smell like it was just made! Artichoke soil is a powerful and earthy smell that washes over the nose and adds depth to any perfume.
Conclusion
While the majority of vegetables that smell like food should, by all means, be used as a perfume ingredient, some of them go much further than food scents. The stronger the smell you’re looking for, the stronger and more intense the vegetable has to be.
If you want to learn which vegetables are good for making your perfume smell like food, check out our Food Scents for Perfume Ingredients article.
However, if you are looking to make your perfume smell like something else or just want a unique perfume, you may want to try using a vegetable that is not generally used as food.
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