When Fougère Royale launched as the first perfume with synthetics in 1889, it wasn't just coumarin that made it popular: it also contained amyl salicylate and a number of other synthetics. Amyl Salicylate is the classic orchid and clover synthetic. Orchids are mostly (but not always) odourless and in the golden age of perfumery the master noses decided that if orchids had a smell, it would be this. Accented with rose alcohols, anisic aldehyde and acetophenone, most classic bases relied on rather large doses. Poucher has one such base in his formulary with a whopping 50% amyl salicylate though he preferred Isobutyl Salicylate if it were available. Here is his complete Orchid No 1085: 500 Amyl Salicylate200 Anisic Aldehyde100 Geraniol Extra50 Acetophenone (perhaps too much for modern tastes)50 Rosewood oil (substitute Rosewood Cayenne base)2 Benzaldehyde50 Peru Balsam3 Aldehyde C-910 Dimethyl Hydroquinone (found naturally in violet flowers)35 Heliotropin He accents the above with orange blossom, cassie and jasmine absolute. Aside from Houbigant's Fougère Royale (1882), Amyl Salicylate was featured in a huge overdose in the great Pompeia (1907) by Piver. Both demo formulas can be found below.
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