The scent of an island: Ibiza’s natural fragrances

The best scents in Ibiza occur in the off season. When Ibiza's scorching summer finally bows to autumn and the island undergoes a magnificent transformation. That first post-summer rain? It's not what beach vacationers expect, but for island-dwellers like me, it's a welcome escape from the thick, humid embrace of the long summer. 

Funny how life twists, right? I swapped Holland's ever-grey skies for Ibiza's sun, yet now I find solace when the sun hides and rain dances. There's a scent that comes alive; one that connects you straight to Earth's core. Petrichor, it's called. Born from particles released from bacteria and plant compounds, intensified by the ozone carried by the rain. Humans? We're lucky. Our noses pick up this heavenly, earthy scent in an instant. And in Ibiza, it's just the start of a fragrant journey. Every step on this island hides a perfumed surprise.

The first scent to come to mind is the pine trees that dominate the Balearic Islands with their evergreen appearance. I have a love/hate relationship with them because they turn my porch yellow every year when they release their pollen, and continuously drip their sticky resin on my car. But they smell fantastic. Pines breathe out an icy, aromatic smell that’s more herbal than woody. Almost as if there’s a touch of menthol. It has a very invigorating effect. If you’re feeling down just take a walk through a forest in Ibiza and I promise, you’ll feel much better instantly.  Dismiss those notions of pine-scented floor cleaners; pine in perfumery can be delightfully sophisticated. And to me Ibiza’s pines are pure olfactory art.

Then there are fig trees, with their beautiful crisp verdancy and highly appreciated by the locals for both their fruits and shade in summer. Oddly shaped and easily recognisable, these trees are dotted around on the campo of our island and not hard to find. Fig trees carry an amazing scent - next time you see one just pluck a leaf and crush it in your hands then inhale. It’s such a beautiful scent. Green and milky but also dusty and sweet. For those of you who don’t have access to fig trees, the French house of Diptyque created a fragrance called Philosykos that really captures the essence of the fig tree.

Sprinkled throughout Ibiza is another gem. Rosemary. These woody bushes withstand the dry seasons with ease and have many uses, not just culinary. Traditionally used by the Romans to strengthen the memory, the smell of rosemary helps to clear the mind and lowers cortisol levels almost instantly, alleviating anxiety and reducing stress. In folk medicine it’s also considered a powerful cleanser and protector that purifies the air. The needle-like leaves are intensely fragrant. They carry a scent that is a cocktail of lavender, camphor, and eucalyptus—yet uniquely its own. It’s both stimulating and energizing and great if combined with citrus notes. In perfume, rosemary is used to add an aromatic, herbal touch. It was a key component for Hungary Water, one of the first alcohol-based perfumes from the 15th century and is still used for many colognes and fougere-style fragrances. 

Having orange trees in my garden is a privilege of living on Ibiza. There’s nothing like a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice from your own trees. Besides their wonderful fruits, orange blossoms are among the most fragrant flowers in the world. The warm, sparkling and romantic scent from the delicate white flowers is intoxicating when the trees are in bloom. Both neroli extract and orange blossom absolut come from the same flower but have a different manner of processing. For neroli, steam distillation is used and for orange blossom, a solvent extraction by alcohol is the way to go. Neroli smells greener and fresher with bitter notes whereas orange blossom has a more warm, floral, slightly honeyed scent. Both are very versatile and used in many different styles of perfumes. As these trees bloom in late spring on Ibiza, their fragrance heralds the approaching summer hustle on our enchanting island.