Tickle my pickle

Can't stand a gherkin tang on my tongue, but love it in a fragrance. Here are my faves

Pick a pickle and the chances are I can’t stand it. I can make an exception for the crunchy little yellow and red veg that appear on the side of a Katsu Curry at Wagamama, but generally the sight of a brown-green gherkin in a burger or the tiniest of cornichons on a cheese board is enough to ruin that dish for me. So, for someone as avidly, viscerally averse to pickles, I find it interesting that I am perpetually drawn towards perfumes that are often labelled as “pickley” by fragrance fans. As repelled as I am by pickled vegetables, I crave that tangy, sharp, herbaceousness in a scent as the sun heats up.

That said, a “pickle” accord is not one you tend to see on a Fragrantica pyramid – at least not to the extent of how many frags there are in the world that people describe as smelling “pickley”. That pickle-ness tends to come from a big hit of an equally divisive herb, coriander – and especially when combined with vetiver (as the oil from this can produce a dill-like effect). The result is that signature soapy, green-ness with a crisp, almost mouth-watering tang. And I love it.

To those who enjoy a pickley fragrance like me, I’m sure my route into this particular genre will not be a surprise: DS & Durga’s Coriander. Now, what I will say is that there is a fundamental difference between scents that use coriander leaf and those that use coriander seed. Generally that pickle-y vibe comes from scents that incorporate the leaf (sometimes described on a fragrance pyramid by the American-ised cilantro as opposed to coriander, which is often the seed). This DS & Durga scent definitely errs towards the spicier, seed-like side of this herb, however the presence of refreshing, aromatic notes of rosemary, juniper and especially zingy lime make this scent feel far closer to freshly chopped coriander leaves than the dried seeds in your pantry. Perhaps that’s also down to the addition of iso-e-super which brings a fresh, crystalline sparkle to the recipe. Whatever the reason, it’s a wonderfully green, woody take on the herb – a little more soapy and not quite as brine-y as other coriander perfumes, but a classic in the genre that I return to when I need a bit of a late-spring pick-me-up.

However, if I want something green, acidic and lip-smacking, there are two options in my armoury. The first is Functional Fragrance by The Nue Co. There is still a smoky-earthiness to this scent (thanks in large part to a dose of palo santo) that lingers on the dry-down, but that initial spritz is dominated by coriander leaf, citrus, and a note of cardamom that’s like a pod that you’ve just smashed open with a rolling pin on your chopping board; cool and enjoyably astringent. Altogether, Functional Fragrance has a pipeline of energising and tangy to comforting and warm– and it makes sense that it’s been specifically created to help decrease its wearer’s stress levels. A particularly pleasing bonus for those who are perpetually anxious, like myself.

The second is the aptly named Coriandre 39 from Le Labo – the house’s Mexico City exclusive. Again, this opens with a zing of lime and coriander leaves, but one of the key differences here is that there’s also aldehydes present in those top notes meaning that the oh-so-divisive fatty, soapiness of the herb is amped up (I love it). After that, the scent is flooded with watery notes and soft florals before drying down into a delicate, undulating and lightly smoky musk – like the first squeeze of lime into a mescal on ice while someone chops cilantro stems for a fresh salsa in the background. Now there’s a condiment I can get behind.