Jasmine

What it is

Flowers picked before dawn, when the scent is strongest, and extracted with solvents because heat destroys them. It takes several thousand blossoms to make a gram of absolute, which is why jasmine is usually stretched with synthetics.

What it smells like

Heady and full, with indole underneath giving it an animal turn that reads as either the best or the worst part depending on the nose. In small amounts it makes other flowers smell more alive, which is why it appears in fragrances that never mention it.

Where it sits

Which layer of the pyramid it is listed in, across every fragrance here that carries it. A base note is one you smell for hours; a top note is usually gone within the first.

What it turns up with

How much more often than the catalogue average. 1.0x would be chance, so these are the things that genuinely travel with it rather than the things that are simply common.

When it is worn

Against the average fragrance here. The line marks that average, so a bar past it means this is worn in that season or setting more than most.

Houses that use it most

Counted across the fragrances here, which reflects what we cover as much as what a house makes.

Lancome (31), Armaf (22), Chanel (22), Yves Saint Laurent (22), Guerlain (21), Calvin Klein (20).