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The 5 most expensive perfume ingredients in the world

Have you ever wondered why some perfumes cost a fortune? Sure, branding often plays a role, but the ingredients are mostly to blame. Some ingredients are scarce, durable or hard to come by. The rarer the ingredient, the more expensive the fragrance. Below we have listed the five most expensive perfume ingredients in the world for you with matching perfumes from our range.


1. Bulgarian rose

Rose oil is a perfume ingredient found in almost all women's perfumes. But obtaining this essential oil is a sustainable process. To make one kilogram of rose oil, 9,000 kilograms of rose petals are needed. The Bulgarian rose valley produces 70% of all the rose oil globally. The roses can only be picked in May and June and done at night rose by rose. What a lot of work! No wonder it costs a whopping €200 for 30 grams of Bulgarian rose oil.

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2. Jasmine

Jasmine is another floral note often found in perfumes. Although this flower is just a little less durable than the rose, it still costs a fortune. For half a kilo of jasmine oil, 4,500 kilos of jasmine petals are used. Moreover, jasmine petals are extremely fragile and, after picking, must be placed in baskets to protect them from damage. The price of jasmine oil is just a bit more reasonable than rose oil, namely €83 for 20 grams.


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3. Orris

We hear you, enough about florals. But wait until you hear how incredibly the process of 'Orris' is. It's an essential oil that comes from iris bulbs. With 1,000 kilograms of iris bulbs matured for two to five years, you produce only 2 kilograms of Orris. This process not only takes hard work but also time. This is why it is among the top three most expensive perfume ingredients.


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4. Oudh

Oudh derives from a tropical tree species called Agar. This may not seem like a big deal, but the Agar tree must first become infected with a type of fungus that causes it to produce Oudh. Only 2% of Agar trees become infected with the fungus, making Oudh incredibly expensive. Because of its rarity, high demand and difficulty in harvesting it, Oudh oil is one of the most expensive oils in the world. Its nickname is, therefore, liquid gold.


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5. Musk

Although natural musk is one of the most expensive animal products in the world, the majority of musk produced and sold today is synthetic. Why? Because to get the real, authentic, natural musk, you must first kill a male musk deer, an endangered species. Natural musk was widely used until the late 19th century until ethics began to become a factor, and people stopped slaughtering deer. Poachers still kill these deer and harvest their musk glands. Therefore, most musk in perfumes is synthetic and thus safe for vegans. But it still smells like a million dollars.


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