V

Ylang-ylang’s flowers diffuse a heady, sweet and floral scent that is often recommended to calm the mind. It is featured in a few of our most popular fragrances, such as Sex Bomb, Sleepy and Magik.

The cananga tree, also called ylang-ylang or ilang-ilang, is a tropical plant native to Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. It can grow very tall in the wild, averaging 12 meters (40 feet). In British English, ylang-ylang is pronounced ee-lang ee-lang. In Tagalog, an old language of the Philippines, it means ‘flower of the flowers’. 

The tree’s branches are quite flexible and are often positioned vertically and pruned by farmers to ease harvest. Flowers bloom nearly all year round, hanging from stalks. Their drooping, long and narrow petals are thick and wavy - and wonderfully fragrant! They start off green but reach their optimal scent when turning yellow.

The scent of ylang-ylang flowers is known to help you relax, slow down and fall asleep more easily. It is said to reduce anxiety while increasing a sense of well-being.

The sensual flowers’ scent is also considered an aphrodisiac.

The yellow petals can be distilled into an essential oil or extracted into an absolute. These are highly valued in perfumery but also in cosmetics, for their numerous benefits to the skin, scalp and hair.

Not just a scent, it is also a flavour! Ylang-ylang works really well in mouth products.

Learn more about the benefits of ylang-ylang oil on this dedicated page.

Lush uses ylang-ylang essential oil in various products, ranging from perfumes to bath bombs and hair conditioners. The essential oil is steam-distilled from the petals, and the process can last up to 20 hours! We also use a fair amount of ylang-ylang absolute, which is extracted from the petals as well, but using solvents.

We purchase the essential oil and the absolute from the Comoros Islands, but we also produce our own oil in Ghana. Click on the links below to learn more about these different sources:

Ylang Ylang Oil

Ghanaian Ylang Ylang Oil

Ylang Ylang absolute

Are sweet, sensual and tropical scents your thing? Have a go at this collection of floral-scented products.

A woody scent that adds great depth and elegance to perfume blends.

‘Cedarwood’ is an umbrella name for oils and absolutes distilled from the wood of many different conifers, belonging to the Cupressaceae or the Pinaceae families. Traditionally, the oil is distilled from the Atlas cedar, a very tall tree native to North Africa. It has a rich and warm woody aroma, almost sweet. It is extensively used in perfumery and cosmetics, especially in products branded ‘for men’. Essential oils distilled from other species help get a greater scent scope with different nuances to play with, such as smoky or dry notes. 

They give a sometimes strong, sometimes delicate woodsy note to perfumes.

They have antibacterial, cleansing properties on the skin and scalp.

They relax the mind and harmonise emotions when inhaled.

To find out more about each of the cedarwood types we use, their scent specificity and supplier info, browse your Lush product’s list of ingredients and click on the ones you are interested in. This should take you to a page full of details!

Spicy, sweet-scented cloves add warmth to perfumes and stimulate the blood flow. 

Cloves are the dried aromatic flower buds of a tropical evergreen tree of the Myrtle family. When drying, the buds change colour from rose to brown. They can then be sold raw or put through a process of steam distillation to obtain an essential oil with a warm, rich and spicy aroma.

Cloves are known to have antiseptic properties that are beneficial for soothing skin irritations.

They offer a helping hand with boosting circulation and blood flow.

Their unique spicy yet sweet fragrance also has an uplifting and stimulating effect on the mind.

Cloves are used in herbal medicine. They were first mentioned in Chinese medicine in about AD600. Particularly known for their soothing effect on toothaches, it is said that the ancient Chinese also used to hold a clove in the mouth to perfume their breath when speaking to the emperor.

At Lush, we buy an oil distilled from clove buds and one obtained from the plant's leaves. Depending on the part used, the scent will be subtly different. We also use a lot of dried cloves, especially for our exclusive winter festive products. Each of these materials will be purchased from another source. To find out more about them, browse your Lush product’s list of ingredients and click on the ones you are interested in. This should take you to a page full of details!