Floral Aldehydic Chypre is subfamily D3 of the Chypre family in the SFP table. It takes the Chypre frame of bergamot, flowers, oakmoss and labdanum, then adds two layers: aliphatic aldehydes at the top and a large bouquet in the heart.
The result is both bright and dry like a Floral Aldehydic and bitter and damp at the base like a Chypre. The branch was most common in French perfumery of the 1950s and 1960s.
Guy Robert composed two perfumes often cited for this branch: Madame Rochas (1960) and Calèche (1961), the first women's perfume from Hermès. Both set aldehydes and citrus at the top, rose, jasmine, orris and ylang-ylang in the heart, and oakmoss, vetiver and sandalwood in the base.
Common aliphatic aldehydes: decanal (C10), undecanal (C11), dodecanal (C12), and 2 methylundecanal (C12 MNA, waxy with an incense facet). They make the flowers diffuse and give a cold, clean feel that contrasts with the damp moss.
Rules to note: oakmoss used today must be a low-atranol grade: Regulation (EU) 2017/1410 prohibits atranol and chloroatranol, and the IFRA Standard caps oakmoss extract in finished products. Bergamot peel oil and rose, jasmine and ylang-ylang oils and extracts are named on the expanded allergen list of Regulation (EU) 2023/1545; oakmoss extract was already on the earlier list of 26.
The SFP website publishes only subfamily names; perfume lists per subfamily are in the printed Classification officielle des parfums. Perfumes named here are commonly cited examples, not official SFP placements.
D3 sits between B4 Floral Aldehydic and D7 Floral Chypre. Without oakmoss the scent returns to B4; without aldehydes, to D7.
| Layer | Materials |
|---|---|
| Top | Undecanal (C11), 2 Methylundecanal (C12 MNA), Decanal (C10), Bergamot, Neroli |
| Middle | Damask rose, Jasmine, Ylang-ylang, Iris (orris) |
| Base | Oakmoss, Labdanum, Vetiver, Sandalwood |
The aldehydes are the hardest part to replace. Coriander leaf, combava and orange and mandarin peel carry small amounts of natural aliphatic aldehydes, giving dry brightness but not the effect of synthetic aldehydes.
The bouquet and base can be built fully with natural materials: rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, orris; low-atranol oakmoss, labdanum, vetiver, sandalwood. Check IFRA limits and the EU allergen list for each material. This page gives no formula percentages.
| Name | House | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madame Rochas | Rochas | 1960 | Guy Robert. Aldehydic floral on a mossy base. |
| Calèche | Hermès | 1961 | Guy Robert. First Hermès women's perfume; aldehydes, flowers, oakmoss. |
| Fatty aldehydes · Decanal · Undecanal · Dodecanal 1 · Methylundecanal 2 | The top layer of D3. |
| Natural sources of aliphatic aldehydes · Coriander leaf · Combava fruit · Orange sweet · Mandarin | Small amounts of decanal, decenal, dodecanal. |
| Floral bouquet · Rose damask · Jasmine · Ylang ylang · Orris | Middle layer. |
| Oakmoss, labdanum, vetiver · Oakmoss · Labdanum · Vetiver | The Chypre base frame. |
Updated 09/2026. Figures follow the year stated in each source.
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