Soliflore is subfamily B1 of the Floral family in the SFP table. The name joins solo and fleur: a perfume that takes one flower as its only theme. Rose, jasmine, tuberose, orange flower, violet, lily of the valley and osmanthus are common subjects.
A soliflore does not mean a single material. A rose soliflore usually uses dozens of ingredients to recreate the flower as it smells on the plant, because rose oil or absolute captures only part of the fresh flower's scent.
There are two kinds of soliflore. The first rests on flowers that yield extracts: rose (phenylethyl alcohol, geraniol, citronellol, rose oxide), jasmine (benzyl acetate, indole, cis-jasmone), tuberose (methyl benzoate, methyl salicylate), orange flower (linalool, methyl anthranilate). The extract is the axis; molecules restore the fresh-flower part lost during extraction.
The second rests on flowers that yield no usable extract, such as lily of the valley, lilac and gardenia. In 1956 Edmond Roudnitska built Diorissimo for Dior around lily of the valley, using hydroxycitronellal with other notes. Two later lily of the valley molecules, HICC and lilial, have been prohibited in EU cosmetics by Regulations (EU) 2017/1410 and 2021/1902 respectively.
Many flower extracts are named on the allergen list of Regulation (EU) 2023/1545: rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, bitter orange flower, narcissus.
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.
| Layer | Materials |
|---|---|
| Top | Bergamot, Violet leaf |
| Middle | Damask rose, Jasmine, Tuberose, Orange flower absolute, Osmanthus, Phenylethyl alcohol, Methyl benzoate |
| Base | Ambrette, Sandalwood, Ambrettolide |
Soliflore is where natural materials show most clearly, provided the flower yields an extract. A natural rose soliflore can combine rose otto (distilled) with rose absolute (solvent-extracted), since the two capture different parts of the flower; geranium and palmarosa add geraniol.
Flowers that give no extract cannot be reproduced faithfully with natural materials; they can only be suggested. This page gives no formula percentages.
| Name | House | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diorissimo | Christian Dior | 1956 | Edmond Roudnitska. Lily of the valley rebuilt with hydroxycitronellal. |
| Rose soliflore · Rose damask · Rose provence · Geranium · Palmarosa | Essential oil, absolute and geraniol sources. |
| White flower and osmanthus soliflores · Jasmine · Jasmine sambac · Tuberose · Orange flower · Osmanthus | Flowers used for extracts. |
Updated 09/2026. Figures follow the year stated in each source.
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