Cyclamen was introduced by Myrurgia in 1925, during the elegant height of the Art Deco era, when floral perfumes inspired by individual blossoms were among the most fashionable fragrances in Europe. The name "Cyclamen" comes from the scientific Latin name Cyclamen, itself derived from the ancient Greek word kyklos (κύκλος), meaning "circle" or "round." The name refers to the plant's rounded underground tuber from which its leaves and flowers emerge each year. It is pronounced as "SY-cluh-men" in English. Unlike some of Myrurgia's perfumes with romantic French titles, Cyclamen required no translation. The botanical name was already internationally recognized, lending the fragrance an air of scientific elegance while remaining instantly familiar to gardeners and flower lovers throughout Europe.
The cyclamen is one of the Mediterranean's most enchanting woodland flowers. Native to Spain, southern France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and much of the eastern Mediterranean, it thrives in cool, shaded forests, rocky hillsides, and mountain valleys where it blooms during autumn, winter, or early spring, depending upon the species. Its graceful blossoms, with petals that sweep dramatically backward like the wings of a butterfly, appear to float above beautifully marbled heart-shaped leaves. Colors range from pure white to delicate blush pink, rose, magenta, and deep crimson. Cyclamen has long symbolized gentle beauty, enduring affection, sincerity, and quiet resilience, flourishing where many other flowers cannot. Its elegant, almost ethereal appearance made it a favorite subject in Art Nouveau and Art Deco decorative arts, textiles, ceramics, and botanical illustration.
Despite its delicate fragrance, cyclamen flowers produce no essential oil suitable for commercial perfumery. Their scent cannot be captured through steam distillation, and even modern solvent extraction yields virtually no usable aromatic material. Like lilac, lily of the valley, and violet blossoms, cyclamen became one of perfumery's "impossible flowers." Rather than extracting the flower itself, perfumers learned to recreate its airy fragrance through carefully balanced accords built from natural materials and, increasingly after the late nineteenth century, synthetic aroma molecules. By the 1920s these new aroma chemicals had become sophisticated enough to produce remarkably convincing cyclamen accords, allowing perfumers to bottle not merely the flower itself but the entire impression of cool spring air, fresh petals, and dewy gardens.
The word "Cyclamen" evokes images of peaceful woodland clearings where graceful pink blossoms emerge through moss-covered rocks beneath ancient trees. It suggests cool morning air, sparkling dew resting upon delicate petals, shaded forest paths, elegant conservatories, and carefully tended European gardens. Unlike the lush sensuality of tuberose or the romantic richness of rose, cyclamen conveys refinement through lightness. It speaks of quiet sophistication, purity, freshness, and graceful femininity. There is an almost translucent quality to the flower, making it feel gentle, serene, and effortlessly elegant rather than dramatic or opulent. The name suggests a woman whose beauty lies in refinement, poise, and understated charm.
When Cyclamen appeared in 1925, Europe was enjoying the optimism and prosperity of the Roaring Twenties, known in France as Les Années Folles ("The Crazy Years"). Society embraced modernity with remarkable enthusiasm. Art Deco architecture, fashion, jewelry, and decorative arts celebrated clean geometry, luxurious materials, and sophisticated simplicity. Women's fashions reflected this new spirit through dropped waistlines, shorter skirts, sleeveless evening gowns adorned with beads and embroidery, sleek bobbed hairstyles, cloche hats, and elegant cosmetics. Women traveled more freely, drove automobiles, attended jazz clubs, danced the Charleston, and increasingly viewed perfume as an essential expression of personal style. Rather than reserving fragrance for formal occasions, modern women selected perfumes to complement every aspect of daily life, making perfume one of the defining luxuries of the decade.
Perfumery itself was experiencing an extraordinary period of innovation. Nineteenth-century floral perfumes had relied primarily upon natural essential oils, tinctures, and absolutes, but by the 1920s perfumers possessed an expanding palette of synthetic aroma materials that transformed the art. These molecules did far more than replace expensive natural ingredients. They made it possible to recreate flowers such as cyclamen, lily of the valley, lilac, and violet that could not be distilled, while simultaneously enhancing the freshness, radiance, diffusion, and longevity of naturally extracted florals. This harmonious partnership between nature and chemistry became one of the defining achievements of the golden age of perfumery, allowing perfumers to create compositions of remarkable realism and technical sophistication.
To women of 1925, a perfume named Cyclamen would have suggested freshness, modern elegance, and cultivated taste. Cyclamen flowers were admired throughout Europe for their graceful beauty and association with refined gardens, making the name instantly appealing without feeling extravagant. Unlike heavier oriental perfumes intended primarily for evening wear, a cyclamen fragrance suggested daylight, springtime, and effortless sophistication. It would have appealed especially to the fashionable woman who embraced the clean, youthful aesthetic of the Jazz Age while still appreciating timeless floral beauty. Wearing Cyclamen implied elegance without ostentation, making it equally suitable for afternoon luncheons, shopping excursions, garden parties, and evening dinners.
Even before smelling the perfume itself, the word "Cyclamen" suggests a remarkably delicate olfactory experience. It promises cool spring blossoms floating upon fresh air, soft rose petals, elegant violets, powdery iris, sparkling dew, and gentle white flowers resting upon smooth woods and warm skin. The name conveys transparency rather than density, freshness rather than sweetness, and luminous refinement rather than dramatic sensuality. Its classification as a fresh aldehydic floral perfectly reflects that expectation, suggesting a fragrance built around an airy cyclamen-inspired floral accord illuminated by aldehydes and enriched with jasmine, rose, violet, and orris before settling into soft woods, delicate balsams, and a refined musky amber base.
Within the broader history of perfumery, Cyclamen belonged to one of the most fashionable floral traditions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Cyclamen perfumes had become increasingly popular as perfumers sought to recreate flowers that nature itself would not surrender through extraction. Nearly every important perfume house eventually developed its own interpretation, often beginning with standard cyclamen accords published in contemporary perfume formularies before modifying them through individual artistic choices. Some emphasized green freshness, others powdery elegance or richer floral warmth, but all shared the same goal of capturing the flower's elusive beauty. In this respect, Myrurgia's Cyclamen followed a respected and highly fashionable trend rather than introducing an entirely new fragrance family. Its originality lay in the refinement of its composition—the careful balance between natural floral materials and the latest aroma chemicals, producing a fragrance that perfectly embodied the modern elegance, technical sophistication, and luminous femininity that defined perfumery during the golden years of the Art Deco era.
Fragrance Composition:
So what does it smell like? Cyclamen is best classified as a fresh aldehydic floral, blending airy cyclamen-inspired florals, rose, jasmine, violet, and orris with soft powdery woods, gentle balsams, and a delicate musky amber base.
- Top notes: aldehyde C-10, neroli, linalol, hydroxycitronellal, styrol acetate, phenylacetic aldehyde
- Middle notes: jasmine, rose, tuberose, terpineol, ionone alpha, violet, orris, rose, cinnamic alcohol, ylang ylang
- Base notes: orris, ambergris, benzoin, coumarin, musk, acetic ether
Scent Profile:
Cyclamen opens with the sensation of walking through a shaded Mediterranean garden just after sunrise, where delicate blossoms glisten with dew and the cool morning air carries an almost crystalline freshness. Although the cyclamen flower itself cannot yield an essential oil suitable for perfumery, master perfumers of the early twentieth century learned to recreate its elusive beauty through an ingenious harmony of natural botanicals and newly developed aroma chemicals. Rather than attempting to imitate the flower literally, Cyclamen captures its atmosphere—the feeling of cool petals, fresh air, damp greenery, and soft spring light. It is a fragrance built not around heaviness, but around transparency, elegance, and luminous refinement.
The fragrance begins with the sparkling brilliance of Aldehyde C-10 (decanal), one of the great discoveries of modern perfumery. Although found naturally in citrus peels, Aldehyde C-10 is generally produced synthetically to achieve exceptional purity and consistency. Its aroma is bright, waxy, citrusy, and slightly creamy, reminiscent of freshly peeled orange rind bathed in morning sunlight. Unlike the dramatic champagne-like sparkle of the famous aldehydes used in later perfumes, Aldehyde C-10 lends a softer luminosity, making the entire composition feel clean, radiant, and effortlessly elegant.
Flowing beside it is exquisite neroli, distilled from the blossoms of the bitter orange tree. The finest neroli traditionally comes from Tunisia, Morocco, southern France, and Italy, where generations of careful cultivation produce an oil celebrated for its balance of fresh citrus, green leaves, delicate honey, and luminous white flowers. Neroli introduces a refined floral brightness that immediately evokes blooming Mediterranean orchards.
The freshness is further enhanced by linalool, one of perfumery's most important naturally occurring aroma molecules. Found abundantly in lavender, bergamot, coriander, rosewood, and hundreds of aromatic plants, linalool is often purified or synthesized to reinforce floral freshness. Its aroma is clean, lightly woody, softly floral, and gently citrus-like, extending the brilliance of neroli while giving the fragrance remarkable transparency.
Hydroxycitronellal performs an equally important role. This classic synthetic material possesses the unmistakable fragrance of lily of the valley, another flower that yields no extractable perfume. Fresh, watery, green, and delicately floral, hydroxycitronellal became indispensable for recreating spring blossoms during the golden age of perfumery. Here it contributes the cool, dewy freshness that defines the cyclamen accord, allowing the fragrance to feel as though fresh petals are still covered with morning dew.
Adding subtle complexity is styrol acetate, a classic aroma chemical whose scent combines delicate green florals with faint fruity nuances suggestive of garden blossoms and crisp orchard fruit. It lends lift and airy brightness without drawing attention to itself. Alongside it blooms phenylacetic aldehyde, another naturally occurring aromatic compound that is frequently produced synthetically for consistency. Its fragrance is remarkably floral, combining honey, fresh roses, hyacinths, and spring blossoms with delicate green facets. This beautiful material introduces a soft natural sweetness that bridges the sparkling aldehydic opening with the richer floral bouquet waiting beneath.
As the fragrance unfolds, the heart blossoms into a graceful arrangement of classical flowers surrounding the elusive cyclamen illusion. Jasmine absolute, traditionally produced from Jasminum grandiflorum cultivated around Grasse in southern France or in Egypt, contributes intoxicating richness with notes of apricot, tea, honey, orange blossom, and warm skin. The blossoms must be gathered before sunrise while still cool, preserving their extraordinary complexity. Beside it blooms the incomparable Bulgarian Rose Otto, whose cultivation in the famous Valley of Roses produces an essential oil renowned for its exquisite balance of fresh petals, honey, citrus, spice, and soft fruit. The cool mountain climate and abundant morning dew create roses of exceptional richness unmatched elsewhere in the world.
Supporting these queens of perfumery is luxurious tuberose, obtained through solvent extraction because the delicate blossoms cannot survive steam distillation. Thousands of flowers are required to produce a small quantity of absolute, making tuberose one of perfumery's most precious materials. Its creamy aroma combines white petals, coconut milk, ripe peach, honey, butter, and subtle green freshness. Here, however, tuberose is restrained, lending body and softness rather than overwhelming the delicate cyclamen accord.
Several remarkable aroma chemicals give this floral heart its unmistakable powdery elegance. Terpineol, naturally present in pine, petitgrain, and numerous aromatic plants but commonly purified or synthesized, contributes soft lilac, lily of the valley, and cool floral freshness. It beautifully reinforces the cyclamen accord without becoming dominant.
Alpha-ionone, one of perfumery's most celebrated discoveries, recreates the fragrance of violet blossoms—flowers that likewise yield no extractable essential oil. Its aroma combines cool violet petals, soft woods, powder, and delicate raspberry-like sweetness. Without ionones, neither violet nor cyclamen perfumes could achieve their characteristic realism. Here it lends graceful powderiness and remarkable naturalness to the floral bouquet.
Violet, supported by these ionones, contributes soft cosmetic powder, green petals, and spring freshness, while orris, produced from iris rhizomes patiently aged for three to five years in Tuscany, introduces one of perfumery's most luxurious materials. Fresh iris roots possess almost no fragrance; only years of careful maturation allow the precious irones to develop naturally. The resulting aroma evokes fine face powder, violet petals, suede gloves, and creamy butter, enveloping the composition in extraordinary refinement.
Gentle warmth enters through cinnamic alcohol, a naturally occurring aromatic compound also produced synthetically for consistency. Possessing delicate hyacinth-like florals touched with balsamic sweetness, it softens the transition between the floral heart and oriental base. Finally, ylang-ylang oil, especially from the Comoros Islands, contributes creamy tropical blossoms, ripe banana, soft cloves, and warm sunshine. Its naturally buttery sweetness rounds the sharper floral notes while lending graceful richness without disturbing the airy character that defines the perfume.
As Cyclamen settles gracefully upon the skin, its delicate floral bouquet slowly melts into a remarkably elegant base built upon precious powders, warm balsams, and subtle animalic warmth. Orris continues to lend its extraordinary powdery softness, giving the impression of antique face powder, silk gloves, and luxurious cosmetics.
Ambergris, historically one of perfumery's rarest treasures, develops naturally within sperm whales before aging for years upon the ocean. Properly matured, it possesses an ethereal fragrance unlike any other: warm skin, salty sea air, sun-bleached driftwood, tobacco, sweet hay, and glowing amber. Beyond its beautiful scent, ambergris functions as an exceptional fixative, allowing delicate floral notes to bloom on the skin for many hours. Because genuine ambergris is now exceptionally rare and protected, modern perfumers recreate its effect using sophisticated aroma molecules inspired by its remarkable chemistry.
The fragrance's gentle oriental warmth is enriched through benzoin, particularly the prized Siam variety from Thailand, whose creamy aroma combines vanilla, almond, caramel, and glowing balsamic resins. It wraps the floral heart in soft ambered warmth while smoothing every transition within the perfume.
Coumarin, first isolated from tonka beans during the nineteenth century and one of perfumery's earliest synthetic aroma chemicals, contributes the comforting aroma of freshly cut hay, sweet almonds, warm tobacco, and delicate vanilla. It provides remarkable softness while subtly connecting the fresh floral accord with the balsamic foundation beneath. Musk, originally obtained from the musk deer but now ethically recreated through sophisticated synthetic musks, lends intimate warmth reminiscent of freshly warmed skin while greatly enhancing the fragrance's longevity and diffusion.
Completing the composition is acetic ether (ethyl acetate), a volatile fruity ester long used in classical perfumery. Although best known for providing lift and sparkle, it contributes faint suggestions of fresh pear, crisp apple, and light fruitiness while helping the fragrance evaporate gracefully from one stage to the next. Rather than serving as a noticeable note, it maintains the perfume's remarkable transparency and delicate freshness throughout its evolution.
The overall impression of Cyclamen is one of extraordinary lightness and technical artistry. It recreates an impossible flower through the harmonious marriage of nature and chemistry, surrounding its cool floral heart with luminous aldehydes, elegant roses, jasmine, violets, precious iris, creamy woods, soft balsams, and delicate musky warmth. It captures not simply the fragrance of cyclamen blossoms, but the feeling of standing in a peaceful woodland garden where cool spring air drifts through blooming flowers beneath filtered morning sunlight. It is a perfume of quiet sophistication, demonstrating how the finest perfumers of the 1920s transformed elusive botanical inspirations into timeless works of olfactory art.
Fate of the Fragrance:
Discontinued, date unknown. It was still being sold in 1937.
