Jacée or Centaurea jacea is a not so well known flower in perfumery but quite used in old days as a floral prototype. One of the best known fragrances is La Jacée from Coty (1905). Mr Kerleo made me smell the lost Coty fragrance and it was quite a surprise. It's quite close to Après l'ondée (Guerlain 1906) but in a simpler version. The Guerlain perfume is not an aubepine/hawthorn fragrance though anisic aldehyde (called also aubepine) is in a big proportion but in my opinion a free cassie soliflore as it was done in the beginning of 20th century. La Jacée has an odour between cassie absolute and orris, so like Après l'ondée but without the orange flower aspect (methyl anthranilate) that is quintessential in the Guerlain perfume. The Jacée soliflore is rather an orris variation with a strong cassie absolute note. A very short/basic formula would combine methylionone, ionone a, cassie absolute and orris concrete, a lot of heliotropine and of course some floral notes (rose, jasmin) and a musky vetiver drydown.Jacée odour doesn't exist now in any available fragrance. It's just another old idea that I have in my formula notebooks.
Because now orris is everywhere and at any brand that want to play prestige, "la jacée" could provide a nice variation to marketing team that lacks inspiration or fragrance culture. It is a pity that now marketing people do not know to ask for other flowers either from nature or fragrance history. I am so sick of orange flower and orris. 
La Jacée Coty from ebay
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Fragrance is the 8th Art - Octavian Coifan - Le Parfum est le 8ème Art
