Artist Damien Hirst's Sakura series of works
As a flower with high public recognition and ornamental properties, cherry blossoms are used in skin care products along with roses and peach blossoms belonging to the same family of roses. At the same time, cherry blossoms have a short flowering period, so they are not only time-sensitive, but also difficult to use as a source of raw materials for skin care products, so they have a relatively higher sense of value. This has led many brands that use cherry blossoms as a skincare ingredient to name cherry blossoms in their products.
插画 by Cyan Lin
At present, the main skin care products containing cherry blossoms on the market are generally similar in terms of efficacy: on the one hand, cherry blossoms contain ingredients that promote keratin metabolism and soften the skin, and indirectly brighten the skin tone. On the other hand, flavonoids from cherry blossoms and cherry blossom leaves can be used to strengthen antioxidants and anti-glycation, improve skin tone, and studies have also shown that flavonoids can enhance blood vessel strength and help prevent and target redness problems. At the same time, the cherry blossom ingredient added to skin care products is rich in multiple amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, which promote skin repair and improve the skin.
For the skin care of the cherry blossom element, the Japanese brand can be said to have dug into it comprehensively and profoundly. In terms of improving skin tone, it is not necessary to simply stack whitening ingredients to take effect, but it is necessary to consider the structure and concentration ratio between molecules, as well as the safety and low irritation of ingredients when combining and composition of whitening ingredients. It is a good example of a big brand such as Shiseido, which has a deep background in technology and ingredients, that brings out the characteristics of Sakura's skin whitening and multiplies its efficacy.
The effect of cherry blossoms in micro-peeling, skin renewal and accelerated metabolism is reasonably applied by the second-generation cherry blossom water from Estee Lauder. By picking and fermenting the double-petaled cherry blossoms in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, the late cherry enzymes are extracted to further balance the secretion of water and oil on the face, and restore the delicate and transparent nature of young skin. At the same time, it also works with lactobacillus and bifida yeast fermentation product lysate to restore the strength of the skin base and moisturize the skin. Cherry blossom water also strengthens the repair effect of the barrier, and by adding a variety of postbiotic ingredients, it can repair the microecological barrier more quickly and directly than traditional prebiotics or probiotics.
艺术家Stephen Doherty的作品：In full bloom'Gratitude Blooms
When it comes to body care, cherry blossoms can also be used as a good part of the antioxidant combo for body care. L'Occitane's new Berry Sakura Body Lotion uses Southern French cherry blossoms and sweet strawberries to create a romantic floral and fruity note that evokes a spring dessert, paired with ingredients such as shea butter, sunflower seed oil and vitamin E, to moisturize and care for the skin while repairing the seasonal barrier.
Nowadays, there are also a lot of domestic skin care products, which combine novel skin care concepts with cherry blossoms, such as water, milk, and cream of Ximuyuan cherry blossom series, which not only choose the combination of fine tooth cherry blossom and bilberry leaf and coagulic acid to enhance the fairness of the skin, but also increase the water content of the epidermis layer for a long time through the combination of cherry blossom leaf ingredients and inositol. Combined with well-known whitening ingredients such as licorice and mulberry root, it jointly builds a complete whitening and brightening system.
Overall, the advantages of Sakura's functional ingredients are reflected in the pleasant fragrance during use, the adjustment of skin moisture and oil immediately after use, and the improvement of skin tone in the medium and long term. At the same time, today, when the concept of antioxidant and anti-glycation is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, it still has a pivotal position, and the cherry blossom ingredient itself also needs the blessing of other functional ingredients, as well as the differentiation of production place and process, in order to better impress consumers.
Cherry blossoms are spring flowers that have a more oriental aesthetic and are more easily understood and preferred by us. However, if you want to find cherry blossom fragrances, it can be much more difficult than many other flowers. Although cherry blossoms have a smell, they are so light that even when they are in full bloom, they can hardly be smelled, and only when you approach your nose will you vaguely feel a very quiet smell wafting through the tip of your nose, and you can't even talk about the aroma. And traditional perfumers can't understand the subtle spring love hidden behind the cherry blossoms.
插画 by Cyan
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In the perfume world, for those flowers with a weak sense of smell, it is generally by covering the flowers in full bloom with a glass cover, collecting the air with the fragrance of the flowers, and then using sophisticated instruments to detect and analyze the chemical composition of the fragrance substances, after mastering this information, the perfumer can use similar or identical flavor raw materials to simulate the desired floral fragrance.
In the face of cherry blossoms or other relatively light floral fragrances, the fragrance is generally reconstructed by "dynamic headspace acquisition-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry joint detection technology".
However, because each perfumer has a different perception and understanding of a certain flower, and the concept and method of creation are also very different, the final "cherry blossom" is naturally very different, and there are a hundred cherry blossom perfumes in the eyes of a hundred people. Therefore, if you want to find a cherry blossom-themed perfume, it is purely dependent on your personal understanding and aesthetic preferences, but basically you can't escape the combination of rose + berry, some are slender and soft like the short flowering period, and some are warm and unrestrained as if they are falling regardless of the Ying, after all, you have to rely entirely on the imagination to express the floral fragrance, whether you create or choose to buy, you don't have to be rigid, just listen to your own feelings.
Rituals Cherry Blossom Ceremony Series
Interestingly, last year, the Zhejiang Academy of Forestry and relevant units announced the breeding of a new cherry blossom variety called "snail powder". This cherry blossom has a rich fragrance and smells a bit like snail flour from a distance, hence the name. However, the snail powder-flavored cherry blossoms are far from the cherry blossom flavor that people have in mind.
A more refined olfactory experience comes from the subtle relationship between scent and fabric. The same incense is stained with heavy winter clothes and emanated from the light dresses of spring, which are two completely different effects. A great perfumer knows how to mix scents according to their clothes, and the smart perfume lover is sure to find the perfect way to match them.
撰文-小本Brant 、Solo
插画-Cyan Lin
WeChat Editor-Li Beini Part of the picture comes from the Internet