Angelica, Basil and Coriander
Tarragon, Galbanum Lavender and Mimosa
Blackcurrant, Tomato and Elemi
Unsure about which fragrance to purchase?
Tomato Leaf
€16,00
Vibrant, green and alive
2ml
The scent of a tomato plant is full of meaning. Each molecule is like a word in this botanical “Lingua Planta”. Vibrant green notes of basil, tarragon and angelica evoke a vivid aliveness, unfolding into its resinous heart of elemi, mimosa, blackcurrant bud and bittersweet tomato leaf absolute. A warm, skin-like note of musky ambrette seed leaves traces of golden afternoons.
Angelica, Basil and Coriander
Tarragon, Galbanum Lavender and Mimosa
Blackcurrant, Tomato and Elemi
Unsure about which fragrance to purchase?
The scent of a tomato plant is full of meaning. Each molecule is like a word in this botanical “Lingua Planta”. Vibrant green notes of basil, tarragon and angelica evoke a vivid aliveness, unfolding into its resinous heart of elemi, mimosa, blackcurrant bud and bittersweet tomato leaf absolute. A warm, skin-like note of musky ambrette seed leaves traces of golden afternoons.
What others are sensing
Plants don't speak in words, but in molecules
Vibrant, green and alive
The tomato plant, with its vibrant, green aroma, has long fascinated researchers studying plant intelligence. The sharp, zesty scent of its leaves isn’t just pleasant, it’s a form of communication. Tomato plants, like many others, release specific volatile compounds to signal stress, attract pollinators, or even warn neighboring plants of potential threats. This biochemical complexity was one of the things that first drew Merle to explore plant scents more deeply.
For this fragrance, the challenge was to translate the plant’s distinct greenness into a wearable scent. The living plant's leaves have this uniquely invigorating quality that we tried to capture.
When Merle started Lingua Planta, she already knew there would one day be a perfume inspired by the tomato plant. Yet it took seven years before this scent came together.
“Ripe vegetables were magic to me. Unharvested, the garden bristled with possibility. I would quicken at the sight of a ripe tomato, sounding its redness from deep amidst the undifferentiated green. To lift a bean plant's hood of heartshaped leaves and discover a clutch of long slender pods handing underneath could make me catch my breath."
− Michael Pollan
Full ingredient list
Ambrettolide (from Ambrette seeds), Angelica essential oil, Basil essential oil, Blackcurrant bud, Cis-3-hexenol (from mint), Coriander essential oil, Elemi resin, Galbanum CO2 extract, Lavender Absolute, Mimosa pure resin, Tarragon essential oil,Tomato leaf absolute.
Potential Allergens
Potential allergens INCI: Limonene, Linalool, Eugenol, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Geraniol, Coumarin, Farnesol, Estragole
Care
Keep away from heat and open fire. For external use only—avoid contact with eyes and rinse if needed. Store in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight. Keep out of reach of children. Patch test before use and listen to your skin. If you're pregnant, a quick check with a professional is always a good idea. Enjoy mindfully. Best if used within one year.
A language older than words
On Tomato Leaf
Long before we had words, plants had scent. Every fragrance released into the air is a message, a molecule shaped by millions of years of evolution to warn, to attract, to defend, to invite. This is the language of scent; Lingua Planta. Learning to read it doesn't just change what we smell, it changes how we see the plants around us, a shift from looking to listening.
Few plants are as unusually chatty as the tomato. Its leaves and stalks are covered in trichomes, tiny glands that store scent and let it go the second you touch them. When a caterpillar starts eating a leaf, the plant clocks exactly which species is attacking it, and releases a very specific cloud of fragrance to call in the one predator that hunts that caterpillar; a parasitic wasp, summoned by scent alone. It's chemical eavesdropping, happening quietly in every greenhouse and garden bed, whether or not we're paying attention.
The ripe fruit has its own trick up its sleeve, too. As it ripens, the scent turns sweeter, greener, more insistent, a signal aimed squarely at us, or whichever creature happens to be wandering past looking for a snack. Coevolution at its most delicious: the plant gets its seeds carried off into the world, we get a very good reason to keep tending the vine. Nobody involved seems to mind the arrangement.
Tomato Leaf is our attempt to bottle a little of that conversation, one more entry in our ongoing research into what scent means in the life of plants.
