Star anise are native to the tropical regions of southern China and Vietnam. The fruit is picked when it is still green and then dried in the sun until turning reddish-brown. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the star anise is named so for its appearance: a woody follicle with eight-pointed carpels, much like a star. Each of its carpels contains a shiny seed, which, for the purposes of perfumery, are steam distilled to obtain an essence.
This star-shaped spice has captured our interest for more than three millennia: We’ve flavored sweets and liquors with it, dabbed its essential oil on our pulse-points, and uncovered its medicinal properties. Around 1500 BC, ancient Egyptians were busy cultivating star anise in large quantities to use in cooking, and to mix into medicinal elixirs. In the late 1500s, star anise made its way to Europe via an English sailor, and soon thereafter was traded along the tea route from China through Russia.
People's Republic of China, Vietnam
Azzaro pour Homme, created in 1978, is the brand's first fragrance for men. It takes up the codes of the masculine fougère accord, but refreshes it with star anise, hedione, and airy notes, while keeping a signed and warm base.
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