Fragrance Terms

Great thread. I’ll have you know, this thread served as an inspiration for something we’ve been working on. We feel it’s special.
Patchouli is misused and misunderstood. I have a tiny amount left in a bottle that has aged almost 4 years in my possession. It’s heavenly.


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Great thread. I’ll have you know, this thread served as an inspiration for something we’ve been working on. We feel it’s special.
Patchouli is misused and misunderstood. I have a tiny amount left in a bottle that has aged almost 4 years in my possession. It’s heavenly.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Great. I'll look forward to hearing about your project.

Anise/Star Anise/Licorice

Anise (Pimpinella anisum, known as anisum vulgare), sometimes called sweet cumin, has a unique aroma that is easily recognized in fragrances.  It has been described as sweet, warm, and soft, yet very strong.  Its fruit, from which anise oil is extracted for perfumery, is called aniseed. 

The name 'anise' is derived via Old French from the Latin word anisum or the Greek anison, referring to dill.  Anise is an herbaceous annual plant related botanically to carrots, tarragon, fennel, dill, cumin, caraway, and other members of the Apiaceae (parsley) or Umbelliferae family.  It grows to a height of 3-4 feet.  The leaves at the base of the plant are simple, 1/2-2 inches long, and shallowly lobed, while leaves higher on the stems are feathery pinnate, divided into numerous small leaflets. The flowers are either white or yellow, about 1/8 inch in diameter, and produced in dense umbels (distinctive flower clusters in which stalks of nearly equal length spring from a common center and form a flat or curved surface).  The aniseed fruit is an oblong dry schizocarp (splitting into single-seeded parts when ripe). 


As with all spices, the composition of anise varies considerably with origin and cultivation method.  Anise products typically contain more than 0.2ml volatile oil per 100g of spice.  The essential oil is obtained by steam distillation or supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of the seeds, producing a yellow to nearly colorless liquid.  The yield of essential oil is influenced by the growing conditions and extraction process, with supercritical extraction being more efficient.  Regardless of the method of isolation, the main component (80-90%) of the oil is anethole, which produces the characteristic odor and flavor.  Anethole (also known as anise camphor) is an organic derivative of phenylpropene, a type of aromatic compound that occurs widely in nature. In additon to contributing a large component of the odor and flavor of anise, star anise, and fennel, it also is present in anise myrtle (Myrtaceae), licorice plants (Fabaceae), camphor, and magnolia blossoms.

Anethole has been extracted in the laboratory from anise and fennel since the Renaissance, initially by alchemists.  It was first investigated clinically by the Swiss chemist Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure in 1820.  In 1832 the French chemist Jean Baptiste Dumas determined that the crystallizable components of anise oil and fennel oil were identical, and he determined anethole's empirical formula.  And in 1845, the French chemist Charles Gerhardt coined the term anethole — from the Latin anethum (anise) + oleum (oil).

The plant is native to Greece, Egypt, and southwest Asia but is now also grown extensively in Spain and the West Indies.  Anise was first cultivated in Egypt and the Middle East about 4000 years ago.  Romans cooked it into little flavored cakes called mustaceoe that were served at the end of feasts, and it may have been used in Biblical times for paying tithes and taxes.  It was used in Greece as a cure for insomnia, chewed in the morning to freshen the breath, and mixed with wine as a remedy for asp bites.  In Turkish folk medicine, its seeds have been used as an appetite stimulatant, a tranquilizer, and a diuretic.  By the 19th century it was brought to Europe for use in medicinal products, either in small doses as aqua anisi ('Water of Anise') or larger doses as spiritus anisi ('Spirit of Anise'), and including digestives and carminatives (flatulence reducers).  It has been used in several cultures to treat helminthic, nematodal, bacterial, fungal, and yeast infections.  Anise still is taken as a digestive after meals in parts of Pakistan and India.

Anise also finds uses in flavoring foods and drinks in many cultures.  The leaves and seeds, whole or ground, are used alone or in combination with other herbs in preparation of teas and tisanes, as well as in curries, seafood dishes, alcoholic beverages (in which its slight solubility in water but high solubility in ethanol causes certain anise-flavored liqueurs to become opaque when diluted with water, the 'ouzo effect'), breads, cakes, and candies and other sweets.  It is used in the United States in some root beers, such as Virgil's. 

Anise is used on fishing lures to attract fish, and fishermen and hunters use anise soap to mask human scents from their hands.  Builders of steam locomotives in Britain incorporated capsules of aniseed oil into white metal plain bearings so that the distinctive smell would give warning in case of overheating.  And anise is a natural food plant for the larvae of some species of butterflies and moths, despite its potent fumigant insecticidal and repellant properties.  Anethole is an inexpensive chemical precursor for paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA), a designer drug of the amphetamine class, and is used in its clandestine manufacture.

In perfumery, anise often is combined with vanilla, spices, musk, woods, florals, and earthy scents.  It sometimes is presented as the dominant note but most often as a subtle minor one.

Masculine fragrances featuring anise:
l'Aqua di Fiori U.Man XS
Instituto Espanol Aire de Barcelona
Nickel Ull Lala
X-Bond Orange
Kenzo Air
Zara Scent #2
Chanel Allure pour Homme
Givenchy Pi
Sigilli Pyrgos
Benetton Cumbia Colors Man
l'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme
Axe Shock
Azzaro pour Homme
Cereus No. 11
Lavoisier Lider Black
Brut Black (Brut Titan)
Crabtree & Evelyn Black Absinthe
Emper Elegante
Ligne St. Barth Homme
Arran Lochranza
Yves St. Laurent La Nuit de l'Homme
Ralph Lauren Chaps Musk
Roger & Gallet Open White
Herrera 212 VIP Black
DKNY Energy for Men
Mugler B*Men
Antony One Black
Versace Blue Jeans
Claiborne Curve Wave
Michael Jordan Legend
Marc Joseph for Men
Aramis Tuscany per Uomo


Star anise (Illicium verum, meaning 'true enticement'), unrelated to anise, is a spice plant indigenous to northeast Vietnam and China and now also cultured in Japan and areas of Southeast Asia.  It grows as a small- to medium-sized evergreen tree, a member of the magnolia family with dark green leaves.  It produces tiny flowers followed by the distinctive star-shaped fruit with (generally) eight points, each point containing a seed.  The fruits are harvested just before ripening, when the essential oil content is highest.  Sun-dried, the whole fruit and seeds can be used as flavorings, and both can be ground.  It is the dominant flavor in Chinese 'five-spice powder.'  It has been used widely in Asia to flavor pork and chicken, in teas, and as a table seasoning, and it is a major ingredient in phở, a Vietnamese noodle soup.  It is used in French mulled wine called vin chaud (hot wine), and it deepens and enriches the flavor of coffee when steeped in it.  In the West it also is used to enhance the flavor of meats.  As with aniseed, the flavor comes primarily from anethole oil, but the flavor of star anise is considered to be stronger and more bitter than aniseed. 


The ornamental tree is often grown for its appearance, scented flowers, and fragrant leaves. In French it is known as La Badiane.  Star anise is said to ward off the 'evil eye,' bring good luck in money and love matters, and give clarity to health matters in the form of visions. Whole dried pods can be placed near one's bed for protection, purification, and prevention of nightmares.  The powdered bark of the tree is used in incense in Japanese temples, and the trees are planted around temples and on graves for consecration and protection.  The fruit has been used in Oriental medicine for over 3,000 years for its stimulating effect on digestion.

Star anise is considerably less expensive to produce commercially than anise and has gradually displaced P. anisum in Western commercial food and perfume markets, often substituted for anise or licorice in candies and oral hygiene products and becoming the predominant scent of this type in perfume products, by volume, by the 1990s. 

The clear to pale yellow oil is steam-distilled from fresh or partly-dried pods.  In perumery, the fragrance of star anise oil is more pungent than anise and has strong licorice tones, but is also soft, powdery, and floral.  Its spiciness performs well with cardamom, bay, coriander, lavender, neroli, orange, petitgrain, mandarin, cedarwood, and rosewood.

About 90% of the world's star anise crop has been used for extraction of shikimic acid, a chemical intermediate used in the synthesis of the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu), and Tamiflu shortages caused by the 2009 swine flu pandemic caused large star anise price increases.  But by 2018, fermentation of E. coli had become the predominant manufacturing process to produce shikimic acid.

Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum), a similar tree, is highly toxic and has caused severe neurological and inflammatory effects when used through accidental or economically motivated adulteration of star anise tea products.  However, it has been used safely in Japan when burned as incense.

Masculine star anise perfume products:
Annick Goutal Mandragore
Cardin Signe Cardin for Him
Cardin Revelation
Armani Code
Armani Attitude Extreme
Azzaro Cockpit
Cerruti pour Home
Perry Ellis Male 2004
Ferrari Black Signature
l'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme Eau Extreme
Yves St. Laurent Opium pour Homme
Yves St. Laurent Rive Gauche pour Homme
Yves St. Lauarent l'Homme Libre
Paco Rabanne Ultraviolet Fluoressence for Men
l'Occitane en Provence Eau du Badian
Zileri Concept No. 18
Oriflame Embrace Him
Moschino Forever
Castelbajac Homme
Aquolina Blue Sugar
Dior Sauvage
Trumper Paisley



Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra), in its true form, is intensely sweet (13 times sweeter than white sugar).  But the extracted anethole itself produces the herbal, peppery, almost bitter taste associated with licorice candy.  The roots are wrinkled and fibrous and have a sweet, earthy odor.  They are boiled to extract the flavor and fragrance, and the water then is evaporated to produce a thick liquid extract or even a solid block that can be cut into bars and wrapped in laurel leaves.


Licorice has been found in the Egyptian pyramids.  Romans had it in Britain, and it has been found along Hadrian's Wall.  Hannibal gave it to his elephants to chew as they crossed the Alps, and Bedouins are said to give their camels licorice to quench their thirst. Hindus have believed for centuries that it increased sexual vigor when prepared as a beverage with milk and sugar.  And the Chinese, who have used it for 3,000 years, thought that eating the root gave them strength and endurance, and they prepared tea from it as a medicine.  It has been employed as a sweetener and a flavoring, since it can mask unpleasant tastes and odors.  In the 19th century it was introduced commercially as Sen Sen, a candy that was called a 'breath perfume' and was thought to help ease coughs and sore throats. The root also has been used in breweries to add flavor, dark color, and foam stability to dark beers.  Similarly, it adds flavor to oral hygiene products, and it has been used in fire extinguishers to assist with the foaming action.

In perfumery, the distinction between licorice and anise often blurs, but classically licorice is seen as a slightly darker and warmer scent.  If a perfume has the word 'reglisse' in the name, it most likely features licorice prominently.  Licorice works well in fragrance preparations with leather, woods, and lavender and other herbs.  Lolita Lempicka by Annick Menardo first brought licorice notes to mainstream perfumery with the eponymous perfume that combined it with violet, cherry, almond, and heliotrope.  Lolita Lempicka au Masculin takes more of a fougère structure, with lavender and coumarin.

Masculine perfume products with licorice:
Joop Go Electric Heat
Oriflame Free Motion
Masaki Matsushima Very Male
Lolita Lempicka au Masculin
Givenchy Play in the City for Him
Carolina Herrera 212 Men Ice
Nina Ricci Memoire d'Homme
Alviero Martini GeoBlack Man
Azzaro Decibel
l'Atelier Boheme Rhizomes
Cereus No. 5
Cafe Black Label
Dior Fahrenheit
Verino Pure Man
Lacose Live

Essential Oil vs. Fragrance Oil

There can be some confusion about the differences between essential oils (EOs) and fragrance oils (FOs) used in perfume products. Most simply, EOs are extracts derived from plants and FOs are synthetic chemical scent compounds. Generally, EOs can be used for scenting, flavoring, or healing applications (in aromatherapy), while FOs are used in foods or candies for flavor but are mainly used for their scent qualities. FOs are ubiquitous in commercial cleaning products, room air fresheners, personal care products (including hand sanitizers, toilet paper, and tampons), laundry soap, baby diapers, stationary, foods and drinks, toys, and other products. Hand, face, and body soaps and other skin care products, as well as candles, even items labeled 'natural,' often contain FOs. It is common for a label to say 'contains essential oils' when the item also contains fragrance oils, which contributes to misunderstanding.

Essential Oil (EO)

Essential oils are concentrated hydrophobic liquids containing naturally occurring volatile (easily evaporated at room temperature) chemical compounds. They are derived from different parts of a plant, including blossoms, fruits, seeds, leaves, roots, stems, barks, woods, or resins. Generally they are not manipulated significantly, processed, or diluted with a carrier oil or other additives (except for dilution in aromatherapy) before use. They can also be known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, or aetherolea, or simply as the oil of the plant from which they were extracted, such as 'oil of clove.' An EO is considered essential in the sense that it contains the 'essence' of a plant's fragrance. The term essential does not mean indispensable to a living organism the way it does with the terms essential amino acid or essential fatty acid.

Some plants, like bitter orange, can be sources for several different types of EO.

EOs generally are extracted by distillation, usually with steam and most often single-process rather than fractional; but they also can be obtained by cold pressure expression, solvent extraction, sfumatura (mechanical folding), absolute oil extraction, and wax embedding. Most of the common oils, such as lavender, peppermint, tea tree, patchouli, and eucalyptus, are steam-distilled in an alembic. In single-process distillation, water is heated and its steam passes through the plant material and vaporizes the volatile compounds. The vapor flows through a coil, where it condenses back to liquid that is then collected in a receiving vessel. The re-condensed water is called a hydrosol, hydrolat, herbal distillate, or plant water essence. Those marketed as hydrosols include rose water, lemon balm, clary sage, and orange blossom water.

Most citrus peel oils are expressed or cold-pressed mechanically, similar to olive oil extraction, and due to the relatively large quantities of oil in citrus peel and the low cost to grow and harvest the raw materials, citrus oils are cheaper than most other EOs. They are obtained for the most part as byproducts of the citrus fruit industry. Historically, prior to the discovery of the distillation process, all EOs were extracted by pressing.

Most flowers contain too little volatile oil to undergo expression, but their chemical components are too delicate and easily denatured by the high heat of steam distillation. Instead, they are extracted with a solvent such as hexane or supercritical carbon dioxide (a fluid state of CO2 in which it is held at or above its critical temperature and critical pressure, expanding to fill its container like a gas but with a density like that of a liquid). Extracts from hexane and other hydrophobic solvents are called concretes. While highly fragrant, they are a mixture of essential oil, waxes, resins, and other oil-soluble plant materials. Usually the concrete is then chilled in an alcohol solution to cause the waxes and other lipids to precipitate out. The precipitate is filtered, and the ethanol is removed by evaporation and/or vacuum purging, leaving behind the 'absolute.'

Use of supercritical carbon dioxide as a solvent in fluid extraction avoids the presence of petrochemical residues in the product and the loss of some perfume 'top notes' that occur when steam distillation is used. The supercritical CO2 process extracts both the waxes and the essential oils, which are subsequently processed with liquid CO2 by temperature lowering under pressure. The cooling separates the waxes from the oils, and the lower temperature prevents decomposition of compounds. When the extraction is complete, pressure is reduced to ambient levels and the carbon dioxide reverts to gas, leaving no residue.

EOs are used for fragrance in perfumes, cosmetics, incense, soaps, and cleaning products, and for flavoring foods and drinks. In aromatherapy, frequently considered a form of alternative medicine and more popular again in recent decades after a period of decline, pure EOs that enter the body through the skin (via massage when mixed with a carrier oil such as jojoba, coconut, wheat germ, olive, or avocado; or via bathwater) or the nose (via volatile diffuser, burning candle or incense, or humidifier) are used to influence physical, emotional, and mental health. They are reputed to enhance mood, relieve inflammation or symptoms such as pain or fatigue, and kill body germs. However, while research continues, there is not yet much clinical evidence that they can effectively treat any specific condition.

Each EO component can have both positive and negative effects either topically or internally, depending upon its particular properties and concentration, and can be toxic. One well-known example is cinnamon oil, touted for its antiseptic and astringent capabilities yet highly irritating to some skin. Children may be particularly susceptible to the toxic effects of improper EO use, especially at high concentrations, and when the oils are swallowed. EOs also can cause immunologically-mediated allergic reactions in those allergic to the source material.

The quality of EOs can vary widely, with the quality of a given batch of oil being influenced by how the plants are grown (including use of insecticides and other chemicals), possible processing (including dilution or adulteration during extraction), packaging and handling (with exposures to heat, light, or oxygen), and storage. The usual shelf life of an EO is around 1-2 years after opening.

EOs have been used in folk medicine for centuries, with the earliest recorded mention of the techniques for EO production believed to be that of an al-Andalusian (Muslim Spain) physician-chemist, Ibn al-Baitar (1188-1248). Modern academic studies typically discuss the specific chemical compounds of which EOs are composed, such as referring to methyl salicylate rather than 'oil of wintergreen.' Medical uses of EOs, for treatment of cancers in particular, are now subject to regulation in most countries.

Finally, some EOs can act as natural pesticides against insects and arthropods, repelling, inhibiting growth or reproduction, or causing animal death at concentrations that are nontoxic for mammals. Some that have been investigated for this use include rose, lemon grass, lavender, thyme peppermint, and eucalyptus. They have been used commercially to a limited extent, and their popularity is increasing among organic farmers and environmentally conscious consumers.

EOs are typically more expensive than FOs because it is costly to plant, grow, harvest, and process the plants, although this varies with the type of oil, the season, and the availability of the product. Steam distillation, expression, and solvent extraction can be complicated and expensive, and a very large amount of plant material is required to produce even a small quantity of essential oil. For example, around 1000 rose petals are needed to make just one drop of rose EO. Citrus EOs, on the other hand, are normally cheaper because they are easier to extract. Each particular EO is comprised of between 50 and 500 different naturally occurring chemicals, which are quite difficult to reproduce synthetically and some of which have not even been identified chemically yet. In addition, depending on the season, climate, and growing conditions of a plant, the biochemical makeup - and thus the scent and/or taste - of a particular EO will vary, and it is difficult for manufacturers and crafters to keep their finished products consistent.

Commonly used EOs in perfumery include lavender, chamomile, rose, hyssop, clary sage, rosemary, ylang-ylang, myrrh, vetiver, frankincense, grapefruit, peppermint, spearmint, wintergreen, basil, orange, melaleuca (tea tree), lemon , cassia, and oregano.

Fragrance Oil (FO)

Fragrance oils are artificially manufactured compounds (or natural EOs that have been diluted with a carrier such as propylene glycol, vegetable oil, or mineral oil) created in a laboratory and specifically designed to mimic naturally occurring scents or to invoke a feeling (such as 'spring rain') or emotion. They are also known as aroma oils, aromatic oils, or flavor oils.

The range of FO scents is enormous, and generally they are relatively inexpensive. They are used primarily in the manufacture of perfumes, cosmetics, and flavorings. For reasons of animal cruelty or because of animal population decreases and endangerment, historically popular perfume fragrance notes such as civet, musk, ambergris and castoreum, derived from animals through processes that typically mistreat or kill the animals that create the scent sources, now have been replaced in large part by synthetic versions or products naturally derived from plants producing similar fragrances.

FOs seem to be problematic more often than EOs in personal care products because they can be drying and more irritating to the skin in concentrations commonly used, and they are thought to be capable of causing many other potentially serious health problems. They often are less desirable than plant-derived EOs for allergic or otherwise sensitive people, commonly causing headaches, dizziness, rashes, coughing, nausea and vomiting, and skin irritation. In official terms of being health hazards, a synthetic version of the same chemical compound as in a natural EO is usually deemed comparable. Recent studies of FOs have suggested 'possible mutagenic and genotoxic effects' and hormone disruptions that are linked to abnormal cell reproduction and tumor growth.

'Natural' vs. Synthetic Fragrance Oils

There is a difference between 'natural' and totally synthetic types of FOs. 'Natural' FOs are made in a laboratory but are created by isolating aromatic components from a naturally occurring complex complete scent. There is debate about whether they can be considered truly natural, since they are still created by human science although derived from a natural source. Totally synthetic FOs are created with chemical compounds that do not exist in nature, often composed of petroleum by-products, which makes them cheap and versatile. Many commercial scent products are made with synthetic fragrances because they retain their aromas for longer periods of time than natural oils. Manufacturers sometimes will market their FOs with misleading names such as 'pikake oil' or 'plumeria oil,' which actually are simply synthetic oils infused with a small amount of extract from the actual flowers. This is true especially with floral scents like cherry blossom or freesia, fruit scents like peach, watermelon, or banana, and scents with names that sound 'natural' such as 'white rain.'

Commonly used fragrance oils in perfumery include ylang-ylang, vanilla, sandalwood, cedarwood, mandarin orange, cinnamon, lemongrass, rosehip, and peppermint.

Mixing Essential Oils and Fragrance Oils

Generally EOs and FOs mix well if you wish to combine them. Rather than shaking the mixture, the bottle should be warmed between the hands and then gently rolled on a table or tipped upside down a few times. Any mixture should be left in a cool, shaded area for a week for all the initial components to blend well before it is used or tweaked again.

John - thank you for the incredible education on fragrances and the difference in the ingredients.

John - thank you for the incredible education on fragrances and the difference in the ingredients.

You're quite welcome. Researching it cleared up some of my misunderstandings.

Frankincense

Frankincense, also known as olibanum (or Levonah, Luban, Khunk), is an aromatic, congealed, resinous sap obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia in the family Burseraceae.  The name comes from the Old French encens ('high-quality incense'); the word franc meant 'noble' or 'pure.'  Its other name, olibanum, comes from the Arabic al-luban ('that which results from milking'), possibly a reference to the milky resin.


True frankincense comes from five main species, the purest from Boswellia sacra.  The gum resin is produced under the bark of small tree shrubs that grow in limestone-rich rocky outcrops, cliffs, or dried riverbeds of Southern Arabia (the Dhofar region of Oman and Yemen), India, and Northern Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Kenya).  It sometimes sprouts even on solid rock by means of attachment by a bulbous disk-like swelling of the trunk.  (This feature is slight or absent in trees that grow in less stormy areas or in rocky soil or gravel.)  The plants obtain moisture from morning mist.  Trees begin to produce resin at about 8-10 years of age.  The resin is harvested by striping (making incisions in the bark) and then allowing the exuded resin to bleed out and dry for about a week into streaks called tears before being cut off as hardened crystal and then hand-sorted for quality.  The longer it is left on the tree, the harder it becomes.  Striping or tapping is usually done twice a year (spring and fall), with the final tap generally producing the best resin due to its higher content of aromatic terpene, sesquiterpene, and diterpene.  Differences in soil and climate create even more diversity of the resin.  It is graded by quality based on aroma, purity, color, age, and shape, with the first, lowest grade being the most common.  This grade is brownish and has many bark particles in it.  The highest grades are called Silver and Jojari.  Most of the annual harvest comes from Somalia and India, and the finest resin is said to come from Somalia and Djibouti, where the Roman Catholic Church purchases most of its stock for incense.


The dried resin is crushed to a powder, put into an oil bath, and steam distilled to produce the essential oil.  Content of essential oil in the resin is about 8%.  The distilled liquid is pale yellow-brown to green and has a very strong aroma.


Frankincense tree populations appear to be declining gradually, partly due to over-exploitation by populations with few other sources of income, which decreases germination rates.  In addition, burning, grazing, insect attacks, destruction in armed conflict, and conversion of frankincense woodlands to food agriculture in poverty-stricken areas are decreasing the numbers of trees.  In 1998, the International Union for Conservation of Nature warned that Boswellia sacra was 'near threatened,' and a 2006 ecological study demonstrated that Boswellia trees were becoming more difficult to find.  A 2019 study predicted a 50% reduction in some Boswellia species within two decades.

Popular folk etymology suggests a connection with the Franks (especially Frankish Crusaders), who reintroduced the spice to Western Europe during the Middle Ages.  Frankincense has been traded on the Arabian Peninsula and used in religious ceremonies for thousands of years (and named in Christianity as one of the three gifts from the Magi to the infant Jesus).  Some of it was traded as far as China.  The Greek historian Herodotus noted that frankincense resin was dangerous to harvest because of venomous snakes that lived in the trees, and he described an Arabian method of burning the gum of the styrax (snowbell) tree to produce smoke that drove the snakes away.

In perfumery, the odor profile is sweet, balsamic, somewhat green, warm, woody, and spicy with a hint of citrus and a piney undertone.  Initially it is reminiscent of freshly ground black pepper with a lemon peel twist, and as it dries down it reveals its woody character, both rich and crisp, with a dark, balsamic finish.  With both cold and warm elements, it is quite versatile.  It is associated often with Oriental and heavy, dark fragrances, especially those with amber, cedarwood, spices, vanilla, and patchouli.  But it also supports and blends quite well with lighter, effervescent orange, bergamot, and green tones.

Frankincense has been used in perfume products, essential oils, cleaning products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and 'natural' medicines.  It is inhaled in aromatherapy or applied to the skin for its supposed health benefits, including calming, clearing, and relaxing the mind.  Folk remedies include it for treatment of nausea, indigestion, cough, hypertension, depression, and anxiety.  In Chinese medicine, frankincense (called ru xiang), when combined with myrrh, was thought to have antibacterial properties as well as blood-stimulant value, when used topically or orally.  In Persia, it was said to be used for diabetes, gastritis, and stomach ulcers, and ancient Egyptians cleansed body cavities with frankincense and natron during the mummification process.  By itself or in incense (its most common use), it has been burned in many Hebrew and Christian churches, including Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Roman Catholic, partly because it is believed to aid prayer and meditation.  Both Christian and Islamic faiths have mixed it with oils to anoint newborn infants and church initiates and in burial rituals.  The resin powder or oil are put into potpourri, and oil and smoke from burning incense are used commonly to scent room air.  In addition, the smoke is effective for driving away mosquitos, thus reducing the incidence of malaria.  Finally, frankincense can be used as a flavoring agent, giving a peppery-balsamic flavor.  It is added to foods, drinks, and toothpastes, and in the parts of the Middle East it is chewed as a gum to freshen the breath.

Masculine fragrances with significant frankincense:

Abercrombie & Fitch Oud Essence
Amouage Jubilation for Men
Armand Ultimate Drive
Aquaflor Firenze Azar
Armani Privé Bois D’Encens
Ashley Oud pour Lui
Aziza Dark Entity
Bvlgari Aqva Amara; Kobraa; Ambero
Caron Parfum Sacré
Comme des Garçons Incense Series Avignon
Dior Sauvage
Guerlain Arsene Lupin Dandy
Hermès Eau de Gentiane Blanche
Lise London Perfect Gentleman
Malone London Incense & Cedrat
Mauboussin Cristsal Oud
Osmo Encens Epice
Prada Infusion d'Homme
Regence Kolnisch Juchten
Sonoma Incense Pure
Tauer Incense Extreme
Zegna Passion

Perfume Fixative

A fixative is used to equalize the vapor pressures, and thus the volatilities, of the raw materials in a perfume oil and thus to increase their tenacity (retention of fragrance on the skin). 

A misconception is that if a fragrance has more tenacity (lasts longer) it will smell stronger.  A fixative may or may not affect the strength of the fragrance.  If an agent increases the strength of a perfume it is called an enhancer or 'booster.'  Enhancers with little scent of their own are sometimes marketed by themselves and used in layering with perfume products by consumers.

Fixatives are materials that:
1.Slow down the rate of evaporation of the more volatile materials in a perfume composition, causing only gradual changes in the aroma of the perfume as the ingredients in it fade away (during the drydown phase).
2.Lend a particular note to the perfume throughout all stages of evaporation but do not significantly affect the evaporation rate of the other materials in the perfume.
3.Improve, fortify, and/or transport the vapors or lend a combination of a diffusive or retentive effect, typically through the addition of trace amounts.
4.And perhaps are odorless or almost odorless and lend a stabilizing action by halting the odor of the low-boiling (volatile) materials in the perfume. Fixative materials that may or may not have or impart an aroma of their own to a blend. Some nonodorous fixatives are glucam P20, isopropyl palmitate, diethyl pthalate, glycerin, benzyl benzoate, PVP, hydroxyethyl cellulose.  Example of fixatives with significant scents are fixolide, vanilla and vanillin, cinnamic alcohol, benzophenone, musk ketone, fixative 505, balsam of Peru, benzoin resin, tonka bean, sandalwood, amyris oil, and copaiba oil.

Fixatives may make up a small or a large percentage of the overall perfume blend depending on the technology employed and the type of fragrance being created.

The fixative qualities of an oil and its tenacity do not necessarily mean the same thing. Tenacity is the lasting effect of a perfume material and its ability to linger on the skin. An aromatic perfume ingredient may have immense tenacity but may have little impact on the evaporation rate of the other perfume ingredients with which it is combined (i.e. able to impart fixative qualities). While a botanical fixative will impart longevity and help extend the sillage of a natural perfume, in most cases it will not be as effective as a synthetic fixative.

In Piesse’s 1862 Art of Perfumery, he writes that a blend of crushed orris root and rectified spirits is "never sold alone, because its odour… is not sufficiently good to stand public opinion… But in combination its value is very great… it has the power of strengthening the odour of other fragrant bodies." The Perfume Handbook, published in 1992, lists 42 separate botanicals with fixative properties.

Natural fixatives are plant resinoids/gums (e.g. frankincense, myrrh, benzoin, balsam of Peru) or low-volatility substances (e.g. vetiver, oakmoss) and animal products. Synthetic fixatives include substances of low volatility (diphenylmethane, cyclopentadecanolide, ambroxide, benzyl salicylate) and virtually odorless solvents with very low vapor pressures (benzyl benzoate, diethyl phthalate, triethyl citrate).

Some common botanical fixatives:

Ambrette
Amyris
Angelica
Balsam of Peru
Benzoin
Cedarwood (Atlas)
Cistus/Labdanum
Clary sage
Frankincense/Olibanum
Galbanum
Liquidambar (Styrax)
Myrrh
Oakmoss
Orris
Patchouli
Sandalwood
Storax
Tolu balsam
Vanilla
Vetiver
Violet Leaf

Animal product fixatives:

Ambergris
Castoreum
Civet (the only one still commonly used, since its collection does not harm the animal)
Musk

Oakmoss/Lichens/Mosses

Oakmoss and others mosses and lichens have been used somewhat indiscriminately in perfumery under the name 'oakmoss,' and recent changes in their commercial use driven by health regulation have stimulated more precise research and methodology and have sharply divided opinions about them among perfume manufacturers and consumers.

Oakmoss

Evernia prunastri, known as oakmoss or 'mousse de chêne in French,' is a species of lichen. It can be found in many mountainous temperate forests throughout the Northern Hemisphere, including parts of France, Portugal, Spain, North America, much of Central Europe, and North Africa. Oakmoss grows primarily on the trunk and branches of oak trees, but is also commonly found on the bark of other deciduous trees and conifers such as fir and pine. The thalli (undifferentiated plant bodies lacking a vascular system) of oakmoss are 1-3 inches in length and bushy, and they grow together on bark to form large clumps. Oakmoss thalli are flat and strap-like and are palmately branched, ending in pointed tips resembling the form of deer antlers. The upper surface is warty with pale gray reproductive bodies (soredia); the undersurface is lighter, with a faint netlike pattern.  The color of oakmoss ranges from green to a greenish-white when dry and dark olive-green to yellow-green when wet. The texture of the thalli is rough when dry and rubbery when wet.


Oakmoss is commercially harvested in countries of South-Central Europe, especially in the Balkans, and usually is exported to the Grasse region of France, where its fragrant compounds are extracted as oakmoss absolutes and extracts. It is often used as an excellent, tenacious perfume fixative, leaving the scent profiles of other constituents in the fragrance relatively unmodified, much like civet does. The scent of oakmoss forms a solid base note of many fragrances and is a key component of most fougère and chypre perfumes and some vintage vetiver formulations. It has a distinct and complex odor that can be described as woody, sharp, damp, earthy, deep, dark, slightly saline, and/or slightly sweet, depending on its concentration and its synergy with other elements in the perfume. It combines especially well with floral and green notes, and it is said to deepen and enrich the animalic component of fragrances due to a leather-like undertone that persists from the top note through the drydown. Oakmoss growing on pines has a slightly different turpentine-like odor that is valued in certain perfume compositions.

Oakmoss absolute used in perfumery is soluble in alcohol and partially soluble in fixed carrier oils.  It is obtained by solvent extraction or vacuum distillation.  The absolute type from solvent extraction is dark green or brown and has a stronger, natural, earthy-mossy scent with a slight leather undertone.  Vacuum distillation produces a pale yellow or green one with a drier, earthy, bark-like character.

Oakmoss is among the ingredients most widely used by perfumers. An essential element of fragrances within the chypre family, especially in combination with bergamot, it ‘anchors’ the more volatile notes. Oakmoss is sensual, with hints of musk and amber; the other mosses and lichens share the same general odor profile. Since Roman times in Cyprus, it was blended with styrax, calamus, and labdanum in this type of perfume in a generally unstandardized way. In the Middle Ages and then the Renaissance, oakmoss and tragacanth began to be added, and the herb mixtures were used to create ‘pastilles’ for medicinal and religious burning. It has been used since the 16th century in Western European perfumery, and fragrance recipes from the 1770s list oakmoss as well as civet, ambergris, and musk. Francois Coty’s Chypre perfume further popularized this type of fragrance in 1917  and it variations and descendants thereafter. 

Elements in oakmoss, especially atranol, chloroatranol, and methyl-beta-orcinol carboxylate, can cause contact allergic skin reactions on people with known skin sensitization, much like poison ivy does. Oakmoss has been 'blacklisted' since 2009-2010 by the International Fragrance Association (IFRA), a body that regulates the guidelines for safe usage of chemicals and essential oils in perfumes, and its use in perfumes is now highly restricted (to no more than 0.1% of combined mosses in compositions applied to the skin). Many scents consequently have been reformulated in recent years, with other chemicals such as patchouli or synthetic imitations substituted for oakmoss.  Because IFRA's member manufacturers produce more than 90% of the world's fragrances, its rules effectively function as law for nearly all companies. Chemists who have worked since around 2001 to make synthetic oakmoss 'knockoffs.' One of them, Cyrill Rolland, managed to imitate synthetically the way the scent of oakmoss seems to evolve, first evoking wet timber with a slightly bitter undertone of seaweed, and then changing to a dry, woody aroma. To untutored noses the fake products smell like the genuine oakmoss; however, there have been many complaints among more discerning consumers about the reformulated products. One prominent perfume writer even pronounced the art of fragrances "officially dead." Since perfumery is a $2 billion industry in which even a microliter substituion of one component for another can make the difference between a failure and megaseller, the limitation of oakmoss use has had a huge impact.  As Guerlain’s in-house perfumer Thierry Wasser explained, whenever some part is removed from an ingredient, "it leaves a hole." 

Some perfumers, including Arcadi Boix Camps, have tried using patchouli, vetiver, or a synthetic 'mossy woods' note instead of oakmoss, with varying success. One example is Comme des Garcons White. Wasser's initial answer was to substitute with celery seed in the famous Guerlain chypre Mitsouko and their Parure, but subsequently he has developed a processed raw oakmoss material to mimic it without the specific molecule not allowed by the guidelines. Says perfumer Clement Gavarry, "Some ingredients are there just to wrap things up. They might add performance or make a fragrance last longer. But ingredients like oakmoss are there to provide character or give a crucial twist to the fragrance." One fragrance writer, Denyse Beaulieu, has called the reformulated fragrance type an 'iFrag,' a pun on IFRA and fragrance and a reference to the iPod, whose music she describes as "skinny and fleshless," with a seemingly accurate surface but an empty inner substance. She complains, "People want a sound bite of a fragrance — something nice, clean, and fresh" that avoids taking risks. William Troy, IFRA North America's president from 2007 to 2010, acknowledges that some essential components are sacrificed. "And you know what? We can't do otherwise," he says. "If we can't demonstrate a safe use level, it's not in our best interest to allow that material to continue to be used in a product, because there are going to be problems — image problems as well as adverse consumer reactions." Some people have suggested allowing higher concentrations of mosses provided there is a prominent printed warning on the box, while others have presented a 'quenching' hypothesis, in which the anti-inflammatory azulene, which occurs natuarlly in chamomile, would be added. However, aluzene has its own odor profile and a blue color that complicate this idea.

Recently there has been a more promising commercial answer to providing oakmoss scent: through the processes of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis and fractionation – identifying and separating the different components of an individual ingredient by gradients during a phase transition, and removing the potential sensitizers – it’s possible to get a substance that can be tweaked at the molecular level so that it is much closer to original whole oakmoss in its scent qualities.  The company Mane, manufacturer of an increasingly popular oakmoss facsimile, claims that its natural substitute, derived from analysis of the oakmoss absolute and with a molecular structure kept as a closely guarded secet, is nearly identical in scent to oakmoss while still able to pass the IFRA tests.

Tree Moss

Pseudevernia furfuracea, commonly known as tree moss, is a lichen (or lichenized moss) that grows on the bark of 'nutrient poor' trees such as birch, pine, and spruce. This species, often somewhat carelessly included under the same common name as its botanic cousin oakmoss but growing less widely, has had numerous commercial roles, including use in perfume, Egyptian embalming, and medicine.  Another species, Usnea barbata, also is used quite often in perfumery.


Large amounts of tree moss (sometimes called fir moss), like true oakmoss, are processed in Grasse, France for the perfume industry. Its fragrance is said to be generally one-dimensional, more astringent and less complex or nuanced, and less like a 'wet forest floor,' than oakmoss. This results in a relative lack of 'fullness,' for which some perfumers try to compensate by adding other ingredients such as patchouli. Tree moss has a turpentine smell before processing. In perfumes, oakmoss softens the tartness of citruses/aledhydes with which is is mixed, providing a powdery effect (especially in conjuction with orris root), which tree moss does not give. However, tree moss can add a desirable, persistent, dry background dimension that works well in contrasting moister and richer qualities such as those of rose and tobacco absolutes. In terms of fragrance classification, tree moss may be considered to have a position somewhere between leather and oakmoss.  In perfumes it also works as a fixative basically the same way as oakmoss.

Benzene extraction, which has been banned for decades from manufacturing of perfumes, produced very high-quality lichen extracts, and attempts to use other similar solvents have been only partially successful.  Currently either pure hexane or mixtures of hexane with acetates (or more rarely isopropanol) are used to removed the crude resinoids from tree mosses.  The resinoids are then treated further with ethanol to produce absolutes.  Traditionally these processes have been performed after desiccation of the lichen, since fragrance has been thought to develop significantly during storage.  The qualitative scent composition of tree moss or lichen extracts can vary widely, depending on the exact method of preparation and on the presence of any residual or environmental contaminants.

Soluble extracts from P. furfuracea var. furfuracea and var. ceratea, as well as specific individual compounds found in them, have antimicrobial activity against a variety of microorganisms. In areas of Andalucia (Spain), P. furfuracea still is used for treating infections, especially respiratory complaints. The thallus is washed and boiled for a long time to prepare a decoction which is drunk for this purpose.

Water extracts of this species have been shown to have a potent protective effect on genotoxicity caused by bismuth compounds such as colloidal bismuth subcitrate, and it has been investigated for its ability to absorb toxic heavy metals from solution. The metal-binding biosorption for copper and nickel suggests it may have potential as a biosorbent for medical treatment of heavy metal toxicity. Because P. furfuracea tends to bioaccumulate heavy metals proportional to their concentration in airborne particulates, it can be used as a monitor of air quality, although it has been noted that element accumulation is partly dependent on the hydration level of the specimen. Also, the species is sensitive to ozone concentrations, and ozone fumigation results in impairment of its metal absorption, so it can reflect ambient ozone levels. P. furfuracea has also been used to monitor the levels of radionuclides, such as those of Cesium-137 in Austria after the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

In ancient Egyptian embalming, P. furfuracea was packed into the body cavity of mummies, although it is not certain whether this was done because of the supposed preservative properties or because of its aromatic properties.

Other Lichens

Other mosses and lichens have been used for centuries in folk medicine, including for treatment of mouth ulcers, cough, diarrhea, rabies, baldness, bleeding, fungal infections, and epilepsy, and they still are used commercially as natural deodorants.

They also have been used for dying cloth, candles, and other products.  In medieval Europe, lichen dyes were dissolved in human urine, and clothing yarns were immersed in the mixture to color them, with ammonium salts in the urine acting as a mordant to make the dyes permanent.  Northwest Pacific native American cultures used a lichen that grows on the bark of pines and firs to make a canary-yellow dye for porcupine quills that were woven into baskets, and Bryoria lichen was used by other Amerindians to give a brown or green color to shirts and leggings. A brown dye from the lichen Permelia omphalodes is still used in modern hand-woven Harris tweeds from the Outer Hebrides.


Certain toxic mosses have been used by Norwegians with baits to kill predatory wolves and protect their herd animal flocks, while digestible ones have provided flavoring for breads, beers (in place of hops), and salads, especially during times of famine.

'Oakmoss' as a perfume fragrance component is prominent in:

Abercrombie & Fitch 1892 Cobalt, Summer
Agua de Cheiro Saver Royal
Al Battash Concepts Ghala Zayed
Avon Wilderness, Windjammer
Azzaro Chrome Intense
Bloke Michael
Creed Aventus
Criminal Elements Ruben
Cuba Paris Green
Cuir de Russies (various)
Domenico Caraceni pour Homme
EastWest Bottlers Bluegrass
Faberlic Mon Roi
Frau Tonis Parfum No. 65 Eau de Berlin
Guerlain Mitsouko
Houbigant Fougère Royale
Jean Desses Gymkana
Jivago Red Gold
Joaquin Cortes Yekipe Pura Pasion
Juvena Lonestar
L'Artisan Parfumeur Riviera Palace
Le Prince Jardinier Arboretum
Loewe Esencia pour Homme
Luciano Soprani Uomo
LR/Racine Agent XY
Outremer Mousse de Chene-Oakmoss
Parfum Regence Oakmoss
Paris Elysees Dollar
Penhaligon Eucris
Pinaud Clubman
Pino Silvestre Muschi de Bosco
Ralph Lauren Safari
Scorpio Vertigo
Shirley May Don Carlos
Soyuzparfumerprom Diplomat
Thera Cosmeticos Zeus

You don't know how bad I want to use real oakmoss. But, we don't.