Perfumes by raw material

Pick a material to see which famous perfumes contain it and in which ones it carries the scent. Every count comes from the 801 famous perfumes we have reconstructed.

• Perfumes with Ambroxan692 perfumesAmbroxan smells of warm skin, dry wood and clean salt, the scent people describe as "expensive". It is the modern stand-in for ambergris, made from a molecule found in clary sage, and it lasts for many hours on skin.
• Perfumes with Iso E Super685 perfumesIso E Super smells of dry, velvety cedarwood with a faint amber glow. On its own it is so transparent that some people barely notice it; inside a perfume it adds volume, radiance and a skin-like hum that lasts all day.
• Perfumes with Hedione661 perfumesHedione is jasmine made of air: lemony, watery and luminous, without the heavy, animal side of the flower. Perfumers use it to open a formula up, so the other notes travel further and feel brighter.
• Perfumes with Exaltolide556 perfumesExaltolide is an elegant, warm skin musk with a soft animal undertone, close to the musk found in angelica root. It makes a perfume feel sensual and expensive rather than merely clean.
• Perfumes with Bergamot529 perfumesBergamot is bright citrus with a floral, almost tea-like edge, less sour than lemon and more elegant. FCF grades have the sun-sensitising compounds removed. It opens a huge share of perfumes, from colognes to orientals.
• Perfumes with Cedramber495 perfumesCedramber is dry cedarwood with an ambery, faintly smoky side. It is a quiet, solid wood that gives a formula structure and a clean, long lasting base.
• Perfumes with Linalool484 perfumesLinalool is fresh, floral and lightly woody, the shared note of lavender, bergamot, coriander and rosewood. It is found in hundreds of plants and gives a formula a clean, natural lift.
• Perfumes with Habanolide481 perfumesHabanolide is a clean, slightly metallic musk with the feel of hot iron on fresh linen. It is very tenacious and gives a perfume a smooth, crisp white trail.
• Perfumes with Norlimbanol452 perfumesNorlimbanol is a very strong, dry woody amber with a leathery, slightly animal edge. A small amount gives a perfume a rough, masculine woodiness that lasts for hours.
• Perfumes with Muscenone448 perfumesMuscenone is a rich, warm, powdery musk with a radiant, slightly animal character, close to the old nitro musks. It gives the drydown a plush, glowing finish.
• Perfumes with Coumarin442 perfumesCoumarin smells of fresh hay, tonka bean and sweet almond. It is the molecule behind the whole fougère family and gives warm, powdery depth to men's and gourmand perfumes alike.
• Perfumes with Ethylene Brassylate438 perfumesEthylene Brassylate is a sweet, powdery and gentle musk. It is affordable, so perfumers use it generously to give a base body, softness and a long, quiet finish.
• Perfumes with Vanillin416 perfumesVanillin is the main molecule of the vanilla pod: sweet, creamy and a little smoky. It is the backbone of gourmand and oriental perfumes and rounds off sharp edges in almost any base.
• Perfumes with Cashmeran396 perfumesCashmeran smells the way cashmere feels: soft, warm, dusty wood with a musky, slightly spicy and piney edge. It gives a perfume a velvety texture and a cosy, skin-close warmth.
• Perfumes with Florol377 perfumesFlorol is a soft, dewy floral with the fresh, green feel of lily of the valley. It brightens a heart and blends smoothly into almost any floral or fresh accord.
• Perfumes with Galaxolide367 perfumesGalaxolide is the smell of clean laundry: a soft, sweet, slightly floral musk that wraps everything around it. It is one of the most used materials in perfumery and the cushion under countless modern scents.
• Perfumes with Ethyl Vanillin359 perfumesEthyl Vanillin is vanilla turned up: several times stronger than vanillin, creamier and closer to caramel and custard. A little of it makes a base taste-sweet and very long lasting.
• Perfumes with Dihydromyrcenol342 perfumesDihydromyrcenol is fresh lime, clean metal and lavender-like crispness. It defined the fresh masculine perfumes of the 1980s and 90s and still gives sport and fresh scents their bright opening.
• Perfumes with Timbersilk339 perfumesTimbersilk is a smooth woody amber: dry cedar-like wood with a silky, glowing finish. It gives a perfume a long, polished woody trail without the harshness of older ambery woods.
• Perfumes with Helional332 perfumesHelional is fresh, green and watery, with notes of cucumber, cut hay and airy flowers. It adds an ozonic transparency to florals and fresh perfumes.
• Perfumes with Sandalore307 perfumesSandalore is a classic sandalwood molecule: warm, creamy and woody with a slightly musky finish. It rebuilds the feel of sandalwood oil at a fraction of the cost and anchors the base.
• Perfumes with Vetiver285 perfumesVetiver is distilled from grass roots and smells smoky, earthy and dry, with a green, grapefruit-like freshness on top. Haitian oil is the cleanest and most used; Java is smokier.
• Perfumes with Benzyl Salicylate285 perfumesBenzyl Salicylate has a faint, soft, balsamic-floral smell, the scent many people associate with sun cream. It blends florals together and helps them last.
• Perfumes with Vertofix282 perfumesVertofix is dry cedarwood with a smoky, leathery and vetiver-like depth. It is a solid, inexpensive wood that gives a base weight and lasting power.
• Perfumes with Methyl Ionone263 perfumesMethyl Ionone is the classic powder of perfumery: iris, violet and soft woods, like a dusting of face powder. It is the heart of most iris and powdery accords.
• Perfumes with Ambrocenide245 perfumesAmbrocenide is an extremely powerful dry, ambery wood with a cedar backbone. It is usually handled as a dilution, and a trace is enough to give a base lift and a long woody trail.
• Perfumes with Patchouli244 perfumesPatchouli smells of damp earth, dark wood, cocoa and a cool camphor note. It is the backbone of chypres and orientals; the light, medium and dark grades are fractions of the same oil, from cleaner to deeper and earthier.
• Perfumes with Beta Ionone224 perfumesBeta Ionone smells of violet and orris with a woody, raspberry-like facet. It is part of the natural scent of violets and gives florals a powdery, slightly fruity softness.
• Perfumes with Ambrettolide217 perfumesAmbrettolide is the musk of ambrette seed: soft, sensual and slightly fruity, with a hint of pear and warm skin. It is one of the most natural-smelling musks a perfumer can use.
• Perfumes with Ethyl Maltol197 perfumesEthyl Maltol is cotton candy: caramelised sugar with a jammy strawberry side. It is the sweet engine of modern gourmands and is used in small amounts, because a little fills a room.
• Perfumes with Helvetolide186 perfumesHelvetolide is a fruity musk with a juicy pear note over a clean, airy skin scent. It lifts a base, adds sheen and holds on for a very long time.
• Perfumes with Javanol184 perfumesJavanol is one of the most powerful sandalwood molecules ever made: creamy, rosy and woody, with a lactonic, almost milky glow. It works in tiny amounts and lends a natural sandalwood feel without the cost of the oil.
• Perfumes with Heliotropin176 perfumesHeliotropin smells powdery and sweet, of almond, cherry and the heliotrope flower, close to vanilla but drier. It gives gourmands and powdery florals a soft, nostalgic warmth.
• Perfumes with Sandalwood Oil169 perfumesSandalwood oil is creamy, milky and softly woody, with a warmth that sits close to the skin. Australian oil is the one most used today; Indian and Hawaiian oils are richer and rarer.
• Perfumes with Labdanum136 perfumesLabdanum is the resin of the rockrose shrub: dark, ambery, leathery and balsamic, with a sweet, almost animal warmth. It is the traditional heart of amber accords.
• Perfumes with Damascones135 perfumesDamascones smell of rose crossed with fruit: stewed apple, dried plum, blackcurrant and black tea. They are among the most powerful materials in perfumery and work in traces.
• Perfumes with Ebanol118 perfumesEbanol is a rich, milky sandalwood with a faintly animal, almost leathery depth. It is very strong, so a little gives a woody base real warmth and diffusion.
• Perfumes with Calone115 perfumesCalone smells of sea spray, watermelon rind and cool ozone. It defined the aquatic perfumes of the 1990s and is so strong that perfumers dose it in traces.
• Perfumes with Clearwood111 perfumesClearwood is patchouli without the dirt: a clean, woody patchouli note with none of the earthy, camphor-like heaviness of the oil. It brings the modern, polished patchouli feel to a base.
• Perfumes with Gamma Undecalactone106 perfumesGamma Undecalactone smells of ripe peach and apricot skin, creamy and velvety. Despite its old name, aldehyde C-14, it is a lactone, and it gives fruity chypres and florals their juicy softness.
• Perfumes with Kephalis101 perfumesKephalis is woody and ambery with a tobacco-like, slightly smoky warmth. It adds a dry, sophisticated depth to woody and leathery bases.
• Perfumes with Indole62 perfumesIndole is a paradox: pure, it smells animal and a little like mothballs; diluted, it is the narcotic heart of jasmine, orange blossom and tuberose. A trace makes white flowers smell real.
• Perfumes with Aldehydes49 perfumesFatty aldehydes smell soapy, waxy and sparkling, like the fizz of champagne or a freshly snuffed candle. C-10 leans to orange peel, C-12 MNA to ambergris and pine. They give aldehydic florals their famous shimmer.
• Perfumes with Raspberry Ketone45 perfumesRaspberry Ketone smells of raspberry jam: sweet, fruity and a little warm. It is a quiet, long lasting fruit note that sweetens gourmands and fruity florals.
• Perfumes with Benzoin26 perfumesBenzoin is a tree resin that smells of warm vanilla, caramel and soft balsam. Siam benzoin is sweeter and more vanillic, Sumatra drier and more resinous. It warms and fixes oriental bases.
• Perfumes with Safranal19 perfumesSafranal is the main smell of saffron: leathery, hay-like and slightly medicinal, with a warm spicy glow. It gives oud, leather and amber perfumes their rich, golden opening.
• Perfumes with Rose Oxide6 perfumesRose Oxide smells of green, metallic rose petals with a lychee-like fruitiness. It is part of the natural scent of rose and geranium, and a trace makes a rose accord come alive.
• Perfumes with Evernyl2 perfumesEvernyl is the modern oakmoss: mossy, earthy and forest-floor dark, with a faint sweetness. It is how today's chypres keep their mossy base.
• Perfumes with Tonalide0 perfumesTonalide is a sweet, powdery, clean musk with a soft woody undertone. Like Galaxolide it gives a base a fresh-laundry cushion, slightly drier and more powdery.