Perfume Materials

Behind every note listed on a product page there is a material: a resin, a wood, a flower, a molecule. Knowing where it comes from, how it is obtained and what it really smells like helps explain why two “oud” or “vanilla” perfumes can have almost nothing in common. This guide presents the major materials of perfumery, one at a time.

The essentials in one minute

  • A natural material is obtained by distillation (essential oil), solvent extraction (absolute), cold pressing (citrus) or tincture in alcohol.
  • A synthetic molecule can reproduce one facet of a natural material, replace a banned animal material, or create a smell that does not exist in nature.
  • A note on a product page is not always a single material: “amber” refers to an accord of several ingredients, and so does “leather”.
  • The price of a material depends on its yield. It takes tons of flowers to make a kilo of rose absolute, and decades for an agarwood tree to produce resin.

Woods

Woods form the backbone of most perfumes. Cedar is dry and smells of pencil shavings, sandalwood is creamy and milky, vetiver earthy and smoky. Oud is not a wood in the strict sense: it is a resin that the Aquilaria tree produces when it becomes infected. The woody perfumes in the shop are gathered in our niche woody fragrances selection.

Resins and warm accords

Benzoin, labdanum, frankincense, myrrh: these resins give amber perfumes their warmth and staying power. Blended with vanilla, they form the amber accord, which has nothing to do with ambergris from the sea or with fossil amber. See our amber fragrances selection.

Flowers

Rose, jasmine, iris and orange blossom are the flowers most used in fine fragrance. Each one comes in several forms: distilled rose smells greener and more lemony than rose absolute, and jasmine sambac is fruitier than grandiflorum. Iris, whose rhizome is dried for years before use, is one of the most expensive materials a perfumer works with. See our floral fragrances selection.

Gourmand notes

Vanilla, tonka bean, caramel, cocoa, coffee, pistachio: gourmand perfumery borrows from the kitchen. A vanilla can be sweet and milky, or dry and woody, depending on what surrounds it. See our gourmand fragrances selection.

Citrus and aromatics

Bergamot, lemon, mandarin, grapefruit: citrus oils are pressed from the peel and evaporate quickly. Lavender, sage, mint and tea bring a freshness that lasts longer. See our fresh fragrances selection.

Musks and animalic notes

Animal musk is no longer used. Today's musks are synthetic molecules, clean, powdery or skin-like, and some people barely smell them: partial anosmia to musks is common. Leather, castoreum and ambergris are now recreated with accords.

Articles in this guide

All the articles in this section are collected on the blog's Materials page.

Frequently asked questions

Is a natural perfume better than a synthetic one?

Not as a rule. Natural materials are more complex, but they can cause allergies and their quality varies from one harvest to the next. Most great perfumes combine both.

Why is oud so expensive?

Only a small share of agarwood trees produce resin, after an infection that can take years, and the species is protected under the CITES convention. Many “oud” perfumes use a recreated accord, sometimes with a small amount of natural oil added.

Is a listed note always in the formula?

No. The pyramid describes what you smell, not the ingredient list. A “raspberry note” can come from a single molecule, and a “leather note” from an accord of several materials.

Every Passion Parfum product page lists the top, heart and base notes. To try them on skin, see our 2 ml samples. The other guides: understanding perfume, niche perfumery, choosing your perfume and perfume houses.