Fragrance is equal parts art and science. Behind every scent you love lies a world of molecules—each crafted to evoke memory, emotion, and mood. This glossary unpacks the key aromachemicals that define modern perfumery, helping you understand what gives a fragrance its lift, warmth, or staying power. Consider it your insider’s guide to the invisible architecture of scent.
Aldron®: A woody, milky base note with metallic and animalic tones.
Ambrettolide: Musky lactone with a fruity-pear facet. Warm, intimate, and skin-like.
Ambrocenide: Amber molecule with dry, woody-metallic sharpness. Boosts power and projection.
Ambroxan: Dry yet clean ambergris facet, enhancing tenacity and diffusion.
Amyl Salicylate: Floral-green salicylate with sweet, balsamic lift. Used to link floral and woody-musky notes smoothly.
Bacdanol: Synthetic sandalwood with radiant, creamy warmth. Provides a polished, clean take on natural Mysore.
Benzylacetone: Sweet, honeyed floral note with a banana-jasmine nuance. Found in heliotrope and violet.
Blackwood Base: A substantive woody note based upon Firwood, Limanol®, Norlimbanol® Dextro, and Iso E Super. Surprising clary sage and rose touches.
Boisiris®: A rich woody heart note with iris connotations.
Calone (Watermelon Ketone): Fresh air and water with hints of watermelon; the quintessential aquatic ingredient.
Cashmeran: Musky-woody molecule with mineral warmth, spiced sweetness, and a soft, fabric-like texture. Evokes cashmere and sun-warmed skin.
Cedramber (Methyl Cedryl Ether): Powerful woody and velvety amber note with remarkable strength and diffusiveness. Its deep cedar-like character is complemented by a warm amber quality.
Chocovan TEC: Rich, gourmand molecule combining chocolate and vanilla warmth. Lends edible depth to sweet compositions.
Clearwood®: Biotech-derived patchouli with a clean, ambered transparency. Earthy without muddiness, woody without weight.
Ebanol: Sandalwood-like molecule with velvety creaminess and floral nuance. Smooth and long-lasting.
Ethylene Brassylate: Radiant macrocyclic musk with clean, laundry-like elegance. Adds lingering softness.
Evernyl: A synthetic oakmoss note: earthy, bitter-green, chypre-esque.
Exaltone: Fine musk with soft, skin-like radiance. Adds tenacity and sensuality with minimal odour profile.
Firwood: Dry, peppery cedar profile with a dusty, pencil-shaving effect. A synthetic evocation of freshly cut wood.
Galaxolide: Clean, laundry-fresh musk with sensual warmth.
Gardenol: Floral-green molecule with muguet and leafy rose tones. Evokes freshly picked petals and crushed stems.
Globalide: Delicate, fruity musk with pear-like and floral facets. Adds airy sensuality and a lightly lactonic trail.
Globanone: Elegant and velvety white musk, fresh without overt animalic connotation.
Habanolide: Metallic, sheer musk with a radiant, silvery cleanness. Lends modern brightness and a skin-like sophistication.
Hedione: A classic jasmine/fresh floral molecule known for expansion, diffusion, and light.
Helvetolide: Both a top and base note musk; radiant with a pear nuance.
Indole: Animalic, fecal-floral note found naturally in jasmine. In small amounts, it creates headiness and fleshy realism.
Isobutyl Quinoline: A leathery-green powerhouse. Vintage and bold.
Iso E Super: Transparent, woody-ambery molecule with velvety radiance.
Isoraldeine®: Green, leafy aldehyde with sharp citrus freshness. Adds brightness and a cut-stem effect.
Javanol: Creamy sandalwood, very powerful and smooth.
Karanal / Okoumal: Diffusive woody-amber notes with spicy metallic facets. Sharp and bright, used in powerful modern ambers.
Limanol®: Fresh, clean floral with citrus-lavender brightness. A key booster for colognes and florals.
Macrolide (e.g., Exaltolide, Muscenone): Large-ring musks with soft, skin-like diffusion. Radiant, intimate, and long-lasting.
Magnolan: Modern magnolia note with creamy, citrus-floral brightness. Evokes petals with dewy freshness.
Methyl Anthranilate: Grape-like, powdery-floral molecule with a fruity softness. Adds depth to orange blossom, neroli, and tropical accords.
Methyl Pamplemousse: Grapefruit note with a fizzy, slightly sulfuric zest. Adds brightness and bitterness to citrus accords.
Muguetanol: Lily-of-the-valley aroma chemical with a watery floralcy. Transparent, green, and soapy-fresh.
Muscone: Tonkin deer musk analogue; a refined and luxurious furry animalic coat.
Musk Ketone: Powdery, classical nitro musk with vintage softness. Now largely restricted, but once key to floral musks.
Norlimbanol: Powerful, dry amber-wood with immense tenacity. Sharp, resinous, and slightly smoky—evokes the scent of sunlit pine or aged wood.
Osyrol: Light sandalwood material, good canvas material with sweet, clean, and floral nuances.
Polysantol: Adds liveliness to sandalwood accord. Powerful, like scorched cream on wood.
Superambers (Amberwoods): Ubiquitous in modern perfumery, filler materials and nowadays overdosed. Detectable at even the lowest doses (i.e. 0.1%)
Thujone: Sharp, camphoraceous herbal note found in wormwood. Associated with absinthe and bitter, green artemisia.
Timberol: Woody-amber molecule with clean, resinous depth. Adds strength and richness to the base of a composition.
Tonalide: Functional musk popularly used in domestic soaps and detergents. Sweet, musky, and fruity.
Trimofix®: Radiant and musky soft, with complex nuances of earth, vetiver, and soft smoky tobacco.
Veramoss (Evernyl): Oakmoss substitute, often boosts natural oakmoss but can be used in its own right. Powdery, mossy, earthy, phenolic.
Vertofix Coeur (Methyl Cedryl Ketone): A woody canvas material; dry cedar with musk and leather nuances
Whisky Lactone: Woody, coconut-like lactone with boozy, nutty warmth. Found naturally in oak and used for its sweet barrel-aged tone.