Resins are an important ingredient in perfumes, enhancing the scents the perfume contains as well as inhibiting their dispersion into the air. Resins allow the aromas of perfume to last longer as well as retain their integrity. Basically, resins were the first “time-release” element that existed long before the modern concept of gradual release of aromas or other elements of modern life. As such, they are used not only in perfumes but in deodorants, scented sanitizers, or any product that is meant to smell pleasant for an extended period of time.

There are many different kinds of resin used in making perfume. Labdanum, a sticky dark brown substance from a species of rockrose shrub, has a complex scent profile. Woody, smoky and earthy, some say it has slight marshy undertones that aren’t unpleasant but very different. Others think it smells like honey or hints of leather. Its very complexity makes it valuable in perfumery, as each person seems to smell a different aroma. This makes one perfume smell different to and on each person. In Crete, it is still harvested by driving goats into forests overgrown with labdanum bushes then combing the beards of the animals when they return from grazing. Harvesters also drag a mop-like collection of leather strips mounted on a pole across the bushes to gather the resin.

Benzoin resin, a balsamic secretion from tree bark, is a common ingredient in perfume because of its fixative properties and its aroma. Further, there are two different kinds; benzoin Siam and benzoin Sumatra. Benzoin Siam is found in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia while benzoin Sumatra is found in the country of the same name. Both are very fragrant and drastically slow the evaporation of perfume properties.

Frankincense, another prized ingredient in perfumes, comes from the Boswellia tree that thrives in Somalia and the surrounding country. Slashing the bark of the scrawny but hardy tree results in “tears” leaking out which are allowed to harden before being collected. The best resin is the last of the two or three harvests per year, the quality determined by its opacity. Yemen and Somalia produce wonderful frankincense although the resins collected in Omani is said to be the finest. Frankincense supplies are dwindling, however, due to over-tapping trees that in turn produce seeds that are unable to germinate properly.

Other resins include myrrh, Peru balsam and pine, all with their own unique contributions to make.

Tim Walt

Musk is a major or minor ingredient in over half the most popular perfumes. Whether as a base to support other scents or acting as the prominent odor, musk has unique properties that are hard for most people to resist. It accentuates and boosts the endurance of perfume’s other properties whether they are floral, plant-based or wood. This makes it a very valuable asset to perfumers. Muscone, the oily liquid that is the active component of musk, actually has a very unpleasant smell of ammonia and fatty tissues but once it is diluted the scent becomes very pleasant.

But where is musk found and how is it harvested? Originally, it came from the musk deer, a creature distantly related to deer but weighing only 20-40 pound with no antlers and large tusks. In order to get the musk glands, the animal had to be killed and this resulted in their population dwindling so drastically that they are now protected by laws in the countries they live. Other sources of musk include the American beaver and other animals, the musk flower, wood and seeds. It can also be made synthetically; most of the musk used in this generation of perfume is synthetic as companies become increasingly interested in preserving wildlife.

But why has musk always been in such demand, even as far back as ancient Egypt? Simply put, musk is a sexual attractant and aphrodisiac! Secreted only by male vertebrates, it is a natural pheromone specifically meant to attract a mate. Because of this, musk is the most expensive ingredient used in perfumes and other products, costing up to $45,000 per kilogram!

Alfred Dunhill manufactures Desire Blue for men, using synthetic musk to support and bolster the elements of bergamot, orange flower water, amber and tonka bean. While orange flower water may seem an odd ingredient for a man’s cologne, it gives it a sparkle that adds a bit of mystery to the impression of strength. Azzaro makes a more serious creation in Onyx, combining apple, lemon, coriander and other spices, cedar wood and bergamot with musk for a defined statement of being in charge, decisive and adventurous.

When the process of synthesizing musk was discovered, it began to be used more liberally in perfume and other products in which scent was an important marketing concept. Today it is used in household products, bath soaps and shampoo as well as fine perfumes.

Tim Walt

The thought of perfume containing tobacco essence might be repulsive to some until they realize how good tobacco really smells. It’s the smoke that actually smells so bad, not the tobacco itself. Anyone that has ever walked into a fine cigar shop can appreciate the rich, luxurious scent of good tobacco and see the wonderful possibilities of using that aroma in fine perfume.

Lagerfeld by Karl Lagerfeld is a good example of what tobacco essence can do for perfume. Combining the oils of spices and tobacco, Lagerfeld produces the smoky ambiance of a fine cigar spiked with spices that lend a slightly sweet, fresh note that evokes the very essence of masculine strength and luxury.

Tobacco’s bittersweet aroma makes it a perfect companion to cedar, citrus and spices. Some perfumers have added femininity to it by mixing it with honeysuckle, lemon or ambergris. A touch of coffee or cocoa makes it androgynous yet sensuous.

In fact, tobacco is so versatile that it can be added to nearly any perfume to elicit a variety of emotions or impressions. A scent with tobacco notes can bring to mind anything from dried fruits or gingerbread to the sharp impression of fine whiskey or the fresh scent of freshly cut hay.

Most of us remember the sweet odor of burning leaves in the fall and crisp autumn winds with the sharp bite of winter barely creeping in. Tobacco captures these smells and emotions so perfectly that you don’t realize your nose is enjoying a leaf that is so despised for its commercial use of smoking. Tobacco is also used in the leather family of fragrances as a base or middle note to compliment the scent of leather; in the right combination of scents, it can allude to aged, supple leather to create a warm and rich feeling of winter nights by a fire with a good book and a glass of fine wine.

Of course, there are synthetic versions of tobacco aroma that are being used more frequently in fine perfumes. The environmentally friendly synthetics are very precise and the quality is consistent enough that each batch of perfume maintains the exacting standards of the perfumer.

Regardless of natural or synthetic origin, or whether you deplore the use of tobacco aside from perfume, there’s no doubt that tobacco leaves provide a warm and sensual note to scents for both men and women. The person who wants their presence remembered for an uncommonly delicious fragrance should seek out those unique creations that contain tobacco.

Tim Walt

One would think that flowers would have been one of the first ingredients that would be used to make perfume but in fact, flowers weren’t used for that purpose until the 9th century. Before that, perfumers as far back as four thousand years ago used herbs, spices, resins and bark. Extracting the oils from flowers by distillation was first introduced by a Persian chemist named Avicenna and his procedure is still in wide use today. Until Avicenna’s discovery, it was a laborious process to use flowers in perfume, requiring hours of effort to pulverize the petals finely enough to extract some of the oils. Years later, the Hungarians would be the first to make modern perfume from flower oils blended in a solution of alcohol.

Most flowers are fragrant but some are exceptional enough to be used in perfumes. The best known and one of the most popular throughout perfume history is the rose, generally known as the queen of flowers. Perfumes made of roses were favorites in Greece and Rome. By gathering the flowers at night they would be at their best since they begin losing their scent after sunrise. Cristalle by Chanel uses roses as the chief ingredient along with aldehydes to enhance the bouquet, amber and patchouli.

Jasmine is another flower used in perfumes, also harvested just before dawn. Processed immediately before their fragrance fades, special care must be taken to keep the fragile petals from bruising and affecting the balance of the bouquet. Special baskets for just this purpose are kept for transporting them. Jasmine is used with vanilla and bergamot by Guerlain in the manufacture of Shalimar Light perfume, a refreshing feminine fragrance that is airy, pleasant and light.

Violets are also favorites but produce so little essential oil that they’re rarely used these days. Instead a synthetic replacement is used, usually combined with oils that resemble that of the violet.

Flower of fruit are also used in many perfumes. Those who know the heavenly scent of orange and lemon blossoms will understand why they are a popular ingredient in many floral perfumes. Jasmine, mimosa and lily blossoms as well as lily of the valley are also quite common in perfumes. Unopened flower buds of clove add spice to perfume concoctions and a member or the orchid family, vanilla, also is a favorite ingredient.

A few terms may come in handy for understanding floral perfume descriptions. When you hear a perfume referred to as a “single floral” it means that the fragrance is dominated by one particular flower such as rose or lily. “Floral Bouquet” means it contains the scent of several flowers and “bright floral” is a combination of the two.

Tim Walt

Animals have been used for making perfumes since people first began to use scents. You would be surprised at the wide variety of perfumes that owe their delicious and seductive aromas to the contributions of animals!

The most commonly known scent derived from animal resources is musk, a basic ingredient in many perfumes. Because of its intensely earthy odor, it makes an excellent base that accentuates other notes in a perfume. In the hundreds of years it has been used in human manufactured scents, it has always been popular because of its subtle aphrodisiac properties. Originally, people got musk from the musk sacs of the Asian Musk deer which, unfortunately, demanded the life of the animal. Modern musk is synthetic due not only to protected status of the formerly over-hunted deer but to enlightened perfume manufacturers that are increasingly more concerned about preserving wildlife as well as the environment.

Civets, a relative of the Mongoose, also produce musk that can be harvested without harm to the animal. The North American Beaver also contributes musk to perfume called Castoreum. Luckily, we can harvest the musk from both these animals without causing them harm or upsetting their glandular balance thanks to advanced and humane harvesting techniques.

Even honeybees contribute to the olfactory enjoyment of fine perfume! Their honeycombs, when distilled, produce a unique scent that has been used by perfumers for centuries. Ambergris, a digestive excretion of the Sperm Whale, is also used for cologne and perfume, particularly in amber-based scents. Rendered animal fat is used less often in solid perfumes than it was in centuries past

Tim Walt

Seaweed isn’t a common ingredient in perfume due to the high cost and low yield of processing it. Since perfume demands extracts of essential oils and seaweed is water based, there are very little amounts of essence to draw out of this ocean plant. Several perfumers experimented with it, however, because of its intriguing aroma of driftwood accented by fresh, briny breezes with a faint touch of iodine.

The essential oils of seaweed is call choya nakh and is so strong that it must be diluted before being added to the aroma palette of a perfume. The most common type of seaweed that was has been used is Fucus Vesiculosus, also referred to a bladderwrack, that is found in the waters and on the shores of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in the United States and abroad.

More often you will find kelp, a form of seaweed, as an ingredient in perfumes. In the late 1970’s, two German scientists found that female kelp plants release a pheromone that direct the male kelps to the proper place to fertilize the microscopic kelp egg, thus ensuring the propagation of the species. The discovery was made quite by accident when they thought that someone had smuggled a bottle of gin into the lab; on further investigation they found the culprit and published their findings regarding the sexual pheromone.

Of course, pheromones are often used in perfumes and perfumers began experimenting with kelp and other forms of seaweed. Since the whole idea of perfume is to make one attractive to the opposite sex as well as pleasing one’s self, pheromones are a very important ingredient when they can be added to the mix. The unusual odiferous qualities of kelp and seaweed were intriguing to creative perfumers, sparking quite a bit of research and experimentation.

However, you will rarely find a quality perfume that features genuine seaweed notes.
The prohibitive cost of extraction has made it a scarcity, a classic example of irony when one thinks of the miles of beaches strewn with this ocean bounty. Most “seaweed” essences are actually a form of kelp which is referred to as seaweed.

Tim Walt

Spices were discovered long ago as an aid in food preservation and flavor. Naturally, people began to think that the aromas of spices could be used to provide scents for the air and their persons. Spices began to be used for perfumes in Egypt and the Middle and Far East first, as Europe had no source for them with few exceptions, before the era of the Crusades opened up routes for trading.

Cardamom, often called “The Queen of Spices”, is grown for the most part in southern India, a fruit of the ginger family. Its cool fragrance is slightly sweet and reminiscent of oranges with a touch of ginger. It compliments other scents very well, toning down the more aggressive ones while accentuating aromas that aren’t so strong. Omnia by Bulgari uses cardamom along with saffron, black pepper (“The King of Spices”), Indian wood, mandarin and white chocolate to create a rich, light perfume with Oriental overtones that women love to wear, much to the delight of the men around them. 

Thyme is another popular spice used in perfume, usually as a top note that creates a first impression or a middle note that evolves as the perfume mellows from the warmth of the skin. Thyme’s light, fresh aroma perfectly compliments the orange blossom, vanilla and citrus in Gucci by Gucci. If you wonder how essence of thyme smells, you can reach for your spice rack to get an idea; it’s probably there with others you use in everyday cooking. 

Spices are also widely used in men’s perfume products. For example, Lapidus by Ted Lapidus perfumers uses a blend of spices combined with woods, lavender and amber to convey a sense of strong sophistication and individuality backed by warm and earthy power undertones. 

Nutmeg, the seed of evergreen tree that grow in Southeast Asia and other tropical climates, is processed by steam distillation after it is ground up. It is said that in England a few centuries ago, it was such a valuable spice that being able to obtain and sell a few nutmeg nuts would assure lifetime financial independence! Nutmeg is a perfect compliment to perfume formulas that contain wood tones or florals and provides freshness to the blend as well as a faint rich sweetness. 

Spices each have such varied fragrances that they are used to convey emotions as well as mental landscapes. The aromas of the most frequently used spices are those that many of us have smelled all our lives in our everyday food or in sachets used to freshen our closet and even the household cleaners our mothers used! It’s no wonder that perfumes containing spices are invariably pleasant and makes us feel sentimental as well as intrigued.

Tim Walt

A very important ingredient in perfume comes from the seeds of aromatic plants and trees. Many of them are from spices but some, like the tonka bean, come from trees and bushes.

The tonka bean is very versatile, used in food and other applications as well as perfume. Once processed, it exudes the scent as well as the flavor of vanilla and is popular due to its cost. While vanilla is quite expensive, the tonka bean is much less so while still imparting the delicious scent of vanilla as well as touches of almond, cinnamon and cloves. The seed is process through extraction to obtain the rich, warm aroma with an underlying caramel-sweet tone. Carlos Santana recently marketed a perfume of the same name that contains tonka bean with apple, cinnamon and lavender. Its rich, airy aroma isn’t as fruity as you would think, the tonka bean taming the fruit and floral scents into an earthier yet light scent that caresses the air rather than overwhelm it. 

Coriander, another seed that plays an important role in perfumery, comes from the cilantro plant. Although you may be familiar with cilantro through its use in salsa, coriander seeds will surprise you with their faintly orange-like scent especially if you’re familiar with the smell of the plant’s leaves. After the oil is extracted through steam distillation, they have a faint scent of oranges. 

When you think of cocoa, hot drinks and chocolate bars usually come to mind but did you know that they are also used with great success in perfumes? The cocoa bean is actually a seed from the cacao tree, rich in antioxidants and imbued with a scent of rich, dark earth and a very faint cocoa aroma. The dominant cocoa scent you know from drinking cocoa and chocolate is naturally developed after processing quite different than that used for perfumes. 

Vanilla, a natural compliment for cocoa’s aroma, is found in very high grade perfumes due to its purity and cost. The plant is actually an orchid which has to be pollinated and produce seed pods before it can be processed for perfume. Because of the precise requirements of orchids, it’s not as easy to grow and harvest as other seeds but the heavenly aroma from its seeds makes it well worth the extra cost and trouble. Cacharel manufactures a perfume called Amor Amor that uses vanilla combined with fragrant woods, fruits and florals. Vanilla, a wonderful aroma itself, tends to bring out the best in the scents that are combined with it. 

Seeds are a very important component of perfumery, used for hundreds of years while being laboriously processed by hand. With modern methods, perfumers are discovering many new delicious scents from seeds.

Tim Walt

We’ve all tasted vanilla in various foods and frozen treats and appreciated its remarkable flavor. Perfumers have long known that the scent of vanilla is even more inspiring in perfume than it is in food and have used it for hundreds of years to impart a warm, velvety fragrance to everything from incense to perfumes for royalty. These days, nearly everyone can enjoy a fragrance of sensuous vanilla weaving its way through the other notes of a fine perfume. 

Vanilla, however, is very costly to grow and manufacture, requiring intense labor from nurturing the plant through pollination and harvest. Vanilla planifolia, a member of the orchid family, is a vine that can climb up to three hundred feet high and often is grown in the shade of larger trees due to its sensitivity to the rays of the sun. The beautiful blossoms of the orchid must be pollinated in order to produce the pods from which the oil for perfumes is extracted by distillation. Insects and hummingbirds are not considered reliable enough so workers begin at dawn to pollinate each blossom, which opens in the morning and closes forever by afternoon. The process is so labor intensive and the fruits of that labor so valuable that each individual pod is marked to prevent theft. 

So you can see why vanilla is so highly prized and is an ingredient in so many of the finer perfumes. Shalimar Light by Guerlain blends vanilla with jasmine petals and bergamot to produce a light and invigorating scent that is unmistakably feminine and alluring. Kenzo uses vanilla with violet and rose to make Kenzo Flower, a refreshingly light floral fragrance. Jean Paul Gaultier, the renowned designer, created a perfume by the same name using amber and wood essences with vanilla for an irresistibly male fragrance that exudes confidence. The use of vanilla in perfume is limited only by the skill and imagination of the perfumer.

Vanilla has also been produced synthetically due to the exorbitant cost of producing the natural product. In creating the aroma artificially, perfumers have put the wonderful fragrance of vanilla within reach of nearly everyone who enjoys its wonderful scent. In fact, synthetic vanilla often retains its aroma longer than the natural version due to its chemical composition. 

The rich, warm bouquet of vanilla has been prized for hundreds of years and rightly so. As far back as 1000 B.C., vanilla was a treasure both for the cupboard and for personal wear. This very basic yet indescribably delicious scent is a must for everyone’s perfume collection.

Tim Walt

Synthetic perfumes can imitate natural scents or create new ones that aren’t found in nature. From a fresh marine scent that can’t be obtained naturally to a sensuous orchid aroma that is highly prized but not attainable from natural sources, synthetic odors have been a boon to the perfume industry. 

Nearly all great perfumes contain synthetic molecules, not because synthetics are less expensive but because perfumers can create scents that evoke memories and emotions that nature lacks the raw materials for. All of Chanel’s perfumes contain synthetic components as do every other truly remarkable perfume. Methyl dihydrojasmonate, for instance, imparts the sense of pure light and clean air that imitates the scent and feel of water, an aroma not possible to imitate with any natural ingredients. 

Many lovers of perfume harbor a strong prejudice against synthetics, thinking they cheapen true perfume. Nothing could be further from the truth! The world-famous Chanel No. 5 would be mediocre without synthetic aldehydes developed in 1903. Cheap? The best synthetic creations, much like rare natural ingredients such as true vanilla, are very expensive. A truly wonderful synthetic ingredient can cost up to $1200 per pound. 

Synthetics can also prevent allergic reactions. There are many people who love the scent of Sandalwood but have allergic reactions when they try to wear perfume containing it. A synthetic named Sandalore prevents that reaction and brings joy to the allergy sufferer. As an added bonus, synthetics help to preserve our natural environment. The sandalwood forests in India have been harvested at an alarming rate to sate our thirst for their fragrance in perfumes, soaps, and other everyday products. Many perfumers, seeing the destruction of natural resources for the sake of commerce, are turning to synthetics in order to serve their customers while preserving the earth’s beauty for their own children and grandchildren. 

Take musk, for example. The musk deer was hunted to the point of endangerment up till a couple of decades ago when synthetic musk was developed and laws enacted to protect the animal. Synthetic musk not only lasts longer than the real thing, the guilt factor is removed completely. You can wear your favorite musk-based perfume knowing that no suffering was involved for innocent animals. 

In summary, you can make a nutritious dinner using only natural ingredients and practices such as baking your own bread over a fire but why would you want to? Artificial methods and growing practices have greatly enhanced our lives and our health. Synthetic perfumes, in the same way, not only protect our natural resources but allow us to enjoy a large spectrum of truly remarkable and memorable scents that would normally be out of reach.

Tim Walt