The Woody facet

A perfume has an architecture and is built around a main accord. It is an assembly of components that constitutes its main theme and will be its message. According to the CFP (Comité Français du Parfum), there are 6 main themes, also called olfactory families: 

            Woody facet in a perfume 

            The woody accord can be the main theme of the fragrance. This means that you can clearly feel the woody message, from the fragrance's take-off to its conclusion.
            When we talk about a woody facet, it means that it dresses the main theme other than a woody.
            The more facetted the perfume is, the more complex it is.
            A chypre perfume is by definition woody.

            Woody notes tend to be associated with perfumes for men . However, women look more and more for woody perfumes, without floral, fruity or vanilla scents.

            Woody facets can be found in all olfactory families: floral, gourmand, chypre, oriental, ferns, eaux fraîches and even in eaux de Cologne. Even when they cannot be guessed or perceived, they give structure and vibration to a fragrance. Woody notes are real "tutors" in an olfactory orchestration. They are part of the architecture, the keystone of a fragrance.

             

             

            Natural woody notes 

            The main natural woody notes are: sandalwood, cedar, vetiver, patchouli, pine and cypress. They are all base notes.

            • Sandalwood  

            Sandalwood is a rare and expensive material that has a religious dimension and also medicinal and cosmetic properties. It has been traded between the West, Asia and the Pacific islands.

            It is the only soft, milky and creamy wood. Sandalwood Album, which used to come from India, is now protected by the Indian government. It now comes from Southeast Asia. 

            There are other varieties of sandalwood. Sandalwood Spicatum grows in Australia and looks more like a cedar, then there is the Austro-caledonica sandalwood, found in New Caledonia. The latter has an olfactory profile very close to the Album, it embodies the renewal of the sandalwood note.

            Natural sandalwood gives the perfume a base, it is a creamy, milky, comfortable, warm, enveloping and sensual note. It is difficult to work with because it is very dull and therefore not very powerful, it acts a little like a musky note. On the other hand, sandalwood is an extremely tenacious note. 

            It is a challenge for the perfumer-creator because alone, it is not efficient in a composition. The natural note of sandalwood needs to be accompanied by sandalwood molecules in order to be sublimated. It can also be dressed with other woods, such as cedar, vetiver, patchouli or synthetic wood molecules.

            It takes about thirty years for the sandalwood tree to reach its final size, a circumference of 50 cm. Only the heart of the tree is fragrant. In order to be used in perfumery, this wood must be cut into chips and then treated by distillation.

            Sandalwood-based perfumes, much sought-after by lovers of sandalwood notes:

            • Bois des Îles Chanel
            • Samsara Guerlain
            • Santal de Mysore Serge Lutens
            • Tam Dao Diptyque
            • Santal 33 Labo
            • Concrète Comme des Garçons
            • Wonderwood Comme des Garçons
            • Santal Massoïa Hermès  


            • Cedarwood

            Cedar is a rather cold and stiff note, it evokes school pencil, sawmill and wood shavings.
            It is reminiscent of the souks of Marrakech where you can find very nice boxes made of cedar. It marries marvelously with vetiver and citrus fruits, especially grapefruit. It accompanies all other woods, such as sandalwood, vetiver and patchouli.

            There are different types of cedar: Virginia cedar, Texas cedar and Atlas cedar. The Atlas cedar can reach 40m, it is used in carpentry and wood chips (by-products of carpentry). Its fragrance has an animal, smoky note.

            The Virginia cedar can reach 25 meters in height,and is more reminiscent of pencil lead. Olfactively, the Virginia and Texas cedars are quite close because they have the same origin. The essential oil of the Atlas cedar is more powerful, more animal than the Virginia and Texas cedars.

            This cedar wood can be found in Shiseido's Femininity of Wood as well as in many of Serge Lutens' compositions. It is also very present in Dolce Vita by Dior, Bois Farine by the Perfumer Craftsman.

            • Patchouli

            We often either love or hate patchouli. For some, it is reminiscent of the hippie years of the 60s. It is an interesting woody note because it is dark, earthy, raw and vegetal. It can remind you of the cellar, almost of mold. Patchouli gives a lot of character and sensuality to the fragrances, in the chypre accords it replaces the oakmoss that is now regulated.

            Patchouli comes from the leaves of a shrub. When these leaves are fresh, they do not deliver any perfume. They must be dried or even slightly fermented to obtain their wonderful fragrance.

            For a few years now, a pure "patchouli heart" has existed. It is the natural patchouli note rid of its slightly dusty notes. It becomes even more majestic, purer and slender.

            Patchouli grows in a tropical climate. Originally from Malaysia, it is cultivated today mainly in the Indonesian islands (Sumatra, Java), India, Madagascar, Guatemala and Rwanda in smaller proportions. The leaves of the plant are harvested early in the morning then dried for 1 week before being distilled to obtain the essential oil of patchouli. It takes about 500 kg of dried leaves to obtain 9 kg of essential oil. 

            Patchouli by Réminiscence, Aromatics Elixir by Clinique, Coco Mademoiselle and Monsieur by Chanel and all chypre in general have large quantities of patchouli.

            • Vetiver

            The vetiver is mainly cultivated in India, Reunion Island and Haiti. During the 20th century, it was the subject of a large-scale use in perfumery. It had been used since antiquity for its healing properties. Vetiver is said to be magical, as it is used for voodoo rituals, ayurvedic remedies, purification of places or water. Moreover, the root of vetiver is very useful against soil erosion.

            It is one of the most beautiful woody notes of the perfumers' palette, with timeless elegance. One of the steps in the harvesting of vetiver is the digging, which consists of turning over the soil to extract the roots. The deeper the roots are found, the richer they are in essential oil. The roots will be removed from the soil, separated from the aerial stems, then washed and distilled. It takes 100 kg of roots to obtain 1 kg of essential oil.

            Vetiver has a warm and deep woody scent, evoking myrrh and iris roots. Its earthy and damp note is reminiscent of fresh hazelnut with a more or less smoky accent.

            The vetiver from India or Reunion Island, called bourbon vetiver, is the most appreciated in perfumery. Java vetiver is drier and much rougher, which makes it less interesting. The scent of vetiver is very interesting because it really gives vibration to the perfume, from the top notes to the base notes. It acts as a tutor in the orchestration of a fragrance.

            Guerlain was one of the first to pay tribute to vetiver. Indeed, Guerlain's Vétiver (1959) combines this fresh woody note with citrus, tonka bean, nutmeg, and a tobacco accord. It is this unique accord that sets it apart from other vetivers on the market. 

            Fragrances with vetiver:

            • Vétiver Givenchy (1959)
            • Vétiver Carven (1957)
            • Vétiver Extraordinaire Frédéric Malle (2002)
            • Vétiver Salt The different Company
            • Terre Hermès (2006)
            • Sycomore Chanel 

            Habanita by Molinard is a feminine and sexy perfume that has used the root note of vetiver in large quantities.

            A perfumer once said that if vetiver was a character, it would be Indiana Jones! 

            • Pine or cypress notes

            You will rarely find pine or cypress in perfumery even though they are very interesting notes. In perfumery you can find:

            1. Pine essence with fresh, rising, bitter, and balsamic notes that provide a great "breath of fresh air" effect in a creation. 
            2. The fir balsam, which is a natural note of pine needles, very salivating and slightly sweet.
            3. Borneol and iso bornyl acetate have the scent of sun-heated pines, reminiscent of Mediterranean pine forests.

            The perfumes around the pine or cypress are Pino Sylvestre and Acqua di Selva (two great classics), Filles en Aiguilles by Serge Lutens.

            • Fig tree accord 

            The fig and fig tree accord are very sought-after as wearable and home fragrances. It is, in fact, a composition based on different woods including sandalwood and sometimes cedarwood. The coconut and the green note called the stemone are important in this accord. 

            The two perfumes based on fig or fig tree notes are Premier Figuier by l'Artisan Parfumeur and Philosykos by Diptyque.

            • Oud wood

            Many perfumes are now based on oud wood or agarwood. Whether it is oud wood, oudh wood, agar wood, aloe wood, jinko or gaharu, all these names designate the same material.

            These woods have been used a lot by the rituals of khodo in Japan. They are also widely used in the Middle East during the fumigation called the bakhur. This fumigation is intended to perfume their clothing.

            For about ten years these oud woods have invaded the more western perfumery. The oud notes are today very appreciated by those who want very dark, pronounced, extremely tenacious and powerful notes.

            It is a dark and very fragrant resin that develops in a variety of trees called aquilaria when they are infected by a fungus, the phialophra. The resin that then develops in the heart of the tree is a defense reaction against the fungus. The raw material obtained is very expensive and valuable, which is why it is rarely used naturally. In fact, only few brands use it naturally. The oud woods used are often reconstitutions. A reconstitution is a mixture of several notes, both natural and synthetic.

            It is the trendy note of the moment and it would be tedious to make a list of the perfumes that contain oud wood, there are so many of them. 

            • Guaiac wood 

            Guaiac wood is a wood with smoky, leathery notes. Be careful with the dosage, because in excess it can give a note of smoked ham.

            • Birchwood

            Birchwood, as its name might suggest, is not a woody note, but a dark leather note. This is now prohibited by legislation, good reconstitutions successfully replace this natural note. The birch wood note is therefore an accord consisting of natural dark woody notes such as gaiac wood, cade wood, but also synthetic notes such as saffronal, sudéral, pyrogenic styrax, isobutyl, etc.

            Synthetic woody notes

            Fortunately, perfumery can also use very beautiful synthetic woody notes.

            • A molecule from vetiver

            Vetiveryl acetate has been discovered thanks to chemistry. It is a molecule, but paradoxically, is more expensive than the natural product. It is a vibrant, rising, extremely fresh and pure note that smells like vetiver but gives a modern tone to a fragrance.
            We also use vetiverol, it is similar to vetiver but without its dusty note.

            • The sandalwood molecules 

            Many synthetic sandalwood molecules exist, but they cannot replace natural sandalwood. They serve to boost natural sandalwood because it doesn’t have a scent and needs to be supported. You will find:

            1. Ebanol
            2. Polysantol
            3. Sandal
            4. Sandella

            • Evernyl

            Evernyl is a tree moss note that is very present in chypre perfumes. They don’t perfectly replace oak moss, but associated with natural woods, such as vetiver and patchouli, they can be very useful.

            • Cashmeran 

            Cashmeran has a soft, almost oriental, musky, woody note that is found in many current fragrances.

            • Ceded molecules

            Cedrol, vertofix and cedramber molecules have been isolated through chemistry, and are also very interesting.

            • Sudéral 

            It is a very beautiful synthetic molecule, not woody, but considered as a soft and clear leather reminiscent of the suede note. The sudéral also helps to replace the birchwood note that is prohibited by legislation.

            • Iso-e super

            This molecule with a velvety, almost musky woody note works well in all olfactory families. It is present in overdose in Trésor by Lancôme.

            • Karanal and trendy woody notes

            Another widely used synthetic molecule is karana that made Dolce Gabbana's Light Blue a success in 2001. It is a fresh perfume from the woody family, built around a citrus structure and a juicy fruity note. The karanal or equivalent gives a real power and wake to this perfume.

            Sometimes for certain brands the karanal is limited or prohibited. Other vibrant notes are then used, such as Limbanol, ambrocénide or Z11. They are very powerful and virile, used especially in perfumes for men. You will find them more and more in perfumes for women. 

            It is sometimes an easy solution to give power to a fragrance, you can find them in many recent perfumes on the market.

            Conclusion

            Confidential perfumery is more audacious and remarkable for its great creative freedom and does not make a distinction between fragrances for men and women. We speak about emotions. The register of woody notes is the richest family of perfumery.

            Sylvaine Delacourte perfumes

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