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. This is similar, but not the same, as the natural muskiness found in real ambrette (hibiscus seed), as you'd smell in Le Cri by Parfum d'Empire. Baraonda by Nasomatto doses this material to 25%, which is the fruity aspect of a larger musk cocktail.
Ambrocenide: Amber molecule with dry, woody-metallic sharpness. Boosts power and projection. Incredibly famous and recognisable amber wood material - likely contributing to what is colloquially known as the 'male fragrance' smell. Isolated from cedarwood. It is the defining stamp of Blamage (Nasomatto).
Ambroxan: Dry yet clean ambergris facet, enhancing tenacity and diffusion. There is no question that Ambroxan and its many other names have found its way in modern perfumery, with Aventus (Creed) an exemplar of the style. If you were curious about its natural original - real ambergris can be smelled in Ambre Supreme by Les Indemodables.
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. Used in Duro by Nasomatto.
Boisiris®: A rich woody heart note with iris connotations. Lends a tempering effect in Duro (Nasomatto), against the strong woody-musk foundation.
Calone (Watermelon Ketone): Fresh air and water with hints of watermelon; the quintessential aquatic ingredient. Found to great effect in Creed's Millesime Imperial, evoking gentle white sand beaches; or in overdose in Megamare (Orto Parisi), where the sea grows turbulent.
Cashmeran: Musky-woody molecule with mineral warmth, spiced sweetness, and a soft, fabric-like texture. Evokes cashmere, sun-warmed skin, dry woods, with an angular muskiness. It is used in incredible overdose in Duro by Nasomatto.
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. Particularly loved by perfumer Alessandro Gualtieri - it can be detected prominently in Stercus (Orto Parisi).
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. Can anchor a perfume while remaining light; structure without dominance. Seminalis by Orto Parisi is overdosed with the material, at 14%.
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.
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. Used in staggering overdose in Jubilation XXV by Amouage - rumoured to be as high as 40% of the total composition - which adds modernity and familiarity to a richly resinous palette.
Gardenol (Styrallyl Acetate): 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. Famously used in the legendary Eau Sauvage (Dior) from 1966 by Edmond Roudnitska. Often associated with jasmine - in isolation the molecular more accurately lends radiance and transparency, adding sunlight to a fresh compositions. This effect is captured beautifully in the 'green lawn' effect of You or Someone Like You by Etat Libre d'Orange.
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. Combined with patchouli in Une Amourette (Etat Libre d'Orange), it forms its unmistakable animalic backbone supporting wood and floral notes.
Isobutyl Quinoline (IBQ): A leathery-green/mossy powerhouse. Vintage and bold. When it comes to leather compositions, traditionally perfumers can achieve this note in either two ways: birch tar, with evident smokiness (see: Lonestar Memories by Tauer Perfumes) or via IBQ - which needs to be used with great care and careful dosage. Or indeed, sometimes a bit of both. IBQ is used in Nudiflorum (Nasomatto) for a retro feeling.
Iso E Super: Transparent, dry, woody-ambery molecule with velvety radiance. Could be the most famous (read: most recognised) molecule in all of perfumery, easily used in overdose quantities to give diffusiveness; and enhance other material's own smell. Famously used in many of Jean-Claude Ellena's perfumes. Though largely ubiquitous in modern perfumery, it is prominent in I Am Trash by Etat Libre d'Orange, which especially makes the fruity rose note 'pop' while supplying a fine woody spine of its own.
Isoraldeine®: Green, leafy aldehyde with sharp citrus freshness. Adds brightness and a cut-stem effect. Ionones are crucial components of iris and violet fragrances, and this family of molecules can be smelled with prominence in Iris de Nuit by Heeley Parfums.
Javanol: Creamy sandalwood, very powerful and smooth. It is used in massive (unprecedented) overdose in Bergamask (Orto Parisi), and it is unmistakable. Its cologne-esque qualities means it blends well with citrus top notes, while being remarkably persistent on skin and fabric. Used in sandalwood accords, it boosts - but is valuable as a musky fond material also.
Karanal / Okoumal: Diffusive woody-amber notes with spicy metallic facets. Sharp and bright, used in powerful modern ambers. See: Black Afgano by Nasomatto.
Limanol®: Fresh, clean floral with citrus-lavender brightness. A key booster for colognes and florals.
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. Considered a super amber, it adds strength and richness to the base of a composition, and a distinctive dryness felt top to bottom. Also known as Timberol. Used at approximately 11% in Boccanera (Orto Parisi).
Osyrol: Light sandalwood material, good canvas material with sweet, clean, and floral nuances.
Polysantol: Adds liveliness to sandalwood accords. Powerful, like scorched cream on wood. Famously used in the textbook sandalwood, Samsara (Guerlain, 1989). It is the primary - or perhaps even the sole - sandalwood note of Original Santal by Creed.
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. See: Mousse Illuminee by Rogue Perfumery.
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. It gives Baraonda (Nasomatto) its unmistakable impression.