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

Rarely does perfume come to mind when one thinks about leaves, but plant leaves have played an important role in perfumery since people began to enjoy wearing scents. While the flowers of most plants used in perfumes are essential so, too, are the leaves of those plants. Leaves normally hold more oil than flowers since they are the life-support of the blossoms. While petals and other parts of the flower are used for their aroma, leaves provide many of the oils used to mix perfumes to the correct scent and consistency.

In the middle ages, leaves were a very important source for the perfumers of the royal courts, for the flowers were often allowed to be harvested only at the pleasure of the ruling monarch. The flowers would grace the tables and halls of nobility until they wilted, rendering them useless for scents, while the leaves still retained much of the essential oils that perfumers needed to make their creations.

Leaves have continued to be used in perfumes, particularly the leaves of herbal plants. Basil leaves are not just for cooking, but is included in many perfumes including Dune by Christian Dior. Dune combines the leaves of basil, mandarin and sage with moss and cedarwood for a truly unique and delicious scent that definitely doesn’t smell like a kitchen!

DUNE BY CHRISTIAN DIOR(WOMEN)

Price : $58.43

The leaves of herbal plants are very aromatic due to the oil that the plant manufactures. They are very easy to cultivate and quite inexpensive, making them a favorite ingredient of many perfumers. Oil from the leaves is usually recovered by crushing or grinding, strained for impurities and decanted for later use. The process is very simple and had been done by hand for hundreds of years before the age of machines.

Many people are surprised when they learn how many varieties of leaves are used in the scents that they love. Coriander, for instance, isn’t just a prominent ingredient in your favorite salsa but when Moschino perfumers mix it with rose, gardenia, carnation and vanilla it becomes the popular perfume Moschino. If you think you aren’t familiar with coriander, that’s because it’s more commonly called cilantro.

MOSCHINO BY MOSCHINO (EAU DE TOILETTE SPRAY 1.5 OZ)

Price : $30.23

Wormwood has also been used, particularly in France where the plant thrives. Its aromatic leaves have been used as a base for many years, imparting a fresh herbal scent and pleasing consistency to both liquid and solid perfumes. In the Middle East, jasmine and myrtle leaves as well as cinnamon leaves were and still are used in perfumes. Other leaves used in prominent perfumes on the market today include lavender, rosemary, sage, caraway and thyme.

Tim Walt

When it comes to perfume, anything goes! Perfumers get inspiration from the most unusual sources; for instance, most people wouldn’t imagine that a fabulous scent could be derived from the bark of common trees. But if you take time to really appreciate the subtle aroma of even the most common tree in your neighborhood, you’ll realize that bark actually can be a very important ingredient in perfume.

Bark has been used for hundreds of years in perfumes, incense, sachets and even candles because of its fresh and unique scents. In ages past, bark was used in the form of macerations, which is soaking or steeping the bark until its aromatic properties are drawn out of the wood and into the liquid. The resulting brew was then added to resin to make solid perfume or mixed with other agents to dry and add to candles or incense.

Today, perfumers have much more efficient ways to use bark in their creations. Although cinnamon bark is an ingredient in many perfumes and colognes, its relative Cassia is also used. Cassia is a bit more pungent than cinnamon but similarly aromatic and refreshing. Cinnamon and Cassia bark are common additions to popular formulas because of their sweet yet sharp and defined qualities that they contribute to the entire bouquet. Cinnamon and Cassia bark appear as far back as ancient Mesopotamia when people soaked them in oil and water and rubbed the liquid onto their bodies for a pleasant scent and refreshment. “Hugo” by Hugo boss is a well known men’s perfume and cologne that uses cinnamon bark blended with citrus and spicy leaves into a subtle but powerful bouquet that is both pleasant and stimulating.

HUGO BY HUGO BOSS (MINI EDT .17 OZ)

Price : $6.47

Cascarilla, technically a plant and not a tree, nevertheless produces bark that is preferred by many creative perfumers. A native of the West Indies and other moderate tropical climates, its bark is used to flavor Campari and Vermouth as well as lend its grace our modern perfumes. Sassafras bark with its unique snap and lingering sweetness is another popular bark. Its fragrant oil is purified for its safrole, which has a candy-shop type aroma perfect for use in scents aimed towards young people. Safrole, believe it or not, is also used in some parts of the world in the manufacture of drugs used to treat epilepsy.

Other common barks used in perfumes include pine, cedar, juniper and birch. These barks are aromatic as well as reminiscent of the best scents associated with the outdoors and so they are very commonly used in masculine perfumes and colognes. A hint of these scents can bring such pleasant memories and impressions that bark-based colognes are a favorite among men and the women who love them.

Tim Walt

Base notes, or the longest lasting elements of perfumes, are usually dominated by the scents of wood. There are many different kinds of woods used for perfumes including cedar, rosewood, juniper, pine and agarwood. The oils and distilled essences from these and other woods are very important even to perfumes where you don’t detect their fragrance. In many scents, the woods are used to accentuate other aromas.

Sandalwood, perhaps the best known of all these fragrant woods, grows in India and other parts of Asia. Synthetics are often used for sandalwood, as the forests have been severely decimated from over-harvesting for perfumes and many other wood products. It not only serves as an important note in perfume, it is an excellent fixative that can anchor other scents. B-United by Benetton uses sandalwood as a base note as well as elements of citrus and floral notes.

B-UNITED BY BENETTON (EAU DE TOILETTE SPRAY 3.4 OZ)
Price : $12.01

Agarwood is another Asian tree that grows mainly in Laos and produces a very fragrant oil and resin that perfumers love. Only the smallest bit of the oil is necessary to scent a room and it can take up to twelve hours to unfold. It will last on a person’s skin for more than a whole day and when applied to a porous material such as wooden boxes or cloth the scent can actually last for months. It is also said to have spiritual qualities and to improve access to hidden memories. Perfumers prize its deep and complex aroma. Yves Saint Laurent and Amouage perfumers both use agarwood as a base note in their premium fragrances.

Oudh oil resin, from the Aquilaria tree in Asia, is produced from trees infected with a parasitic fungus. The growth causes them to produce a resin in the heart of the tree over a period of, sometimes, hundreds of years before the infection kills the tree and leaves the resin behind to be chipped away. This resin, called Aloeswood, is very rare and considered the most sacred oil on earth. Its delicious aroma is used only in the finest, most premium perfumes. The lower quality resin is shredded and distilled then dried and used for incense. 

Cedar is another wood valuable in perfumery. Besides the wood’s decay-resistance, its aroma is so fresh and rich that it was used in building the famous temple of King Solomon. Onyx by Azzaro combines spices with citrus and apple, using cedar wood ad juniper to give the scent a refreshing, carefree aroma with delicious lingering signature.

ONYX BY AZZARO (EAU DE TOILETTE SPRAY 1.7 OZ)
Price : $16.63

Without aromatic woods, perfumes would lose much of their personality. Synthetic versions of some of these woods have seen increasing use as the forests become decimated from harvesting. Synthetics are often longer lasting than natural oils and give forests time to regenerate, allowing us to enjoy the fragrance of our favorite woods.

Tim Walt