5 min read
Animalic Aromas – Notes of Warmth, Leather, and Musk
Written By: Robin Lander
Have you ever wondered what perfumers mean when they describe a scent as ‘animalic’? In perfumery, the Animalic aroma family refers to essences that evoke the warmth and intimacy of living beings – notes that are musky, leathery, sensual, and sometimes just a touch ‘dirty.’ Formulators value the complexity of Animalic aromas for the way they add depth, realism, and emotional intensity to compositions. Many also serve as excellent fixatives, extending the longevity of a perfume on the skin.
Animalic notes have been a part of perfumery since its beginnings. Traditionally, Animalic essences such as civet, castoreum, deer musk, and ambergris were sourced from animals. Today, these materials are largely unavailable or ethically unsuitable for modern perfumery. We’re proud to offer a number of ethically sourced, botanical-derived materials with animalic qualities, along with one very special, animal-derived material sustainably upcycled from the agricultural industry.
In this article, we’ll dive into to our range of Animalic aroma offerings and how to use them in your creations. From soft and subtle to boldly provocative, there’s an Animalic aroma ready to bring your perfume to life.
Rare, Musky, and Sensual Animalics
Wool Absolute
Wool Absolute is back in stock!
Rich, animalic-musky aroma with notes of sweet dried fruit, resins, and creamy-salicylated warmth along with boozy, fatty, and gourmand nuances. Our rare, sustainable offering is solvent extracted from water remaining after the washing of sheep’s wool collected from healthy, living, farmed sheep. This versatile, upcycled material brings unique bucolic facets for your Oud accords, musk bases, chypre, gourmand, and fantasy perfume compositions.Agarwood
Highly persistent, sweet, warm, deeply complex, precious woody aroma with shades of smoky, ambery incense, honeyed tobacco, and sensual animalic notes resembling musk/castoreum. Sustainably produced in Vietnam on a managed plantation, Agarwood adds luxurious richness and intrigue to high-end and niche fragrances, Oud perfumes, and ceremonial blends with its multi-dimensional depth, complexity, and tenacity.Agarwood - 5%
For those looking for an easy-to-use, economical option, we offer a pre-diluted blend of 5% Agarwood essential oil in 95% organic Fractionated Coconut oil. Apply it directly as a natural perfume or further dilute to add to bodycare and aromatic blends. Revered for centuries, Agarwood holds a place of honor in sacred rituals, ceremonial anointing, and the palettes of natural perfumers worldwide.Ambrette Seed CO2 – Fine
Intensely rich, sweet, nutty/seed-like, musky-floral, rounded with nuances of Cognac, Clary Sage, and Tobacco back notes and underscored with subtle, sensual leather and animalic notes; extremely tenacious and an excellent fixative. Extracted from the seeds of a type of Hibiscus plant, Ambrette is considered the ‘musk of the vegetable kingdom,’ and has a soft, lovely lifting quality when added in small amounts to your base accords.Resins with Leathery and Animalic Undertones
Dynamone
Exceptionally smooth, deep amber-balsamic aroma highlighted by mineral and metallic notes and a resinous, animalic and leathery backnote. Created through a proprietary solvent extraction process, this specialty extract brings forth carefully refined elements of the Cistus plant with incredible smoothness and a silky, shimmering quality. Use this mobile liquid to help create leather bases, amber compositions, and add metallic notes to your creations.Labdanum Absolute – Clear
Powerful, deep, rich, sweet balsamic aroma with a faint herbaceous nuance and a persistent ambergris-like backnote; extremely tenacious. Solvent extracted from the resinous leaves and twigs of the Cistus plant, Labdanum is used extensively in perfumery for its excellent fixative value and to impart a rich, suave sweetness and natural undertone. Use it to bring ambergris and leather-like qualities to your base accords and Amber compositions.Indolic Florals with ‘Dirty’ Depth
Orange Blossom Absolute
Intense, indole-rich, warm, deep, sweet yet non-cloying citrus floral aroma that deepens in the drydown; it’s less sweet than our Orange Blossom Absolute – Fine with a subtle bitter-green backnote that lends aliveness. Containing the aromatically erotic and animalic indole, a molecule also found in human and animal pheromones, Orange Blossom Absolute is seductive in exotic and Amber fragrances, giving character, depth, and fixative properties.Jasmine Sambac Absolute
Sweet, green, fruity-floral with a rich floral/honey/tea undertone, turning sweeter in the drydown. Produced from the night-blooming variety of Jasmine, its irresistibly indolic aroma brings enticing, hypnotic, animalic qualities to compositions. The aroma of Jasmine is said to blend with virtually everything and is an indispensable ingredient for the natural perfumer.Rose Absolute – Trilogy
Warm, honeyed, spicy, highly floral, slightly animalic and deep, with a rich fatty note and superb lemon-citrus tones in the drydown. A unique mix of Rose oils from roses grown on our own farms in three legendary rose-growing regions – Bulgaria, Morocco and Turkey – it’s slightly sharper and more indolic than our other Rose options. A perfect choice of Rose when you want a bold, exotic, and sultry edge.Rose By-Absolute
Warm, deep, sweet floral, slightly animalic, with notes of tart dried fruit, tea and leather. Sustainably upcycled and solvent extracted from material that remains after the distillation of rose blossoms, our Rose By-Absolute lends unusual, interesting Rose notes to formulations, particularly in reconstitutions of Rose, Oud fragrances, and in Amber, leather, and woody bases.Tuberose Absolute - Fine
Extremely rich, clean, intensely sweet floral aroma with a refined oily-fatty undertone and a long, sweetly floral drydown. In perfumery, Tuberose is a powerful floral force, illuminating floral, Amber, and exotic fragrances, and lending depth and opulence to other white flowers. Sensual, fresh, and heady with a touch of indolic muskiness, Tuberose is sure to enhance your aromatic creations with richly complex sweetness and body.Musky, Earthy Roots
Nagarmotha (Cypriol)
Rich, persistent, woody, earthy, deep, somewhat peppery aroma with smoky notes of leather; has rich, sweet-woody undertones and excellent fixative qualities. Sometimes used as a substitute for Patchouli in perfumery, it adds a distinctive and interesting note to masculine or unisex perfumes. Try it for adding dirty leather nuances to fougères or Oud and Amber accords.Angelica Root CO2 – Organic
Rich earthy, green herbaceous aroma with peppery top notes and clean spicy/woody back notes; extremely tenacious. Angelica Root is noted for its remarkable depth, persistence and diffusiveness, and the presence of a particularly musk-like lactone, making it highly valued for use in natural perfumery. Try pairing it with woods, florals, earthy notes, and in Amber blends.What to Combine with Animalic Aromas
Spice aromas like Peppercorn, Pink, Nutmeg Absolute, and Bay Rum LeafFlorals like Ylang Ylang Extra - Organic, Jasmine Absolute, Egypt, and Neroli, EgyptAgrestic essences like Oakmoss Absolute and Tobacco AbsoluteEarthy notes like Vetiver, Java and Patchouli – Double DistilledHerbaceous aromas like Clary Sage - Organic and DavanaWoods like Sandalwood, Australian - Premium, Oakwood Absolute 50%, and Cypress By-AbsoluteAnimalics for Warmth, Longevity, and Complexity
Deepen your pretty florals, sparkling citruses, base accords, and Amber fragrances with the enlivening power of Animalic aromas. In trace amounts, they can make a floral bouquet bloom with realism, or try larger amounts for lending bold character to vintage-style chypres, heady exotics, and sophisticated woods. These transformative notes will add living warmth and emotional resonance, giving your creations a memorable and long-lasting impression.
