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Into the Woods – Perfumery’s Must-Have Wood Oils
Written By: Robin Lander
In perfumery, finding the perfect foundation for your composition is key for creating a harmonious fragrance with depth and longevity. When it comes to building base accords, or anchoring lighter heart and top notes, one can find exceptional complexity, versatility, and beauty in wood oils.
Aromatic oils derived from wood can offer warmth, balsamic creaminess, and earthy texture to compositions. Generally high in sesquiterpene compounds, they are slower to evaporate, bringing fixative properties that help perfumes linger. Often calming and meditative, their aromas have a universal appeal that formulators can rely on for bringing well-rounded smoothness and sophistication to their creations.
In this article, we’ll highlight a few of perfumery’s most popular wood oils and how to use them in your formulations.
Production and Sustainability
Wood oils are derived from heartwood, inner wood, or woody branches, typically ground into chips or sawdust before distillation to help release their rich aromas. This differs from tree resin oils, such as Frankincense and Myrrh, or needle oils like Pine and Spruce – these botanical materials are generally collected from living trees.
Because wood oils must often be produced from felled trees, vetting our suppliers carefully for sustainable and ethical production is a top priority for us. Rest assured, our sourcing team is looking out for our tree allies and their surrounding communities to help secure the future of these precious botanicals.
Favorite & Foundational Woods for Perfumery
While there are many wonderful wood oils to choose from for perfumery, this selection of seven beautiful woods forms a highly versatile, well-rounded collection for any perfumer’s palette.
Sandalwood, New Caledonia
Aroma: extremely sweet and creamy, smooth, woody and santalol-rich with a very long, deep, sweet-wood dry down.Characteristics: While we offer 8 different sustainably produced Sandalwood oils, our Sandalwood, New Caledonia is ultra-smooth and complex with the highest alpha-santalol content (44-47%). Derived from the species, Santalum austrocaledonicum, it’s sustainably harvested under the careful stewardship of local tribal communities in this archipelago in the southwest Pacific. It’s an excellent alternative to the often adulterated Indian Sandalwood, Santalum album, a species now categorized as ‘Vulnerable.’ Compare our Sandalwood offerings here.In formulation: One of the most important materials in perfumery since ancient times, Sandalwood is revered for its outstanding tenacity and velvety richness. Used as a base note, it has a soft, powdery drydown compatible with most other aromas.[1] Try it for supporting more delicate middle notes without overwhelming them, like Neroli or Gardenia Extract. It’s a classic pairing with Rose or Jasmine, laying a strong foundation to help these florals shine.Agarwood
Aroma: highly persistent, sweet, warm, deeply complex, precious woody aroma with shades of smoky, ambery incense, honeyed tobacco, and sensual animalic notes resembling musk/castoreum.Characteristics: Agarwood trees are now critically endangered in the wild. Our Agarwood is sourced from a family-run managed plantation in Vietnam and is sustainably cultivated – read more about the production here. We have CITES certification that notes this product was legally imported and cleared by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. However, due to CITES regulations set in place to protect the trees, we cannot ship this material to locations outside of the USA.In formulation: one of perfumery’s most rare and coveted natural materials, Agarwood’s irresistible aroma brings a luxurious dimensional richness to fragrances. The scent forms the basis of the legendary Arabian perfume called Oud, and is a popular addition to Amber accords, woody bases, chypres, fougères, and more.[2]. Combine it with Ambrette Seed CO2 to create a botanically derived musk accord, especially nice with Patchouli or Vanilla. Agarwood offers a mysterious depth behind any of our Rose Absolutes.For those looking for an easy-to-use, economical option, we offer Agarwood – 5%, a diluted blend of 5% Agarwood essential oil in 95% organic Fractionated Coconut Oil.Cedarwood, Virginia
Aroma: Dry, oily-woody, smooth, rich yet mild and somewhat sweet and balsamic; becomes drier and sweeter in the drydown.Characteristics: There are several Cedarwoods used in perfumery, however Cedarwood, Virginia is widely considered the ideal choice in fine perfumery for its clean, dry smoothness and compatibility. Not a true Cedar, it’s a type of Juniper grown and produced in the USA. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has assessed Virginia Cedarwood as ‘Least Concern’[3], making it a good choice in sustainable perfumery and body care.In formulation: Our Cedarwood, Virginia is suave, mellow, and complex, without the strong ‘pencil wood’ aroma often found in this oil. Interestingly, many perfumers declare it a base note, where others claim it as an anchoring, woody top note. In either accord, it lends powerful fixative qualities and a pure, warm, woody richness. Try it in a base accord with earthy-woody Vetiver and Sandalwood, or in a top note accord with citruses like Grapefruit or Bergamot and woody spices like Peppercorn, Pink.Please note: The oil is a deep red-brown color and may need gentle warming to liquefy.Hinoki Wood
Aroma: dry, fine woody, light terpenic aroma with soft herbal/lemony overtones and a peculiar warm, sweet, somewhat spicy undertone.Characteristics: Old growth Hinoki, also known as Japanese Cypress, is considered a ‘Near Threatened’ species, however new growth Hinoki has become a problem in mountainous regions where it has quickly reforested previously clear-cut areas, diminishing biodiversity and native deciduous trees. The Japanese government promotes the culling of this new growth Hinoki, and our producer obtains unusable off-cuts from a local sawmill to distill our Hinoki Wood essential oil. The sawmill has been certified by the Kochi Prefectural Forestry Association as engaging in legal and sustainable forestry practices.In formulation: Hinoki is a popular ingredient in perfumery for its refreshing, clean, spa-like aroma of wood, forest, and citrus. While mainly classified as a middle note, it’s also used as base or top note and thus can form a beautiful bridge between accords. As a fresher, brighter wood with some lift, Hinoki Wood blends well with citrusy-floral Yuzu (also from Japan) and Bergamot, green and herbaceous aromas like Mate Absolute and Clary Sage, coniferous and resinous oils like Frankincense, florals like Rose and Ylang Ylang, and heavier woody notes like Cedarwood and Vetiver.Buddha Wood
Aroma: Uniquely rugged, rich, woody, and dry oak/driftwood aroma with a resinous top note and slightly smoky and sweet rosewood-like back note that becomes more earthy/leathery in the long dry down; outstanding tenacity.Characteristics: Evergreen Buddha Wood trees are native to the arid regions of Australia however this pervasive, prolific scrub tree is now considered an invasive species in some areas, landing it in a classification allowing for wild harvesting. Nevertheless, our producers follow careful government harvesting regulations for sustainability. By targeting only mature trees for harvest, growing conditions for younger trees are improved, creating a regenerative process that ensures bountiful future harvests. In addition, Buddha Wood oil production supports farming families in drought-prone regions, providing an alternative income source during times of need.In formulation: The deeply centering, meditative scent of Buddha Wood (hence, the name) captures the sunbaked essence of the Australian outback. It can be used as a sustainable, affordable base note alternative or extender for precious wood oils like Sandalwood and Agarwood. Use it to help smooth and bring balance to blends without dominating, for adding powerful fixative qualities to base note accords with Labdanum, in incense/resinous perfumes with Cistus and Elemi, and to help round out forest notes like Fir. The aroma is exceptionally long-lasting on the skin.Oakwood Absolute 50%
Aroma: intense and rich with a smooth, earthy, sweet wood aroma, soft vanilla and whiskey-like undertones, and faint leather and tobacco backnotes; has good tenacity.Characteristics: Derived from the English Oak, Quercus robur, we produce the absolute in France with Oakwood chips remaining from the manufacture of barrels used for aging wine and spirits. The forest certified wood is dried and aged for over a year before barrel production begins to ensure it emits the finest tannins, subtle vanilla notes, complexity, and texture. The solvent extracted chips yield a viscous absolute that is diluted for ease of use with 50% with triethyl citrate (TEC), a natural ester of citric acid. Please note that while TEC is regarded as safe by the FDA, it is not recognized as a purely natural ingredient.In formulation: Oakwood Absolute is soluble in 190 proof alcohol; it is only partially soluble in fixed oil with the insoluble materials settling to the bottom, leaving a clear oil that can be decanted from the top and used in oil-based blends. Use Oakwood Absolute for extending precious woods such as Sandalwood and Agarwood, or to elevate the character of earthy notes like Patchouli and Vetiver. It’s a key ingredient in whisky and cognac accords, gorgeous with leathery Labdanum, an elegant choice in woody and Amber bases, and naturally enhances gourmand notes like Vanilla, Cocoa, and Ginger.Cedarwood Absolute, Atlas
Aroma: Sweet, balsamic, dry, woody, warm, resinous and very aromatic with notes of apricot liqueur; has a long drydown.Characteristics: Atlas Cedar trees are native to Morocco and Algeria, but due to overharvesting, drought, and other environmental pressures, are now considered endangered. All our Cedarwood, Atlas materials are produced at our extraction facility in Morocco, made exclusively from upcycled wood shavings and sawdust from the strictly regulated lumber industry, ensuring no trees are felled for their production. In formulation: This special solvent extracted absolute for perfumers has a deeper, richer, voluptuous aroma more tenacious and complex than the essential oil. Warming and soulful, it’s a superb fixative base note in floral perfumes, especially with Boronia, Cassie, and Mimosa. With its slightly gourmand fruit liqueur and beeswax nuances, it blends well with Cistus and Patchouli in base accords, spices like Cinnamon Bark and Coriander, and anchors volatile tops like Bergamot, Orange, Sweet, and Pepper.Getting Into the Woods
Highly approachable, compatible, and versatile, wood oils are as easy to work with as they are to fall in love with. They can invite warmth, smoothness, and harmony into your formulations, providing a fixative, structural base for a wide variety of perfume types. Their calming, familiar aromas have a timeless and enduring quality, much like the noble trees of their origins.
What are your favorite wood oils and how do you like to use them? Leave us a comment below!
Article References
1 Aftel, Mandy. Essence and Alchemy – A Book of Perfume, North Point Press, 2001, pg. 82.
2 Arctander, Steffen. Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, 1960, pp. 49-50.
3 https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/42257/2967510
