Amber · Natural material · Top notes, Heart notes, Base notes
Incense
Incense is a perfume note that almost always comes from frankincense, also called olibanum, the resin of the Boswellia tree, known in Indonesia as luban or kemenyan Arab. It smells like freshly lit incense, with a citrus-peel and peppery brightness that dries down warm and faintly smoky. Incense can appear in any layer but shows most in the heart and base.
· Written by the FRAG team
What does incense smell like in perfume?
Incense smells like a room just after incense has been burned. The opening is fresh and slightly sharp, with hints of citrus peel, pepper and pine sap. After a few minutes, incense turns drier and warmer, with a thin smoke that recalls old wood or cool stone walls.
Incense is much less sweet than amber or vanilla. That is why perfumers use it to give a sweet blend a clean, solemn edge, or to add depth to a dry woody one.
Where does frankincense come from?
Frankincense is the hardened sap of Boswellia trees, such as Boswellia sacra and Boswellia papyrifera. Harvesters cut the bark a few times a year and let the sap that seeps out dry into tears. Most of the world's frankincense comes from the Horn of Africa, mainly Somalia and Ethiopia, with more from Oman, Yemen and India.
For perfume, frankincense tears are steam distilled into an essential oil, or extracted into a resinoid or CO2 extract with a rounder smell. In Indonesian, the word kemenyan usually means benzoin, a resin from Styrax trees in Sumatra, so it is a different material from frankincense.
How incense works in a perfume
Incense can sit in the top, heart or base. The terpenes in frankincense evaporate quickly and give a fresh lift at the start, while the heavier resin evaporates slowly and stays in the base. How long the incense lingers still depends on your skin, the weather and the concentration.
Incense often pairs with myrrh and labdanum in warm resin blends, with oud and rose in Middle Eastern styles, and with cedar and pink pepper in drier compositions. You find incense mostly in amber and woody perfumes.
When to wear an incense perfume
A dry, citrusy incense perfume still works in the daytime, especially in air-conditioned rooms. Incense blends with oud, rose or vanilla are denser and suit evenings, family events or cooler weather. In hot weather, one or two sprays is usually enough.
