Amber · Accord · Heart notes, Base notes
Tobacco
Tobacco is a perfume note that recreates the smell of dried, unburned tobacco leaves. It smells sweet and warm, like hay, honey and dried fruit, with a woody side and a touch of leather. In perfume, tobacco is usually an accord in the heart or base and is common in amber, leather and gourmand blends.
· Written by the FRAG team
What does tobacco smell like in perfume?
Tobacco in perfume smells like cured tobacco leaves, with hints of hay, honey and dried prunes. There is a woody side, a little leather and sometimes a touch of cocoa. This is different from cigarette smoke. The tobacco note in perfume is sweeter, cleaner and warmer.
On skin, tobacco usually starts sweet and hay-like, then settles into something warm and dark. The dry-down often comes close to tonka bean and honey, because those materials are often used to build a tobacco accord.
How is a tobacco note made?
There is a natural material called tobacco absolute, made by extracting cured Nicotiana tabacum leaves with solvents. Tobacco absolute smells dense, like hay, dried fruit and warm leather, so perfumers use it in small amounts.
Many tobacco notes in perfume are built as accords. Perfumers use a little tobacco absolute, then add coumarin, a sweet, hay-like molecule also found in tonka bean, along with honey-like materials and other molecules that imitate dried leaves. That is why tobacco can smell different from one perfume to the next.
Tobacco in a perfume
Tobacco usually sits in the heart or base. The accord gives a warm, sweet and slightly dark effect that holds in the later stages of a perfume. How long the accord holds still depends on skin, weather and concentration.
A sweet tobacco blend usually brings in tonka bean, honey and vanilla. Leather makes it darker, while plum and cinnamon add fruit and spice. It also appears with coffee, rum or cognac in gourmand perfumes.
When to wear a tobacco perfume
Tobacco is most comfortable when the air is not too hot: late afternoons, evenings or air-conditioned rooms. If you want to wear it in the daytime, choose a tobacco blend lifted with citrus and fresh spice, and spray lightly.
