Wood Synthetics II

Okoumal is not as powerful as other woody chemicals, but has an elegant softness. It is long lasting and makes an excellent fixative while leaning toward amber. It brings richness and warmth. It combines well with other sandalwood “replacers,” such as ebanol and works well with cedar compounds. Okoumal is very long lasting.
Tobacarol is well named and useful in a large number of fragrances to lend spicy, amber, and tobacco notes. Like tobacco itself, it works well with citrus notes, especially, lime. Tobacarol makes an excellent fixative and can be used to flesh out a fragrance.

Hydroxyambran “…works extremely well with the limbanols, okoumal, and tobacarol. It provides body and fixation…” 

Spirambrene resembles bois ambreine forte, orlimbanol, cedroxyde and cedramber. According to ABC, it imparts velvety nuances to woods. 

Ebanol is a strong, distinctly sandalwood aroma that seems to enter into every sandalwood formula. ABC warns that it must be fresh or it develops off aromas.

ABC describes polysantol as one of the best sandalwood chemicals available. It apparently has a fruity nuance (hard for me to detect) that’s missing in sandalwood. He extols blends with firsantol because firsantol doesn’t have the fruity note and blocks it in the polysantol. He suggests an accord with ebanol, bacdanol, brahmanol, blue chamomile and sandela. He always includes sandela in his sandalwood accords because it is such a great fixative.

Firsantol is related to polysantol, but it’s dryer and doesn’t have the fruity note. ABC says it’s one of the best sandalwood chemicals around.

Koavone is less a sandalwood chemical than a floral-woody compound. It smells to me like methyl ionone and woods. ABC says it provides lift to top notes when methyl ionones or iso e super are used. I use it to provide a link between woods and florals.