Wood Synthetics IV
Okoumal is not as powerful as other woody chemicals, but it is soft and makes an excellent fixative.
Tobacarol is an ABC (Arcadi Boix Camps) favorite. He describes it as “…warm, woody and spicy, with notes of clove, mace and nutmeg, ambery, tobacco and others.” It works extremely well with citrus notes, in particular, lime. He describes its usefulness as a fixative and to provide body to a fragrance. He suggests a couple of accords, but most of what he calls for is unobtainable by ordinary mortals. Tobacoral can be used in fragrances up to 10%.
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.
Dihydro ionone beta has been around a long time and has just recently been widely rediscovered. It reminds me a bit of orris and ionones. It has a woody and floral character that adds sophistication, elegance and beauty to blends.
Kohinool is another of ABC’s favorites. He says it forms a “dream accord” with iso e super. Kohinool is both woody and floral so it’s less a sandalwood chemical than a compound occurring in any number of fragrances. Combinations ABC suggests include iso e super, kohinool, cedroxyde, norlimbanol, boisanol (which I don’t have), trimofix and amber ketal.
I recently acquired a small bottle of mysoral, which has been captive for years. Of all my sandalwood chemicals, this one smells the most of sandalwood. ABC describes it as being resinous and likes to combine it with frankincense from Oman or Somalia. He describes a couple of complicated accords containing frankincense, helvetolide, coranol, cashmeran, pink pepper, cetalox, tuberose absolute, osmanthus, ebanol, alpha-damascone, gamma decalactone, ethylene brassylate, ethyl vanillin. He mentions that javanol and mysoral are especially synergistic.