Civet

What it brings

An intimate animalic warmth that gives depth to flowers.

Origins and uses

Civet was one of the great animal materials of classical perfumery: a secretion of the African civet with a very powerful scent. Its main odorous compound is civetone, a macrocyclic ketone whose structure was established by the chemist Leopold Ružička, at the same time as that of muscone, from musk. Very strong when pure, its smell becomes pleasant at very high dilution: musky, dry, animalic and slightly sweet.

Civetone can now be made by synthesis, from precursors derived from palm oil, and the civet note is recreated with synthetic molecules rather than taken from the animal. Used in tiny doses in the base of compositions, it acts as a fixative and brings warmth and sensuality.

In our catalogue, civet appears in the base of Gold Woman by Amouage, with ambergris and musk, and of Diaghilev by Roja Parfums, among the many materials in its base.