Civet

Civet Tincture from AbdesSalaam Attar Profumo

Swings between smelling fecal and smelling like mothballs. I do not get any urine smell here as I do with the synthetic civet. I think natural civet is much more pleasing, however, I am really impressed that synthetic civet comes as close as it does to the natural scent. I recognize this scent very well from Jicky, and of the concentrations I've tried, the civet in Jicky extrait comes closest to smelling like this natural civet. In the drydown, it has a sweetness that is unexpected, but helps me see how this can blend so well in oriental bases that include sweet balsamic notes.

Agreed, Nymphaea. However, Profumo is a very picky about his sources so I feel comfortable when he says his animalics are authentic and natural. He also sells honey EO or tincture (or somesuch) as a separate single note dilution.

Compiled from the Note Identification Project Thread:

Civet: moth balls, aged urine, ammonia

Civit, synthetic, Perfumers Apprentice By far the strongest note in the palette. This one packs a punch. Sulfuric and fecal aroma. (You would not want to spill it anywhere.) Oddly, this synthetic accord of civit was not as long-lasting as I had expected. It was permeating, but for something that packs such a punch in the top notes, it managed to back down appreciably. Perhaps this synthetic version was engineered to fade out so it would be more useable in perfumery.

Civet (givaudan): oh what a surprise! i actually liked the civet smell! is there something wrong with me? "It hits you like Wladimir Klitschkos right hook and smells like his boxing shorts after 10 rounds", and that´s the polite way to put it, to quote chandler burr. but for me - amazing - it is quite pleasant, even sweet. could it be that i diluted it too much? i came as 10% and i diluted it to 1%.

Civet: whoa! Rasa Extreme without the roses! At first it reminded me more of someone's bad breath than faeces. But then that disappeared and it turned to poo. Well at least now I know what it smells like!

Civit Fecal, musty, overwhelming. Unique aroma.

Civet - reconstitution, 2% dilution in carrier oil: eeeek ! was the first word I uttered when I smelled this molecule. It smells of old urine, strong and definitely unpleasant. I wonder what it will do to other notes when mixed - I am planning to mix it with rose, for instance. I also wonder if those who say they love civet as a note in fragrances ever smelled the single note, real or synthetic. I am not able to exactly identify a civet note in a perfume, I usually detect only a generic animalic tone.

I'm pretty sure that most large houses use primarily synthetic civet. I smelled the aromamolecule from Purplebird's package, and it is quite a good synthetic rendition of natural. However, the synthetic is much harsher and sharper, despite their overall similarities. The natural civet I smelled from profumo.it was soft and round--it still had the fecal notes (which smell like mothballs to me), but was far more complex.

I find Caron Pour un Homme to be intensely more harsh and grating than Jicky. However, Jicky does have a large does of Lavender, vanilla and civet...notes very similar to what is in Caron PuH.