Anise in perfume is a sweet, fresh, liquorice-scented spice note from the seeds of Pimpinella anisum, a small herb of the carrot and fennel family native to the eastern Mediterranean. Classed as aromatic or spicy, aniseed oil is rich in anethole and smells bright, green and cooling, with a clean sweetness used to lift florals, fougères and gourmands.

What does Anise smell like?

Green aniseed smells lighter and more herbaceous than other anisic materials. The opening is cool and sweet, like pastis before water is added, with a green, seed-like freshness and a faint floral, almost hay-like softness. Star Anise, from an unrelated Chinese tree, is fuller and warmer with a woody background, and the Licorice note is darker and more confectionery-like. Aniseed sits at the fresh, clean end of this family, which is why it blends so easily into powdery and floral accords.

Where Anise comes from

The plant is an annual herb that reaches roughly 60 to 90 cm and produces small, ribbed seeds (botanically, fruits) that are crushed and steam-distilled. The oil is typically 80 to 90% anethole, with minor amounts of estragole and anisaldehyde. Anise is grown around the Mediterranean and in western Asia, including Egypt, Turkey and Spain.

• Also known as: Aniseed, green anise, sweet cumin, Pimpinella anisum
• Fragrance family: Aromatic spicy
• Type: Natural
• Main origins: Egypt, Turkey, Spain and the eastern Mediterranean
• How it's obtained: Steam distillation of crushed seeds
• Key aroma molecules: Trans-anethole, estragole, anisaldehyde

Anise in perfume history

Anise has been cultivated in Egypt for around 4,000 years and was used by the Romans, who wrote about it as a medicinal and culinary plant. Its biggest cultural footprint is in drink: ouzo, raki, arak, sambuca, anisette and pastis all rely on it. In perfumery, anisic materials gave a soft, sweet facet to early floral compositions, and anisaldehyde, derived from anethole, became a building block of hawthorn and mimosa accords.

Anise in modern perfumery

Aniseed oil is now used mostly in small amounts, as perfumers often turn to cheaper star anise oil or pure anethole. It still appears in aromatic fougères, violet and iris compositions and niche scents inspired by Mediterranean aperitifs.

How Anise wears and what it pairs with

Anise is a top-to-heart note with strong early diffusion and moderate longevity. It pairs with fennel, lavender, violet, iris, heliotrope, mimosa, tonka bean and vanilla.

Safety and regulation

Anethole is listed as a fragrance allergen under Regulation (EU) 2023/1545, and estragole is subject to limits in some uses. Anise oil also contains traces of other declarable components depending on grade.