Cinnamon is a warm, sweet spice note taken from the bark or leaves of Cinnamomum trees. In perfume it smells of spiced baking, red-hot candy and dry wood, and it belongs to the warm spicy family, adding heat and comfort to oriental, amber and gourmand fragrances.

What does Cinnamon smell like?

The bark note is dominated by cinnamaldehyde, which gives the familiar sweet, hot, almost sugary spice. Around it are woody, slightly resinous and balsamic tones. On ingredient lists, cinnamon can mean several materials: true Ceylon cinnamon bark oil, which is softer and more refined; cassia oil from Chinese cinnamon (C. cassia), which is harsher and more intensely red-hot; and cinnamon leaf oil, which is dominated by eugenol and smells closer to clove.

Because the pure bark oils are strong skin sensitisers, perfumers often build cinnamon accords from lower-risk materials, including leaf oil, cassia fractions and synthetic helpers, so the cinnamon in many perfumes is a reconstruction rather than a single oil.

Where Cinnamon comes from

Cinnamon is the dried inner bark of evergreen trees in the laurel family, native to South and Southeast Asia. Cassia is grown mainly in China, Vietnam and Indonesia, and true cinnamon in Sri Lanka. Bark is distilled for the premium oil, while leaves yield a cheaper, eugenol-rich oil.

• Also known as: Cassia, Cannelle
• Fragrance family: Warm spicy
• Type: Natural and synthetic
• Main origins: Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka
• How it's obtained: Steam distillation of bark or leaves
• Key aroma molecules: Cinnamaldehyde (cinnamal), eugenol, cinnamyl acetate, linalool

Cinnamon in perfume history

Cinnamon and cassia were among the most prized aromatics of the ancient world, used in Egyptian embalming and in incense and anointing oils described in the Hebrew Bible. In modern perfumery it became a pillar of the oriental family, adding warmth to amber accords. Yves Saint Laurent's Opium (1977) is widely remembered for its dense spice, and cinnamon later helped define the gourmand trend of the 1990s.

Cinnamon in modern perfumery

Cinnamon is common in winter and gourmand launches, spicy ambers and Middle Eastern-style fragrances. Regulatory limits on cinnamaldehyde and related materials mean perfumers work carefully with dose, often combining small amounts of natural oil with safer accords. It is also popular in home fragrance.

How Cinnamon wears and what it pairs with

Cinnamon is a heart note with a strong, radiant presence and good longevity for a spice. It pairs well with orange, clove, vanilla, benzoin, tonka bean, rose, patchouli and oud.

Safety and regulation

Cinnamal (cinnamaldehyde) and eugenol are EU-declarable allergens, and cinnamaldehyde is restricted under IFRA Standards because of skin sensitisation.