Cloves

Cloves are a warm, intensely spicy note from the dried flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum, a tree of the myrtle family. In perfume they smell hot, sweet, woody and faintly medicinal, and they belong to the warm spicy family, underpinning orientals, carnation accords and spiced ambers.

What does Cloves smell like?

Clove is one of the most recognisable spices in perfumery: warm, dense and piercing, with a sweet, slightly fruity depth and a dry, woody undertone. Its dominant molecule, eugenol, makes up the majority of the oil and also gives the smell many people associate with dental surgeries. A secondary facet from eugenyl acetate and beta-caryophyllene rounds it out.

Bud oil is the most refined and the richest in eugenyl acetate, giving a softer, fruitier clove. Leaf and stem oils are cheaper and almost pure eugenol, harsher and more medicinal. Because eugenol is also a key part of carnation's smell, clove oil is the classic base for carnation accords.

Where Cloves comes from

Clove buds are picked by hand when they turn pink and are sun-dried until dark brown. The tree is native to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. Buds, leaves and stems are all steam-distilled for different grades of oil.

Also known as: Clove bud, Girofle, Syzygium aromaticum
Fragrance family: Warm spicy
Type: Natural (eugenol is also available as an isolate)
Main origins: Indonesia, Madagascar, Tanzania (Zanzibar), Sri Lanka
How it's obtained: Steam distillation of buds, leaves or stems
Key aroma molecules: Eugenol, eugenyl acetate, beta-caryophyllene

Cloves in perfume history

Cloves reached the Roman world from the Moluccas and later drove fierce competition between the Portuguese and Dutch for control of the spice islands. In perfumery, clove was central to spicy carnation perfumes such as Caron's Bellodgia (1927) and to the bold spice of Caron's Poivre (1954). It also helped shape the spicy oriental genre, from Youth Dew (1953) to Opium (1977).

Cloves in modern perfumery

Clove remains a workhorse in ambers, spicy woods and Middle Eastern-style rose and oud blends. Limits on eugenol and related allergens mean dosages are managed carefully, but a trace can still add warmth and realism to florals and gourmands.

How Cloves wears and what it pairs with

Clove is a heart note with excellent tenacity and strong diffusion, so it is usually used sparingly. It pairs well with carnation, rose, orange, cinnamon, vanilla, labdanum, tobacco and oud.