Labdanum

An extremely thick, dark gum extracted from the cistus, or Rock Rose plant.

Labdanum is one of the key components of an Amber accord along with vanillla and other resins such as benzoin. It’s also indispensable in the Chypre genre, making labdanum a very important and widely used fragrant material, acting as a base note and a fixative.

Due to its consistency, labdanum in its raw form is notoriously tricky for the perfumer to work with.

With a scent that is deep, earthy, leathery, and slightly boozy, labdanum is very complex - almost a perfume in itself!