What does Cinnamon smell like?
The scent is round and sugary, with a prickle that tickles the nose. Behind the sweetness sits a dry, almost smoky wood and a clove-like facet. Depending on the dose it suggests biscuits, baked apple or spiced leather. Placed in the heart of a composition, it emerges after the opening and radiates a long, enveloping warmth that melts into vanilla and resins.
Origin and production
Ceylon cinnamon comes from the inner bark of a laurel grown in Sri Lanka, while the rougher cassia comes from China and Vietnam. The bark is distilled into an oil rich in cinnamaldehyde, and the leaves into an oil closer to clove. One of the oldest traded spices, it entered oriental perfumes early on. Its use is now limited by IFRA standards because cinnamaldehyde can be a skin sensitiser.
How perfumers use it
Cinnamon mostly sits in the heart. With vanilla, benzoin and tonka bean it forms the backbone of amber and gourmand accords, and it also pairs with rose, orange, patchouli and leather. Jean Paul Gaultier's Le Mâle binds it to lavender and vanilla, Viktor & Rolf's Spicebomb makes it explosive, and Frédéric Malle's Portrait of a Lady weaves it into rose and incense.
How to wear it
A scent for cold months and evenings. It appeals to those who love warm, gourmand or oriental trails.
