Artemisia
5 fragrances with this note
Part of accords: Aromatic, Green herbal, Herbal
- Latin name
- Artemisia absinthium, Artemisia vulgaris
- Family
- Daisy family (Asteraceae)
- Origin
- Morocco, Spain, the Balkans
- Parts used
- leaves and flowering tops
- Raw materials
- essential oil, absolute
- Extraction
- steam distillation
- Olfactory group
- aromatic (herbal, bitter)
- Position in the pyramid
- top and heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- herbal bases
Wormwood is a silvery-grey herb with a sharp bitter smell that grows in dry fields and along roadsides all over Europe. Perfumery uses wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and mugwort, distilling the leaves and flowering tops.
How it smells: bitter, herbal and fresh, with a camphoraceous, faintly anise-like and “steppe” shade. Wormwood sounds wild and poetic — like the smell of a summer steppe warmed by the sun.
Wormwood oil contains thujone, so it is used in perfume in small doses. That is why wormwood plays as an accent: a few drops add character, bitter freshness and naturalness to a fragrance.
What it pairs with: with lavender and sage — herbal fougères, with citrus — bitter freshness, with incense — “steppe” smoke, with iris — an elegant bitter powder, with tobacco and leather — dry masculine compositions.
Good to know: wormwood gave its name to the famous drink absinthe, and the Latin name of the genus, Artemisia, is linked to the Greek goddess Artemis.
