- Origin
- an accord composed by the perfumer
- Raw materials
- mineral, metallic, resinous and “paper” notes
- Extraction
- synthesis
- Olfactory group
- mineral, resinous
- Position in the pyramid
- heart and base
- Synthetic substitutes
- aldehydes, mineral molecules, resins
Ink in perfumery is an abstract accord conveying the smell of old ink, a pen and paper: a library, a handwritten letter, a writer's study. It is an intellectual, “literary” note with a mysterious character.
How it smells: mineral, cool and slightly resinous: dark ink, a light metallic shade of the nib, dry paper, a faintly smoky and incense-like note. Ink sounds mysterious, restrained and very atmospheric.
Real old inks were made from oak galls, iron and resins, so their smell combined mineral, metallic and resinous facets. The perfumer recreates this impression without using ink itself.
What it pairs with: with incense — an “old library”, with rose — a “rose in a letter”, with iris — powdery-mineral coolness, with leather — a “leather binding”, with cedar and papyrus — dry “paper” woody fragrances.
Good to know: iron gall ink, used in Europe for more than a thousand years, browns over time and can even eat through paper — it is clearly visible on old manuscripts.
