- Latin name
- Evernia prunastri
- Family
- Parmelia family (Parmeliaceae) — a lichen
- Origin
- the Balkans, Morocco, France
- Parts used
- lichen growing on oak bark
- Raw materials
- absolute (modern — low in atranol)
- Extraction
- solvent extraction
- Olfactory group
- chypre (mossy)
- Position in the pyramid
- base
- Synthetic substitutes
- Evernyl (methyl atrarate), mossy bases
Oakmoss is not actually a moss but a lichen that grows in silvery-green “beards” on the bark of oaks and other deciduous trees. It is gathered, dried and extracted to obtain a thick dark-green absolute.
How it smells: a damp forest after rain: earthy, slightly salty, with shades of bark, leather and inky depth. Oakmoss makes a fragrance grown-up, serious and very long-lasting.
It is the foundation of chypres — a family named after a classic fragrance of 1917: bergamot at the top, labdanum and oakmoss in the base. Because of natural allergens (atranol), the international IFRA rules strictly limited oakmoss, so modern chypres use a purified absolute or synthetic Evernyl.
What it pairs with: with bergamot and labdanum — the classic chypre, with lavender and tonka — the fougère, with patchouli — a dark “neo-chypre”, with rose and jasmine — elegant floral chypres, with leather — chypre-leather classics.
Good to know: lichens are so sensitive to pollution that scientists use them as living indicators of air quality: if oakmoss grows on the trees, the air around is clean. Today it is mainly harvested in the forests of the Balkans and Morocco.
Fragrances with Oakmoss
