Thyme
11 fragrances with this note
Part of accords: Aromatic, Green herbal, Herbal
- Latin name
- Thymus vulgaris, Thymus zygis
- Family
- Mint family (Lamiaceae)
- Origin
- Spain, Morocco, France
- Parts used
- flowering tops
- Raw materials
- essential oil (“red” and “white” thyme)
- Extraction
- steam distillation
- Olfactory group
- aromatic (herbal)
- Position in the pyramid
- top and heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- thymol, carvacrol, linalool
Thyme is a low aromatic subshrub with tiny leaves that covers the dry sunny slopes of the Mediterranean. For perfumery the flowering tops are distilled, and the oil is divided by colour and composition into “red” and “white”.
How it smells: warm-herbal, spicy, slightly honeyed, with the characteristic medicinal note of thymol. Thyme smells like dry mountain herbs in the sun — energetic and cosy at the same time.
The main odour substance of thyme is thymol, the same one found in some mouthwashes. So in perfume thyme is used in measured doses: it adds herbal freshness and character but must not dominate.
What it pairs with: with lavender and rosemary — Provençal herbal compositions, with lemon — fresh “kitchen garden” scents, with leather and tobacco — dry masculine ones, with honey — warm herbal ones, with incense — resinous “mountain” accords.
Good to know: in ancient Greece thyme was burned in temples as incense, and the word thyme is linked to the Greek “thymos”, spirit or strength.
Fragrances with Thyme
