Hydrocarboresine

About Hydrocarboresine

Hydrocarboresine is a natural perfumery material made by processing an extract of the leaves and twigs of Cistus ladaniferus. For the Biolandes product, crude extract originating in Spain is sent to a French factory, where a proprietary process gives the finished material its particular character. It is distinct from ordinary cistus essential oil or an unmodified labdanum extract.

Scent Profile

Its character is smoky and resinous, with amber and leathery depth. Biolandes places it in the pyrogenic olfactory family, a term associated with the impression of heated or burnt materials. That dark, dry contour can give a resinous composition a more textured outline rather than simply increasing its sweetness.

Use in Perfumery

In perfumery it supports resinous, leather and woody effects, adding a smoky shadow beneath other materials. Flowers or brighter fruits can remain above a deeper foundation built around such a material. Its botanical origin and the processing of the extract both matter to the resulting smell; the scent is not interchangeable with every other product obtained from cistus.

Did You Know?

Cistus is a Mediterranean shrub that secretes gum during the intense heat of summer. Its leaves and twigs can be distilled or extracted, and those different routes, followed by further processing, produce materials with differing olfactory properties.