Aldehydes Perfumes & Fragrances

Aldehydes smell fatty, waxy and slightly metallic, with a soapy-sparkling lift and a characteristic 'perfumey' diffusion. They are responsible for the classic shimmer of mid-century fine fragrance.

Aldehydes are a class of molecules (alcohols oxidised to carbonyl compounds) with a wide range of aromas. In perfumery the term usually refers to the aliphatic aldehydes C8 to C14, each with its own character. C10 (decyl aldehyde) is waxy-orange, C11 (undecylenic) is fatty-rosy, C12 (lauric) is clean-soapy, C14 (gamma-undecalactone) is peachy. Jacques Guerlain used aldehydes in trace amounts in Jicky (1889), but Ernest Beaux's N°5 (1921) established their iconic heavy use.

Aldehydes sit in the top and bleed into the heart. Perfumers use them to add sparkling lift to classical florals (N°5, Arpege, White Linen, Rive Gauche), to round out citrus openings, and to give fragrance a characteristic vintage soap-shimmer. They pair beautifully with rose, jasmine, iris, orris and musk.

Aldehydic fragrances perform best across all seasons.