Labdanum smells warm, sweet and leathery, with a balsamic, honeyed richness and a faint animalic edge. It is the true heart of the amber accord and one of the most storied materials in perfumery.
The resin comes from Cistus ladanifer, a Mediterranean rockrose that oozes sticky gum from its leaves in summer heat. In Spain and Morocco, harvesters use a special rake with leather straps (the ladanisterion was used in ancient Crete by dragging goat-herds through the bushes) to collect the resin. Modern extraction yields a labdanum absolute and resinoid with a rich, old-leather warmth.
Labdanum is a base note and the backbone of amber. Perfumers use it to build amber accords alongside benzoin and vanilla, to add depth to chypres and orientals, and to give warmth to leather and tobacco compositions. It pairs naturally with rose, incense, oakmoss and patchouli.
Labdanum performs best in autumn, winter and evening wear, giving fragrance a distinctly old-world, Mediterranean richness.
