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Tuberose is not a rose. It is not a tuber. The name misleads twice, and the flower itself misleads a third time, by smelling so...

Vetiver is the ingredient nobody talks about. It sits in the base of roughly one in three fine fragrances, doing the structural work that keeps...

Osmanthus is probably the most important flower most Westerners have never smelled. In China, where it is called 桂花 (guìhuā), it perfumes entire cities when...

Bergamot smells like citrus and flowers at the same time. That contradiction, sharp and soft, acidic and sweet, lemon brightness threaded with something close to...

Tonka bean is illegal. Not in a dramatic, headline-generating way. In a quiet, bureaucratic, Code of Federal Regulations way. Since 1954, the FDA has classified...

Musk is the most misunderstood word in perfumery. Ask ten people what it smells like and you will get ten answers: clean laundry, bare skin,...

Geraniol is printed on the back of almost every perfume box you own, tucked into the allergen list in a typeface designed not to be...

Oud perfume is the most lied-about category in fragrance. A $15 bottle labeled "Arabian Oud" and a $500 niche composition bearing the same word share...

Orris root is not a root.