GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES / green · woody · sweet
Absinthe
Category
GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES
Subcategory
green · woody · sweet
Origin
Volatility
Heart Note
Botanical
Artemisia absinthium
Odor Strength
Medium
Producing Countries
France, Morocco, Spain
Pyramid
Heart
Green, sharp, and bitter with an anise backbone. Absinthe smells like wormwood crushed between your fingers, mixed with fennel and hyssop: medicinal, herbal, and faintly licorice-sweet.
Green, bitter wormwood with anise-licorice sweetness. Sharp and medicinal in the opening, becoming herbal-aromatic as the anise warms. A fennel-green quality adds a vegetal freshness. More complex than any single herb, more aggressive than most aromatic notes. The bitter-sweet tension is the defining quality.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Sharp green wormwood, anise-licorice burst
After a few hours
After a few hours
Herbal-aromatic warmth, fennel-green
After a few days
After a few days
Persistent bitter-herbal, faint anise sweetness
Terroir & Transformation
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Absinthe is a fantasy/concept note in perfumery inspired by the notorious green spirit distilled from wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), green anise, and fennel. The scent captures the herbal complexity of the drink: sharp wormwood bitterness, anise sweetness, fennel's green-licorice character, and a chorus of supporting herbs (hyssop, melissa, star anise).
The olfactory profile is dominated by thujone (from wormwood), anethole (from anise and fennel), and various monoterpenes. The green color, historically from chlorophyll extracted during maceration, adds a visual dimension to the olfactory concept: absinthe should smell green.
In perfumery, absinthe functions as a heart modifier in herbal, bitter-green, and bohemian-themed compositions. It provides a specific cultural reference: 1890s Paris, artistic excess, the Green Fairy. The note works alongside oakmoss, vetiver, and dark florals in compositions exploring darkness and creative abandon.
This note in Première Peau. Simili Mirage · Gravitas Capitale. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.
Absinthe was banned in France in 1915 and not re-legalized until 2011. The ban was driven more by the French wine industry's lobbying against a competitor than by genuine health concerns about thujone. Modern analysis shows that historical absinthe contained far less thujone than previously believed.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: The concept note is built from wormwood absolute (Artemisia absinthium), green anise oil, fennel oil, and hyssop oil. Wormwood absolute is obtained by solvent extraction of the dried herb. Individual components are also available as essential oils.
Absinthe is a heart modifier in herbal, bitter-green, and bohemian compositions. It provides wormwood-anise-fennel complexity with strong cultural coding (1890s Paris, artistic excess). Built from wormwood absolute or thujone-containing materials, anethole (anise-fennel), and supporting herbal oils. Works with oakmoss, vetiver, and dark florals in compositions exploring creative darkness. Relevant to Premiere Peau's botanical vocabulary for its herbal complexity.
