Artemisia
Sharp, bitter, camphoraceous. The smell of crushing a silver-grey leaf in a Provençal garrigue — cold green bite, a faint anise whisper underneath, and a dry woody finish that lingers like medicine.
Scent
Terroir & Transformation
The Full Story
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method
Steam distillation of the flowering aerial parts (leaves, stems, and flower heads) of Artemisia absinthium. The plant is harvested at full bloom for maximum oil yield. The resulting oil is dark green to deep blue, coloured by chamazulene — a sesquiterpene that does not exist in the living plant but forms during distillation from the precursor artabsine. Solvent extraction produces an absolute with a more complete aromatic profile and deeper green colour, at higher cost. CO2 extraction has been investigated but is not standard commercial practice. Major production regions: Morocco, southern France, Spain, Croatia, China.
- Formula
- C₁₀H₁₆O (thujone, MW 152.24 — principal regulated component; oil is a complex natural mixture)
- CAS
- 8008-93-3
- Botanical
- Artemisia spp.
- Appearance
- dark green to deep blue clear liquid
- Odour strength
- Medium
- Lasting power
- 212 hours at 100% (TGSC)
- Synonyms
- wormwood, absinthe, sagebrush
Restricted. Contains alpha-thujone, limited by IFRA for neurotoxicity. Category 4 (fine fragrance): max 1.40% alpha-thujone in finished product. Category 3 (face/body): max 0.032%. Category 12 (no skin contact): max 9.50%. Wormwood oil with typical 3% alpha-thujone content would be capped at approximately 47% of a fine fragrance concentrate — in practice, dosages rarely exceed 1-2%.
- Flash point
- 148°F / 64°C
- Refractive index
- 1.461-1.477 @ 20°C
In Perfumery
Artemisia functions as a bitter-herbal modifier in aromatic fougère, chypre, and herbal-fresh compositions. In dosages below 1-2%, it adds an intellectually sharp, wild-herb character that lifts compositions beyond the merely pleasant. It supports lavender in fougère accords, sharpens citrus colognes, and provides bitter-green counterpoint in chypre structures. The material is dose-critical: too little disappears, too much turns medicinal. Alpha-thujone — the molecule responsible for the cedarleaf-camphor character — is restricted by IFRA to 1.40% in fine fragrance (finished product), which effectively caps the concentration of wormwood oil in formulas. The full herbal-bitter complexity of the natural oil is difficult to reconstruct synthetically, though combinations of thujone, eucalyptol, borneol, camphor, and chamazulene approximate aspects of it. Wormwood oil replacer blends exist commercially for perfumers who need the effect without the regulatory burden. Artemisia is not a confirmed ingredient in any current PREMIEREPEAU fragrance.