Buddha Wood in Perfumery | Première Peau

Dry, smoky, faintly rubbery. Less creamy than sandalwood, less earthy than vetiver. A sun-bleached, campfire-adjacent woodiness with a leathery quality and a touch of something almost tar-like. The eremophilone note gives it a distinctly arid, Australian-outback character.

Buddha wood (Eremophila mitchellii) is an Australian desert tree also known as false sandalwood or bastard sandalwood. The essential oil is steam-distilled from the heartwood and has a character quite unlike true sandalwood — drier, smokier, and with a distinctive rubbery-leathery undertone that sets it apart.

The key volatile compounds include eremophilone (a sesquiterpene ketone that gives the oil its smoky character), along with various guaiazulene-related compounds that contribute blue-purple coloration to the crude oil. The scent profile sits at the intersection of smoky, woody, and slightly medicinal.

Eremophila mitchellii grows in arid and semi-arid regions of Queensland and New South Wales. The wood was traditionally used by Aboriginal Australians for its insect-repellent properties. Commercial distillation is relatively recent, with most production occurring in Queensland.

In perfumery, buddha wood functions as a dry woody base note. It provides an alternative to vetiver or cypriol for compositions needing an earthy, smoky foundation without sweetness.