One of perfumery's essential woody notes. Virginia cedarwood smells dry and pencil-sharp; Atlas cedarwood is creamier and warmer. Botanically unrelated trees — Juniperus virginiana is a Cupressaceae, Cedrus atlantica is a Pinaceae — sharing only the trade name and a broadly woody profile.
Top: fresh, slightly camphoraceous-woody. Heart: warm, smooth, creamy-woody, dry and clean. Base: soft, balsamic, pencil-like drydown. Atlas cedar is smoother and creamier; Virginia cedar is drier and sharper; Texas cedar is the softest and sweetest.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Clean, dry, pencil-shaving sharpness, woody with a slight camphoraceous lift
After a few hours
After a few hours
Warm, smooth, creamy wood. The sharpness gives way to a rounded, comforting dryness
After a few days
After a few days
A dry, clean, woody base on fabric, quiet, dependable, and enduring
Terroir & Maturity
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Cedarwood is one of perfumery's foundational woody materials, but the name covers several botanically unrelated trees that yield oils of significantly different character. Understanding the distinction is essential to using cedarwood properly.
Two trees, one trade name
Virginia cedarwood (Juniperus virginiana) is not a true cedar — it is a juniper, in the cypress family (Cupressaceae). Its oil, dominated by cedrol (CAS 77-53-2) and α/β-cedrene (CAS 469-61-4 / 546-28-1) [A], smells dry, pencil-sharp, slightly resinous — the classic 'pencil shaving' note of older perfumery. Steam-distilled from sawmill waste, principally in Tennessee and the Appalachian uplands. CAS 8000-27-9.
Atlas cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica) is a true cedar — a Pinaceae, native to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The oil's defining constituent is α-atlantone, a sesquiterpene ketone that gives it a creamier, warmer, faintly leathery profile, with a himachalene backbone supplying woody body [B]. CAS 8023-85-6.
Two other commercial cedarwoods exist: Texan cedarwood (Juniperus mexicana/ ashei) and Himalayan cedarwood (Cedrus deodara). Texan is cedrene-richer than Virginia and slightly harsher; Himalayan is closer to Atlas but with more turpentine-resinous lift.
[B] Atlas cedarwood oil composition — atlantones and himachalenes. See: Chalchat & Garry (2001), 'Chemical composition of the leaf oil of Cedrus atlantica,' Journal of Essential Oil Research.
Did You Know?
Did you know?
Virginia cedarwood oil is a byproduct of pencil manufacturing, the same factory that makes your pencils produces the essential oil. The U.S. pencil industry processes about 300,000 tons of cedarwood annually.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Steam distillation of wood chips and sawdust (3-5% yield). Virginia cedarwood is a byproduct of pencil manufacturing, the same factory that makes pencils produces the essential oil. Virginia oil contains ~35% cedrol alongside alpha- and beta-cedrene. Atlas cedarwood oil is richer in atlantones, giving a warmer profile. The 300,000 tons of cedarwood processed annually by the U.S. pencil industry provides a reliable feedstock.
CEDRE · CEDAR · CEDARWOOD VIRGINIA · CEDARWOOD ATLAS · BOIS DE CEDRE
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Medium
Lasting Power
72–200 hours
Appearance
brownish yellow viscous liquid
In Perfumery
Foundation base note. Virginia cedarwood (Juniperus virginiana) contains ~35% cedrol as its primary odorant, giving a dry, pencil-sharp character. Atlas cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica) is richer in alpha- and beta-atlantones, with a creamier, warmer profile. Texas cedarwood (Juniperus ashei) falls between the two. Provides woody structure, extends longevity, and is a universal blender. The most frequently used wood in perfumery by volume.
