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Cinnamon Leaf

Q: Is Cinnamon Leaf natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Steam distillation of Cinnamomum verum leaves. The leaves are a byproduct of bark harvesting. The oil is pale to dark yellow with 70-85% eugenol content. Yields are approximately 1.5-3% from fresh leaves. Production primarily in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and Seychelles. Significantly cheaper than bark oil..

SPICES / spicy · warm · rich

Cinnamon Leaf

Category	SPICES
Subcategory	spicy · warm · rich
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Cinnamomum verum
Appearance	yellowish to yellow brown clear oily liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	Indonesia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka
Pyramid	Heart

Spicy, hot, more eugenol than cinnamaldehyde. Cinnamon leaf oil smells closer to clove than to cinnamon bark — a cheaper, rougher, more medicinal version.

Scent
Terroir & Origins
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Spicy, warm, clove-dominant, with a faint cinnamon undertone. The eugenol character is unmistakable — hot, phenolic, with a dental-medicinal edge. Less sweet than cinnamon bark, more medicinal, rougher. The cinnamon signature is present but subordinate to the clove. On skin, it warms and projects a spicy-clove halo.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Hot eugenol-spicy burst, clove-dominant

After a few hours

Warm phenolic spice, faint cinnamon undertone

After a few days

Persistent spicy-warm residue

Terroir & Chemotypes

Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.

The Full Story

Cinnamon leaf oil (Cinnamomum verum, syn. C. zeylanicum) has a dramatically different chemical profile from cinnamon bark oil. While bark oil is dominated by cinnamaldehyde (65-80%), leaf oil is dominated by eugenol (70-85%) — the same molecule that characterizes clove. This makes cinnamon leaf smell more like clove than like cinnamon bark.

The oil is steam-distilled from the leaves of the cinnamon tree, which are a byproduct of bark harvesting. It is significantly cheaper than bark oil and has a warmer, more phenolic, less sweet character. The eugenol dominance gives it a spicy-medicinal quality, while traces of cinnamaldehyde and linalool provide a faint cinnamon signature.

In perfumery, cinnamon leaf oil is used as a cost-effective source of eugenol and as a spicy modifier. It provides warm, clove-like spiciness with a cinnamon undertone — useful when pure cinnamon bark oil would be too expensive or too irritating (cinnamaldehyde is a stronger sensitizer than eugenol).

This note in Première Peau. Insuline Safrine · Gravitas Capitale. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Related: Cassia · Cinnamon

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Cinnamon bark and cinnamon leaf from the same tree (Cinnamomum verum) produce oils with completely different dominant molecules: cinnamaldehyde in bark, eugenol in leaf. Even the root bark produces yet another oil dominated by camphor. One plant, three chemically distinct oils.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Steam distillation of Cinnamomum verum leaves. The leaves are a byproduct of bark harvesting. The oil is pale to dark yellow with 70-85% eugenol content. Yields are approximately 1.5-3% from fresh leaves. Production primarily in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and Seychelles. Significantly cheaper than bark oil.

↑ See Terroir & Origins for origin-specific methods.

Molecular Formula	Complex mixture — key component: eugenol (C₁₀H₁₂O₂)
CAS Number	8015-91-6
Botanical Name	Cinnamomum verum
IFRA Status	Permitted with limits — eugenol content requires monitoring
Synonyms	Cinnamon, Ceylon Cinnamon, True Cinnamon
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Lasting Power	304 hours at 100.00%
Appearance	yellowish to yellow brown clear oily liquid
Boiling Point	249.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg
Flash Point	190.00 °F. TCC ( 87.78 °C. )
Specific Gravity	1.03000 to 1.05000 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive Index	1.52200 to 1.54200 @ 20.00 °C.

In Perfumery

Cinnamon leaf oil is a top-to-heart spice note providing eugenol-driven warm spiciness. It bridges cinnamon and clove families. Used as a cost-effective alternative to clove bud oil or as a spicy modifier in amber, gourmand, and warm compositions. The eugenol content makes it useful for carnation accords (which are eugenol-based). Less restricted by IFRA than cinnamaldehyde-rich bark oil. Compatible with other phenolic spices (clove, allspice) and with warm bases (vanilla, amber).