Rank, fecal, cat-cage pungency at full strength. Diluted below 0.01%, it becomes something else entirely: a warm, honeyed, intimate musk with a powdery floral edge. No synthetic reconstruction has fully replicated this inversion.
Undiluted: aggressively fecal, urinous, and animalic — the smell of a soiled animal enclosure. At trace concentration: warm, honeyed, musky, with a soft powdery-floral radiance. The musk character of civetone is warmer and more animalic than polycyclic musks (Galaxolide, Celestolide), more natural-smelling than nitro musks, and carries an indolic, jasmine-adjacent quality at its margins. Compared to muscone, civetone is heavier, less clean, and more overtly animal. Compared to ambrette, it is denser, less vegetal, more provocative.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
At trace levels: a warm, musky, slightly fecal-animalic flash — sharp edges of skatole and indole emerge briefly before dissolving into honeyed sweetness.
After a few hours
After a few hours
The animalic edge recedes. A soft, powdery, skin-warm musk remains, diffusive and intimate. The jasmine-adjacent floral lift of civetone becomes more apparent.
After a few days
After a few days
Extremely tenacious. Civetone's high molecular weight (250.42) and macrocyclic structure ensure slow volatilization. The musky warmth can persist 24+ hours on skin, 400+ hours on substrate at concentration.
Origin, Ethics & Substitutes
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Civet refers to the perineal gland secretion of the African civet (Civettictis civetta), a solitary, nocturnal viverrid native to sub-Saharan Africa. The raw paste is dark brown, waxy, and overwhelmingly fecal. Its principal odorant is civetone — (9Z)-cycloheptadec-9-en-1-one, a 17-membered macrocyclic ketone (CAS 542-46-1, MW 250.42). The secretion also contains skatole (~1%), indole, p-cresol, and an array of fatty acids.
The paradox of civet is dilution-dependent. Above 0.1%, the skatole and indole dominate — sharp, fecal, unmistakably animal. Below 0.01%, those components fall below threshold, and civetone's macrocyclic musk character emerges: warm, honeyed, powdery, with an almost jasmine-adjacent floral lift at the edges. This concentration-dependent identity shift is shared by few other perfumery materials.
Leopold Ružička at ETH Zurich proved the macrocyclic structure of civetone in 1926 and synthesized it in 1927, demonstrating that stable carbon rings far larger than six atoms could exist. This overturned prevailing organic chemistry theory. His broader work on polymethylenes and higher terpenes earned him the 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Natural civet is now ethically abandoned in commercial perfumery. The secretion was historically scraped from the perineal glands of captive civets — a practice that persists in parts of Ethiopia (the world's largest historical supplier, holding roughly 90% of the export market) but which the mainstream industry no longer supports. Synthetic civetone is produced via olefin metathesis from oleic acid precursors, typically palm oil-derived. Synthetic civet bases combine civetone with indole, skatole, and castoreum-type molecules to approximate the full natural spectrum, though they lack the raw complexity of the animal material.
This note in Première Peau. Doppel Dänçers · Albâtre Sépia. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.
When Ružička proposed in 1926 that civetone contained a 17-membered carbon ring, the claim was met with skepticism — prevailing organic chemistry theory held that rings larger than eight atoms were too strained to be stable. His synthesis of civetone in 1927 proved otherwise and forced a revision of ring-strain theory. The method he developed, now called the Ružička large-ring synthesis, remains a named reaction in organic chemistry textbooks.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Historically: the secretion was scraped from the perineal glands of captive African civets (Civettictis civetta) at intervals of several days. The raw paste was then aged — a maturation process during which the harshest fecal notes mellow as volatile skatole partially dissipates. This practice, which involved caging wild-caught animals in poor conditions, is now considered unethical and is effectively abandoned in mainstream commercial perfumery. Ethiopia remains the last significant source of natural civet, though volumes are marginal. Modern civetone is produced entirely by chemical synthesis, primarily through olefin metathesis of oleic acid (typically palm oil-derived) precursors, yielding the (Z)-isomer with high stereochemical control.
Restricted — IFRA recommends a maximum of 4.0% in fragrance concentrate (TGSC). FDA GRAS (FEMA 2319).
Synonyms
CIVET MUSK · CIVET ABSOLUTE
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
High
Lasting Power
400 hours at 100.00%
Appearance
amber to dark amber semi-solid to solid
Flash Point
> 200.00 °F. TCC ( > 93.33 °C. )
Specific Gravity
1.12400 to 1.13400 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive Index
1.55500 to 1.56600 @ 20.00 °C.
In Perfumery
Civet was historically one of the four great animalic fixatives, alongside musk, castoreum, and ambergris. It serves two functions in a composition: as a fixative, extending the longevity of the entire fragrance; as a character note, providing animalic warmth and the impression that the scent emanates from warm skin rather than from paper or fabric. At micro-doses (0.001–0.01%), civet rounds and deepens a base without being identifiable as itself. It appears in chypre, amber, and classic floral compositions — anywhere sensuality and tenacity are required. The key molecule is civetone (CAS 542-46-1), a macrocyclic musk. Modern synthetic civet bases reconstruct the effect using civetone alongside indole and skatole.
