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Coleus

Q: Is Coleus natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: No standardised coleus essential oil is commercially produced for perfumery. The note is typically reconstructed from carvacrol, thymol, and green-leaf elements..

GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES / fresh · green · spicy

Coleus

Category	GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES
Subcategory	fresh · green · spicy
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Coleus scutellarioides (syn. Plectranthus scutellarioides)
Appearance	Pale yellow to amber liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Kenya
Pyramid	Heart

Green, pungent, faintly camphor-minty. Coleus leaves smell like a sharp, slightly medicinal herb garden -- more paint-palette than perfume, vegetal and slightly acrid.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Sharp, pungent, herbaceous-green with a camphor-minty edge. More forceful than basil, less pleasant than peppermint, with a vegetal acidity. The carvacrol and thymol give it a medicinal-herbal sharpness. The impression is of crushing a houseplant leaf between your fingers -- potent, green, slightly unpleasant.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Sharp pungent green, camphor-minty, herbaceous

After a few hours

Herbal warmth, carvacrol persistence

After a few days

Faint herbal-medicinal trace

The Full Story

Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides, syn. Plectranthus scutellarioides, Solenostemon) is a tropical plant grown primarily for its dramatic multicoloured foliage. The leaves, when crushed, release a pungent, slightly camphor-minty, herbaceous-green aroma. The scent is more notable for its forcefulness than its beauty.

The volatile profile includes carvacrol (oregano-like pungency), thymol (thyme-like warmth), and various monoterpenes. The plant belongs to the Lamiaceae (mint family), and the family resemblance shows: there is a mint-herbal backbone underneath the pungent green-leaf character.

In perfumery, coleus is a rare note used for hyper-realistic green or garden-themed compositions. It provides a specific, recognisable houseplant reference. Works in the top-to-heart zone as a sharp, herbaceous-green modifier.

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

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Related: Alpha Pinene · Angelica · Angelica Root · Angelica Root Oil · Artemisia · Barrenwort · Beachheather · Behini Tree

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Coleus was reclassified taxonomically multiple times -- from Coleus to Solenostemon to Plectranthus and back to Coleus in 2019. The genus name now contains about 300 species. Despite being one of the world's most popular houseplants, coleus is grown entirely for its visual foliage -- no one has ever bred it for fragrance.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: No standardised coleus essential oil is commercially produced for perfumery. The note is typically reconstructed from carvacrol, thymol, and green-leaf elements.

Molecular Formula	Complex natural mixture (key: carvacrol C₁₀H₁₄O, thymol C₁₀H₁₄O)
CAS Number	N/A — natural plant essential oil, no single CAS
Botanical Name	Coleus scutellarioides (syn. Plectranthus scutellarioides)
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	Plectranthus scutellarioides, Painted Nettle
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Lasting Power	200 hours
Appearance	Pale yellow to amber liquid
Boiling Point	230–250 °C (major constituents)
Specific Gravity	0.92–0.96 @ 25 °C
Refractive Index	1.495–1.510 @ 20 °C

In Perfumery

Coleus is a sharp, pungent herbaceous-green modifier for the top-to-heart zone. Carvacrol (oregano-pungent), thymol (thyme-warm), and green monoterpenes. Lamiaceae family character. A hyper-realistic houseplant-garden note. Works in botanical-naturalistic and garden-themed compositions.