Cypriol Oil (Nagarmotha) | Première Peau

Smoky, woody, earthy, faintly leathery. A cold smoke — not the warm, sweet smoke of incense but a damp, mineral smokiness like a fire pit the morning after. Less complex than oud, less clean than vetiver, more mysterious than cedarwood. Dark, cold, quietly persistent.

Cypriol (Cyperus scariosus, nagarmotha) is a wetland sedge native to India whose rhizomes yield an essential oil with a distinctive smoky, woody, earthy character. The oil is dominated by cyperene, cyperotundone, and various sesquiterpenes that produce a dark, leathery, cold-smoky quality.

Cypriol is sometimes called 'poor man's oud' or 'Indian vetiver,' though it resembles neither material precisely. Its smoky-earthy character occupies its own territory — darker and more leathery than vetiver, less sweet and less complex than oud, with a cold, mineral smokiness unique to the genus.

Cyperus scariosus grows in marshy and waterlogged soils across India. The rhizomes are harvested, dried, and steam-distilled. The oil has been used in Indian perfumery (particularly in attar production) for centuries and has gained significant popularity in Western niche perfumery.

In formulation, cypriol provides an affordable, distinctive smoky-woody base note with excellent tenacity.