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Nom Maew

FLOWERS  /  floral · fruity · sweet
Nom Maew
Nom Maew perfume ingredient
CategoryFLOWERS
Subcategoryfloral · fruity · sweet
Origin
VolatilityHeart Note
BotanicalVolkameria inermis
AppearanceN/A — fantasy floral accord (no standard commercial essential oil)
Odor StrengthMedium
Producing CountriesAsia, Southeast Asia
PyramidHeart

Green, citrus-herbal, faintly minty. Nom Maew is a Thai herb with a bright, clean, slightly feline name — 'cat's milk' in Thai, smelling of fresh herbs in tropical rain.

  1. Scent
  2. The Full Story
  3. Fun Fact
  4. Extraction & Chemistry
  5. In Perfumery

Scent

Green, herbal, faintly citrus-minty, fresh. A generic but specifically Southeast Asian herbaceousness — the kind of green, clean, slightly medicinal scent you encounter in Thai traditional medicine shops and temple gardens.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Immediately

Green herbal, citrus-mint, fresh, clean
After a few hours

After a few hours

Softer, warmer, less green
After a few days

After a few days

Faint herbal residue

The Full Story

Nom Maew (literally 'cat's milk' in Thai) refers to herbs in traditional Thai medicine and cooking, typically Rivea ornata or certain Euphorbia species producing milky sap. The olfactory reference in perfumery is to the green, fresh, slightly medicinal character of Southeast Asian traditional herbs.

The scent is green, herbal, faintly citrus-minty — characteristic of many Southeast Asian herbs that sit between medicine and cuisine. The Thai pharmacopoeia contains hundreds of such plants, many of which are aromatic.

In perfumery, nom maew provides a green, herbal, Southeast Asian modifier — specific enough to carries Thai terroir but not widely documented in Western fragrance literature.

This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Rose Monotone. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

Related: Accord Eudora · African Marigold · Alpha Amylcinnamaldehyde · Alyssum · Angels Trumpet · Aquaflora · Ashoka Flower · Aurantiol

Did You Know?

Did you know?
The name 'nom maew' (cat's milk) likely refers to the milky latex sap of the plant — many Thai folk names for plants are descriptive of their physical properties rather than their uses or scents.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: No standard commercial extraction for Western perfumery. Traditional Thai herbal processing (decoction, maceration) differs from perfumery extraction methods.

Molecular FormulaComplex mixture — no standard characterization
CAS NumberN/A — no standard commercial extract CAS
Botanical NameVolkameria inermis
IFRA StatusNo known restrictions
SynonymsCAT FLOWER · CAT'S FLOWER
Physical Properties
Odor StrengthMedium
AppearanceN/A — fantasy floral accord (no standard commercial essential oil)

In Perfumery

Nom maew is a niche herbal note providing Southeast Asian green-herbal character. No standard Western perfumery extraction. Reconstructed from green-herbal materials with citrus-mint accents. Functions in Thai-inspired and Southeast Asian compositions.

From the raw to the worn

This is what it becomes.