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Obsidial ®

POPULAR AND WEIRD  /  warm · sweet · woody
Obsidial ®
Obsidial ® perfume ingredient
CategoryPOPULAR AND WEIRD
Subcategorywarm · sweet · woody
Origin
VolatilityBase Note
BotanicalN/A - synthetic molecule (a Swiss fragrance house)
AppearanceColorless to pale yellow clear liquid
Odor StrengthMedium
Producing CountriesN/A — synthetic captive, manufactured by a Swiss fragrance house
PyramidBase

Dark, mineral, glassy-smooth. An accord concept inspired by obsidian volcanic glass: cold, hard, with a faintly smoky depth and no organic softness.

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

Scent

Cold, mineral, faintly smoky. Like pressing your face to a slab of volcanic glass. No warmth, no sweetness, no organic softness. Darker than stone accords, less earthy than petrichor, more glassy than metal.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Immediately

Cold mineral smoke, hard and glassy
After a few hours

After a few hours

Dark vetiver-earth warmth emerges
After a few days

After a few days

Deep, dry, smoky-mineral persistence

The Full Story

Obsidial is a fantasy accord concept referencing obsidian, the volcanic glass formed when lava cools rapidly. The olfactory translation aims for something cold, hard, mineral, and faintly smoky.

Perfumers work with vetiver for earthy darkness, birch tar or cade oil for smoke, ambroxan for a crystalline mineral edge, and dry musks for a glass-smooth finish. Some add Safraleine for metallic reflection.

The accord functions as a base element. It adds darkness, density, and an inorganic quality useful for contrast in avant-garde compositions.

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

Related: Acetyl Furan · Ambermax · Ambrofix · Egg · Ethyl Maltol · Flour · Furfural · Genepi

Did You Know?

Did you know?
Obsidian fractures with edges sharper than surgical steel scalpels. Some modern surgeons use obsidian blades for delicate procedures because the cutting edge can be as thin as three nanometers.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: No extraction. Obsidian is silicon dioxide glass with no volatile aroma. Accord is entirely synthetic.

Molecular FormulaN/A — proprietary captive molecule (a Swiss fragrance house)
CAS NumberN/A — proprietary captive molecule (a Swiss fragrance house)
Botanical NameN/A - synthetic molecule (a Swiss fragrance house)
IFRA StatusNo known restrictions
Physical Properties
Odor StrengthMedium
Lasting Power> 200 hours
AppearanceColorless to pale yellow clear liquid

In Perfumery

Base note and dark mineral anchor. Built from vetiver, birch tar or cade oil, ambroxan, dry musks, and optionally Safraleine. Adds inorganic density. Suited to dark, mineral, volcanic, and avant-garde compositions.

From the raw to the worn

This is what it becomes.