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Obsidial ®

Q: Is Obsidial ® natural or synthetic?

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

POPULAR AND WEIRD / warm · sweet · woody

Obsidial ®

Category	POPULAR AND WEIRD
Subcategory	warm · sweet · woody
Origin
Volatility	Base Note
Botanical	N/A - synthetic molecule (a Swiss fragrance house)
Appearance	Colorless to pale yellow clear liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	N/A — synthetic captive, manufactured by a Swiss fragrance house
Pyramid	Base

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

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
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

Cold mineral smoke, hard and glassy

After a few hours

Dark vetiver-earth warmth emerges

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.

Explore all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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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 Formula	N/A — proprietary captive molecule (a Swiss fragrance house)
CAS Number	N/A — proprietary captive molecule (a Swiss fragrance house)
Botanical Name	N/A - synthetic molecule (a Swiss fragrance house)
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Lasting Power	> 200 hours
Appearance	Colorless 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.