Silver-green leaves, dry wood, and the bitter dust of a Mediterranean hillside. Olive tree smells like the shade under a centenary Olea europaea -- herbal, mineral, faintly fruity.
Green-silver, dry-herbal, faintly bitter. The leaf character is more leathery than grassy. The wood is dry and angular, not creamy. A mineral-soil quality hovers underneath, warmed by the Mediterranean sun. Less sweet than fig, less resinous than pine. The impression is of shade and age -- a very old tree on a very dry hillside.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Green-silver leaf, herbal-bitter, mineral freshness
Olive tree in perfumery is an atmospheric accord evoking the complete sensory impression of Olea europaea: the leathery, silver-green leaves, the dry and gnarled wood, the bitter-green unripe fruit, and the warm, mineral soil beneath. No single olive tree extract captures this -- the accord is a reconstruction of place.
Construction may combine olive leaf extract (green, slightly bitter, containing oleuropein), dry-wood notes (cedarwood, vetiver), herbal elements (thyme, rosemary -- the plants that typically grow around olive groves), and a faint fruity-green olive impression. The resulting accord is green-woody-mineral rather than fruity: the tree, not the oil.
Functionally, olive tree works as a green-woody heart note providing a specific Mediterranean reference. Less sweet than fig tree, less resinous than pine, with a particular mineral-herbal dryness. The note works in Mediterranean, herbaceous, and dry-woody compositions.
This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Albâtre Sépia. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.
Some olive trees in the Mediterranean basin are over 2,000 years old and still producing fruit. The olive tree of Vouves in Crete has been carbon-dated to at least 2,000-3,000 years -- making it potentially older than the Parthenon.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Olive leaf extract is available (by solvent or CO2 extraction) but rarely used in mainstream perfumery. No standardised olive wood oil exists. The atmospheric accord is typically reconstructed from herbal, green, and dry-wood materials.
Molecular Formula
Complex mixture (oleic acid C₁₈H₃₄O₂ predominant)
CAS Number
8001-25-0 (olive oil)
Botanical Name
Olea europaea
IFRA Status
No known restrictions
Synonyms
Olea europaea, Olive wood
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Medium
Appearance
Pale yellow to greenish yellow liquid
Specific Gravity
0.910–0.916 @ 25 °C (olive oil)
Refractive Index
1.468–1.471 @ 20 °C
In Perfumery
Olive tree is a green-woody atmospheric heart note providing a Mediterranean terroir reference. The accord combines olive leaf (green, bitter), dry wood (cedarwood, vetiver), Mediterranean herbs (thyme, rosemary), and mineral-soil elements. Less sweet than fig tree, less resinous than pine. Works in Mediterranean, herbaceous, and dry-woody compositions.
