Laurel Leaf Oil

Natural Ingredient Overview

• 🔎 Botanical Name: Laurus nobilis

• 📂 CAS N°: 84603-69-0

• ⚖️ MW: —

• 📝 Odor Type: Aromatic, Terpenic

• 📈 Odor Strength: Medium

• 👃🏼 Odor Profile: Fresh, cineole-like, transitioning to a warm, creamy cardamom-like spice with faint medicinal and sweet-spicy drydown

• ⚗️ Uses: Modifier for citrus, pine, resinous, and aromatic accords; also used in flavor applications

• 🧴 Appearance: Pale yellow to pale olive-green liquid

What is Laurel Leaf Oil?

Laurel Leaf Oil is a natural essential oil derived from the steam distillation of Laurus nobilis leaves and branchlets. Known botanically as Laurus nobilis, this plant belongs to the Lauraceae family and has been used for centuries, both medicinally and ceremonially. Though its leaves are now commonplace in culinary use, the essential oil is less widespread, remaining a niche perfumery material with specific olfactory functions.

The tree grows in a wide Mediterranean zone, including Turkey, Italy (Sardinia), France, Lebanon, and parts of Eastern Europe. The highest quality oil is typically produced in Turkey, with France and Italy also offering premium grades.

Olfactory Profile & Perfumery Applications

Laurel Leaf Oil opens with a distinctive cineole-terpenic freshness. Its middle phase evolves into a creamy, spiced warmth, echoing cardamom or sweet bay with a soft medicinal nuance. The drydown reveals a pleasant, slightly sweet and spicy woodiness distinct from eucalyptus or myrtle.

It blends effectively with:

• Citrus oils (lemon, bergamot, orange)

• Conifers and needle oils (pine, juniper, fir, cypress)

• Herbaceous oils (clary sage, rosemary, lavender)

• Resins (olibanum, labdanum)

• Aldehydic compositions for modern colognes and air fresheners

Although not a headliner note, Laurel Leaf Oil functions well as a modulator, introducing aromatic lift, warmth, and complexity in men's grooming fragrances, fougères, and herbal-spicy blends.

Industrial & Technical Uses

Outside of perfumery, Laurel Leaf Oil is used in:

• Canned food flavorings (pickles, sauces, and seasonings)

• Flavor concentrates (as a substitute for whole bay leaves due to uniformity and lower weight)

• Aromatherapy and traditional herbal applications (limited)

Its fresh orange-like flavor with spicy undertones supports flavor compositions where both clarity and persistence are required.

Regulatory & Safety Overview

• IFRA Restrictions: No current restrictions under IFRA 51st Amendment

• EU Allergens: May contain eugenol, limonene, linalool (must be labeled if thresholds exceeded)

• FEMA: Bay leaf oil (related) is GRAS; Laurel oil must be evaluated based on chemotype

• ECHA: Not classified as hazardous under normal usage

• Persistence: Measured at ~32 hours in Turkish samples (strip test)

⚠️ Chinese Laurel Leaf Oil is notably high in eugenol (>30%), which can impair freshness and alter balance—this should be verified in quality control.

Additional Information

• Extraction Method: Steam distillation of freshly harvested Laurus nobilis leaves and twigs

• Adulteration Risks: Often adulterated with eucalyptus, myrtle, turpentine fractions, or low-grade bay oils

• Production Decline: Formerly produced in Algeria, Morocco, Cyprus—now discontinued

• Appearance: Pale yellow to almost colorless liquid; mobile

Despite being available in large quantities, Laurel Leaf Oil is rarely spotlighted due to its subtle character. Yet, in skilled hands, its complex evolution from fresh-terpenic to creamy-spiced adds a refined edge to classic compositions.

Sources

• Fulvio Ciccolo, Scentspiracy Research Notes, 2021

• Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, S. Arctander (1961)

• Scentspiracy Internal Reference Database

• Givaudan x Albert Vieille Product Literature