Rosemary Oil Tunisia

Natural Ingredient Overview

• 🔎 Botanical Name: Rosmarinus officinalis

• 📂 CAS N°: 8000-25-7 / 84604-14-8

• 🌍 Origin: Tunisia

• 📝 Odor Type: Aromatic

• 📈 Odor Strength: Medium

• 👃🏼 Odor Profile: Strong, fresh, and woody-aromatic; opening freshness quickly fades into a clean balsamic core with a dry, tenacious herbaceous-bitter base

• ⚗️ Uses: Citrus colognes, fougères, lavender waters, Oriental and aldehydic compositions, soaps, room sprays, disinfectants

• 🧴 Appearance: Pale yellow to almost colorless liquid

What is Rosemary Oil Tunisia?

Rosemary Oil Tunisia is extracted via steam distillation from the flowering tops and leaves (no twigs) of Rosmarinus officinalis grown wild in Tunisia. The oil is known for:

• High compositional uniformity

• Refined aromatic clarity, without the coarse camphoraceous residue of lower-grade oils

• Greater solubility and tenacity when used in terpeneless or concentrated formats

The Tunisian variant is managed by a small number of established distillers, and is typically processed without twig inclusion—yielding a softer, more balanced aromatic profile well-suited for fragrance creation.

Olfactory Profile & Perfumery Applications

👃🏼 Scent Breakdown:

• Top: Fresh, minty-herbal with low cineole sharpness

• Heart: Clean, balsamic, lightly woody

• Base: Dry green herbal, persistent bitter-sweet tail

⚗️ Functional Roles:

• Used in modern citrus colognes and classic fougères for its brightness and tenacity

• Acts as a masking agent for phenolic or tar-like bases

• Supports spicy-Oriental and aldehydic-woody formats when paired with olibanum or cinnamon

• Adapted for functional perfumery, including soaps, household sprays, and detergents

🧪 Blend Synergies:

• Olibanum, cinnamon bark oil, coumarin, labdanum

• Lavandin, citronella, thyme, pine needle oils

• Methyl ionones, petitgrain, isobornyl propionate

Method of Extraction

• Extraction Process: Steam distillation

• Botanical Material: Flowers and leaves only

• Regional Specificity: Produced by two primary distillers in Tunisia, with controlled harvest and distillation processes

• No twig inclusion: Enhances odor clarity, lowers resinous or camphoraceous distortion

• Annual Output Estimate: ~35 metric tons historically (source: Arctander)

Regulatory & Safety Overview

• IFRA: Permitted; standard restrictions apply in category-specific concentrations

• EU Allergens: Contains potential traces of linalool, limonene, and eucalyptol; declaration required above 0.01% in leave-on products

• ECHA (REACH): Registered; not classified as hazardous

• Toxicology:

  • No acute dermal sensitization reported at typical usage levels

  • Readily biodegradable; not PBT or vPvB

  • Compatible with rinse-off and alcohol-based formulations; solubility improves in >80% ethanol

✅ Safe for regulated use across perfumery, functional fragrance, and air care applications.

Sources

• Fulvio Ciccolo — 2021

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

• ECHA Substance Information (CAS 8000-25-7)

• Internal distillation reports – Tunisian essential oil producers