Description and usage notes:
A powerful material normally used in combination with other sandalwood odourants or as a booster for the natural oil. Javanol also has a rosy, cologne like note in the background that makes it exceptionally good for use in fragrances of these types, however many people find it so strong it can easily come across as harsh, so careful dosing is required.
Description from Givaudan: “Javanol is a new-generation sandalwood molecule with unprecedented power and substantivity. It has a rich, natural, creamy sandalwood note like beta santanol. With its exceptional low threshold, it is approximately 8x more effective in wash tests on a weight basis than the most powerful known product. In addition, its very good stability, due in part to the complete absence of double bond, makes it suitable for all applications except bleach.”
Arcadi Boix Camps, writing in 2009, devotes a full two and a half pages to Javanol, which he is very enthusiastic about: “Javanol is the only sandalwood chemical that smells of sandalwood alcohols and sandalwood aldehydes. It is therefore extremely natural since both contribute to the great and mythical smell of the south Indian oil”. He goes on to describe it as “perhaps the best of all” the sandalwood chemicals and “impossible to replace” and also mentions that it is used to very good effect in Truth for Men by Calvin Klein and Chic for Men by Carolina Herrera as well as being a vital component of Sandalwood Givco.
Writing in January 2007, in Perfumer & Flavorist Magazine, Antoine Gaillard (a senior perfumer at Givaudan) discusses the usage of Javanol including the following: “The very specific scent of sandalwood oil is difficult to reproduce with a single molecule. The odor develops during evaporation of the oil and varies, depending upon the type of application in which it was incorporated. Consequently, a mixture of several synthetic sandalwood substitutes is necessary in order to obtain the olfactory profile of natural sandalwood oil. Because of its performance and stability Javanol can be used as the backbone for all modern sandalwood notes.”
He also points out that “In some cases, a very small dosage of Javanol (0.02%) can produce a boosting effect, conferring additional volume and improved substantivity to more traditional sandalwood-type composition.”
He goes on to suggest uses for Javanol beyond reproduction of sandalwood notes: “Javanol is not exclusively a sandalwood note vector. Its additional olfactive facets and low threshold enable trace amounts of the substance to impart interesting volume and radiance effects to all types of perfumes. The material rounds and provides sophisticated density to musky, floral, spicy and woody accords.”
The full text of the article is available here for those with a subscription to the magazine.
Carlos Silva (verified owner) –
The most subberd sandalwood in perfumery…strong/powerfull and at same delicate like a rose.
Love to work it on woods and agarwood .
A must have…despise the price its to high.
Sean (verified owner) –
Very powerful! Would recommend but use in small dosages