What Does Almond Smell Like in Perfume?

A sweet almond accord may suggest marzipan, almond cream, soft powder or warm pastries, although it does not have to smell like food. Bitter almond is sharper and more distinctive, with a smell that can also remind people of cherries or fruit stones. Benzaldehyde is one of the main materials linked with this recognisable bitter-almond effect. Perfumers can soften it with vanilla, tonka bean, musk or woods, or make it darker by combining it with cherry, leather, tobacco or spices.

The almond note in perfume is often created with benzaldehyde and other fragrance materials rather than with ordinary almond oil. Some natural bitter-almond materials are produced from crushed kernels, including apricot kernels, which release benzaldehyde during processing. The material is distilled and treated so that hydrocyanic acid is removed before it is suitable for use. Perfumers may then blend the natural oil or benzaldehyde with creamy, powdery and sweet materials to build a fuller almond accord.

Almond may be used in the top, heart or base depending on whether the perfumer wants a bright bitter effect or a softer creamy one. It works particularly well with cherry, plum, rose, jasmine, vanilla, tonka bean, amber, sandalwood, leather and tobacco. In gourmand perfumes, it can add warmth and a marzipan-like sweetness. In floral, woody or leather scents, a smaller amount can provide a dry, nutty contrast without making the fragrance smell like a dessert.