Fragrance note guide

What Does Clove Smell Like in Perfume?

Clove in perfume usually smells warm, sweet and spicy, with woody, powdery, smoky and slightly medicinal sides. It is sharper and more intense than cinnamon, with a recognisable dry warmth. Small amounts can make a fragrance feel lively and rich, while too much can become strongly medicinal. Clove may appear near the top or in the base depending on how it is used.

Dried clove buds beside glossy green leaves and unopened clove flower buds on a pale yellow-grey background

What Does Clove Smell Like?

Clove has a powerful hot-spice character with sweet wood and a mild smoky edge. It can also feel powdery, floral or medicinal. IFF describes clove bud oil as warm and spicy, with woody, sweet, smoky and medicinal qualities. Eugenol, its main aromatic component, has a warm, spicy, floral smell strongly associated with cloves.

Where Does Clove Come From?

Clove comes from the unopened flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum, a tropical tree native to the Maluku Islands. The buds are harvested before opening and dried. Clove bud essential oil is then produced through hydro-distillation, and eugenol is one of its main components.

How Clove Is Usually Described

  • Warm
  • Sweet
  • Spicy
  • Woody
  • Smoky
  • Medicinal

How Is Clove Used in Perfume?

Clove can be used in the top or base of spicy, amber, woody, floral, tobacco and gourmand fragrances. It blends well with orange, cherry, plum, rose, cinnamon, nutmeg, tobacco, patchouli, sandalwood, amber and vanilla. A trace can sharpen a warm accord, while a stronger amount creates a bold dry-spice effect.

Notes Commonly Paired With Clove

Golden labdanum and benzoin resins used in amber perfume accords
Fragrance note

Amber

Amber in perfume usually smells warm, sweet and resinous, with soft vanilla, balsamic, powdery or slightly smoky sides. It is not normally taken from fossilised amber. In perfumery,...

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Deep red and dark cherries, one sliced to show the stone, with green leaves on a pale mint-blue background
Fragrance note

Cherry

Cherry in perfume usually smells juicy, sweet and fruity, with tart, almond-like and sometimes liqueur-like sides. A bright cherry note can feel fresh and playful, while black cherry...

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Fresh sweet oranges, a sliced orange and curled peel with glossy green leaves on a pale blue-grey background
Fragrance note

Orange

Orange in perfume usually smells juicy, sweet and zesty, with the fresh character of newly peeled fruit. It is softer and sweeter than lemon, while usually feeling less...

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Fresh green patchouli leaves and natural stems
Fragrance note

Patchouli

Patchouli in perfume usually smells earthy, woody and deep, with herbal, slightly sweet and sometimes camphor like sides. It can feel dark and damp in one fragrance but...

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Ripe purple plums, one sliced in half, with green leaves on a pale mint-grey background
Fragrance note

Plum

Plum in perfume usually smells rich, juicy and darkly fruity, with sweet, jammy, wine-like or slightly spicy sides. Some plum notes feel fresh and tart, while others are...

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Fresh pink and cream roses with green leaves
Fragrance note

Rose

Rose in perfume usually smells floral, fresh and softly sweet, but it can also have green, fruity, honeyed or spicy sides. Some rose notes feel light and dewy,...

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Pale sandalwood pieces with smooth wood shavings and green leaves
Fragrance note

Sandalwood

Sandalwood in perfume usually smells warm, creamy and softly woody. It can also have milky, balsamic, powdery or lightly spicy sides. Unlike sharper woods, sandalwood often feels smooth...

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Cured tobacco leaves with one fresh green tobacco leaf
Fragrance note

Tobacco

Tobacco in perfume usually smells warm, dry and slightly sweet, with honeyed, hay like, earthy, woody or smoky sides. It normally represents cured tobacco leaves rather than the...

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Natural vanilla pods with a vanilla orchid flower and green leaves
Fragrance note

Vanilla

Vanilla in perfume usually smells sweet, warm and creamy. It can also have soft woody, powdery or spicy sides, depending on the material used and the notes around...

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Luxaro Perfumes With Clove as a Top Note

These fragrances introduce Clove near the opening of the scent.

Luxaro Perfumes With Clove as a Base Note

These fragrances use Clove in the lasting foundation of the scent.

Related Fragrance Notes

Cinnamon sticks, curled bark and green cinnamon leaves on a light pale lilac background
Fragrance note

Cinnamon

Cinnamon in perfume usually smells warm, sweet and spicy, with dry, woody and sometimes slightly hot sides. It can feel comforting and smooth in one fragrance but sharper...

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Whole nutmeg seeds, an open nutmeg fruit with red mace and green leaves on a pale mint-grey background
Fragrance note

Nutmeg

Nutmeg in perfume usually smells warm, dry and gently spicy, with woody, aromatic, sweet and slightly earthy sides. It is generally softer and rounder than black pepper and...

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Cinnamon bark, cardamom pods, nutmeg, cloves and pink peppercorns on a soft lavender-grey background
Fragrance note

Spices

Spices in perfume can smell warm, dry, sweet, peppery, fresh or aromatic. The term does not describe one ingredient because cinnamon, cardamom, clove, nutmeg and pepper all smell...

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