Fragrance note guide

What Does Incense Smell Like in Perfume?

Incense in perfume usually smells resinous, smoky and woody, with warm amber, dry spice and sometimes fresh citrus or mineral sides. It does not always smell like thick smoke from something burning. Some incense notes are bright, clean and peppery, while others feel dark, balsamic and mysterious. Incense is usually used in the base of a fragrance to add depth and a lasting resinous character.

Pale frankincense resin pieces with Boswellia tree bark and green leaves on a pale lavender-grey background

What Does Incense Smell Like?

An incense accord can suggest warm resins, dry wood, light smoke and glowing embers. Frankincense oil can have a surprisingly fresh opening, with peppery and citrus-like qualities above its resinous base. A richer resinoid may feel darker, warmer and more mineral. Perfumers can also combine several resins, woods, smoky materials and fragrance molecules to create an incense effect that ranges from clean and airy to dense and smoky.

Where Does Incense Come From?

Incense is a broad perfume idea rather than one single raw material. One of its best-known ingredients is frankincense, also called olibanum, which comes from the gum-resin of Boswellia trees. Boswellia sacra is native to parts of Somalia, Yemen and Oman. The resin can be hydro-distilled to produce essential oil or extracted with alcohol to create a richer resinoid.

How Incense Is Usually Described

  • Resinous
  • Smoky
  • Woody
  • Spicy
  • Balsamic
  • Mineral

How Is Incense Used in Perfume?

Incense is mainly used in the base of amber, woody, spicy, leather and floral fragrances. It blends well with citrus, rose, jasmine, patchouli, cedarwood, sandalwood, leather, amber and vanilla. A small amount can add a dry resinous shadow, while a stronger accord may become one of the main features of the perfume. Fresh citrus or peppery materials can make incense feel brighter, while woods and amber make it deeper and warmer.

Notes Commonly Paired With Incense

White jasmine flowers and green leaves against a soft blue green background
Fragrance note

Jasmine

Jasmine in perfume usually smells rich, sweet and floral. It can also seem creamy, green, fruity or slightly spicy, depending on the type of jasmine and the other...

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Silvery wormwood leaves, star anise and fennel seeds representing an absinthe perfume accord
Fragrance note

Absinthe

Absinthe in perfume usually smells bitter, green and herbal, with anise-like, liquorice, camphoraceous and slightly medicinal sides. It can feel sharp and cool rather than sweet. The note...

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Cedarwood pieces with wood shavings and fresh cedar foliage
Fragrance note

Cedarwood

Cedarwood in perfume usually smells dry, warm and woody, with resinous, slightly smoky or pencil like sides. Some cedarwood notes feel smooth and creamy, while others are sharper...

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Sliced lemon, orange, grapefruit, lime and bergamot with green leaves on a pale sky-blue background
Fragrance note

Citrus

Citrus in perfume usually smells bright, fresh and zesty, with juicy, bitter, green and peel-like sides. The term does not describe one fruit because lemon, bergamot, orange, mandarin,...

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Green cypress twigs with small cones on a pale rose-grey background
Fragrance note

Cypress Leaf

Cypress leaf in perfume usually smells green, aromatic and woody, with pine-like, peppery and resinous sides. It feels drier and more structured than a soft leafy note. Some...

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Fresh fir branches with green needles, natural cones and pale resin on a frosted blue background
Fragrance note

Fir

Fir in perfume usually smells fresh, green and coniferous, with woody, resinous and balsamic sides. It can suggest crushed evergreen needles, cool forest air, tree sap and freshly...

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Flint stones and mineral fragments representing a dry smoky flint perfume accord
Fragrance note

Flint

Flint in perfume usually smells dry, mineral and smoky, with metallic, stony and slightly earthy sides. It does not come from extracting scent from pieces of flint. It...

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Guaiac wood, bark and lightly charred fragments on a pale warm grey background
Fragrance note

Guaiac Wood

Guaiac wood in perfume usually smells smoky, warm and woody, with balsamic, rosy, tea-like and softly creamy sides. Its smoke is generally smoother and less tarry than birch....

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Natural smooth leather, grained leather and suede textures on a light cool-stone background
Fragrance note

Leather

Leather in perfume usually smells dry, warm and slightly smoky, with woody, animalic, tarry or soft suede like sides. It does not normally come from untreated animal hide...

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Fresh green forest moss on damp bark with woodland leaves on a pale stone-grey background
Fragrance note

Moss

Moss in perfume usually smells earthy, damp and green, with forest-floor, woody, resinous and slightly smoky sides. It is a broad description rather than one precise material. A...

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Dried papyrus reeds and fibrous stems with green leaves on a muted aqua background
Fragrance note

Papyrus

Papyrus in perfume usually smells dry, woody and earthy, with smoky, fibrous, green and slightly leathery sides. It is designed to suggest dried reeds, paper-like fibres and warm...

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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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Pink peppercorn clusters, loose berries and green leaves on a light mist-blue background
Fragrance note

Pink Pepper

Pink pepper in perfume usually smells fresh, sparkling and gently spicy, with rosy, fruity, citrusy and slightly woody sides. It feels brighter and softer than black pepper and...

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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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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 Incense as a Base Note

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

Related Fragrance Notes

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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Golden benzoin resin pieces with natural tree bark and green leaves on a light dusty blue background
Fragrance note

Benzoin

Benzoin in perfume usually smells sweet, warm and balsamic, with vanilla-like, creamy, powdery and slightly resinous sides. It can also suggest caramel, cinnamon or warm cereal depending on...

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Pale elemi resin pieces and a leafy elemi branch on a dusty blue background
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Elemi

Elemi in perfume usually smells fresh, resinous and peppery, with bright citrus, aromatic wood and incense-like sides. It is lighter and more sparkling than many dark balsamic resins....

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Natural myrrh resin pieces and a leafy myrrh branch on a dusty blue background
Fragrance note

Myrrh

Myrrh in perfume usually smells warm, resinous and balsamic, with smoky, earthy, liquorice-like and softly sweet sides. Some myrrh materials feel dark and medicinal, while others are smoother,...

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Charred wood, cedar bark and grey ash representing a smoky perfume note
Fragrance note

Smoke

Smoke in perfume usually smells dry, dark and charred, with woody, ashy, leathery and incense-like sides. It is a constructed effect rather than smoke trapped inside a bottle....

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Dark styrax resin with tree bark and green leaves on a pale rose-grey background
Fragrance note

Styrax

Styrax in perfume usually smells balsamic, smoky and sweet, with leather, vanilla, resinous and slightly animalic sides. It is darker and smokier than benzoin and can resemble warm...

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