Raw Materials Used in Perfumery Part 7 - Clearwood®

Patchouli gets a bad rap from people who don’t actually know what patchouli can be. If all you’ve smelled is some cheap, oily head shop blend, then sure — it’s going to come off musty, dusty, maybe even moldy. But real patchouli? High-grade, properly aged, and skillfully used? It’s dark, earthy, bitter-green, and grounding. The kind of note that gives a fragrance presence and weight.

There’s range to it. Dark patchouli is thick and camphorous. Light patchouli is more refined, stripped of some of the funk but still unmistakably itself. And where it’s grown changes the story. Indonesian patchouli tends to be deeper and more humid. Indian patchouli can show a spicier, leafier character. Even aging changes it. What starts off sharp and raw becomes rounded and soft with time.

The core of patchouli’s character comes down to molecules like patchoulol. That’s the cool, woody backbone. It smells like damp earth, old books, and wet stone. Patchoulol acetate is a lighter, more transparent twist on it. These are the parts perfumers chase when they want patchouli’s complexity without the baggage.

Then there’s Clearwood®.

It’s not a synthetic. It’s not a fraction. It’s a material created by fermentation, built from sugarcane, and designed to isolate the cleaner, smoother sides of patchouli. Firmenich used biotech to cut the dirt and keep the warmth. Clearwood is rich in patchoulol, but doesn’t have the moldy, musty edges that turn people off. It smells woody and soft, slightly creamy, with a bit of amber glow underneath. In a blend, it brings shape without crowding. It lifts Iso E Super, supports Hedione, and plays well with the modern airy-wood molecules that need something quiet to sit on. It’s subtle, but it makes a difference.

Then came Clearwood PRISMA, launched in 2024 to mark the ten-year anniversary of the original. It pushes the idea further. With up to 99% patchoulol, PRISMA is solid at room temperature. It’s more concentrated, more vivid. Not dirtier — just more… present. It keeps the elegance of Clearwood but adds clarity and oomph. It stays clear, bright, and woody. More transparent than traditional patchouli, more complex than the original Clearwood.

If patchouli has always felt too heavy or too dirty, these materials shift the equation. They give you the bones and soul of patchouli, cleaned up and reassembled for modern perfumery.

Part 6 - Diluents

Part 8 - Vanillin

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