Unveiling The Allure Of Animalic Scents: A Guide To Nature's Fragrance

An animalic fragrance is one that smells like skin, fur, body odour, or other animal-derived ingredients. Classically, these ingredients include musk, ambergris, and civet. These ingredients are now often replaced with synthetic versions, but can still be found in fragrances. Animalic notes are generally quite strong and often have a strong odour of decay or faeces.

Scents like skin, fur, body odour

An animalic fragrance is one that smells like skin, fur, body odour, etc. Classically, they are musk (originally from beavers and deer), ambergris (digestive byproduct of whales), and civet (from a civet cat). These are all animals. Almost all such ingredients are now chemical and are not the real thing. In the past, these ingredients were fixatives and base notes, but sometimes were powerful enough to dominate fragrances.

Animalic notes are generally quite strong and often fecal. Civet being the main material used which is extracted from the anal gland of the civet cat. White florals contain traces of the chemical indole (also present in Jasmine) which can be added to a fragrance in trace amounts for effect. Alone indole has the odour of decay and can be extremely unpleasant as is the case with many animalic notes.

Other animalic scents can be leathery (skin, pelts) like Aramis or contain cumin (Kingdom, Angel) which has a BO smell. Also often understood to include indolic notes like jasmine and skanky, unwashed notes. One old favourite of mine that is sometimes included is Femme by Rochas, although it has had many reformulations. It is quite mild mannered in comparison to some of those on the list.

Tom Ford Tobacco Oud is another example of an animalic fragrance. The opening on my skin is very animalic and a little funky. After the dry down, it gets muskier and richer and some of the initial "funkier" notes soften a bit.

Middle Eastern attars are very good examples of animalic fragrances. Notes like musk, civet, ambergris, leather, oud make a scent animalic usually. Since fragrances smell different on everyone and everyone has different preferences...one thing I've noticed is that people here seem to find "musk" scents rather polarizing.

Leathery, musky, BO smell

An animalic fragrance is one that smells like skin, fur, or body odour. Musk, originally from beavers and deer, is a classic example of an animalic scent. Ambergris, a digestive byproduct of whales, and civet, extracted from the anal gland of the civet cat, are also animalic scents.

These ingredients are now often chemical and not the real thing. In the past, these ingredients were fixatives and base notes, but sometimes were powerful enough to dominate fragrances.

An animalic fragrance can also be leathery or musky. Cumin can also be used to create an animalic fragrance with a BO smell.

Indolic notes like jasmine and skanky, unwashed notes are also often included in animalic fragrances. White florals contain traces of the chemical indole, which can be added to a fragrance in trace amounts for effect. Alone, indole has the odour of decay and can be extremely unpleasant as is the case with many animalic notes.

Middle Eastern attars are a good example of an animalic fragrance. Tom Ford Tobacco Oud is another example of an animalic fragrance. The opening on my skin is very animalic and a little funky. After the dry down, it gets muskier and richer and some of the initial "funkier" notes soften a bit.

Indolic notes like jasmine

An animalic fragrance is one that smells like skin, fur, body odour, etc. Classically, these ingredients were fixatives and base notes, but sometimes they were powerful enough to dominate fragrances. Indolic notes like jasmine are often included in animalic scents, as they smell skanky and unwashed. White florals contain traces of the chemical indole (also present in jasmine), which can be added to a fragrance in trace amounts for effect. Alone, indole has the odour of decay and can be extremely unpleasant as is the case with many animalic notes.

Fecal, civet anal gland

An animalic fragrance is one that smells like skin, fur, body smells, etc. It is typically made from musk, ambergris, and civet, which are all animal products. Indolic notes like jasmine and skanky, unwashed notes are also included in animalic fragrances.

The scent of fecal, civet anal gland is strong and often fecal, and it is one of the most common animalic notes. It is often used in middle eastern attars and is known for its strong, funky scent.

Wild, untamed and sexual

An animalic fragrance is one that smells like skin, fur, body smells, etc. Classically, they are musk (originally from beavers and deer), ambergris (digestive byproduct of whales), and civet (from a civet cat). These ingredients are now chemical and are not the real thing. In the past, these ingredients were fixatives and base notes, but sometimes were powerful enough to dominate fragrances. Also included are some plant smells. Costus, sage (which can smell urinous), immortelle and others can smell raunchy, or like dirty laundry.

Animalic scents can be leathery (skin, pelts) like Aramis or contain cumin (Kingdom, Angel) which has a BO smell. Also often understood to include indolic notes like jasmine and skanky, unwashed notes. One old favourite of mine that is sometimes included is Femme by Rochas, although it has had many reformulations. It is quite mild mannered in comparison to some of those on the list. Alot of people said what it is so I'll go ahead and say that my current favorite animalic fragrance is Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Notes like musk, civet, ambergris, leather, oud make a scent animalic usually, middle eastern attars are very good examples for this. Pretty sure it's supposed to be something "wild, untamed and sexual". Not sure which fragrances I'd connect with those traits though. Maybe Oud for Greatness or Noir de Noir. Since fragrances smell different on everyone and everyone has different preferences...one thing I've noticed is that people here seem to find "musk" scents rather polarizing.

Nowadays we are more likely to use synthetic replacements than actual materials from animals for the obvious reasons and often there are a lot of what we refer to as animalic in flowers such as Jasmine and tuberose too. White florals contain traces of the chemical indole (also present in Jasmine) which can be added to a fragrance in trace amounts for effect. Alone indole has the odour of decay and can be extremely unpleasant as is the case with many animalic notes. The animalic notes are generally quite strong and often fecal, civet being the main material used which is extracted from the anal gland of the civet cat.

Tom Ford Tobacco Oud is another example of an animalic fragrance. The opening on my skin is very animalic and a little funky. After the dry down, it gets muskier and richer and some of the initial "funkier" notes soften a bit.

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