Apricot Kernel

Note Profile

Botanical

About

The seed inside the apricot stone. It smells of bitter almond and marzipan, not of apricot flesh.

Scent Profile

Nutty leads and every source found says the same thing. The Perfume Society calls it 'bitter, like the extract of the apricot kernel (think of an Amaretto-ish bitter almond scent)'. A Parfumo reviewer writes 'almondy, slightly medicinal, as bitter as the seed of an apricot kernel', and another names 'a bitter almond note or marzipan note'. Fruity, well behind. Perfume Stars is the only source that gives it: 'a mild, nutty scent with subtle fruity undertones'. It is set low because three of four sources describe the kernel as the opposite of the fruit, not a version of it. Sweet_vanillic, held below marzipan's 0.42 and almond's 0.40 because every source leads with the word bitter and only one mentions sweetness at all. Powdery by analogy with the marzipan register the sources name. THE LEAD DESCRIPTOR HAS NO FACET. Bitter is what all four sources say first and none of the 32 facets carries it, so the vector cannot state the one thing this note is best known for.

ScentWheel

Breadthmedium

EnvelopeHeart · ~4h lasting

Family Sweet & Gourmand

Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.

What this is made of

benzaldehyde

Principally this

CAS 100-52-7

NOT the kernel's fixed oil, which is a fatty carrier and near-odourless. The note's own origin states the mechanism: 'the bitter-almond smell comes from benzaldehyde released from the kernel'. So the smell this note names is carried by one molecule and the link type is Principal. `Apricot kernel oil, fixed` is held and is deliberately NOT the edge.

Declarable allergen: Named in EU Annex III as Benzaldehyde products must list this name above a set concentration
Restricted: An IFRA Standard limits how much of this a perfumer can use the limit applies to the perfumer, not the wearer

These are facts about the substance, not about any perfume with this note.

Why that matters

A perfume that names Apricot Kernel can use a different extract, a reformulated version, or a synthetic reconstruction. It can also hold less than the amount that requires a declaration. We cannot tell which applies. These rows cover only the substances we hold a link for.

How the layers join

Origin

Prunus armeniaca seed. The bitter-almond smell comes from benzaldehyde released from the kernel, the same compound that gives Disaronno and other amaretto their flavour.

Usage in Perfumery

Used as a bitter-almond accent, often under a stone-fruit or cherry note to give it a stone. Reviewers report it reading as marzipan when dosed heavily and as a mild nuttiness when dosed low.