Douglas Fir

Note Profile

Botanical

About

Douglas fir is the needle and twig oil of Pseudotsuga menziesii. It is a woody-balsamic, sweet conifer with a citrus lift that the true firs do not have. Both sources call the citrus unexpected. It is also softer and more tenacious than a pine needle oil.

Scent Profile

Amber_resinous leads. Eden Botanicals calls the aroma 'woody-balsamic, sweet coniferous' and puts the balsamic first, and Fraterworks quotes Arctander on 'a very rich bodynote'. Green is the conifer needle itself, described as fresh and coniferous by both. Citrus is the fact that separates this note from every fir already published. Eden Botanicals calls it a 'fresh coniferous/lemon aroma' and Fraterworks calls it 'a wonderful (and unexpected) sparkling citrus note' that Siberian fir needle and fir balsam do not carry. Dry_woody is the twig and the wood under the needle. Tropical is the pineapple that Eden Botanicals names once. One source only, so the spread on it is wide. Sweet_vanillic and cooling_mentholic sit below the naming line. The menthol number is deliberately low: neither source calls this oil camphoraceous, and both stress softness, which is the opposite of the sharp pine-needle reading.

ScentWheel

Breadthmedium

EnvelopeHeart · ~8h lasting

Family Amber · Musk · Leather, Green & Aromatic, Fresh & Citrus

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

Origin

Pseudotsuga menziesii is not a true fir. It is a separate genus from Abies, the tree behind the published Fir, Fir Resin and Canadian Fir Balsam notes, and Fraterworks says the two are 'unrelated' despite the shared common name. The oil is steam-distilled from needles and twigs. Eden Botanicals sells an organic Douglas fir oil and Fraterworks sells a New Zealand-grown one. No manufacturer olfactive description exists for it. Both sources here are essential-oil trade suppliers, one rung below a maker's datasheet.

Usage in Perfumery

Parfumo records six placements across five brands. Fragrantica records none. Fraterworks says it blends with other conifer oils, oakmoss, citrus oils and labdanum, and both suppliers sell it as a Christmas-tree material. Its use is the same as fir, with the citrus giving it a top the other conifers need to borrow.