Nirvanolide®
Note Profile
About
Nirvanolide is a Givaudan macrocyclic musk, clean and skin-like with a milky softness under it. It is one of the lowest-threshold musks on the market. It is quiet at the strength it is used, not loud.
Scent Profile
Nirvanolide smells clean, musky and creamy, with nothing loud about it even though it is one of the lowest-threshold musks around. A soft, almost milky quality runs alongside the musk. A white floral, jasmine-like note sits behind that. The whole thing has a soft, diffuse, powdery quality.
ScentWheel
Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.
ScentArt
Materials That Can Make This Note
Perfumers can use this material directly to make Nirvanolide®.
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Nirvanolide
Smell words come from published sources.
A given perfume with this note may use this material, or something else.
Origin
A fully synthetic macrocyclic musk lactone, (10Z)-13-methyl-1-oxacyclopentadec-10-en-2-one, CAS 329925-33-9, discovered by Givaudan in 1997. ScenTree states it 'is not available as natural' and that the (R)-enantiomer 'is responsible for the major part of the odor'. It is a captive of Givaudan. A working perfumer on Basenotes says it was brought in 'more than anything to replace the MUSK KETONE', that is, as a substitute for a nitro-musk that regulation pushed out. It is named as a component of Chanel Bleu de Chanel (2010) and of Prada Amber Pour Homme.
Usage in Perfumery
A base musk, used where the musk should read soft and skin-close. ScenTree says that by detection threshold it is among the most powerful musks on the market. Premiere Peau describes the effect as quiet, intimate and modern. One forum post says Givaudan no longer produces it. Nothing from Givaudan confirms or denies this, so current market status is unresolved.
Similar Notes
Perfumes featuring Nirvanolide®
A selection of reviewed perfumes where Nirvanolide® appears prominently.
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