Ingredients · Amber & resins · dry-down

Peru balsam oil

Say itPeru BAWL-sum oil

Sweet, creamy vanilla-cinnamon balsam, softer and cleaner than the crude.

What it is

Natural oil from distilled or solvent-extracted from Peru balsam.

Where it comes from

El Salvador

When you smell it

Dry-down: what stays.

What perfumers do with it

Rounds ambers and gourmand orientals with sweet balsamic warmth; blends with benzoin, tonka and vanilla.

Worth knowing

Dermatologists patch-test Peru balsam as a standard marker for fragrance allergy.

Rules

Limited. IFRA caps extracts and distillates; the crude balsam is banned.

Also called

Peru balsam distillate, resinoid or absolute

On the label of 30 of the 1181 perfumes read so far

Psychedelic LoveInitio · printed “Myroxylon pereirae oil/extract”J'adoreDior · printed “Myroxylon pereirae oil/extract”Homme IntenseDior · printed “Myroxylon pereirae oil/extract”Noir ExtremeTom Ford · printed “Myroxylon pereirae oil/extract”J'adore Parfum d'eauDior · printed “Myroxylon pereirae oil/extract”Black LacquerTom Ford · printed “Myroxylon pereirae oil/extract”

See all 30

Named by the house, not on the label, in 4

ParadigmePrada · “Peru Balm”Replica By the FireplaceMaison Margiela · “Peru Balsam resinoïd”GentlemanGivenchy · “Peru Balm”Gentleman Society AmbréeGivenchy · “Peru Balm Essence”