Featured ingredient: Cedar

Today, in the world of home fragrance, cedar stands out as a flagship ingredient, lending its comforting woody character to our homes. Here is the essential guide to enchanting your spaces with this captivating fragrance.

Cedar in Home Fragrance

There are essences that, with a simple whiff, transform the atmosphere of our interiors. At the heart of this olfactory alchemy, cedar stands out, embodying a sensory journey into wild nature. With its woody trail, it transforms every space into a haven of peace. Carried by a diffuser, a candle, or even a room spray, cedar becomes the architect of a space in your image, lending its comforting character to our homes.

A tribute to this fabulous tree, inspired by these majestic coniferous forests with fragrant branches, discover Estéban's Cedar fragrance, an iconic collection from the House that has enchanted brand loyalists for over 35 years.

Cedar: Origin and Symbolism

An emblem of longevity, this majestic tree has long captured the human imagination and senses with its robust wood and captivating fragrance.

This tree has always been a pillar of construction and craftsmanship. In the heart of ancient forests, it stands proudly, a symbol of strength, durability, and timeless beauty.

Since antiquity, cedar has found its use among the Egyptians, not only for embalming (its fragrant and bitter sawdust was used to embalm bodies to deter insects) but also to heal wounds (with its resinous gum) and to make sarcophagi. Its wood, both fragrant and a beautiful golden yellow, was prized by the Greeks, Phoenicians, and Persians for constructing their palaces, creating furniture, building ships, and for their sculptural works. It is said that King Solomon's palace was built exclusively with cedar wood from Lebanon, testifying to the value and importance of this wood essence throughout the ages.

What Olfactory Family Does Cedar Belong To?

Cedar belongs to the large woody notes family, distinguished by its opulence and richness. This family offers a palette of woody notes ranging from the driest to the most humid, including milky, smoky, or even earthy facets, depending on the chosen essences. Besides cedar, the main players in this olfactory family include sandalwood, patchouli, and vetiver, not to mention guaiac wood and oud wood. These essences, often associated with masculine perfumery, are generally present as base notes - their ability to act as powerful fixatives gives perfumes better longevity and a solid structure.

The Different Cedar Essences

Different varieties of cedar are distinguished by their place of origin. Botanists distinguish the following species:

• Lebanon Cedar (Cedrus Libanii)
• Atlas Cedar (Cedrus atlantica)
• Himalayan Cedar (Cedrus deodora)
• Virginia / Texas Cedar, also called "Red Cedar," is actually a type of juniper (Juniperus virginia). Its high content of Cedrol (a very characteristic cedar, dry woody scent molecule) nonetheless allows it to be associated with a "false-cedar." This last essence is the most used in perfumery, appreciated for its scent reminiscent of a wooden cabin.

Cedar is an imposing tree, capable of reaching 50 meters in height and 15 meters in circumference. A symbol of life and knowledge in many traditions, it can live for over 1000 years. While a large part of the iconic Cedar Grove of Lebanon – described as "humanity's most famous natural monument" by Lamartine – no longer exists, there are still very beautiful specimens of Cedrus Libanii in Japan.

What Does Cedar Smell Like?

Virginia and Texas cedars have similar aromas: a warm, dry woody note reminiscent of childhood memories (referencing the smell of school children's wooden pencils) or an active carpentry shop, with its fresh wood shavings. The scents of this cedar are harmonious and soft, and its citrusy facets offer a sensation of freshness and cleanliness. Its woody and well-balanced fragrance lends a comforting and elegant touch to creations that contain it, making it a preferred choice for body fragrances as well as home fragrances.

Atlas Cedar, on the other hand, has a more acidic and animalistic scent. Its essential oil, although more intense than that of Virginia or Texas, is much less used in perfumery.

In the world of perfumery, cedarwood plays a fundamental role because it provides a backbone to perfumes by bringing depth and coherence to the olfactory structure, from its initial whiffs to its most lasting notes.

When it is predominant in a perfume, the result is often a bold and strong fragrance, evoking vast spaces; sumptuous forests and wild nature.

Cedar and Harmonies in Perfumery

Cedar harmonizes with various scent families, although it is mainly incorporated into woody compositions. Able to infuse from the top note to the base notes, it often finds its place as a base note in olfactory blends thanks to its remarkable persistence and ideally serves as a central pillar in the development of a perfume.

Cedar essence can harmonize with other woody notes such as patchouli, vetiver, and sandalwood, to create a scent with a pronounced and unequivocal woody message.

The fresh facet of cedar can be accentuated by citrus notes or "cold" spices; as in Estéban's Cedar fragrance, where grapefruit and nutmeg create a dynamic opening, for a composition that is both elegant and vibrant.

What Are the Virtues of Cedar?

Endowed with purifying properties, cedar essential oil would facilitate breathing. Its delicate and woody fragrance also encourages meditation. In the context of psycho-energetic olfactotherapy, Atlas Cedar essential oil is used to awaken strength and courage, symbolic attributes of this sovereign of the woods. This venerable tree would push us to restructure ourselves with perseverance and confidence, and to find a strong will to achieve our projects.

Anecdotally: it was the salvation of Captain Jacques Cartier's crew, suffering from scurvy, in the heart of the harsh Quebec winter, at the beginning of the 16th century.

Sources:

• - The Guide to Olfactory Emotions, Balance and Well-being through Aromachology, by Patty Canac
• - https://www.olfastory.com/famille-olfactive.html
• - https://www.olfastory.com/matiere/cedre
• - https://www.sylvaine-delacourte.com/fr/guide/la-facette-boisee
• - https://www.sylvaine-delacourte.com/fr/blog/le-cedre-en-parfumerie
• - https://www.courrierinternational.com/article/blog-liban-les-cedres-du-liban-un-tresor-naturel-a-proteger.