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Earthy familyBase note

Oakmoss

Oakmoss is a base note from the earthy family: the inky, damp-forest green that anchors every true chypre.

01Family
Earthy
02Pyramid
Base
03Best seasons
Autumn, Winter
04Type
Note
How it smells

What does oakmoss smell like?

Oakmoss: the inky, damp-forest green that anchors every true chypre.

From our page: Earthy fragrance family
  • Oakmoss is a lichen used as a fixative and base in chypre fragrances; modern formulations use restricted oakmoss derivatives or synthetics due to IFRA limits.

    From our page: Fragnatique glossary
Its family

Oakmoss, patchouli and vetiver: the chypre backbone.

Oakmoss is also named among the defining notes of the aromatic family.

Where it sits

Is oakmoss a top, heart or base note?

Oakmoss is a base note.

  1. Top15 minutes to 2 hours
  2. HeartHour 1 to hour 5
  3. Base4 to 12+ hours
In our words

Earthy fragrances are among the longest lasting of any family because oakmoss, patchouli, and vetiver are heavy base materials that cling to skin and fabric.

From our page: Earthy fragrance family

Base notes are the memory: they are what lingers on a coat hours after you took it off.

From our page: Top, Middle, Base: How the Notes Pyramid Actually Works
Pairings

What does oakmoss pair with?

Oakmoss anchors two classic structures: the chypre, with labdanum in the base, and the fougère, with lavender and coumarin.

From our page: Aromatic fragrance family

Named partners

Also in the earthy family

The earthy family bridges to

From the journal

Read more about oakmoss

Find the perfumes built around oakmoss.

Fragnatique reads every perfume down to its notes and scores it against your own taste, with the reason behind each match written out. Start from a note you love and let the app do the narrowing.