Skip to main content
    SILLORIA

    Ingredient Profile

    Dark Woods fragrance note

    Dark Woods captures the smoky, resinous heart of agarwood, delivering a deep, mineral-rich scent that anchors modern compositions with a whi…More

    Vietnam

    2

    Fragrances

    StoryProductionOrigin

    Fragrances featuring Dark Woods

    L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme Or Encens by Issey Miyake
    Best Seller
    4.6

    L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme Or Encens

    Issey Miyake

    Memoir Woman by Amouage – Eau de Parfum
    Best Seller
    4.2

    Memoir Woman

    Amouage

    Eau de Parfum

    Character

    The Story of Dark Woods

    Dark Woods captures the smoky, resinous heart of agarwood, delivering a deep, mineral-rich scent that anchors modern compositions with a whisper of ancient forests.

    Heritage

    Agarwood first entered recorded history in ancient Mesopotamia, where priests burned the resin as incense for ritual purification. Traders carried the dark chips along the Silk Road, introducing the scent to Persia, where it became a staple of royal courts. Arab scholars documented the wood’s medicinal uses in the 9th century, noting its calming properties. By the 15th century, Southeast Asian kingdoms cultivated agarwood deliberately, encouraging fungal infection to increase resin production. Colonial powers later exported the oil to Europe, where it inspired the first oud‑based perfumes in the late 1800s. Today, the note remains a symbol of luxury and cultural heritage across continents.

    At a Glance

    Fragrances

    2

    Feature this note

    Origin

    Vietnam

    Primary source region

    Ingredient Details

    Extraction

    Steam distillation

    Used Parts

    Infected heartwood

    Did You Know

    "A single kilogram of agarwood yields only about one milliliter of pure oud oil, making each drop a rare commodity in perfumery."

    Pyramid Presence

    Heart
    1
    Base
    1

    Production

    How Dark Woods Is Made

    Harvesters locate agarwood trees that have responded to fungal infection by secreting dark resin. They cut the infected sections, then dry the heartwood to reduce moisture. Workers load the dried wood into a stainless steel still, introduce steam at 100 °C, and collect the condensate that drips from the coil. The resulting liquid separates into oil and water; perfumers skim the oil, filter it through fine mesh, and store it in amber glass to protect it from light. Each batch undergoes gas chromatography to verify the presence of key sesquiterpenes before it reaches the blending stage. The entire process balances careful handling of a fragile material with precise temperature control to preserve the wood’s nuanced aroma.

    Provenance

    Vietnam

    Vietnam14.1°N, 108.3°E

    About Dark Woods