Costus root oil

Say itKOS-tus root oil

Unwashed-hair, wet-dog animal note with orris-violet and fatty-woody undertones.

What it is: Natural oil from steam-distilled roots of Saussurea costus.
Where it comes from: Himalaya, Kashmir
When you smell it: Dry-down: hours later.
What perfumers do with it: Historic source of greasy, intimate skin-and-hair animal notes; now replaced by costus reconstitutions.
Worth knowing: Perfumers prized it precisely because it smelled like an unwashed head of hair, an intimacy few materials offer.
Rules: Not allowed. IFRA-prohibited skin sensitiser; the plant is CITES Appendix I.
Also called: Costus; Saussurea costus (Dolomiaea costus) root oil

Named by the house, not on the label, in 1

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