Civetone

What Civetone smells like

Civetone, the main odorant of civet, is described as a delicately sweet, animal, musky odour, more muscular than Exaltone but not unpleasant, by one supplier, and as warm, musky, animalic, powdery and delicately sweet, with high diffusion and tenacity, by another. A glossary describes the neat material as powerfully animalic and faecal, with a faintly sweet, almost honeyed quality at functional concentrations. Other descriptions add leather and fur. Wikipedia identifies it as (9Z)-cycloheptadec-9-en-1-one, the main odorous constituent of civet, with a strong musky odour that becomes pleasant at extreme dilutions, and notes that it is now made from precursors found in palm oil.

Leading note

Animalic musk

Supporting facets

Warm, sweet, faecal

Faint facets

Leather, fur, powdery

Character

Warm, diffusive, tenacious, animalic

• animalic
• musky
• warm
• fecal

What makes Civetone distinctive

The civet note made synthetic: faecal neat, warmly sweet and furry in a composition.

Concentration and dilution

Powerfully animalic and faecal neat; faintly sweet, almost honeyed at functional concentrations.

How Civetone is used

Used in traces for animalic warmth in floral, chypre and oriental compositions.

Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend); fixative (slow to evaporate; helps a blend last and holds lighter notes).

How Civetone differs from similar materials

Exaltone*

One supplier finds civetone more muscular than Exaltone; Exaltone is the softer, sweeter musk. (compared directly by a cited source)

Velvione

Velvione is a powdery musk with civet-like aspects; civetone is the animal note itself.

Skatole

Skatole is faecal and indolic; civetone is a warmer, musky animal note with sweetness in dilution.

An asterisk marks a difference that a cited source states directly. The others compare the published descriptions of each material. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.

Formulation considerations

Extremely powerful; work from a 0.1% dilution. The material in use is synthetic, so no animal is involved.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Occurs in nature

Odour family

Animalic / Musky

Note position

Base note

Physical form at room temperature

Solid. A white or colourless crystalline mass, in JECFA's description as PubChem publishes it.

Also known as

(Z)-Cycloheptadec-9-en-1-one

CAS number

542-46-1

Molecular formula

C17H30O

Molecular weight

250.4 g/mol

IUPAC name

(9Z)-cycloheptadec-9-en-1-one

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 5315941, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 19 October 2026.

Safety and compliance

Hazard classification of the neat substance, as PubChem summarises it, read 26 October 2026. Companies notifying the ECHA C&L Inventory classify it (187 reports): H315 causes skin irritation (20.9% of reports). 148 of the reports find it does not meet the hazard criteria. Unless it is harmonised, this is the notifiers' own classification, not a binding one.

This page is general information, not a safety assessment or a specification. Confirm identity, composition, IFRA status and allergen content from your supplier's documents for the lot you hold.

Materials it works with

• Muscone

  Aroma chemical · Musky / Animalic — musky, animalic, warm, powdery

• Indole

  Aroma chemical · Animalic / Floral — animalic, indolic, floral, narcotic

• Jasmine Absolute (Grandiflorum)

  Absolute · Floral / Animalic — jasmine, floral, indolic, fruity

• Labdanum Absolute

  Absolute · Amber / Leather — amber, balsamic, leathery, animalic

Civetone is also suggested as a partner on the pages for Civet Absolute, Costus Oliffac and Tonquitone.

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 8 published formulas

Civetone is an ingredient in 6 perfume formulas and 2 accords in the Formula & Accord Library.

Community formulas

• Lilac Accord

  Community Formula · Accord · listed as “Civettone 10%”, at 10%

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Bright Wolf

  RUŌOD House Creation · listed as “Civetone 1% DPG”, at 1% in DPG

• Feral Jasmine Accord

  RUŌOD House Accord · listed as “Civetone 1% DPG”, at 1% in DPG

• Musk Cartouche

  RUŌOD House Original · listed as “Civetone 1% DPG”, at 1% in DPG

• Narcissus Hay Loft

  RUŌOD House Creation · listed as “Civetone 1% DPG”, at 1% in DPG

• Night Jasmine Foundry

  RUŌOD House Creation · listed as “Civetone 1% DPG”, at 1% in DPG

• Orange Blossom Den

  RUŌOD House Creation · listed as “Civetone 1% DPG”, at 1% in DPG

• Skin Heat

  RUŌOD House Creation · listed as “Civetone 1% DPG”, at 1% in DPG

Further reading

• Animalic Notes in Perfumery: From Civet to Synthetics

  The classic animal materials — musk, civet, castoreum, ambergris — why they went, and how indole, skatole and synthetic bases recreate animalic warmth.

• Musks in Perfumery: Nitro, Polycyclic and Macrocyclic Musks

  The four groups of synthetic musk, what musks do in a formula, natural musk and ambrette, why perfumers blend musks, and handling notes.

Questions about Civetone

Sources

• PubChem — compound 5315941, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• Scentspiracy — Civetone — distributor's description.
• Premiere Peau — Civettone — published perfumery reference.
• Parfinity — Civettone — published perfumery reference.
• Wikipedia — Civetone — published perfumery reference.
• Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 26 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.