RUŌOD Lab

Clove Leaf Oil

Essential oil · Spicy / Woody

clove, spicy, dry, woody — heart note.

Aroma illustration for Clove Leaf Oil: cloves and a cut log, for its clove and woody notes. It illustrates smell associations, not the material or its source.Illustration of a clove tree twig with glossy, elliptic leaves. Clove leaf oil is distilled from the leaves rather than the buds.
Aroma View: an illustration of what Clove Leaf Oil smells like (clove, woody), drawn by RUŌOD Lab — not its appearance or its source.An original illustration of the botanical source by RUŌOD Lab — not a photograph of the material.
Images

By the RUŌOD Lab TeamRevision 1Updated

In short

Clove leaf oil is distilled from the leaves of the clove tree, Syzygium aromaticum. It is rich in eugenol and smells drier and harsher than clove bud oil.

What Clove Leaf Oil smells like

Clove leaf oil is described in perfumery glossaries as a raw, one-note eugenol character with a rough phenolic edge, lacking the sweet eugenyl acetate note that gives the bud oil its warmth. Its eugenol content is high; reported eugenyl acetate levels conflict between sources. It is the economical clove oil and a natural source of eugenol.

Leading note
Dry clove
Clear facets
Phenolic
Supporting facets
Woody, medicinal
Character
Dry, harsh, warm
  • clove
  • spicy
  • dry
  • woody

What makes Clove Leaf Oil distinctive

Clove as one hard note: drier and more phenolic than the bud oil, with little of its sweetness.

Where the descriptions disagree: Sources give very different eugenyl acetate levels for the leaf oil.

How Clove Leaf Oil is used

Used as an economical clove note in functional products and spicy compositions, and as a source of natural eugenol.

Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).

How Clove Leaf Oil differs from similar materials

Clove Bud Oil
The bud oil is sweeter and more complex, with eugenyl acetate; the leaf oil is a raw, phenolic eugenol.
Cinnamon Leaf Oil
Cinnamon leaf is also eugenol-led, with a faint cinnamon undertone; clove leaf is plainer clove.

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

Rich in eugenol, a declarable allergen with an IFRA Standard; check the eugenol it contributes to the formula.

Identity and classification

Type
Essential oil
Origin
Natural
Odour family
Spicy / Woody
Note position
Heart note
Physical form at room temperature
Liquid
Botanical source
Syzygium aromaticum
CAS number
8015-97-2

The CAS number was checked on 19 October 2026 against a PubChem substance record that gives it for this material. A natural material is a mixture, so it has no single formula; its composition varies with origin and processing.

Safety and compliance

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

  • Clove Bud Oil

    Essential oil · Spicy / Floral — clove, spicy, warm, sweet

  • Eugenol

    Aroma chemical · Spicy / Floral — clove, spicy, warm

  • Eugenyl Acetate

    Aroma chemical · Spicy / Fruity — clove, spicy, sweet, fruity

  • Cinnamon Leaf Oil

    Essential oil · Spicy / Woody — clove, spicy, warm, woody

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 2 published formulas

Clove Leaf Oil is an ingredient in 2 perfume formulas in the Formula & Accord Library.

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

Further reading

  • Spicy Notes in Perfumery: Warm and Fresh Spices

    Warm and fresh spice materials, their key constituents, why cinnamon and clove are closely restricted, and how to build warmth within the limits.

  • How to Make a Carnation Accord

    Building carnation from eugenol, isoeugenol, rose materials and benzyl salicylate: an illustrative accord, balancing, IFRA and EU allergen limits, and records.

Questions about Clove Leaf Oil

Is Clove Leaf Oil natural or synthetic?

Clove Leaf Oil is natural. It is a volatile oil obtained from plant material by steam distillation or, for citrus peels, by cold expression.

What is the CAS number of Clove Leaf Oil?

8015-97-2, the registry number for the essential oil as a substance rather than a single molecule. It was checked against PubChem on 19 October 2026.

Which published formulas use Clove Leaf Oil?

Clove Leaf Oil is used in 2 published formulas in the RUŌOD Lab Formula & Accord Library: Apple Cellar and Ginger Biscuit Tin. Each is listed with a link under "Used in formulas and accords" on this page.

Sources

  • PubChem — substance 349327131, checked 19 October 2026.
  • Premiere Peau — Clove leaf — published perfumery reference.
  • Bioshop — Clove bud essential oil — distributor's description.
  • Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 20 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.

Your own records, next to the reference

Keep your own record of Clove Leaf Oil — supplier, cost, stock, dilutions and where it is used — in RUŌOD Lab's material library.

The material library All materials