RUŌOD Lab

Guaiac Wood Oil

Essential oil · Woody / Resinous

smoky, woody, rosy, sweet — base note.

Aroma illustration for Guaiac Wood Oil: curls of smoke, a cut log and a red rose, for its smoky, woody and rosy notes. It illustrates smell associations, not the material or its source.Illustration of a cut log of guaiac wood with its olive-tinted heartwood and chips.
Aroma View: an illustration of what Guaiac Wood Oil smells like (smoky, woody, rosy), 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

Guaiac wood oil is distilled from the wood of Bulnesia sarmientoi from Paraguay. It gives a smoky, sweet, rosy-woody note.

What Guaiac Wood Oil smells like

Guaiac wood oil has a soft, rose-like odour resembling hybrid tea roses or violets, in Wikipedia's description, and has been used to adulterate rose oil. Other sources call it woody, balsamic and smoky, with honeyed and vanilla-like facets and hints of leather, tar and rose; The Good Scents Company's descriptors include sweet, dry, woody, spicy, powdery, balsamic, rose and tea rose. Molecularly distilled heart fractions carry far less smoke.

Leading note
Smoky tea-rose wood
Clear facets
Rose, tea rose
Supporting facets
Balsamic, smoky
Faint facets
Honey, vanilla
Character
Soft, warm, smoky
  • smoky
  • woody
  • rosy
  • sweet

What makes Guaiac Wood Oil distinctive

A wood that smells of roses and smoke at once.

How Guaiac Wood Oil is used

Used in woody, rose, oriental and smoky compositions; heart fractions are used where less smoke is wanted.

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 Guaiac Wood Oil differs from similar materials

Rose Oil (Rosa damascena)
Guaiac wood has been used to adulterate rose oil for its tea-rose note; it is a smoky, balsamic wood rather than a flower.
Cypriol Oil (Nagarmotha)
Cypriol is darker and earthier, leathery and cold-smoky; guaiac wood is softer and rosier.
Guaiyl Acetate
Guaiyl acetate, made by acetylating this oil, is softer and more rose-floral, with less smoke.

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

Semi-solid to solid at room temperature; warm it to weigh. Bulnesia sarmientoi is listed in CITES Appendix II, so trade requires documentation.

Identity and classification

Type
Essential oil
Origin
Natural
Odour family
Woody / Resinous
Note position
Base note
Physical form at room temperature
Solid
Also known as
Guaiacwood oil
Botanical source
Bulnesia sarmientoi Lorentz ex Griseb.
CAS number
8016-23-7

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

CITES: Bulnesia sarmientoi is listed in Appendix II. Logs, sawn wood, veneer, plywood, powder and extracts; finished products containing the extracts, including fragrances, are not covered. Checked on Species+ on 11 October 2026; see CITES and perfume materials.

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

Guaiac Wood Oil is also suggested as a partner on the pages for Cypriol Oil (Nagarmotha), Guaiyl Acetate and Whisky Lactone.

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 42 published formulas

Guaiac Wood Oil is an ingredient in 34 perfume formulas and 8 accords in the Formula & Accord Library.

Community formulas

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

Further reading

Questions about Guaiac Wood Oil

Is Guaiac Wood Oil natural or synthetic?

Guaiac Wood 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 Guaiac Wood Oil?

8016-23-7, 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 Guaiac Wood Oil?

Guaiac Wood Oil is used in 42 published formulas in the RUŌOD Lab Formula & Accord Library, including Agar Lantern, Apple Cellar and Beeswax Throne. Each is listed with a link under "Used in formulas and accords" on this page.

Sources

Your own records, next to the reference

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

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