Lovage Root Oil

What Lovage Root Oil smells like

Lovage root oil is led by phthalides, which a glossary credits for its celery-savoury quality, with warm-woody, slightly musky-animalic undertones beneath; another source finds it warmer and more complex than celery seed oil, with a leathery base. The Good Scents Company lists the oil as angelica, celery, oakmoss, opoponax and chamomile, and lovage preparations as sweet, spicy, warm celery with angelica and tonka.

Leading note

Sweet warm celery

Supporting facets

Angelica, musky, leathery

Faint facets

Tonka, sweet, mossy

Character

Warm, heavy, savoury, tenacious

• celery
• sweet
• spicy
• herbal

What makes Lovage Root Oil distinctive

Celery made heavy and sweet: a savoury root with angelica, musk and leather underneath.

How Lovage Root Oil is used

Used in traces in chypre, leather, oriental and herbal compositions.

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

How Lovage Root Oil differs from similar materials

Celery Seed Oil*

Celery seed is lighter and greener, with a spicy edge; lovage root is heavier and more savoury, with musky, leathery undertones. (compared directly by a cited source)

Fenugreek Absolute

Fenugreek is maple-curry with celery; lovage is sweet celery with angelica, musk and leather.

Angelica Root Oil

Angelica is more peppery and herbaceous; lovage is a sweeter celery with musk and leather.

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

Powerful; use sparingly.

Identity and classification

Type

Essential oil

Origin

Natural

Odour family

Aromatic / Spicy

Note position

Heart to base note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Botanical source

Levisticum officinale

CAS number

8016-31-7

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

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

• Celery Seed Oil

  Essential oil · Aromatic / Spicy — celery, spicy, warm, herbal

• Helichrysum Oil

  Essential oil · Aromatic / Gourmand — honey, hay, curry, fruity

• Sotolone

  Aroma chemical · Gourmand / Spicy — fenugreek, maple, curry, caramel

• Angelica Root Oil

  Essential oil · Musky / Aromatic — musky, earthy, herbal, peppery

Lovage Root Oil is also suggested as a partner on the pages for Fenugreek Absolute.

Used in formulas and accords

Not currently used in any published formula.

The Formula & Accord Library lists Lovage Root Oil here as soon as a published formula, accord or base uses it.

Further reading

• Aromatic Notes in Perfumery: Lavender, Sage, Rosemary and Mint

  The aromatic family for formulators: lavender, lavandin and spike, clary sage, rosemary, mint and basil — chemistry, chemotypes and EU allergen status.

Questions about Lovage Root Oil

Sources

• PubChem — substance 135346964, checked 19 October 2026.
• Premiere Peau — Lovage root oil — published perfumery reference.
• The Good Scents Company — lovage odour category — odour database.
• ChemicalBook — lovage oil (CAS 8016-31-7) — odour database.
• Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 21 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.