In short
Porcini absolute, or cèpes absolute, is a solvent extract of Boletus edulis mushrooms: earthy, fungal and mossy with an umami depth. A niche material used in traces as a naturalising earthy note.
What Porcini Absolute smells like
The Good Scents Company lists cèpes absolute with fungal, earthy, mossy and rooty descriptors and names several suppliers. Lvnea sells a Boletus edulis absolute for perfumery. Première Peau calls it a niche raw material with a very low yield, usually used in traces as a naturaliser, and attributes the raw mushroom smell mainly to 1-octen-3-ol.
- Leading note
- Earthy mushroom
- Supporting facets
- Mossy, umami
- Character
- Earthy, natural
What makes Porcini Absolute distinctive
Forest-floor mushroom: earthier and rounder than 1-octen-3-ol alone.
Where the descriptions disagree: Sources disagree on how widely it is used: one calls it highly prized, another a niche trace material.
How Porcini Absolute is used
Used in traces in chypre, fougère, woody and gourmand compositions for a natural earthy depth.
Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).
Formulation considerations
A low-yield niche natural; origin changes its profile. Some products sold as mushroom extracts are oleoresins rather than absolutes. The raw mushroom smell is largely 1-octen-3-ol, which is also used on its own. The Good Scents Company gives CAS 84649-97-8; it was not checked against a registry, so no number is given here.
Identity and classification
- Type
- Absolute
- Origin
- Natural
- Odour family
- Green / Woody
- Note position
- Heart to base note
- Physical form at room temperature
- Viscous liquid
- Also known as
- Porcini Mushroom Absolute, Cèpes Absolute
- Botanical source
- Boletus edulis
No CAS number is shown: suppliers use different identifiers for this material, and none could be confirmed as its own.
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
-
1-Octen-3-ol
Aroma chemical · Green / Aromatic — mushroom, earthy, green, herbal
-
Patchouli Oil
Essential oil · Woody / Chypre — earthy, woody, camphoraceous, dark
-
Vetiver Oil
Essential oil · Woody / Green — earthy, smoky, woody, rooty
Used in formulas and accords
Not currently used in any published formula.
The Formula & Accord Library lists Porcini Absolute here as soon as a published formula, accord or base uses it.
Further reading
Questions about Porcini Absolute
Is Porcini Absolute natural or synthetic?
Porcini Absolute is natural. It is a concentrated extract obtained from plant material with a solvent, then washed with ethanol to remove the waxes.
Sources
- The Good Scents Company — cepes absolute — odour database.
- Lvnea — Cèpes (Mushroom) Absolute — distributor's description.
- Première Peau — cèpes — published perfumery reference.
- Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 4 November 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.