Tamanu Oil

What Tamanu Oil smells like

A perfume glossary (Première Peau) describes tamanu as a heavy green oil smelling of crushed walnuts left on warm earth — nutty, bitter, faintly resinous, with a curry-leaf undertone — whose bitterness recedes on drying towards a warm, resinous, praline-like sweetness; the same glossary notes that it has minimal aromatic use in perfumery. AromaWeb describes a strong, nutty aroma.

Leading note

Walnut

Supporting facets

Bitter green

Faint facets

Resinous, curry leaf

Character

Heavy

• nutty
• walnut
• resinous
• green

What makes Tamanu Oil distinctive

A carrier with a smell of its own: nutty, bitter and resinous, drying towards a praline-like sweetness, though a glossary notes its minimal aromatic use.

Where the descriptions disagree: The glossary lists tamanu among base notes but also says it has minimal aromatic use in perfumery; other references describe it as woody rather than nutty.

How Tamanu Oil is used

Used mainly in cosmetics; in perfumery it serves as a carrier with a nutty, earthy character of its own.

Typical role: solvent (dilutes or carries other materials); fixative (slow to evaporate; helps a blend last and holds lighter notes).

How Tamanu Oil differs from similar materials

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Caprylic/capric triglyceride is a light, nearly odourless carrier; tamanu oil is a heavy green oil with a nutty, bitter, resinous smell of its own.

Each difference compares the published descriptions of the two materials. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.

Formulation considerations

A fixed (vegetable) oil, not an essential oil: it is pressed from the seeds and does not evaporate. The resin of the same tree is a different material. PubChem's substance records give CAS 241148-25-4 for Calophyllum inophyllum seed oil (tamanu oil).

Identity and classification

Type

Solvent or carrier

Origin

Natural

Odour family

No odour family

Note position

Base note

Physical form at room temperature

Viscous liquid

Also known as

Takamaka oil, Calophyllum oil

Botanical source

Calophyllum inophyllum L.

CAS number

241148-25-4

The CAS number was checked on 26 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

• Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

  Solvent or carrier · No odour family — odourless, oily

• Filbertone

  Aroma chemical · Gourmand — hazelnut, nutty, metallic, buttery

• Tonka Bean Absolute

  Absolute · Gourmand / Powdery — coumarinic, hay, almond, sweet

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 1 published formula

Tamanu Oil is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula in the Formula & Accord Library.

• Banana Bread

  Community Formula

Further reading

• Is Your Fragrance Oil Already Diluted? Carrier Solvents Explained

  Many purchased fragrance oils are cut with DPG, IPM or benzyl benzoate. How to find out, what it does to your concentration, and how IFRA certificates treat it.

Questions about Tamanu Oil

Sources

• PubChem — substance 135335574, checked 26 October 2026.
• Première Peau — Tamanu — published perfumery reference.
• AromaWeb — Tamanu oil — 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 2. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.