In short
Texas cedarwood oil is distilled from Juniperus mexicana. It is a dry, smoky cedar note, more leathery than Virginia cedarwood.
What Cedarwood Oil (Texas) smells like
Texas cedarwood oil (Juniperus mexicana) is the more powerful American cedarwood. Arctander, as quoted on a perfumery forum, describes the rectified oil as less tar-like, less cade-like or smoky than the crude oil, with a clean, sweet-woody dry-out and the typical 'pencil-sharpener' odour, and notes that the rectified grade is not the most common. Its heavy fractions are mainly cedrol and cedrenol, of weak but very pleasant woody-balsamic odour.
- Leading note
- Smoky dry cedar
- Supporting facets
- Tar, cade, pencil shavings
- Faint facets
- Sweet woody
- Character
- Dry, powerful, smoky
What makes Cedarwood Oil (Texas) distinctive
The rugged cedar: pencil wood with a tarry, smoky edge in the crude oil.
How Cedarwood Oil (Texas) is used
Used as a powerful dry woody base, in leather and smoky compositions, and as the source of cedrol and cedarwood derivatives.
Typical role: backbone (used in large proportions as a structural material of an accord).
How Cedarwood Oil (Texas) differs from similar materials
- Cedarwood Oil (Virginia)
- Virginia cedarwood is finer, smoother and sweeter; Texas is more powerful and, as crude oil, smoky and tar-like. (compared directly by a cited source)
- Cedrol
- Cedrol and cedrenol make up its heavy fractions — weak, pleasant woody-balsamic notes without the smoke. (compared directly by a cited source)
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
Inexpensive and stable.
Identity and classification
- Type
- Essential oil
- Origin
- Natural
- Odour family
- Woody / Leather
- Note position
- Base note
- Physical form at room temperature
- Liquid
- Botanical source
- Juniperus mexicana Schiede
- CAS number
- 68990-83-0
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
-
Cedarwood Oil (Virginia)
Essential oil · Woody / Aromatic — woody, dry, pencil shavings, clean
-
Vetiver Oil
Essential oil · Woody / Green — earthy, smoky, woody, rooty
-
Isobutyl Quinoline
Aroma chemical · Leather / Green — leathery, earthy, green, smoky
Used in formulas and accords
Used in 6 published formulas
Cedarwood Oil (Texas) is an ingredient in 5 perfume formulas and 1 accord in the Formula & Accord Library.
Community formulas
RUŌOD House Originals
Original compositions by RUŌOD House.
Further reading
Questions about Cedarwood Oil (Texas)
Is Cedarwood Oil (Texas) natural or synthetic?
Cedarwood Oil (Texas) 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 Cedarwood Oil (Texas)?
68990-83-0, 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 Cedarwood Oil (Texas)?
Cedarwood Oil (Texas) is used in 6 published formulas in the RUŌOD Lab Formula & Accord Library, including Black Pepper Sail, Champaca Tea Room and Cypress Bathhouse. Each is listed with a link under "Used in formulas and accords" on this page.
Sources
- PubChem — substance 135292093, checked 19 October 2026.
- Basenotes — Need help understanding cedrenol (forum, quoting Arctander) — published perfumery reference.
- Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists — review of cedarwood derivatives — published literature.
- 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.