What Does Cinnamon Leaf Smell Like? Perfume Ingredient Guide

What does cinnamon leaf smell like in perfume? Cinnamon leaf smells warm, spicy and lightly woody, with a clove-like sweetness. It is softer and drier than cinnamon bark, bringing a gentle warmth to a fragrance.

Botanical name	Cinnamomum verum
Plant part	Leaves
Origin	Sri Lanka and India
Extraction	Steam distillation
Note	Heart
Scent family	Spices
Odour	Warm, spicy and lightly woody, with a clove-like sweetness
Perfume uses	Spicy, woody and amber blends
Key molecules	Eugenol, cinnamaldehyde (traces), β-caryophyllene
Odour impact	High
Odour life on a strip	Long: a day or more
Found in	Lissom Linden, Oud Octavo, Whistle Moon

Used within IFRA limits. Impact and odour life are our own studio guide, judged on a smelling strip.

What Is Cinnamon Leaf?

Cinnamon leaf oil is distilled from the leaves of true cinnamon, Cinnamomum verum, grown mainly in Sri Lanka. The leaves are rich in eugenol, giving a clove-like spice, while the bark is rich in cinnamaldehyde.

What Does Cinnamon Leaf Smell Like?

Here is how strongly each facet of cinnamon leaf comes through, from our own smelling-strip notes.

How Perfumers Use Cinnamon Leaf

Perfumers use cinnamon leaf to add warmth to woods, ambers and florals. It pairs well with oud, labdanum, rose and citrus.

Leaf vs bark

Cinnamon bark smells sweet and fiery; cinnamon leaf smells drier and more clove-like. The leaf oil is gentler, which makes it easier to use in perfume.

Smell Cinnamon Leaf in Prosody London Perfumes

For cinnamon leaf at its most expressive, try Oud Octavo. Cinnamon leaf warms the heart with cistus, cedarwood and labdanum before the oud base. You will also find cinnamon leaf in Lissom Linden and Whistle Moon.