Nutmeg Perfumes

Sabinene and myristicin: the molecules of nutmeg

Nutmeg is the dried seed of the nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans), which is native to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas, Indonesia. Today it comes mainly from Indonesia and Grenada. The trees only bear fruit after around seven years. When the fruit is ripe, it splits open on the tree to reveal the seed, wrapped in a red seed covering that is dried as mace. The seeds contain 5 to 15 % essential oil, obtained by steam distillation of the dried, crushed kernels. Sabinene makes up 14 to 29 % of the oil, with α-pinene present in a similar amount. Alongside them comes myristicin (C₁₁H₁₂O₃) at 5 to 12 %. Oils from Grenada are milder, richer in sabinene and lower in myristicin than East Indian ones.

On the skin, nutmeg opens fresh, resinous and slightly pine-like, then turns warm, dry-spicy and woody, with a powdery touch. It is less sweet than cinnamon and often acts as a bridge between a citrus opening and a warm base. With bergamot, nutmeg feels bright and invigorating; with cedarwood or vetiver, dry and clear; with tonka or amber, warm and rounded.

In this selection, nutmeg sits in the fragrance pyramid – in our range slightly more often in the top note than in the heart note.