Labdanum is an anchor in my palette of raw materials. Like sandalwood or the various Boswelia types, it is a fascinating and complex ingredient. I can spend hours smelling different labdanums, lost in their depth. Yet, in perfumery, labdanum rarely plays the leading role. Instead, it serves as a foundation—an essential building block that enhances and supports other notes.
Despite its importance, labdanum is not a uniform material. Different extracts can vary significantly in strength and scent profile. To understand these differences better, I tested five labdanum extracts at 1% dilution, with three of them also evaluated at 10%. 

 The first gave me no room for doubt: Ciste Absolue (www.harrisonjoseph.co.uk) is a real powerhouse. Suddenly, I was surrounded by a cloud of dry smoke and burnt paper, as though I’d stepped into an old chapel filled with heavy incense. I instantly knew that if you drop this material into a formula, it’s going to demand all the attention unless you’re careful with the dosage.

The second, Labdanum Absolue Super Premium from Fraterworks, revealed a completely different facet. While the Ciste roared through the room like a gust of wind, this “Super Premium” came in fresh and fruity, almost like Davana, that Indian herb with both peppery and sweet qualities. The longer I smelled it, the more that fruity brightness faded, and the smoky undertone slowly emerged. It was a fascinating transformation, like a veil being pulled back little by little.

After that came Labdanum Absolue from Perfumiarz, It carried a sour note, nearly like red wine, something I typically associate with labdanum. For me this is the benchmark in Labdanum. Unfortunately, I only have a small supply and it’s no longer available.

Number four, Labdanum Light Absolue (also from Fraterworks), felt like the opposite of that fruity Super Premium. It was barely sweet at all; it reminded me of the incense you might find in an Asian temple. Peppery edges but no extra flair, just a straightforward, smoky and sharp Labdanum. Sometimes that kind of purity is precisely what you need in a composition—pleasantly spicy, a hint of licorice, but above all very refined.

Last was Labdanum Resinoid from De Hekserij, which at 1% barely registered. It made me wonder if using it at such a low concentration is even worthwhile. However, at 10%, it revealed a completely different story. Suddenly, there was a subtle fruity thread that grabbed my attention right from the start. After that first impression, though, it lacked real depth or evolution, feeling a bit flat. Yet that might be exactly what someone looking for a gentler note is after. I wish it is a bit stonger cause in the end it's one of my favorites since you dont always need very complex dept. The power of simplicity, most perfumers dont understand this concept. 

To push the experiment further, I tried 10% dilutions of some variants on fresh strips. The Super Premium, for instance, became even more fruity. The Light Absolue felt more substantial at 10%, nearly as intense as Ciste but without the dense smoky punch. And the resinoid, which had been so weak at 1%, suddenly sprang to life at 10%. It’s a great illustration of how labdanum—and natural materials in general—can behave in entirely different ways at higher concentrations.

My biggest takeaway is that labdanum remains an indispensable anchor in my fragrance library. You can smell it endlessly and still discover new facets. In perfumes, it usually plays a supportive role, but I’m so drawn to it that I sometimes wonder if a soliflore built around labdanum might actually work. No two labdanums are the same exept if you go for the more processed ones like the labdanum light. You can’t simply follow a recipe, because one ciste, absolute, or resinoid might be three, four, or even ten times stronger than another. Yet that’s the real charm of it: the quest for balance, the adjustments to concentration, and those little variations that lead to an entirely new aromatic experience. It’s exactly why I never tire of labdanum.

Scent Profiles in Brief:

• Ciste Absolute: Dry, smoky, intense, with burnt-paper and church-incense facets.
• Labdanum Absolute Super Premium: Fruity opening that transitions to mild smokiness; reminiscent of Davana at 10%.
• Labdanum Absolute (Perfumiarz): Deep resin with a notable red-wine or boozy nuance.
• Labdanum Light Absolute: Clean, incense-like, with a subtle ammonia note in a good way; effectively “Ciste-lite” at higher concentrations.
• Labdanum Resinoid (De Hekserij): Weak at 1%, surprisingly balanced at 10%, but missing some depth of the absolutes.

Labdanum is a very complex material, as a perfumer you need consistency, that's difficult with these kind of materials. so what i do is create an accord with ciste absolute as a backbone, add fruity character from various resinoids and enhance with some other materials like  Davana, some fruity and herbal materials i won't specify. And in order to make this into real powerhouse of a material i keep all the molecules sticking together with Hercolyn D.  this gives me a rich strong long lasting universal labdanum accord that is cost effective and predictable to use.