What Does Incense Smell Like? Incense in Perfume Explained
Incense in perfume explained: resinous, smoky and dry, frankincense versus smoke, and seven niche perfumes that list it from top to base.
The question “what does incense smell like” has a short answer: resinous, smoky and dry, often with a bright, lemony or balsamic edge. Incense in perfume usually starts from frankincense, the tree resin that is also called olibanum, or from an accord that suggests the smoke of burning resin. This guide explains the difference, why incense turns up in so many oud, amber and woody perfumes, and how it reads when it is bright and when it is dark, with seven of our perfumes as examples. Unfamiliar words, accord for one, have a short entry in our perfume glossary.
What does incense smell like: resin, smoke and dryness
- Resinous: a dry, balsamic note taken from a hardened tree resin.
- Smoky: the impression of smoke drifting from burnt resin, thin rather than sooty.
- Dry: incense usually takes sweetness out of a composition instead of adding it.
- Bright: a lifted, lemony edge that is more noticeable when incense sits high in the pyramid.
Incense is a family of impressions rather than a single smell. A perfume can use it for the resin, for the smoke or for the dryness, and the partners around it decide which of the three you notice first.
Frankincense, olibanum and incense accords
Frankincense and olibanum are two names for the same tree resin. In the pyramids of our perfumes the note appears as Frankincense, Olibanum, Incense or Indian Incense. When a house writes Incense, it may mean the resin itself or an accord built to suggest the smoke, so the wording is a hint and not a rule. The Omani house Amouage points to the history behind the note: it says Oman was a historic trading centre for incense and myrrh.
Why incense appears in oud, amber and woody perfumes
Incense sits between wood and amber. It is dry like wood and resinous like amber, so it joins the two and keeps a sweet amber from turning heavy. Beside oud it supports the dark, smoky side. Beside sandalwood it adds a dry edge to a creamy wood.
Incense bright and incense dark
Placement changes how incense reads, as our guide to how to read a fragrance pyramid would lead you to expect. In the top it meets citrus, pepper or fruit and comes across lifted and clear. In the base it meets myrrh, woods, tonka or patchouli and comes across dark and still. Our seven examples run from one end to the other.
How our perfumes use incense
These seven perfumes are the ones whose recorded notes list incense in one of its wordings, one per house, picked to show each placement. The incense perfumes collection lists further perfumes with incense in their notes.
Incense in the top
Amouage Guidance 46 lists frankincense in the top, beside pear, hazelnut, rose water, pink pepper and bitter almond, so the resin arrives with fruit and a peppery lift. Saffron, rose, sambac jasmine and osmanthus form the heart, and the base holds cistus, sandalwood, ambergris and vanilla, among others. The house released it in 2024 as the Extrait follow-up to Guidance and states 46% perfume oil. We list it as an Extrait de Parfum in 100 ml, tagged strong.
Zoologist Squid lists incense in the top, between pink pepper and solar salicylate. The heart is a black ink accord, a salty accord and opoponax, and the base is ambergris, benzoin and musk. The house builds it from briny and incense notes with a sweet, cloudy ink accord and calls it moody and mysterious. We list it as an Extrait de Parfum in 60 ml, tagged strong, aquatic and musky.
Incense in the heart
Byredo Gypsy Water lists incense in the heart, beside orris and pine needle. Bergamot, juniper berries, lemon and pepper make an outdoorsy top, and amber, sandalwood and vanilla form the base. The house describes a free, nomadic way of living and smoky incense that recalls campfire nights outdoors. We list it as an Eau de Parfum in 50 ml, tagged moderate, with spring and autumn among its seasons.
Incense in the base
Fragrance Du Bois Cavort ends on Indian incense, in a base with patchouli, labdanum and sandalwood. The top is saffron, davana, geranium and cinnamon, and the heart is a bouquet of rose absolute, orange flower, ylang-ylang and jasmine. The house frames it as a perfume about the charge of a first encounter. We list it in 100 ml as unisex, tagged strong, for evenings, autumn and winter.
Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady lists frankincense in the base, beside patchouli and sandalwood. The top is rose, and the heart holds blackcurrant, raspberry and clove. The house presents it as Dominique Ropion's exceptional rose fragrance, with Turkish rose pushed to extravagant proportions and framed by woody tones, amber and incense. We list the Eau de Parfum in 50 ml, tagged strong, with autumn and winter among its seasons.
Stéphane Humbert Lucas Black Gemstone puts incense in the base, beside teak and tonka. The top is an infusion of three cedars with Sicilian lemon, and the heart is myrrh tar. The house links it to the Black Stone in the Grand Mosque of Mecca and describes a mineral, spiritual scent in which myrrh and cedars are, in its own word, petrified by incense. We list the Eau de Parfum in 50 ml, tagged strong, for evenings, autumn and winter.
Incense in a flat list
Fascent Crème Brûlante ends a flat list with olibanum: vanilla duos, a cake batter accord, almond balm, rum drop, amber wood, benzoin and olibanum. The house gives no tiers, so we add none, and it compares the effect to a caramelised brioche. In our reading, olibanum is the dry resin that keeps the sweetness in check. We list the Eau de Parfum in 30 ml, tagged strong and gourmand, for evenings, autumn and winter.
Which incense perfume to try first
Start from the mood you want. For a bright, peppery incense, Guidance 46 and Squid place it in the top. For a campfire smokiness with citrus and pine, Gypsy Water puts it in the heart. For a dark, still incense, Black Gemstone and Portrait of a Lady keep it in the base, with myrrh tar and teak or with patchouli and rose. For incense as a dry counterweight to vanilla, there is Crème Brûlante.
Guidance 46 and Squid are listed as an Extrait de Parfum, a dense concentration that suits a light hand with the spray; Gypsy Water, Portrait of a Lady, Black Gemstone and Crème Brûlante are an Eau de Parfum. Saffron stands beside incense in both Guidance 46 and Cavort, and our guide to saffron in perfume follows that note in the same way.
Frequently asked questions
What does incense smell like in perfume?
Resinous, smoky and dry, often with a bright, lemony or balsamic edge. It reads lifted in the top and dark and still in the base, depending on the notes around it.
What is the difference between frankincense and incense in perfume?
Frankincense, also called olibanum, is a tree resin. Incense is the wider word and may mean that resin or an accord that suggests its smoke. Our recorded notes use both wordings, plus Indian incense.
Is an incense perfume only for winter?
Not necessarily. Byredo Gypsy Water places incense in the heart with citrus, juniper and pepper, and we tag it for spring and autumn. The other six we feature are tagged autumn and winter.
