Seaweed absolute

Sea, iodine, hay, damp earth, a hint of tobacco. Salty and mineral; on dilution a green and lightly leathery note appears.

Seaweed absolute has no dedicated standard in the IFRA 51 index.

Brown algae can accumulate iodine and heavy metals from seawater; the supplier's certificate of analysis is the basis for checking. Store dark, sealed and cool.

Fucus vesiculosus is a brown alga of North Atlantic intertidal zones, recognised by the air bladders on its fronds. It is gathered at low tide, rinsed and dried. Brittany (France) and Ireland are important harvesting areas.

The absolute is solvent-extracted from the dried alga. Yield is low and the odour very strong, so it is used at trace level.

Natural sea odour comes from several families: dimethyl sulfide from algal metabolites, C11 hydrocarbons such as dictyopterenes that act as pheromones in brown algae, and bromophenols. The composition of commercial absolutes is little published.

In perfumery the modern marine note comes mainly from synthetics such as Calone, introduced in the late 1960s and widespread in the 1990s. Seaweed absolute gives a different marine direction: salty, mineral, hay-like, without Calone's melon facet.

Seaweed absolute is used in fougère, chypre, natural marine accords and leather accords. It also appears in cosmetics as an extract for a mineral scent.

Seaweed absolute is usually a green-brown to near-black paste. It should be evaluated at high dilution, since neat it smells harshly of iodine and dried fish. In formulas it is used as a mineral note to round synthetic marine accords rather than to replace them. It pairs with bergamot, lavender, oakmoss, labdanum and woods. In soap and candles a very small amount suggests sea air. Algae should be collected from clean waters.