Aromachemical
Also known as: Aroma Chemical
An odorant used as a fragrance ingredient, often discussed in perfumery as an individual manufactured scent material rather than a whole botanical extract.
Aromachemicals are scent materials used to compose fragrances. In perfume discussions, the term commonly refers to manufactured odorants, including molecules also found in nature and materials with other scent effects. A botanical extract, by comparison, can contain a mixture of many compounds.
BASF gives phenylethyl alcohol as an example of a nature-identical component of rose oil. IFF describes Iso E Super as a smooth woody-amber material. Those are two different uses of aroma chemistry: working with a molecule found in a plant and creating a particular effect for a composition.
Perfumers can combine these materials with essential oils and absolutes. Ingredient names help you understand a description, but a note such as rose or sandalwood describes the impression you may notice. It does not identify the complete formula.
Synthetics have shaped perfume since the 19th century. Coumarin was first synthesised in 1868 and vanillin in 1874, and both appeared in perfumes within a few years. Today most perfumes are a mix of natural and synthetic materials, and many smells, from lily of the valley to most musks, can only be made synthetically.