What does clove smell like? Hot spice with a vintage soul

Clove is a smell that splits opinion. For some, it is Christmas: oranges studded with cloves, mulled wine, gingerbread. For others, it is the dentist's chair. Both are right. Clove is warm, sweet and festive, but it also has a sharp, medicinal side. In perfume, it brings drama, heat and a distinctly vintage glamour.

What does it smell like?

Clove is hot, spicy and intense. It is one of the strongest smells in the spice cabinet. You might notice:

• Heat: a sharp, burning spiciness that fills the nose
• Sweetness: a warm, almost sugary richness
• Medicine: a numbing, clinical edge, the reason clove reminds people of dentists
• Flowers: a spicy, floral quality very close to carnation
• Wood and smoke: a dry, slightly smoky warmth underneath

On skin, clove usually starts loud and settles into a warm, spicy glow. A small amount goes a long way.

Where it comes from

Cloves are the dried flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum, an evergreen tree in the myrtle family. The buds are picked by hand before they open, when they are pink. They are then dried in the sun until they turn dark brown and hard. The name "clove" comes from the Latin word for nail, because of their shape.

The tree is native to the Maluku Islands (also called the Moluccas) in eastern Indonesia, the original "Spice Islands". Today Indonesia is still the largest producer by far. Other important growers include Madagascar, Tanzania (especially the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba), Sri Lanka and the Comoros.

Interestingly, most of Indonesia's cloves never reach a spice rack. They are used at home in kretek, a type of cigarette that blends tobacco with ground cloves.

How it's made

Perfumers can use oil from three parts of the clove tree:

1. Clove bud oil. Steam-distilled from the dried buds. It is the richest, sweetest and most prized.
2. Clove leaf oil. Distilled from the leaves. It is harsher and more medicinal.
3. Clove stem oil. Distilled from the stems. It sits somewhere in between.

All three are dominated by one molecule: eugenol. It makes up most of clove oil, typically between about 70% and 90%. Eugenol is what gives clove its hot, sweet, medicinal smell.

Eugenol has a second life in perfume. It is a key part of the smell of carnation. Carnation flowers give almost no usable oil, so perfumers have long built carnation scents from eugenol, related molecules like isoeugenol, and rose-like materials. When you smell a "spicy carnation" perfume, you are often smelling clove chemistry.

A short history of clove

Clove has a long and often brutal history.

• The ancient world: Archaeologists found cloves in a burned house in Terqa, in today's Syria, dated to around 1720 BCE. They had travelled thousands of kilometres from the Maluku Islands.
• Ancient China: According to tradition, Han dynasty officials chewed cloves to sweeten their breath before speaking to the emperor.
• The colonial monopolies: The Portuguese built forts in the clove islands in the early 1500s. In the 1600s the Dutch East India Company took control and tried to keep a monopoly by limiting clove growing to a few islands and destroying trees elsewhere.
• Breaking the monopoly: In 1770, clove seedlings were smuggled out of the Malukus by French colonists, a project linked to the administrator Pierre Poivre. They were planted on islands in the Indian Ocean and beyond.
• Zanzibar: In the 19th century, the Sultan of Oman and Zanzibar, Said bin Sultan, pushed clove planting on Zanzibar and Pemba. The islands became one of the world's great clove producers.

Clove in modern perfume

Clove has been central to spicy perfume for well over a century, both on its own and through the carnation accords built from eugenol.

Its most famous moment came with Opium by Yves Saint Laurent (1977), created by Jean Amic and Jean-Louis Sieuzac. Clove and carnation sat at the heart of a rich, resinous, spicy blend. Opium defined the big, dramatic "spicy oriental" style of the late 1970s and 1980s.

Clove is still used today, but usually in smaller amounts and as part of a wider spice blend. Modern examples include Frédéric Malle's Noir Epices and Portrait of a Lady.

Regulation: why clove is used carefully

Like cinnamon, clove can irritate skin. Eugenol is a known skin sensitiser, meaning that in some people repeated contact can cause an allergic reaction. Isoeugenol, a related molecule used in carnation accords, is even more strongly restricted.

The International Fragrance Association (IFRA), the industry's safety body, sets limits on how much of these materials can be used. In the European Union, eugenol and isoeugenol are on the list of fragrance allergens that must be named on the label above a set level. This is one reason the huge clove-and-carnation perfumes of the past have mostly been reformulated, and why clove today is usually a supporting player.

What clove pairs well with

• Rose: a classic, rich and slightly vintage pairing.
• Orange: like a festive pomander.
• Cinnamon and nutmeg: for a full, warm spice blend.
• Vanilla: softens clove's sharp edges.
• Incense and resins: for a deep, smoky, church-like feel.
• Patchouli: adds earthy darkness.

Perfumes to try

• Opium by Yves Saint Laurent (1977): clove and carnation with rich resins. The classic spicy perfume.
• Noir Epices by Frédéric Malle: clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper over orange and woods. A spice cabinet in a bottle.
• Portrait of a Lady by Frédéric Malle: clove and cinnamon around a deep rose with patchouli and incense. Dramatic and rich.
• L'Eau by Diptyque (1968): clove, cinnamon, geranium and ginger. The brand's first eau de toilette, spicy and gender-neutral.

Many classic carnation perfumes also rely on clove's key molecule, so if you enjoy these, look for "spicy carnation" scents next.

How to wear clove

• Use a light hand. Clove is very strong.
• It suits autumn, winter and the festive season best.
• Evening wear is ideal for richer clove blends.
• If you have sensitive skin, test on a small area first.
• If clove smells too medicinal to you, try it in a blend with rose or vanilla, which soften it.

Who will love it

People who love warm, dramatic, slightly vintage perfumes. If you enjoy rich rose scents, festive spice or classic perfumes from the 1970s and 1980s, clove will feel like home. It is less suited to anyone who prefers light, fresh or minimal scents.