Civet

Animal, pervasive, tenacious, musky, faecal, powerful.

Civet is prized for its highly fixative abilities; blending and balancing notes in some of the world’s most notoriously seductive scents. In its natural form, civet is a deeply pungent scent, fecal and intensely animal, but when diluted and manipulated by the experienced hands of perfumers, the ingredient transforms—giving an alluring radiance and warmth to floral notes. For ethical reasons, civet is almost always reproduced synthetically (recreated using civetone) and most often used in prestige perfumery.

Data sheet

Type
Extraction Method
Used parts

Production

The civet is a carnivorous wild cat with a greyish-yellow coat and unique pattern of black markings, not dissimilar to martens. In a rather cruel process, the civets’ glands were emptied once a week to collect the coveted secretion before being purified through a process of extraction using solvents. Synthetic substances are nowadays used to replace this outdated practice.

History

Hoarding civet to harness its intoxicating fixative effects is a process that predates this millennia. Long ago, unrefined civet was shipped in zebu horns large enough to transport 500–1200 grams of the yellow paste-like substance, which darkened and hardened over time. If extracted from a single civet, it would have taken up to four years to extract such a large amount of the substance.