Animal Notes and Civet: History and Usage in Perfumery

History of Animal Notes

Animal notes were discovered for the first time around 330 BC, by Alexander the Great. They were widely useful to perfumers, who appreciated the strength of their scents, as well as their excellent resistance to evaporation.

Animal notes were already known to the Egyptians in Antiquity (Cleopatra herself particularly appreciated the smell of civet).

Traditional Usage and Evolution

At the beginning of the century, almost all perfumes were made with compositions of animal notes. They served not only as fixatives but also gave roundness to fragrances, and participated in the base notes.

If the smell of the raw product is extremely strong, it softens once integrated with other scents such as rose, jasmine, and ylang-ylang for example, and often improves the cohesion of the perfume, while bringing an almost aphrodisiac smoothness.

Following the action of animal protection causes, animal notes are today mostly prohibited (except ambergris, which does not imply animal suffering).

Nowadays, these musks are less and less present in perfumery, because they no longer correspond to the desires of consumers, who generally no longer appreciate their scent.

What is Civet?

The word “civet” is used to designate both the animal and the secretions produced by the latter. It is a small carnivorous mammal that resembles the marten, and which originates from Ethiopia. It is also named “Abyssinian cat”. The animal produces, in its perianal region, secretions in the form of fat, which allow it to mark its territory.

Extraction Methods and Controversy

To extract this fat, a curettage (a painful process for the animal) was carried out approximately every ten days, while the civet was raised by farmers in cramped cages.

Major brands themselves tried, for a time, to create farms for raising civets in cages, but these were systematically opened by local activists: this approach therefore did not succeed. Due to the difficult harvest of this fat, the price of the product was very high.

The Different Uses of Civet

The production of this raw material came predominantly from Ethiopia, and very many farmers lived from civet farming (this state of affairs evolved very suddenly when public opinion, alerted by the media and environmentalists, changed consumption habits).

Ethiopian Traditions and Storage

Civet was then used by Ethiopians in the form of pure fat (they anointed themselves with it on wedding nights, and for them, it was a rare and appreciated perfume). Civet fat was preserved in zebu horns, which allowed its conservation (they could contain from 400 grams to one kilo of product).

The product, in the form of a flexible paste at the start, solidified with time, facilitating its transport.

The Link with Tobacco

Civet allowed, among other things, to flavor snuff tobacco. Moreover, the name “civette” has long served to designate tobacco shops (some of which still bear this name today).

The Scent of Civet and Its Replacement

The smell of civet is very violent, particularly animalic, even fecal. It is treated by volatile solvent and infused in alcohol. Infusion is a technique consisting of letting the civet fat stay in a hot liquid (oil or alcohol).

In the 1970s, the actions and campaigns of animal defenders prompted most perfumers to renounce its use.

Synthesis: Civettone

Today, civet is now replaced by synthetic products like civettone, or even by a base created by the perfumer-creator, and composed of a mixture of several synthetic animal raw materials, to which a few plant elements with animal scents will sometimes be added.

Civet was present in:

• Jicky by Guerlain
• Mouchoir de Monsieur by Guerlain
• N° 5 by Chanel (the 1925 version)

These perfumes were then reformulated to adapt to public opinion demand.