Sweet

On record here, the word is carried by Coumarin, butylphenyl methylpropional (p-BMHCA, Lilial), linalyl acetate, vanillin and others. Each carrier says who uses the word and on what evidence: a source, the trade’s convention or the house’s own reading.

Read the essay · Everyday words to scent concepts: the Scent Translator

The record

Each field carries its evidence: open a chip for the source, the quoted words and the confidence. A field with nothing behind it says so and stays empty.

Term

sweet

perfumery convention

the trade’s shared vocabulary; no single source

the trade’s shared vocabulary; the word as the records and sources use it

confidence B

Family

a quality, not a family

house interpretation

the house’s own reading, labelled as such

a quality word used across families, so no family is given

confidence C

Definition

The impression of sweetness a smell gives, as of sugar, vanilla or honey.

house interpretation

the house’s own reading, labelled as such

the house’s own definition, written for this vocabulary

confidence C

Also written

slightly sweet

as used

the house’s own reading, labelled as such

the words the carriers below use for this term; each carrier names its own source

confidence B

Carried by

• Coumarin (as used: “sweet”)
  documented

  Coumarin (46) has a sweet, slightly spicy, and hay-like scent

  KLE-1 · Kleoff M, Kiler P, Heretsch P · read 2026-09-30

  confidence A

• butylphenyl methylpropional (p-BMHCA, Lilial) (as used: “sweet”)
  documented

  3-(4-(tert-Butyl)phenyl)-2-methylpropanal, trade name Lilial or Lysmeral, is an aroma chemical with a sweet lily like odor.

  ENE-1 · Fan XY, et al · read 2026-09-30

  confidence A

• linalyl acetate (as used: “slightly sweet”)
  house interpretation

  the house’s own reading, labelled as such

  the house essay’s words for the ester in fine lavender; no descriptor source is filed

  where the site says it: /materials, “Aquilaria malaccensis”

  confidence C

• vanillin (as used: “sweet”)
  documented

  4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde (vanillin) | CAS 121-33-5 | Odor quality: vanilla-like, sweet

  OT-1 · Kreissl J, Mall V, Steinhaus P, Steinhaus M · read 2026-09-30

  confidence A

• sandalwood oil (as used: “sweet”)
  house interpretation

  the house’s own reading, labelled as such

  the house essay’s words; no descriptor source is filed

  where the site says it: /materials, “Lavandula angustifolia”

  confidence C

Related terms

• vanilla
• honey

In teaching accords

• An amber (the perfumer’s, not the resin)
• A cologne
• The fougère skeleton
• A muguet (lily of the valley), and what regulation took from it
• A woody-ambery

Sources

1. KLE-1 · Kleoff M, Kiler P, Heretsch P. Synthesis of odorants in flow and their applications in perfumery. Beilstein J Org Chem. 2022;18:754–768. doi.org/10.3762/bjoc.18.76 · read 2026-09-30 · CC BY 4.0
2. ENE-1 · Fan XY, et al. Applications of Ene-Reductases in the Synthesis of Flavors and Fragrances. J Agric Food Chem. 2024;72(33):18305–18320. doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.4c02897 · read 2026-09-30 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
3. OT-1 · Kreissl J, Mall V, Steinhaus P, Steinhaus M. Leibniz-LSB@TUM Odorant Database, Version 1.2. Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich: Freising, Germany, 2022. www.leibniz-lsb.de/en/databases/leibniz-lsbtum-o… · read 2026-09-30 · free of charge; scientific use encouraged with full acknowledgement; systematic download or reproduction needs written permission (its copyright page, read 2026-09-30): single values are cited with their references, the responses are not filed

These records are published under CC BY 4.0.

this record as data: /data/descriptor/sweet.json · version 1 · updated 2026-09-30 · confidence B