Ingredient Library
Rosewood
Aniba rosaeodora
Rosewood is a gentle, balancing wood oil that comforts and revives while lending a soft floral-woody scent. Soothing, it suits dry and mature skin.
A natural history
Rosewood is the soft, rosy oil of an Amazonian tree, its fragrant wood unusually rich in linalool, the same gentle compound that gives lavender and rose much of their calm. For generations it was one of the world's most treasured perfumery notes, lending a sweet, woody warmth to the great classic fragrances, famously among them Chanel No. 5.
Its story carries a note of care. Wild rosewood was once over harvested for its precious oil, and concern for the tree led to its protection. Today the beloved scent lives on more thoughtfully, with responsible oil distilled from the leaves and branches and from managed trees, so the living forest is honored along with the fragrance.
What it does for your skin
Rosewood is a soothing, linalool rich wood oil. In laboratory study, rosewood oil was found to be over ninety percent linalool and showed antioxidant, free radical scavenging activity.[1] Linalool, its signature compound, is itself documented as antioxidant and calming in cosmetic research.[2] In a formula, rosewood lends a soft, soothing, conditioning character and a beautiful rosy warmth to dry or mature looking skin. Those benefits come from its makeup of over ninety percent linalool, documented as antioxidant and calming.
References
[1] Teles AM, et al. Aniba rosaeodora (var. amazonica Ducke) essential oil: chemical composition, antibacterial, antioxidant and antitrypanosomal activity. Antibiotics (Basel). 2020;10(1):24. doi:10.3390/antibiotics10010024
[2] Carrasco A, et al. Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula latifolia essential oils from Spain: aromatic profile and bioactivities. Planta Med. 2016;82(1-2):163-170. doi:10.1055/s-0035-1558095
Found in these formulas
Questions, answered
It is a soothing, linalool-rich wood oil used to comfort and condition dry or mature-looking skin, with a soft rosy-woody scent.
Wild rosewood was once over-harvested, so it is now protected; responsible oil today is distilled from leaves, branches, and managed trees so the living tree is preserved.