Vetiveryl acetate

Vetiveryl acetate is prepared by esterification of the sesquiterpene alcohols isolated from vetiver oils. 

Vetiveryl acetate is a light yellow liquid with a dry, fresh-woody odor. It is a popular fragrance mixture that is frequently used in luxury perfumery it is also used as a fixative in many fine fragrances. 

Vetiver oil is used in fine fragrances for long-lasting precious-wood notes. It is also used as starting material for vetiveryl acetate (see p.74). FCT 1974 (12) p. 1013 [8016-94-4], [84238-29-9]. 

Initially, at the beginning of the present century, the traditional structure of the earlier perfumes was for the most part retained. "Fresh" natural materials such as bergamot and lemon, in combination with other essential oils, formed a large proportion of the composition, supported by animal and balsamic fixatives. To these were added the newly discovered synthetic and derived materials such as vanillin, coumarin, hydroxycitronellal, vetiveryl acetate, and methyl ionone, to-... 

Another technique much used in the past, though less popular today, was to take well-known products such as methyl ionone, vetiveryl acetate, or hydroxycitronellal—materials that themselves could often form 10-20% of a finished perfume—and decorate them with a number of other synthetic and natural materials to form a base with much of the complexity and "roundness of a finished perfume. Many such bases, for example, Althenol and Selvone (used in Ma Griffe), were created by Carles to be used not only by himself but also by client perfumers who lacked perhaps the same level of technical proficiency. 

Moment Supreme, in combination with jasmin, rose, eugenol, clove, coumarin, and vetiveryl acetate, and with oakmoss in fougeres such as Fougere Royal, and Canoe. Few of these perfumes have survived in their original form, and amyl salicylate has largely fallen out of favor as a major structural component in fine perfumery, its place having been taken by the more elegant c/.s-3-hexenyl salicylate. 

The base note also contains the important accord between methyl ionone (10%), vetiveryl acetate, sandalwood, musk ketone, and originally musk ambrette. These materials together with the carnation make up the immediately recognizable central character of the perfume. 

Whereas in L Air du Temps it is the woody-iris character of the methyl ionone that develops in combination with the vetiveryl acetate, in Paris it forms the basis of a violet accord, with Iso E Super as the woody note. Iso E Super, one of the most important of the newer synthetics, is another chameleon-type product combining woody and amber aspects with some of the character of methyl ionone. Used in Paris as part of the L Air du Temps structure, it forms a natural link between the other materials and the violet accord. 

In Arpege (Lanvin 1927) the floral aspect of the fragrance was further developed by the use of compounded floral bases. Greater emphasis was also placed on the woody notes, including vetiveryl acetate, and on the animalic character, with a corresponding reduction in the vanillin and coumarin. 

The woody part of the perfume is again based on vetiveryl acetate with vetiver (6%) and sandalwood. The oakmoss is backed up by a small amount of Evemyl, a synthetic material created as a result of the study of natural oakmoss, and one that has come to play an increasingly important role in modern perfumery. Coumarin is again present with a trace of vanillin, and cyclopentadecanolide backs up the musk ketone. 

Although we have described the perfumes in this family as being based on Hedione, in Coriandre the material used is Magnolione, a closely related material with a very similar though rather more jasminic olfactory character. This makes up some 20% of the formula with 10% of patchouli. Methyl ionone, vetiveryl acetate, cedryl acetate, Vertofix, and sandalwood make up the woody aspect of the fragrance, with a small amount of Galaxolide as the musk. 

As we would expect the perfume is clearly composed around a classical structure of top, middle, and base notes. Apart from all the essential elements of a chypre there is the bold use of strong materials such as citronellal (1%), the aliphatic aldehydes (1%), styrallyl acetate (4%), and styrax in an accord that gives the perfume its enormous individuality. It was also part of Carles s technique to take structural materials such as vetiveryl acetate, methyl ionone, and hydroxycitronellal and dress them up with a number of natural and synthetic ma-... 

Apart from the materials already mentioned the top note contains a simple mixture of bergamot and orange. The middle note is dominated by a traditional jasmin base, with muguet (hydroxycitronellal 10%), and rose. At the heart of the perfume is the classical chypre accord between vetiveryl acetate (10%), methyl ionone, oakmoss, aldehyde C14, coumarin, sandalwood, patchouli, musk ketone, and amber. The amber note can be reproduced by the simple but effective combination of labdanum, olibanum, and vanilla. Small amounts of other animalic notes such as civet may also be used. 

The typical chypre base note contains patchouli (6%), methyl ionone (the beta form was used in Aramis), vetiveryl acetate, cedryl acetate, oakmoss, and animalic notes. It is interesting also to find aldehyde Cl 8 being used in a similar way to that of aldehyde C14 in many of the earlier chypres. An important part of the amber character comes from the use of Dynamone, a speciality material derived from cistus, difficult to use, but of great diffusion and persistence. 

Geranyl butyrate Vetiveryl acetate Propynyl guaethol... 

Although essential oils or their fractions are mixtures of many substances, these oils are occasionally converted as a whole into derivatives. Examples of such derivatives are vetiveryl acetate from vetiver oil, guaiyl acetate from guaiac wood oil, and acetyl cedrene from cedarwood terpenes. These products are also employed as fragrance substances. 

Vetiver essential oil, to manufacture derivatives like vetiveryl acetate. Manufacturers prefer oil with a high alcohol content. Finding an alternative to vetiver Haitian essential oil, rich in vetiverol, required analyses and a new manufacturing process. 

Vetiveryl acetate - a derivative which particularly praised by perfumers. It is comprised of acetylated esters of the vetiverol fraction. Vetiveryl acetate posseses a fresh-sweet woody odor. 

In terms of quantities used globally, vetiveryl acetate is the most importont derivative. Vetiverol is the second most used product, while vetivone remains the item with the smallest use. Considering these global applications, it is clear that a key driver of vetiver essential oil usage is its vetiverol or sesquiterpenic alcohol content. 

Use In the perfume industry, mainly for masculine compositions. A large portion of V. is converted to the so-called vetiveryl acetate which has an appreciably finer odor and contains principally the acetates of the esterifiable alcohols of V. it is used in more luxurious perfumes for noble and elegant woody tones. 

Important isolates are vetiverol, which in turn is acetylated to produce vetiveryl acetate. Another quality of vetiveryl acetate is produced by acetylation of V. with acetic anhydride. Vetiverol displays more of the earthy-leathery aspects of the oil, whereas vertiveryl acetate is more clearly woody and therefore more versatile in use. 

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