Aldehydes are used very widely in perfumery and by no means all of them are listed in this category – materials like Hydroxycitronellal and Vanillin may be aldehydes – but they are not what we mean by aldehydic. The aldehydes presented here are all very high-powered ingredients, most but not all occur in nature and typically have effects running from the top-notes of a fragrance through into the heart and even base. A few of the materials listed here, despite being commonly known as such are not in fact aldehydes at all, but they are listed here because they share that characteristic power, which means they need to be used in traces, often in heavy dilution.
We recommend these are all best used at just 1% when blending to avoid over-use and many are also prone to oxidation or polymerisation. Accordingly they are available in very small quantities so that you don’t need to buy more than you can use.