Synthetics
Acetanisole crystals smell like a sweet, powdery blend of anise and vanilla.
Mosciano, Gerard P&F 17, No. 1, 41, (1992): Sweet, anisic, vanilla-like, with powdery balsamic and benzaldehyde nuances
Luebke, William tgsc, (1985): Sweet hawthorn anisic powdery balsamic acacia
Moellhausen: Aromatic floral, spicy (bitter almond- and hay-like)
Indukern F&F: Aniseed, sweet, vanilla, powdery
Pell Wall Perfumes: Sweet, floral-hawthorn, cyclamen, anisic, powdery, balsamic, acacia
Arctander describes it as “sweet, but somewhat harsh, haylike odor with floral-animal notes. suggestive of hawthorne, mimosa, heliotrope, etc. relatively stable in soap and under similar, mild-alkaline conditions. used in woody-floral fragrances such as cassie, mimosa, fougere, chypre, new-mown hay, in herbaceous citrus types, etc.“