Scent of the Day: WOODS

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately,
to front only the essential facts of life,
and see if I could not learn what it had to teach,
and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
~ Thoreau

The wood note in the botanical perfumers palette stems from the barks of trees. The two primary ingredients in this category are Sandalwood and Cedarwood with others like Japanese Hibawood and Rosewood. Sandalwood and Rosewood are controversial materials due to issues of deforestation of the species. We now use Sandalwood from other sources than the East Indian variety such as New Caledonian and Sri Lankan Sandalwood. Rosewood may be substituted with Howood.

When the trees and vines such as Jasmine begin to bloom my allergies kick in. I tend to find solace in the wood notes. Illuminated perfumes with woody characteristics are Sierra and Chaparral, in both the solid and liquid versions. Rosa gets has an earthy woody quality as well with from the strong presence of precious Agarwood.

For me today, I'm going with Chaparral Solid as my scent. Yesterday I received a lovely note via e-mail from a patron. With his approval I am sharing a few of his words, slightly edited for privacy:

"I received your beautifully packaged sampler set and have fallen under the spell of Chaparral. As a native Californian and sage-lover, it really speaks to me. Thank you for your great work!"

Thank you!