Stormy Skies & Wet Earth theme
You can order all perfumes featured in this theme as a pack of samples.
In this theme
If, as the song goes, some of your favourite things include “raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens” you’ve come to the right place — at least as far as those raindrops are concerned. Rain on earth is an aroma that is universally experienced and appreciated. More than just smelling “wet”, the scent of a rainy day is a bewitching blend of humid air, clean dirt, hot concrete and mineral moisture. The odor soothes our collective subconscious which, according to some scientists, comes from prehistoric times when rain signalled safety to our cavemen ancestors, as big cats and other predators do not hunt during the rain.
Whether triggered by drizzle or downpour, bacteria and plants play a role in the pleasing smell we experience after rain. The scent is known as “petrichor”, coined from Greek “petros”, meaning "stone", and “ichor”, meaning "the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods". As raindrops hit the soil, they can release aerosols carrying geosmin and other compounds, contributing to the overall effect. Geosmin is the product of happy microorganisms awakened by the showers. Adding to the bouquet are plant oils released when rain pounds the ground.
For such an epic natural phenomenon, clever perfumers have a variety of tricks up their sleeves to conjure the magic of petrichor. Geosmin is the go-to aromachemical along with Cashmaran, aka cashmere woods, which lends a mineral, softly enveloping woody character to a perfume. And some natural materials smell damp and earthy: oud, patchouli and vetiver. Lucky for you pluviophiles, perfumers have a deluge of ways to summon your rain fantasies, and this edit explores a few. Long may rain reign!
Inspired by Nicolas Hawksmoor’s spookily imposing Christ Church Spitalfields in East London, this eau de parfum references its damp Yorkstone paving stretching from street to crypt. Accords of wet stone join dry woods and Somalian incense, melding with tobacco and kyphi, underpinned by a base of Haitian vetiver and precious resins. It’s an occult spell, cast in the fog.
King Cobra hypnotizes with camphorous notes of ganja and damp moss, radiating coils of aromatic tea and incense around a body heavy with leather. The humid heart of darkness.
Damp moss crushed under wild boars’ hooves combines with the acrid green swirl of pine, galbanum and geosmine. The boars’ fur is perfumed by apples, fallen leaves and mushrooms, their path is driven by hunger.
A vivid 3-D evocation of the jaggedy-bright smell of a pine forest carpeted with mushrooms and herbs. Rich fig and tarragon are teased to life with fresh peppermint and apple. Tying the whole scene together is geosmin, the earthy/musty material that screams “I’m damp, dammit!”
Bohemian is a showcase for Moluccas oud from the fabled Spice Islands, the east Indonesian archipelago that was the focus of the 16th century wars over control of the world’s supply of nutmeg and clove. This distinctive leathery oud retains its tropical DNA with the addition of native spices, highlighting the rich earthy smell of the typhoon-soaked islands.
A fantasy of edible mud helped along by Cashmeran, the synthetic material that imparts a silky, milky effect. Cocoa and vanilla weaves through rose and incense, producing a misty haze on an earthy background.
As a perfume material, patchouli is beloved for its versatility. It can be bright and fruity, rich and woody, or dark and damp. Dark and damp is the mode here, pulling the rosy-mint of geranium into a muggy huddle with sandalwood and musks. The effect is “sexy heritage”.
Soft and aromatic hay, lavender and geranium lift their melodious voices to the rain-washed skies over the meadow. The smell of clean slates and endless possibilities, grounded by vetiver.
Can it rain in the boudoir? If the skylight’s open over the four-poster bed, it can! Here narcotic tuberose is amped to heady heights by ylang-ylang and saffron, before the voluptuousness deepens with moist and muggy patchouli. Cashmeran melts a silky softness over all the participants, leaving them in a sexy floral puddle.