PETRICHOR

Eau de Parfum

Petrichor is a word used to describe the smell of rain, a weather of evocative odours created as rain falls on various surfaces, both natural and man-made. There was a moment a few years ago that this idea of petrichor perfumes exploded and a group and mineralised, dust and rain influenced scents began to appear. Sagebrush and Cactus by Dawn at DSH, with a foggier take on the note in Every Storm a Serenade and Hermann à mes Côtés Paraissait une Ombre by Etat Libre d’Orange; these are delicious renderings of this strangely addictive note.

Molecules from certain vegetation are deposited in soil and awoken by rain, creating the singular aroma of wet dust, concrete and the sensation of monsoon weather. Petrichor is perceived by the senses as sweeter than geosmin, the other earth note, more chthonic, mulchy and crypt-like.

Marissa has crafted a beautifully atmospheric take on petrichor, triggering a cascade of bucolic memories. The perfume is a beautiful mix of sweet powdery notes overlayed with lemon juice and twists of rind. It is an Impressionist perfume, touches of olfactive colour from rooty vetiver, orris, moss, the scrubby liquorice of immortelle and amber and sandalwood in the base.

Some of these petrichor/geosmin scents struggle with any real sense of swell and development as if all is gambled on the novelty of the notes. Marissa on the other hand has created something rounded and aeriform, the moment the sky releases its rain onto hidden piquant soil and air is flooded with the scent of green, delirious storm.

Composition:

• Damp Earth, Lemon
• Immortelle, Orris, Vetiver
• Ambergris, Sandalwood, Moss, Musk

Perfumer: Marissa Zappas, 2022

inci list: alcohol denat., fragrance (parfum), water (aqua)