Patchouli is a deeply spiced, thickly herbal and immediately recognizable note - it’s “dirty hippie” reputation doesn’t do it justice. Patchouli’s scent lies somewhere between cumin’s sharp and acrid tang and nutmeg’s smooth, sweet warmth, and it can carry a fragrance or blend easily with other, spicier notes. It is ideal in heated, spicy perfumes that feature leather, smoke, resins, and lighter aromatic notes like lavender and geranium. Patchouli’s exotic strength can be an acquired taste in perfume, but it’s many moods and blends make it an endlessly fascinating note to explore in the spicy end of the scent spectrum.

Geranium’s chilly, green demeanor lends itself perfectly to perfume. Geranium has a soft, almost mentholated feel, like a sudden, refreshing gust of clean forest air. Its natural coolness makes it a wonderful contrast in bright, zesty citrus perfumes, as well as in aromatic men’s fragrances containing buttoned-up lavender notes or corianders’ fiery heat. Geranium can help take the humid edge off warmer weather, but can also be wonderful for fall’s windy climate and winter’s bright, snowy nights.

The fragrance of ginger is distinctly fresh and spicy, offering a sparkling top note to complex accords. Used across both men’s and women’s scents, ginger is an unmistakably zesty note that evokes a sort of olfactory duality: bitingly light and lemony, yet deeply pungent and peppery.

Immortelle