Botanicals, resins, molecules & materials
The materials that scent and heal the world rarely reach us in their original form. Ingredients move from field to laboratory to formula, and by the time they arrive in our hands they are far from their source.
This glossary exists to close that distance. When you encounter a plant, a resin or a molecule in an article, you can find it here.
A
Acorn
Quercus ilex
A dry, nutty mustiness, woody and faintly tannic, like the floor of an oak wood in autumn.
Aldehyde
Waxy, sparkling, metallic, soapy, diffusive.
Aleppo pine
Pinus halepensis
Warm, resinous, slightly bitter cloud.
Attar
Rosa damascena
A deep, almost liquid sweetness of rose pushed to its richest extreme — petals warmed until they nearly turn to jam.
B
Beeswax
Warm, sweet and softly honeyed with a waxy, slightly hay-like nuance.
Benzyl acetate
Sweet and fruity-floral with a distinct jasmine character.
Bergamot
Citrus bergamia
A bright, sunlit citrus that opens with a sharp lemon-lime sparkle then softens into something rounder and faintly floral, almost soapy in its cleanness.
Bitter orange
Citrus aurantium
Sharp, green-citrus with a bitter edge and more complex than sweet orange.
C
D
F
L
Labdanum
Cistus ladanifer
Dark, warm, ambery, slightly animalic.
Laudanum
Papaver somniferum
Bitter, dark, and faintly medicinal, with the resinous tang of opium tincture dissolved in alcohol.
Lavender
Lavandula angustifolia
Clean, aromatic and slightly sweet, with a cool herbaceous top and a soft, almost powdery warmth underneath.
Lesser Calamint
Calamintha nepeta
Spicy, basilic and mint-like.
Limestone
A cool, dry, almost austere minerality, the scent of sun-bleached stone and ancient dust.
Limonene
Fresh, bright and zesty with a clean citrus-orange character.
Linalool
Fresh, floral and lightly citrusy with a clean airy brightness.
Linden Blossom
Tilia cordata
Honeyed and pollen-rich with a soft floral sweetness touched by fresh hay and apricot.
M
Mediterranean Pine
Pinus halepensis
The clean, soaring scent of sun-baked needles and warm bark, sharp with turpentine brightness and softened by a sweet, sappy resin.
Muslin
Gossypium
Soft, dry, and faintly powdery, the clean papery scent of fine cotton cloth warmed by skin.
Myrrh
Commiphora myrrha
Dark, bittersweet, slightly medicinal.
N
O
P
Petitgrain
Citrus aurantium
Green and woody, with the dry snap of crushed twigs and a faintly bitter, medicinal edge.
Petrichor
The mineral, earthy breath that rises when first rain strikes dry ground, cool and grey and impossibly fresh.
Phenylacetaldehyde
Intensely honeyed and green with a hyacinth-like floral character.
T
V