Petrichor is the scent that is created when the rain hits dry ground after a long period of dry weather. Bacteria, plants and even lightning can all play a role in the pleasant smell we experience after a thunderstorm. This scent has long been chased by scientists and even perfumers for its enduring appeal. First named by two Australian researchers in the 1960s as petrichor, it is the warm, earthy fragrance we experience when rain hits dry ground. It was already a signature fragrance being produced in Kannauj, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India in the 1960s and was called "mitti attar" (Earth's perfume). This village has been capturing the scent of rain and do it to this day.
For a bit more of a scientific look, you know how just before it rains, you can smell the rain? That's because the air becomes more humid and the ground begins to moisten. This process helps to speed up the activity of the actinobacteria and more geosmin is formed. When raindrops fall on the ground, especially porous surfaces such as loose soil or rough concrete, they will splatter and eject tiny particles called aerosols. The geosmin and other petrichor compounds that may be present on the ground or dissolved within the raindrop are released in aerosol form and carried by the wind to surrounding areas. If the rainfall is heavy enough, the petrichor scent can travel rapidly downwind and alert people that rain is soon on the way. The scent eventually goes away after the storm has passed and the ground begins to dry. This leaves the actinobacteria lying in wait – ready to help us know when it might rain again.
You will receive a 1/2ml sample (1ml sample vial filled half full) of each of the following fragrances.
- Arcana Wildcraft Vines Reclaim the World Perfume – In Sixteen92’s vision of a people-free utopia, lush greenery engulfs cars first, then skyscrapers, then entire cities. An opening of green, humid vines, aromatic herbs, and wool absolute leads to a heart of petrichor, violet leaf, raw silk, soft musks, hand-distilled rosemary, galbanum, moss, grass and salt. A green aromatic with herbal notes and wooly musks. Limited edition.
- Eliza Cosmetics The Yellow Sign Perfume Oil – Inspired by a dream recounted by one of the characters in the story of the same name, of a hearse carrying a coffin. There is fog and rain the night she has the dream, as well as the night when the dream comes to fruition, so for this scent, the perfumer chose to create something that would suggest a hearse in the rain, carrying a coffin covered in flowers, bound for the grave. The Yellow Sign features top notes of galbanum and Ambroxan; middle notes of petrichor, hyacinth, iris and tuberose; and base notes of mahogany, oak, vetiver, earth and patchouli.
- Hex Mundi Deckard Parfum - Dichotomy of the hunter and the hunted in a torrential future night, Deckard has the notes of ambroxan, petrichor, smoke and cade.
- Juliet Rose Ghost Cat EDP - A gothic perfume veil featuring top notes of white camphor, cut grass, lavender and bergamot; middle notes of turned earth, oakmoss, woodsmoke and petrichor; and base notes of vetiver, cedarwood, ash, driftwood, white oud and tarmac.
- Sixteen92 It Hurts To Look At You Parfum - It Hurts to Look at You is part of the May Legacy Collection. It was originally released with the Summer 2020 Collection, inspired by, like, some of our favorite and most excellent '90s TV shows. Inspired by Angela Chase from My So-Called Life (1994-1995), the original version of this fragrance contained an ingredient that Sixteen92 was no longer able to source. This is a lightly reformulated version that smells very close to the original. It is a brooding green woody atmospheric fragrance with notes of Summer bonfire, petrichor, night sky, lonely manicured lawns, oil puddles in parking lots, fresh hair dye and the feel of his shirt against your elbow.
- Sixteen92 Summer Mix Tape: This Is How I Disappear Parfum - This Is How I Disappear is part of the Summer Mix Tape Collection. The fragrances are inspired by emo and pop punk anthems, bottled for peak summer nostalgia. It is a soft and meditative rainy atmospheric fragrance with notes of summer petrichor, rainy windows, sweet sagebrush, glossy magazine pages and a soft dusting of incense.
