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.
- Death & Floral Two Cups of Tea, A Moonsoon, and Me and You EDP - Rain on cracked soil, wet creosote, a swelling monsoon, desert cedar and black tea. This is very pungent on the open with petrichor, so brace yourself if you don't care for that, but it becomes much more tea-woody if you are patient.
- Lunar Life Apothecary Zeus Perfume Oil – Zeus is a fresh and rainy scent that is gender neutral leaning toward masculine. A cool, light scent for those who love a good petrichor. With top notes of cool rain, fresh air and bergamot; middle notes of mitti attar, sea salt and aged patchouli; and base notes of rich dirt and musk.
- Hexennacht Cloudbursting Perfume Oil - The scent of rain with notes of wet earth/soil, ozone, petrichor and light hints of grass.
- Eldritch Whispers Six Feet Under Perfume Oil - An earthy blend of dirt, petrichor and wild mushroom.
- Fyrinnae Reflectivity Perfume Oil - Rain begins falling in the city, the smell of precipitation hitting asphalt. As you walk or drive toward the outskirts of town through the more rural neighborhoods, the scents of rain seem more fresh as the soil, mulch and trees get wet. This scent is meant to fade to a more wet earth fragrance as the top notes dissipate.
- Solstice Scents After the Rain Perfume Oil - A natural perfume in organic cane sugar alcohol featuring notes of lilac, purple wisteria, blue lotus absolute, rain, new green leaves, wild violets, soil, clary sage and more. After the Rain is very earthy with lilac heart notes and green and petrichor top notes. It celebrates the eruption of blooms that occur after the spring rains. It is a cool-tone purple floral with delicate rain drops clinging to the velvet petals and lush green leaves. The rain accord comes through as the scent of rain left after the storm has passed, rather than the strong eruption of petrichor that explodes as soon as the rain begins to fall. It conjures visions of being in the English countryside in a stone cottage covered in wisteria vines. The leaded glass window has been left open to allow the cool rain-tinged air and the scent of florals and greenery to waft in. Bold cool wet earth remains into the dry down, just behind the flowers. With notes of lilac, wisteria, blue lotus, rain, green accord, wild violets and earth.
