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.
- Cherry Ka's Trunk Storm Magic Perfume Oil - Dark, flashing clouds that crowd the sky and throw bolts of lightning that turn sands to glass. Branches lash out in driving wind and rain, and a heavy thunder of water drops pound earth and grass and drives the scent of petrichor into the air. The scent of a calling storm.
- Memoire Archives 04 Wish You Were Here EDP - 04 Wish You Were Here is an aromatic fragrance that launched in 2020. It features a top note of roasted coffee beans; middle notes of summer rain/petrichor notes; and a base note of almond. The coffee is running through a grinder, warm biscotti are placed on the cafe’s counter, a low melody plays on the patio speakers, while warm rain trickles down the striped umbrella you sit under looking out onto the cobblestone streets. Their fragrances are sulfate free, paraben free, phylate free, cruelty free, vegan and made in the USA.
- Morari Salmonberry Season EDP - From the Life in the Valley Collection, Salmonberry features notes of freshly-picked salmonberries, foliage, petrichor, daffodils and morel mushrooms. Inspired by the springtime forageables in Stardew Valley. The perfumer said she liked to imagine that this is what her farmer would smell like when they get home after a long day out in the Cindersap Forest. Salmonberry Season opens with the tart, juicy smell of fresh salmonberries, alongside vibrant green foliage. As it blooms on your skin, a heady floral emerges: daffodils. Petrichor and morel mushrooms linger in the background.
- 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.
- Starr Hill Witchery Dirt 01 Perfume Oil - Fresh muddy dirt blended with moist mossy notes. A walk in the woods, wandering a cemetery, an afternoon in the garden. The simple, comforting smell of soil, mud and pure earth.
- Stereoplasm Almost A Year Perfume Oil - From the Into the Darkness Collection Fall/Halloween 2020. A fan-inspired fragrance featuring a dark, dark tale in a dark, dark book that terrified many of us growing up. With notes of snuffed perique tobacco, dirty wool, cemetery air, death cap, cereus and petrichor.
