Absolutely Magazine: April Issue: April Showers

There is an olfactory occurrence, a scent sensation that when it is talked about everyone knows what is meant but everyone finds it impossible to describe. In nature it is the smell of the atmosphere during and after a shower, when the scent of something that should have no smell, rainwater, is everywhere. The phenomenon was studied in 1964 by two Australian scientists, Isabel Bear and Roderick Thomas. They discovered that part of what one is smelling is not rainwater at all but an oil which is held in soil and rocks, this oil is disrupted by rain and humidity and it is the tiny emissions of scent molecules from this oil that prevail in the air. They even gave it a name; petrichor. Another component of the smell of rain is geosmin, also an organic compound it has an earthy aroma and is produced by ground bacteria; prevalent in the soil it is jettisoned into the air by falling raindrops. We are strangely susceptive to the smell of geosmin, the human nose can detect the tiniest traces as low as just five parts per trillion. The reason for this no one is sure, but whilst we might moan about the rain we are genetically hardwired to recognise it as a basic requirement for life. It is this life affirming scent that perfumers for hundreds of years have attempted to bottle.

Jimmy Boyd’s Spring Rain super-successfully creates the experience of a verdant garden after a downpour, complete with a floating ivy leaf in the bottle. Spring Rain is an incredibly fresh fragrance with a lingering silage that matures and deepens over time, a sophisticated woody scent with an elegant finish. The well-priced 200 ml eau de toilette bottles by Boyd belie their beauty and skilfully considered construction.

Given a rain shower’s association with cleansing and renewal it is pertinent than that US brand Clean should also have captured this most restorative of scents. Rain by Clean has top notes of melon, daffodil and watermint around a middle of daisy and violet leaves on a bed of wood and musk. This is a wonderful daytime scent that will have you happily sniffing your wrist on the dullest of days.

Misty Dew eau de toilette by British brand, St Raph, is a fresh, floral fragrance that encapsulates those chilly yet invigorating spring mornings. Woodland covered in dew and rain drops, a sharp breeze, a typical early stroll in the English countryside. The inspiration for this perfume becomes clear as the top note of rosemary sweeps in and awakens the senses. Acacia at the heart is delicate and light, spring-like. At the base of the fragrance, notes of ambergris and musk cushion the scent for an elegant and refined finish.

Looking and smelling the part, Silver Rain eau de parfum by Swiss brand La Prairie, is encapsulated in a glistening silver raindrop bottle. It is hard to imagine that so many ingredients are packed into such as a small vessel. This truly is a scent of delight and intrigue; green apple, bergamot zest plum and sugar merge with patchouli leaves, red sandalwood, heliotrope flower, vanilla and oud. Quite simply a drop of joy.

Derring-Do by San Francisco based, brilliant botanical perfumer Ineke, is a fresh fougère fragrance of exquisite depth and character. Derring-Do opens with a burst of fresh, aquatic rain notes alongside clean cyclamen and a hint of citrus. Moving into the heart notes warmly spiced cardamom and black pepper lend shadowy mystery with the addition of fern and lush floral magnolia. A heavenly base of cedar, guaiac wood and musk completes this fragrance that will have those around you looking skyward and saying; ‘does it feel like rain to you?’

Find Absolutely Magazine online here.

Fin more rare fragrances on the Roullier White website here.