Patchouli and woody fragrances
Since ancient times, wood has been a material of great importance in perfumery, also thanks to a vast variety of woods to choose from depending on the composition: cedar wood with its dry and earthy note, vetiver that can be damp or smoky depending on its origin, sandalwood with its creamy tones.
Once considered prerogative of male fragrances, it was necessary to wait until the early 1990s to have the first "feminine" woody fragrance: from that moment on, the way was open to many other compositions. In addition to classic woody notes such as cedar, vetiver, patchouli, and sandalwood, in contemporary compositions we also find many other unusual woods such as oud or guaiac wood.
Although it is not a type of wood but a tropical herbaceous plant, patchouli is indeed part of the woody fragrance family and represents without a doubt one of the most loved and versatile raw materials thanks to its pleasantly moist, deep and musky notes and its ability to "fix" a fragrance making it persistent.
Originally from Southeast Asia, the plant has soft oval leaves that are cut, dried and packaged twice or three times a year and then go through the distillation process: the best quality oil is that freshly distilled near the plantation.
The use of patchouli, and in particular its essential oil, has deep roots in ancient times: due to its antiparasitic properties, it was used by merchants traveling the Silk Road to perfume fabrics and protect them from moths. It is precisely because of this use that patchouli spread to Europe in the 19th century, arriving on the continent with clothes produced in India.
There are several Aquaflor compositions in which patchouli appears, including Beirout and Aoud.
Travel and memories of distant lands are a source of inspiration for our fragrances, which become the representation of evocative olfactory itineraries. The Beirout perfume was born from our love for this city and its people and wants to be a tribute to Lebanon and the Middle East through the use of native raw materials such as cedar wood and bergamot.
A multifaceted fragrance, like the city it represents, is rich in contradictions: the olfactory notes seem to contrast with each other in a succession of bergamot, cinnamon and rose, and then patchouli, sandalwood, tobacco and gray amber.
The top notes give a touch of freshness thanks to the scents of bergamot, while the heart enchants us with the exuberant accord of Damascus rose and tonka bean, and also with the note of cedar, an emblematic wood of Lebanon; finally, the base reveals an intense character thanks to a well-balanced combination of vanilla, amber and patchouli. A continuous discovery, a different sensation every time the perfume is sprayed.
Aoud is a luxurious, captivating, charismatic fragrance that encloses all the eternal allure of the so-called "black gold": as the name suggests, we were inspired by Indonesian oud, an extremely rare and precious raw material, to create a fragrance that captures its opulent and pungent essence.
We chose to combine the preciousness of oud with the spicy notes of black pepper and voluptuous saffron, revealing a softer and more faceted heart of tonka bean and labdanum. To close this fascinating olfactory picture, here is the patchouli, which combines with musk and civet. The result is a straightforward, direct and essential fragrance, a composition that is woody, but at the same time spicy and slightly leathery.