If there is a part of the world I have grown to love it is the desert southwest of the US. For what seems like a spare landscape of dusty red rocks it has a natural scent which is indelible to me. A part of that is the combination of the low humidity along with the altitude seem to heighten what there is to smell. There are a few perfumes which capture this very well; Providence Perfume Co. Sedona Sweetgrass is a new addition to my list.
On one of my visits I bought a braid of sweetgrass from one of the Native American tribes out there. It became my companion on many hiking trips as it stayed sealed in a zip lock bag in a little compartment on top of my pack. I know lots of people use lavender to help them relax before bed. There were many nights that braid of sweetgrass was the last thing I smelled before falling asleep in my tent. I couldn’t have put my finger on it at the time but now I know what I was smelling was coumarin. Sweetgrass is one of the higher percentage botanicals containing coumarin. It is a logical place for any perfumer to start a new fragrance.
Charna Ethier
Charna Ethier is the perfumer behind her brand. She is one of the best independent perfumers we have. One reason is her knowledge of her materials along with an innate sensibility at tuning a final formula. What she has done with a perfume inspired by the desert is to make it as expansive as the stars above you on a desert night. This never becomes heavy as it could be with the ingredients she uses. Ms. Ethier finds the wide-open spaces in between her ingredients.
One of my favorite smells of the desert are the tall pine trees. There is a seemingly sharper scent profile to those desert sentinels. Ms. Ethier opens Sedona Sweetgrass with those pinon pines. The provide the green platform upon which to place the sweetgrass. I’m not sure how she makes this as soft as she does, but it is like laying my head down underneath one of those pine trees with my braid of sweetgrass under my nose. Nothing is intrusive it is all relaxing and meditative. After a while the far-off scent of the remains of the campfire swirl through along with some incense which helps the dreamy mood.
Sedona Sweetgrass has 8-10 hour longevity and moderate sillage.
Ms. Ethier has captured what I smelled on many nights in the desert. On the days I wore this I slept with some on my pillow just to remember those days. Sedona Sweetgrass allowed me to enjoy sweet dreams in the desert on those nights.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Providence Perfume Co.
–Mark Behnke
