Mitti attar

Say itMIT-ee AT-ur

Monsoon rain on parched earth: cool mineral clay, wet stone, soft sandalwood.

What it is: Natural oil from dried-lakebed clay, kiln-baked then distilled into sandalwood oil.
Where it comes from: Kannauj, India
When you smell it: Dry-down: hours later.
What perfumers do with it: Natural petrichor effect for earthy, rainy and attar-style compositions.
Worth knowing: Kannauj distillers shape lakebed clay into crude vessels, half-bake them, then distil them into sandalwood oil.
Also called: Mitti; earth attar

Not on the label of any of the 232 perfumes read so far.

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