Stories behind fragrance materials: orris, sandalwood, vetiver, lavender, kodo and more.
— Nearly every great perfume of the last three hundred years begins with the same fruit: a small, sour citrus that grows almost nowhere except a hundred-kilometer strip of southern Italy. A look at bergamot, and the strange geography that turned it into the opening line of European scent.
— The most expensive natural ingredient in modern perfumery isn't a flower. It's a root that has been buried, dried, and aged for six years before it has anything to say. A look at orris, and why some scents only arrive if you wait.
— In Japan, you don't smell incense. You listen to it. A look at kōdō, the ancient art of fragrance appreciation, and what its philosophy offers anyone who lights a candle at home.