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Common name: Davana

Genus name: Artemisia Pallens (part of the Asteraceae, or Daisy, family)

Supplier: White Lotus Aromatics

Note: Base to Middle note

Chemical Compounds: a ketone called davanone (>50%), linalool, a few terpenoids, davana ether, acetoeugenol, anemone, davana furan, methyl cinnamate and ethyl cinnamate.  According to Bojensen.net Davana oil has a number of rare furanoid sesquiterpenes as major constituents like davanone.

Production: produced in India by steam distillation of the flowers and stems, must be fresh.

Interesting bits: Fruity and fresh with a hint of strawberry, this is a difficult note to describe, it is so unique and to me at least, incomparable.  Most of the research I found expounds on how it changes on every individual, this of course helps the perfumer create truly individual accords and compositions.  I have yet to verify this for myself but I love how it smells on me.

Everyone lately is obsessed, going on and on, about Oud (I haven’t smelled it yet) but to me Davana is pure and a greatly unexplored ingredient. The way people are mauling Oud at the moment makes it feel tainted. I like the unusual, often choosing to go left when the crowd’s going right so you won’t see me running to add Oud to my collection any time soon.  But that’s just me.

Davana blends well with Patchouli (well, that was a no-brainer!), rose, rosewood, sandalwood – in fact, it grows in the same parts of India, right near the trees where sandalwood is grown, hmmm, I smell affinity; tangerine, Tuberose, vanilla, ylang yang, bergamot, black pepper, cardamom, jasmine, mandarin, etc.

It is the preferred food of a number of butterfly species!  In India the blossoms are offered to Shiva, the god of transformation. Kinda makes sense when you think of how unique it is, mapping itself aromatically almost like DNA to its wearer.

Widely used in the food industry, for flavouring tobacco, pastries and some beverages.

Rarely growing in the wild, Davana seeds are small with delicate seedlings which require extreme care and nurturing so it’s mostly cultivated in gardens and fields.  This suggests to me that great care must be used when including this as an ingredient and that it may take time to fully blossom within a composition.

Other than giving a boost of energy and elevating the mood, the regular use of Davana results in silky smooth and healthy skin (www.agriculturalproductsindia.com). Going to definitely use when making the next set of skin serums.

Their nose: (White Lotus Aromatics) radiates and intensely sweet, sharp, herbaceous, wine-like aroma with a delightful fruity-balsamic undertone.

(Agricultural Products India) It has strong, woody and fruity notes reminiscent of the apricot fruit.

(Bo Jensen) The fragrance of the herb and its essential oil is described as deep, mellow, persistent and characteristically fruity.

My nose: at first I smell blackberries and fruit, a bit floral and voluptuous, and it strikes me as definitely something new to my aroma landscape.  Shortly after I get the full on fruit power, bringing to mind some place tropical and a colour pops out of nowhere: purple!  After an hour it becomes softer, less pungent, but still very present.  After 5 hours it’s softer still but growing more mature, fruity still but with more grace, rounder somehow. After 7 hours it’s still warm and fruity I can almost smell a combination of this with oakwood, cognac, with the alcohols, still quite present but becoming much more subdued. After 12 hours, wow! Divine! Warm, delightful, still very present but as a backdrop.

For me this is and will forever be known as Divine Davana.

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