What it is: Patchouli is a shrub or flowering bush with a strong scent.
Part of the mint family, it is used in perfumery, for insecticides, and even in medicine.
What it smells like: Patchouli has a rich, earthy and sometimes woody aroma to it. The leaves are rather fragrant and the patchouli extract is slightly sweet. It is a rather unusual contraction.
Tips: Visit a natural health food store or a place where you can purchase aromatherapy oils to smell it in its most natural form.
To make the essential oil the green leaves must be dried out first. Unlike most essential oils that oxidise and diminish in therapeutic and aromatic quality over time, Patchouli improves with age like a fine wine.
