Where the Crawdads Sing

Delia Owens' Where the Crawdads Sing connects readers with themes of resilience and the quiet power of the natural world. W hat struck me was the connection between Kya and the coastal marshland. The swamp becomes a living, breathing entity in the novel, and shapes Kya's journey of healing and growth. Notebook in hand, I jotted down the following as I read:

• Damp earth- The scent of damp soil after heavy rain (the fancies call this "petrichor"--it's one of those intriguing, addictive scent notes that you never finish sampling when you wear it. If you're after this scent specifically, Le Labo's Baie 19 does it best. ".
• Briny ocean air- Humid, briny coastal breezes.
• Wildflowers and honey - The delicate sweetbess of marshland wildflowers, and honey.
• Moss - Spanish moss hanging from the trees.
• Smoke/fuel/oil - The faint scent of wood smoke and boat fuel/oil (once it's on your hands, you never get rid of it--but you also start to sort of like it...).
• Cypress - The fresh, resinous aroma of cypress trees.
• Sun-warmed reeds - The dry, slightly sweet fragrance of grass and reeds.
• Wet Sand - The fresh, mineral scent of sand after a tide.

Folks, I always get carried away taking down comprehensive scent notes and then spend hours inhaling my way through perfume asiles trying to find that one fragrance that checks every box (and doesn't make me kerchoo). This was a tricky assignment, but here goes:

1. Foxglove by Joya: Here's what Joya has to say about Foxglove: "Foxglove is both tender and fierce, its salt meadow grass, cedar and oak are supported by honeyed florals and a juicy burst of bittersweet blood orange." Is it me or does this feel like a slam dunk?? Plus the bottle design. Just look:

2. For a scent that leans more toward briny ocean air, I tried out Maison Margiela Replica's Sailing Day at Sephora (turns out the scent notes were more "aspirational" than actual), and ordered samples of Jake's House by Henry Rose (too crisp and alkaline) and Jo Malone's Wood Sage & Sea Salt (gives "hotel lobby" moreso than "ocean air"). Finally someone on Reddit put me on to the unisex Sel Marin by James Heely. Here's how the perfumer describes it "A refreshing and striking note of lemon fades to reveal an aquatic green, algue note, while vetiver and drift woods of cedar and birch dry slowly in the sand and salty, sea air." Not to put too fine a point on it, but one Redditor describes it as "very salty/marine on me, with a tiny hint of the seaweed funk.".