Ho Wood (Shui).

A comforting scent for the end of the day: soft, woody, floral and gentle, the kind that makes a room feel lamp-lit. Shui, or ho wood as it is known in the US, is the world's greatest source of natural linalool, and this specimen is 98.66% linalool, with traces of limonene, myrcene and gamma-terpinene.

It is distilled in China from organically grown wood and bark, then rectified. Some call it an aromatic substitute for rosewood; it is certainly reminiscent of it, and it is said to come from a renewable resource, without the environmental damage that makes rosewood a less than ideal choice.

Details

• Botanical name: Cinnamomum camphora Sieb. var. linaloolifera Fujita
• Origin: China, organically grown wood and bark
• Method: distilled, rectified
• Blends with: bergamot, basil, cajeput, cedarwood, the chamomiles, geranium, lavender, sandalwood, ylang ylang
• Shelf life: about 2 to 3 years after opening

How to use

Diffuse it in the evening, or blend it with lavender or sandalwood. Robert Tisserand sees no need to limit dosage, but ho wood may be a moderate skin irritant, so dilute it well before it touches the skin. Store it in the dark, refrigerated, and decant half-full bottles into smaller, full ones.

Bring home a gentle wood for the hour when the lamps come on.