Story Behind the Scent: Geranium Patchouli

Our delicious food-centric goodies all have a story behind their creation. Alana Rivera, owner and soap maven of Etta+ Billie will take us through a dive into the history behind our scented concoctions and the foods, memories, and people that helped bring them to life. This week, we are highlighting the scent combination that started it all: Geranium Patchouli!

Tell us about the inspiration behind this scent: 

Etta + Billie was founded in my apartment in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. For anyone who has been to the area, knows it’s history, or has lived there, they know how unique it is. Both free-loving and corporate, unique and yet a caricature of itself, very touristy but with a strong sense of community! I was always struck by the many dichotomies of the neighborhood which led me to create the Geranium Patchouli combination. Patchouli is deeply rooted in many people’s memories as a “hippie” scent and the epitome of Haight Ashbury, so that was an obvious choice. But I didn’t want it to be a single note because it’s incredibly earthy and intense on it’s own. That’s where the Rose Geranium comes in. It is this elegant floral with rose notes and geranium notes. Alone, these two scents seem to be opposites and are overpoweringly strong, but together, they bring out each other’s best qualities. 

What products does E+B offer with this scent?

You can find this unique scent in our Skin Balm, Soap, Body Scrub, Room + Body Spray, Body Oil, Hand + Body Wash, Deodorant, and Body Lotion.

Any recipes/goodies that contributed to its creation:

Not really because if you’ve ever tasted patchouli, it’s not so good. But geranium candy, sugar, tea, and cake can be lovely! Here are a few Geranium based goodies to try:

• Make your own Geranium Liqueur to add to sparkling water or to up the game on your next vodka soda.

• A simple yet elegant dessert of Berries with Geranium Cream

• For a wonderful melody of floral goodness- Rose Geranium Tea Cake