about the notes

top notes

LAVENDER blends beautifully with many other oils and is thus used as a top note in every hollow & ridge product. It has an herb-like aroma with balsamic-woody undertones. Because she requires quite a lot, Issa sources her plants locally from family-run organic farms in West Virginia, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, to name a few. Many of these organic growers she's remained friends with since childhood. Through this partnership it’s assured that the buds are picked early in the morning and processed quickly. When possible, Issa helps with the harvest and distills the crop onsite. Oversight of the distillation is crucial as components of the oil can be altered or destroyed if raised above certain temperatures, resulting in a less floral and more chemical scent. Freshly distilled organic plants are found in every Hollow and Ridge product. Each batch is produced by Issa in small amounts using her copper still.

PETITGRAIN is used as a top note and comes from the bitter orange tree. It’s name, which contains ‘petit’, is so because the oil is extracted from the small unripe oranges and leaves of the plant. It is lightly floral and citrusy with woody undertones, and is best sourced from France.

ROSE OTTO is made from the Bulgarian Damask Rose which has been cultivated since the 16th century. 2000 fresh rose petals are required to create one drop of oil! This precious and costly oil is used as top note, its spirit-lifting aroma being both complex and floral, though subtly. Bulgaria is the number one place in the world to source rose otto – the word ‘otto’ signifying the steam-distilled variety versus the absolute.

NEROLI comes from bitter orange blossoms, and when used as a top note has beautiful floral qualities with light citrusy notes. Best sourced from France, its uses include: raising spirits, quelling depression, and gently soothing hysteria and shock.

middle notes

GERANIUM is used as a middle to top note as its rich, herbaceous aroma is pleasingly sweet. Although it’s grown commercially in China, Egypt, and France, Issa sources her geranium plants from local origin.

JASMINE blossoms should be collected before sunrise and handled with the utmost carefulness to make sure their scent is not crushed out. Issa uses jasmine as a middle note, bringing a rich, warm, and deeply floral aroma to scents designed to elicit happiness, facilitate intimacy, and even dispel guilt! Not surprisingly, the best jasmine in the world is sourced from India.

base notes

VETIVER is a thick oil that mellows with age and is often used as a base note. Some call it ‘the oil of tranquility’. Distilled from the roots of a large tropical grass, it is earthy, woody, and tenacious! Issa sources her vetiver from Sri Lanka – its geographic origin and tranquil locale, to be sure.

PATCHOULI is widely used as a base note and fixative in perfumery – the word ‘fixative’ meaning that it slows the evaporation of other more volatile oils, allowing the scent as a whole to last longer. It has a woody, earthy, and smoothly floral aroma.