If, like me, you're tired of the oddly synthetic smell that comes with department store perfumes and wish that you could bottle clean mountain air as your everyday eau de toilette, then you'll be elated to know about Juniper Ridge, an Oakland-based aroma company producing organic, bottled wilderness scents straight from the source.
Juniper Ridge creates all of their products—which range from backpacker cologne, to cabin spray, to trail soap— using an ancient technique that includes distilling and extracting the scent straight from wildflowers, plants, bark, moss, mushrooms, and tree trimmings harvested on trails all over California. The extremely small-batch, trail-made fragrances are usually produced in numbers less than a hundred, and are designed as aromatic snapshots, capturing the smell on a particular day in a particular place.
All of their products are named after the wild places they come from. Reminiscing about your trip to Big Sur this summer? Why not treat yourself to a little bottle of ocean mist over sage gardens from their new line of summer-harvested scents? Or better yet, piñon in the early spring across the Inyo mountains, courtesy of the Mojave cologne.
And in case you're wondering about the effect your new scent had on the environment, rest assured that Juniper Ridge never uses alien or invasive species and are actively involved in native plant restoration projects from San Diego to Seattle. Plus, 10% of all profits are annually donated to a selection of Western Wilderness Defense organizations. So, what are you waiting for? Breathe in some fresh mountain air this winter, even if you're stuck at the office.