[Jack] Kelly and [Natalie] Coffen approach a bush that looks like rosemary, but with lighter green leaves and thinner stems. California sagebrush, Coffen explains while plucking an oily sprig, was an early form of perfume: “Cowboys used to rub it under their armpits.”
Kelly gives it the first whiff. He says he smells eucalyptus, camphor, and menthol. Coffen smells something else – candied lemon peel. “Pine Sol, almost but sweeter,” she says.
— Read more in The nose knows! Get a whiff of LA during Griffith Park ‘scent saunters’ at KCRW.
This is great. Thank you for the link! I adore the scent of California artemesia/sagebrush/’Cowboy Cologne.” It is intoxicating and it grows all over our SoCal hills. I will often crush a bit and rub it on my arm as I hike. It is the semi-desert Southern California air and foliage, distilled to perfection.
I miss that smell…in fact I miss a lot of smells from SoCal (eucalyptus near the sea especially…)