Yatra (Aveda)

By Dane

I'm opening my horizons to include the art of natural perfumery. I was quite surprised by the complexities and overall beauty of L'Artisan's Eau de Jatamansi, so I thought to myself, let's go for gusto and head to the top of the hippie ladder - Aveda.

I've always avoided this store at all costs. They seem to have nice packaging, but I can't take the smell of Tea Tree Oil, and any attempts to draw me in the store have been extinguished when the wall of it hits me in the face. Not even a cup of a free green tea can keep me at that point.

Yatra is supposedly based on Australian Sandalwood (as Indian Sandalwood is rare and unethical to use at the moment). The descriptions and reviews I read on Yatra were good, so I made my way to the section of my local shopping centre that I normally avoid (because of the smell), held my breath, ran in and sprayed myself, and was out before anyone anyone even noticed.

I though I would let the oily glob on the back of my hand settle in for a bit before I sniffed, but to my horror, even time itself can't tame the beast that is Yatra. Medicinal lavender leads the pack before some jammy rose and geranium and a huge load of patchouli join in. The overall feeling is that of Aveda's products - mentholated, mind-numbing marijuana cover-up. If someone mentioned "all natural" perfume to me, this is exactly what I would imagine.

My natural perfumery quest continues. For the Aveda fans out there, I hope I didn't offend...you'll no doubt love Yatra in all it's eye-stinging glory. At $2.50/ml, I think I'll stick with my synthetic blends for the time-being.

Year: 2007
Perfumer: Koichi Shiozawa
Notes: Rose, Lavender, Sandalwood, Rose Geranium