Find Your Scent: What Does Palo Santo Smell Like?

Palo santo (which in Spanish means “holy wood”) is one of those scents that perfumers love but might not immediately ring a bell for you. 

Made from a tree that’s native to the Amazon rainforest, this fragrance has been traditionally used to cleanse negative energy and perform various purifying rituals. 

Nowadays, this aromatic essential oil is still used in aromatherapy and is also a go-to ingredient in many fragrances. In this guide, we’ll break down the smell of Palo Santo, take a close look at what scents pair well with it, and give you a recommendation for our favorite Snif scent that contains this woody, aromatic fragrance. 

What Does Palo Santo Smell Like?

Before we get to the scents that pair well with Palo Santo, we first have to define what it smells like on its own. 

This section will introduce you to the three main words we’d use to describe the Palo Santo smell: fresh, subtle, and woody. 

Fresh

Although Palo Santo belongs to the woody fragrance family, it has an undeniably fresh smell. This might be due in part to the hints of mint and citrus that help it stand out from the other woody scents. 

When trying to imagine the smell of Palo Santo, you can think of it as a lighter, fresher version of sage. It’s also similar to pine, but isn’t quite as sharp and instead adds a round, soft quality to fragrances. 

Subtle

The smell of Palo Santo is definitely distinct, but it’s also quite subtle. Given that it’s not as prominent as sage or incense, many yoga teachers and energy workers often light Palo Santo in their studios as a way to cleanse the energy in the space or start a practice. 

The other subtle note that you’ll find in Palo Santo is licorice. For many people, licorice can be a comforting, nostalgic scent. That being said, if you’re not a fan of the smell of pure licorice, then you might find the undertones of licorice in Palo Santo to be too much. 

Woody

Given that Palo Santo comes from the Bursera graveolens tree, it certainly has a woody smell as well. Myrrh and frankincense trees are part of the same family that the tree used to make Palo Santo comes from. 

For this reason, when you think of Palo Santo, you should think of a slightly sweet, rich woody scent rather than the sharper, crisp woody fragrances. 

What Scents Pair Well With Palo Santo?

Now that you know all about the smell of Palo Santo, it’s time to turn to what scents pair well with it. 

Let’s take a look at four fragrances that, when combined with Palo Santo, are a match made in heaven. 

Vanilla

Sweet and creamy, vanilla pairs exceptionally well with Palo Santo because vanilla plays up its sweeter edge. Although you might associate vanilla with pure, warm sweetness, it also has some woody undertones that blend well with the more dominant woody notes in Palo Santo. When paired together, these two have a rich, comforting smell that will leave you wanting more. 

Musk

Musk is another ingredient that’s often used in fragrances, but most people have a hard time identifying it. One of the easiest ways to imagine the smell of musk is to think of the smell of your skin when you’re fresh out of the shower before you put on any creams or lotions. 

Slightly sweet and powdery, musk pairs well with Palo Santo because both are lighter, subtle fragrances. With really strong fragrances, musk can easily be drowned out. That’s why it needs to be paired with other more delicate scents like Palo Santo. 

Amber

We’ve already mentioned that Palo Santo pairs well with vanilla, so it should be no surprise that it also blends superbly with amber. Made from a combination of vanilla, benzoin, and labdanum, amber has a warm and deep scent that adds a layer of richness to any fragrance. 

Palo Santo and amber come together to give scents a rich roundness that feels sensual, cozy, and inviting all at the same time. 

Citrus

This list simply wouldn’t be complete without the mention of citrus. You might immediately think “citrus and a woody fragrance, no way”, but we promise that Palo Santo and citrus are delightful together. 

Palo Santo has subtle citrus undertones, and these undertones are drawn out when it’s paired with a juicy, citrusy scent. It’s kind of like when people with green eyes wear a green scarf and all of a sudden you can appreciate the beauty of their eye color even more! 

What Is a Palo Santo Fragrance To Try?

If all the talk of Palo Santo has you dying to make it a part of your fragrance collection, look no further than Heal The Way. This grounding pistachio fragrance blends pistachio cream with davana, palo santo, vanilla absolute, musk, and amber for a soothing scent. 

Alex Elle, an author and mindfulness teacher, designed this fragrance to be a comforting smell that you can spray throughout the day to help you create small, rejuvenating moments for self-care and self-love. 

Warm, nutty and all around comforting, Heal The Way is the fragrance you reach for when you are trying to create the coziest vibes possible.

Grounding Energy

Palo Santo has been a beloved scent for centuries, and it just might be the time to make it a part of your signature scent. This is the ingredient to look for when you want a fragrance that will help you stay grounded and connected to your inner peace, no matter what your day has in store. 

With the Heal This Way fragrance, you can take a little bit of the magic of Palo Santo with you wherever you go. 

Sources:

(PDF) Palo Santo | Research Gate

White Sage (Salvia apiana)-a Ritual and Medicinal Plant of the Chaparral: Plant Characteristics in Comparison with Other Salvia Species | NIH

The Role of Myrrh Metabolites in Cancer, Inflammation, and Wound Healing: Prospects for a Multi-Targeted Drug Therapy | NIH

New Insights into the Chemical Composition, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Inhibition Profile of Davana (Artemisia pallens Wall. ex DC.) Essential Oil and cis-Davanone in Primary Macrophage Cells | NIH