The creation of Salt and Citron 11

Salt and Citron 11 is the latest EDP by artisan perfumer Samuel Gravan. In this article, Samuel shares his inspiration and the process by which it is made.

I’ve wanted to create a really vibrant, fresh aquatic scent for a long time — something that feels like citrus peels dropped into sparkling water, with that sense of effervescence and clarity. I finally got there.

Last September, I was in Greece and brought over a box of 32 oils with me.

I spent a lot of time just sitting, blending, creating, and taking everything in. I stayed in Pounda in Paros — a coastal port that runs across to Antiparos. It’s all water, sun-warmed rock, and air that carries this subtle scent from orchards and vineyards out towards the cost. I was staying 200m from the water. I would get that afternoon breeze which all I wanted to do was recreate and capture in this scent, I wanted to bring back home the scent of this island.

I called it Salt and Citron because that’s exactly what it feels like to me — rock salt sitting in a bed of grapefruit, lemon, and bergamot peel. It’s not just a citrus fragrance, it’s more aquatic and airy, and it’s made with 95% natural materials. The overall feeling is bright and transportive.

The trip itself was really calming, but it also helped me reconnect with my creative side.

I’ve always loved deeper, woodier scents - a lot of what I do is this style, lately I’ve been drawn to things that are simpler and more stripped back. This is probably one of the lightest and brightest in the collection, and it feels very true to my current creative direction.

In the mornings, the sun would hit the wood of the tent I was staying in, and you could actually smell it warming up — this soft, clean, almost teak-like scent with a hint of hinoki. That became the base idea. I built on that with East Indian sandalwood and cedar to give it a smooth, dry, grounding finish. All perfumes need those larger molecule base notes, this however is clean and light on the skin, it transitions nicely from top to middle to base. It is one of the easier scents to wear, along with Amyris Jasmine - the sister to Salt and Citron.

The middle notes are more about the salt and green aspects of the island — that mix of clarity and mineral, with a bit of life running through it. There’s a small touch of lavender and Siberian fir, and some fig leaf which adds a nice, slightly juicy green note. I also used tiny amounts of black peppercorn and crushed cardamom pods which I infused with sugar cane spirit to give texture and realism. You can really feel those naturals in this scent - also as it is blended fresh and in small batches, each batch feels alive.

From there, I pushed the freshness with some hyacinth, which gives a watery feel, and layered that with bergamot, lemon, cedrat, yuzu, and a touch of orange blossom to keep it bright and zesty.

I had to source a lot of oils from Italy, in particular the areas of Corsica and Sicily - the best citrus comes from Italy and the extraction process ensures that the oils are potent and true to their origins. There’s also a light aquatic floral note in the background, and a hint of mandarin leaf and basil to round everything out.

In the end, it really just smells like island water to me — fresh, light, and slightly sparkling. It leans more towards spring and summer, and it’s definitely something you can reach for without overthinking it - it will transport you right there in the time it takes for the spray to hit your skin.