國家地理:香氛熏陶的歷史(2)
Unlike modern perfumes, which have alcohol as a carrier -- because it's inexpensive, neutral, and easily diffused -- attars traditionally use sandalwood oil, making them unctuous and highly absorptive. The scent of a droplet lingers pleasantly on the skin, sometimes for days.
阿塔爾不像現(xiàn)代香水是以酒精作為載體，因為酒精便宜、中性而且容易擴(kuò)散香氣，傳統(tǒng)上阿塔爾是使用檀香油，因此具有油性，而且皮膚很容易吸收。在皮膚上滴一滴阿塔爾，迷人的香氣可以維持很久，有時甚至能維持好幾天。
Equally enchanting to men and women, attars strike intense floral, woodsy, musky, smoky, or grassy notes. Attars for cold seasons can be warming with sense of cloves, cardamom, saffron. In warmer seasons, attars can bring cooling fragrances of jasmine, vetiver and marigold.
阿塔爾有各種調(diào)性，包括濃郁的花香、木質(zhì)、麝香、煙熏或草本，無論男女都愛使用。在寒冷的季節(jié)，可以使用丁香、豆蔻和番紅花等散發(fā)溫暖香氣的阿塔爾；在較溫暖的季節(jié)，則可以使用茉莉、巖蘭草和萬壽菊等帶來涼爽香氣的阿塔爾。
Kannauj produces these, as well as the enigmatic mitti attar, which evokes the scent of earth after a rainfall thanks to baked alluvial clay in the distillation. Shamama, another coveted invention, is a distilled blend of 40 or more flowers, herbs, and resins that takes days to make and months to age. Some perfume houses in Europe use these attars -- rose, vetiver, jasmine, and others -- as a layer, a compelling chord in the composition of modern perfumery.
卡瑙杰還生產(chǎn)神秘的“米蒂”阿塔爾，它帶有雨后泥土的芬芳，那是因為蒸餾過程中使用了窯燒沖積土。另一款令人向往的作品“沙瑪瑪”，則是由四十多種花卉、藥草和樹脂蒸餾混合，費時數(shù)天制作以及數(shù)月熟成。一些歐洲的香水公司在制作現(xiàn)代香水時，會使用玫瑰、巖蘭草、茉莉等香氣的阿塔爾，作為令人著迷的基底。
