Rooted in Time: The Enduring Spirit of the Joshua Tree in Scent

The oldest-living Joshua Tree can be found deep in the Mojave Desert. It’s been standing strong for thousands of years, watching the world change from its quiet home. Because a Joshua Tree is a succulent, not a true tree, its age cannot be measured in rings, but its presence is a testament to the passage of time. Though the world changes second by second, the desert evolves slowly, at its own precious pace.

Joshua Trees thrive in the extreme conditions of the desert and have been revered as a sacred plant and an enduring landmark; thousands of visitors journey to the Mojave every year to experience their powerful beauty and find a moment of magic amidst the sweeping desert landscape. The Joshua Tree’s unique shape has become a symbol of survival and protection; the trees provide shelter for their fellow desert inhabitants, including birds and small animals. 

The contrasting nature of the desert—smooth mineral rocks against the spiky vegetation, the cool of shadow and the heat of light—inspired the relaxing luminescence of Pura’s Joshua in Glow, a collaboration with the luxury fragrance brand Scents of Wood.

The Joshua in Glow fragrance was inspired by that ancient tree and its desert roots, a love letter to the eternal icon. The scent opens with desert greens reminiscent of the surrounding vegetation and Cascalone Captive, a special watery, fruity accord. Jasmine, cistus, and aquatic floral notes float through your home like a golden desert breeze, combined with rich ambergris and a special Joshua Tree NaturePrint™ extracted from the Mojave Desert trees themselves. Joshua in Glow is anchored by base notes of crisp cedarwood, peppery nargarmotha, sensual musk, and warm vanilla.

NaturePrint™ is a technological innovation that helps perfumers capture and recreate scents from nature without destroying the environment, which is especially important when gathering scent notes from sacred and endangered plants. To capture a scent, the perfumer places a glass globe over the area of interest, like a Joshua Tree needle or flower. A thin needle is inserted into the globe, holding a special fiber that absorbs the surrounding scent molecules over the course of an hour. Once the fiber has collected the full aroma, it is stored in a refrigerated box to preserve the scent and taken to a lab, where it is analyzed by a machine that breaks down the scent into molecular data. 

This helps the perfumer recreate each and every nuance of the scent, including the atmosphere around it: the heat of the day giving way to cool, peaceful dusk, golden light fading past the trees. Inhale. Exhale. Let the spirits of the desert take you away.