Map of natural aromas
166 scents, 12 families. The closer the aromas, the more familiar they are - for a pair, mixture or replacement.
- Buying a fragranceYou'll see what an aroma stone or tablet is made of and what pairs with it next: no surprises, and a reason to come back for a match.
- Making your ownCandles, incense, soap, fragrance oils: proportions, substitutes for expensive materials, and a finished recipe you can send by link to a maker or keep for yourself. No material wasted on trials.
- Ordering a custom oneA saved blend is the brief: the link shows us the same materials and shares, and we make the fragrance to your map. Write to us
Wheel to zoom, drag to pan. Click an aroma to add it to your blend.
- Take a fragrance apartHover over a dot: which families it's built from and in what shares. The chart inside the dot shows this even without hovering.
- Find a matchThe arc leads to the second family the fragrance leans toward. Neighbours on the map are relatives by composition: they will get along.
- Build a blendA click puts the fragrance on the workbench; parts set the proportion. The blend gets its own dot on the map, so you see at once what's too much.
- Find a substitute“Similar to” suggests materials with the closest profile: no oud, or too pricey? The map offers a replacement.
Where the map comes from
the brand that inspired Lev · grooooosha.ru
In summer 2026 I recorded a podcast at the Grusha incense workshop. Yulia told me about her essential-oil alphabet, an alphabet of essential oils: on her wall is a chart where aromas stand in chords and lines show what goes with what. It's great. I dug around the internet, thought it all through and drew my own map of natural aromas. Then the same one for music styles: they're put together the same way.
Grusha: “The scent of rose and other plant materials depends a lot on the plant’s variety and species.”
Lev: “So the map shows each material’s classic profile.”
Podcast with “Grusha” coming soon
The same conversation after which this card appeared. Leave your email and we’ll write you on the day of the premiere.
Questions and answers
Is the map free?
Yes, and it always will be. The interactive map is open to everyone: explore it, build blends, save and share them. Only the printed poster costs money, for when you want the map on your wall.
How does the map work?
166 natural perfumery and incense materials sit across twelve families. Each point’s position is calculated from its composition: the more a family comes through in an aroma, the closer the point sits to it. So neighbours on the map are relatives in scent, and the pie chart inside each point shows what the aroma is made of.
Where does the data come from?
The map is compiled from M. Edwards’ fragrance wheel, Foodpairing and Flavor Network categories, The Good Scents descriptors and the classification of natural raw materials. A point’s position is a formula, not placement by eye.
Why is there only one rose on the map when roses differ?
The scent of rose and other plant materials depends a lot on the plant’s variety and species, as Yulia from the Grusha workshop puts it. So the map shows each material’s classic profile.
How do I save my blend?
Save blend adds it to the shared Blends list under your label, and everyone can see it. Add to my recipes keeps the blend in your personal account: you sign in by email, no password. You can also copy a blend as text or send it as a link or an image.
What should the label on my blend say?
A name or a nickname. The label is public, so the site doesn’t accept emails, phone numbers, @handles or links. You can delete your blend from the same browser you saved it in.
What are chicken, beer and garbage doing on the map?
These are the strange notes from Grusha’s chart, the ones we talked about in the podcast. They sit on a separate layer: the switch on the map shows the map without the strange ones or only the strange ones.
Does the map work on a phone?
Yes. On a small screen it’s easier to tap Full screen: the map expands, and Collapse puts it back.
Can I buy the map for my wall?
Yes, as a poster: A1 — 2,400 ₽, A2 — 1,600 ₽, A3 — 1,100 ₽. Matte 250 g/m² paper, pigment print. We print to order in Yekaterinburg and ship in a tube.
Can you make an aroma from my blend?
Yes. A saved blend is a ready brief: from the link we see the same materials and proportions. Write to us and send the link to your blend.
Does the map say anything about health benefits?
No. The map is about scent: how a material smells and what it goes with. It says nothing about therapeutic properties. Essential oils are concentrated, so use them according to the manufacturer’s instructions.