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.
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.