Pan by Anya’s Garden is an agrestic musky floral perfume created by Anya McCoy. Pan is an all-natural fragrance that was released in 2006.

Pan is described as “A romp in the fields of Gods, magnetic and soft, seductive and a day in the sun that goes on forever.”

Today is Valentine’s Day, and everyone else is writing about perfumes that smell like candy and roses. I like candy and roses as well as the next girl, but today I want to talk about something different. I chose one of my all-time favorite fragrances, named for the original pickup artist, Pan.

Pan was the Greek god of the nature, wooded areas, and pastures, and was the companion of the nymphs. Pan was known for his romantic interest in lovely goddesses, which usually resulted in rejection. Here’s Aphrodite fending him off with her sandal, and Eros coming to her aid:

A lot of people would not go looking for a perfume that smells like goats. I did. My fascination with goats started when I was learning about the perfume ingredient labdanum. Labdanum is a resin which comes from the flowers of cistus bushes, also known as rockrose. Cistus grows in the Mediterranean regions, and has been used for centuries in herbal medicines and fragrances. The book of Genesis describes labdanum being carried from Egypt to Palestine.

Labdanum is very important in modern perfumery as well. It is the main ingredient used to create the scent of amber, which is the foundation of many perfumes. The smell of labdanum is often described as  animalic, sweet, woody, leathery, or musky.

In ancient times, labdanum was collected by combing the beards and thighs of goats and sheep that had grazed on the cistus shrubs. During the process of combing, some of their hair would have become incorporated into the labdanum. I was fascinated by the thought that the goats must have smelled like labdanum, and also the labdanum must have smelled like goats. Soon I couldn’t stop imagining what a goat perfume would smell like.

I love the smell of sweet grasses and barnyards. And I love animalic notes in perfumes. Animalic notes add depth and complexity to fragrances, and make them smell sultry and alluring. I thought that a goat perfume would be the perfect combination of sweet grass and sensual animalics. And who wouldn’t want to smell like this beautiful girl?

This quest to find the perfect goat scent led me to discover Anya’s Garden Perfumes. Anya’s Garden is a completely natural and cruelty-free perfumery. The founder and creator, Anya McCoy, is one of the most knowledgable people in the world about natural perfumery. She grows many of the aromatics used in her perfume in her own garden. And, I was very pleased to learn, the goat hair in the tincture that she uses to create Pan is humanely obtained from the head and back haunches of a billy goat. If that goat lives in or near Anya’s garden, he’s a lucky little fellow.

Pan perfume from Anya’s Garden combines the warm muskiness and earthiness of this goat tincture with florals and herbals to create a fascinating and beautiful perfume. It smells so rich and golden. There is a beautiful lavender and hay scent on a base of sharp cedar and smoky labdanum, with the animalic depth of the goat tincture and ambrette. It’s very unique and masterful creation. To me, it absolutely does smell like a day in the sun — warm, joyful, and grounded in the Earth.

Pan is a beautiful scent that stands on its own, but another thing that I love to use it for is layering. Many pure florals can benefit from a little spritz of animalism — think of it as a “day to night transformation” for your fragrance. Pan blends wonderfully with all other florals, and is a natural and cruelty-free way to add the depth of animalics to your scent wardrobe.

My very favorite way to wear Pan though, is to layer it with a fragrance that has a milk or cream accord. Two that work well are Lanvin Oxygene and Philosophy Fresh Cream. Pan also smells incredible layered with Lostmarc’h Lann Aël, which smells like apples, wheat, and milk.

Before I found Pan, when I was imagining the goat that I wanted to sniff, I developed a very specific mental image. It was a suckling baby goat, with some hay stuck to its fluffy hair and milk running down its chin. Pan perfectly provides the sweet baby goat smell, the hay, and the beautiful sunny day in the barnyard, just add milk.

Pan is a unisex fragrance that will smell stunning on both men and women. Manufacturer’s listed notes are atlas cedar, labdanum, bee, deodar cedar, lavender Seville, hay, white lotus, patchouli, goat hair, and ambrette seed. It is sold in EdP concentration, currently 15 mL for $100 at http://anyasgarden.com.