The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Grounded is the 2025 roll-on from Gentle Habits, an Australian house whose lineup draws on natural materials and resinous-leaning compositions. The release sits within a broader catalogue that includes other incense-coded work, but Grounded itself carves out its own lane through the way it handles spice and wood. Think of it as the scent equivalent of pulling on a jumper made from natural fibers. Not precious. Not performative. Just steady, present, built from materials that feel like they grew somewhere. The composition draws on Australian sandalwood, a material with a long, quiet reputation in natural perfumery. Around it, Gentle Habits layered the kind of spice rack that belongs in a baker's kitchen: cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, plus frankincense for a resinous flicker.
What makes Grounded interesting is how much it manages with a relatively contained set of materials. The sandalwood takes up real space in the composition, creamy and grounded in a way that gives the whole scent a structural backbone. Around that center, the spice notes build in layers rather than competing for attention. Cinnamon and clove bring their familiar bakery-warmth without tipping the scent into anything overtly sweet. Patchouli and frankincense pull the overall profile toward something earthier, more contemplative.
The evolution
The opening of Grounded has a brightness to it, citrus cutting across the spice before the heavier materials take hold. It's brief, but it does real work. The citrus sharpens the first impression, gives the roll-on a sense of lift, and then steps aside as the warmer notes arrive. Once that citrus fades, the scent finds its footing in the wood-and-spice territory it was clearly designed to inhabit. Australian sandalwood takes center stage with a full, creamy presence that anchors everything around it. Clove and cinnamon build a low heat through the heart, the kind of warm-spice character that's more simmer than scorch. Frankincense threads through with a resinous flicker, adding the incense-coded character the collection is known for. Ylang-ylang adds a soft floral edge that rounds out the spice and keeps it from feeling sharp or angular.
Cultural impact
Grounded joins a small but growing catalogue of fragrances that foreground Australian sandalwood as a featured material rather than a background note. Released in 2025 as part of Gentle Habits' This is Incense collection, the scent leans into the creamy, slightly sweet character of domestically grown sandalwood. That material has its own profile, distinct from the drier Indian reference that shaped sandalwood fragrances for decades, and using it as a centerpiece gives Grounded a recognizable fingerprint.
