What Is a Sachet? How to Use a Scented Sachet

Part of a series: Types of Incense: A Beginner’s Path to Botanical Scent, read 4 of 7.

A sachet, or scented sachet, is a small cloth bag filled with dried flowers, herbs, citrus peel, or resins like frankincense and benzoin. Before modern perfume, people carried one to keep a little scent with them wherever they went.

What Is a Sachet?

The word comes from French and simply means “little bag.” In English it can also mean a packet of medicine, a sugar packet or a tea bag. This piece is about the oldest meaning: a small bag that holds scent, usually called a scented sachet.

Most sachets are a single cloth bag filled straight with dried plants. Better ones have two layers: a pretty outer bag, and a small inner pouch that holds the botanicals. The plants are crushed before they go in. The scent rises slowly at room temperature, so you have to be close to smell it.

What Is a Sachet Used For?

Online, sachets are often sold as a way to scent a whole room or a whole closet. Honestly, that is a job for a diffuser or a candle. A sachet can’t fill a space. It is a scent you keep close. More exactly, a scent you wear. We tested ours, and the scent reaches about 20 centimeters (8 inches), no further. Carry it every day and your nose gets used to it, so after a while you stop noticing it yourself. Still, it is useful in its own ways.

A small kind of aromatherapy. Many people use plant scents to relax or shift their mood. That is aromatherapy. Whether it does anything for the body is another question: the NCCIH says little rigorous research has been done. So we won’t claim a sachet treats anything. But the right scent can lift your mood a little.

A keepsake to carry. In Chinese tradition, giving someone a sachet to wear is a way of sending your good wishes and keeping them company. For a child, it is a wish for safety. Because it is small, it can stay with them all day, which makes it more personal than a big gift. We also offer embroidery. You can have a name stitched inside the lining, so the person you love carries your name and your wishes with them.

A scent people remember. A sachet gives off a natural plant scent of its own. Anyone who comes close notices something a little different from everyone else. Friends often tell me that when they catch this scent, they think of the person wearing it.

How to Use a Scented Sachet

1. Keep it close to you.
   • Carry it. Hang it on a bag strap or tuck it into your handbag. When you open the bag, a little floral scent reaches you first.
   • By the bed. Hang it on the headboard or set it by your pillow, so it sits right by your nose when you lie down.
   • In a small drawer. Put it with scarves, lingerie or writing paper. A small, closed space holds the scent longer.
   • As decoration. Hang it on a door handle, by a window or on a bookshelf.
   • As a gift. Small, pretty and not too precious, the kind of present that says “I thought of you.”
2. Squeeze it gently for more scent. Pressing and moving the botanicals releases a little more.
3. Keep it away from water, perfume, lotion and direct sun. Dried flowers mold when wet, other smells cover its scent, and sunlight makes it fade faster.
4. Don’t cut open the inner pouch. The powder will spill and stain your clothes and bag.

Our Rose Sachet

Our sachet is called Singular Rose · Carried, a rose-led herbal sachet.

• Botanicals: two kinds of Chinese rose (Pingyin and Mohong), roselle, Buddha’s hand, aged tangerine peel and mint, coarsely crushed. Each inner pouch holds 20 grams.
• Outer bag: silk gambiered gauze outside, cotton-linen inside, an oval about 12 × 8 cm (4.7 × 3.1 in).
• Inner pouch: cotton-linen and replaceable. Each sachet comes with a sealed spare.
• How long it lasts: about 2–3 weeks per inner pouch, 4–6 weeks with the spare.

Its scent is soft, the kind you notice only up close. We suggest hanging it on a bag strap or by your bed. You can see it on our Herbal Sachets page.

FAQ

What is a scented sachet?

A small cloth bag, or sachet bag, of crushed dried flowers, herbs, peels or resins. The scent rises slowly at room temperature, so you smell it up close, within about 20 cm (8 in).

What does sachet mean?

Sachet is French for “little bag.” In English it can also mean a packet of medicine, sugar or tea. Here it means a small cloth bag that holds dried, fragrant plants.

Can a sachet scent a whole room or closet?

No. In our tests, the scent reaches about 20 cm (8 in). Filling a room is a job for a diffuser or a candle.

How do I use a scented sachet?

Hang it on a bag strap, set it by your pillow, tuck it into a small drawer or give it as a gift. Squeeze it gently for a little more scent. Keep it away from water, perfume, lotion and direct sun, and don’t cut open the inner pouch.

How long does a sachet’s scent last?

About 2 to 3 weeks per inner pouch, or 4 to 6 weeks with the spare. If you carry it every day, your nose gets used to it, so you may notice it less yourself.

Why give someone a sachet?

In Chinese tradition, a sachet carries your good wishes and keeps the person company. Given to a child, it’s a wish for their safety.