5 Books about Dance and Resilience
Dance, like all arts, is about making a connection with others. I was thinking lately about Gelsey Kirkland, a dancer with whom I was fortunate to stu...
01-03-2021 18:55
|
Spring Fragrances with Green and Floral Notes
I’m in the mood for spring, although the weather doesn’t yet cooperate. No matter, the beauty of perfume is that it can transport us out o...
26-02-2021 18:54
|
Recommend Me a Perfume : February 2021
Our ?Recommend Me a Perfume? thread is open this week. You can use this space to find perfume recommendations, to share your discoveries and favorite ...
22-02-2021 18:54
|
Scent Diary : Radiant and Sheer
What perfumes smell light and gauzy to you" I bought a bunch of hyacinths the other day, and while the scent of these flowers is usually heavy an...
19-02-2021 18:55
|
Sultry Perfumes and Hollywood Glamour Fragrances
What is the hallmark of the ultimate bombshell perfume" I wonder this as I?m enraptured by the first glimpse of Ava Gardner in The Killers, a 194...
15-02-2021 18:55
|
Gallivant Bukhara : Perfume Review
Gallivant is an indie perfume house that wants to make us travel via its scents. Its journeys have previously included well-trodden places such as Lon...
12-02-2021 18:55
|
Do You Want to Be a Perfumer" Things to Consider
I receive many questions about training as a perfumer–how does one go about entering a perfumery school, what the salary is like, how many years...
08-02-2021 18:54
|
Perfume as a Fantasy : Let?s Dream
Despite a persistent belief that perfumers aim to imitate nature, fragrance is about a fantasy. So looking for the exact smell of a rose in a bottle i...
05-02-2021 18:54
|
Seasonal Flowers : Mimosa
My new video is about one of my favorite flowers, mimosa. First, I will clarify what flower I am talking about, since the whole topic of mimosa can ma...
01-02-2021 18:55
|
Recommend Me a Perfume : January 2021
Our first ?Recommend Me a Perfume? thread of 2021 is open this week. You can use this space to find perfume recommendations, to share your discoveries...
25-01-2021 18:55
|
Perfumes with the Best Sillage (and how to figure it out)
Perfume wearers and boats have more in common than one might reasonably suspect. Sillage (pronounced as see-yazh) is a French word that means ?wake?, ...
22-01-2021 18:54
|
One Week Perfumery Course with the Jean Carles Method
Continuing the Professional Perfumery series, in which I explain how perfumers are trained, how they create fragrances and how you can use their techn...
18-01-2021 18:55
|
Why Bad Smells Are Important in Perfumery
One of the paradoxes of perfumery is that to create a good smell, you need a bit of funk. A strawberry accord won?t smell convincing without a sulphur...
15-01-2021 18:54
|
How to Apply Perfume
The topic I’m taking up in my new video seems straightforward–how to apply perfume, but it’s a question I receive often. There are s...
11-01-2021 18:56
|
Professional Perfumery Training and tips for improving sense
I’ve made a video explaining how professional perfumery training is organized. My explanation is based on my own experience as a perfumer studen...
08-01-2021 18:54
|
Your Personal Museum of Scents
Last year, I received an email from one of my readers asking me an interesting question–if I could create my personal museum of scents, what wou...
04-01-2021 18:54
|
Reflections on 2020
I don’t like the phrase “new normal,” especially since there is nothing normal about the situation that 2020 forced us to acceptR...
31-12-2020 18:54
|
Classical Challenge
?I have no luck with classical perfumes,? confessed a friend. ?My grandmother wore Jean Patou Joy, my mother loved Chanel No. 5, but when I wear these...
28-12-2020 18:54
|
Recommend Me a Perfume : December 2020
Merry Christmas! I wish all of you happy holidays. May this season be full of light, beauty and happiness for you. May all of us make the most of what...
25-12-2020 18:55
|
Synthetics in Perfumery : Hedione Part 2
As a counterpart to the first series of Synthetics in Perfumery, here is the second part. The material I cover today is hedione. I explain how and by ...
21-12-2020 18:55
|
Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh
?When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother; and they kn...
18-12-2020 18:54
|
Synthetics in Perfumery : Intro and Background
I’ve made a series of videos about synthetics in perfumery–from a perfumer’s perspective. I would like to explain why certain synthe...
14-12-2020 18:55
|
The Nutcracker and Its Perfumes
?The Sugar Plum Fairy bade Marie and Nutcracker sit down while a feast was brought before them: teas, cakes and the rarest of fruits ? Marie hardly ha...
11-12-2020 18:55
|
The Elusive Perfume of Matthiola and Night-Scented Stocks
The fragrance of night-scented stocks is so heady, sweet and spicy that if you’ve experienced it once on a balmy summer evening, you’ll un...
07-12-2020 18:54
|
Recommend Me a Perfume : Holiday Gift Ideas and Guides
Our ?Recommend Me a Perfume? thread is open this week. Since many of us are looking for holiday gift ideas, why don’t we use this thread to shar...
30-11-2020 18:57
|
Myrrh and Almonds : The Secret of Serge Lutens La Myrrhe
As a complement to my article about Autumnal Fragrances, I recorded a video about the fragrance that scented my fall this year, Serge Lutens La Myrrhe...
27-11-2020 18:52
|
Autumnal Perfumes in the Spirit of the Season
One of the most interesting principles in Japanese garden design is the idea of borrowed scenery, shakkei. Using existing landscape elements?distant m...
23-11-2020 18:54
|
A Promise of Spring in Every Autumn
Autumn. Sonbahar in Turkish. Son means last. Bahar means spring. Bahar, a Persian loanword ????, means also blossom, blossoming. And so, sonbahar, aut...
20-11-2020 18:52
|
The Idea of Radiance and What It Means in Perfumery
Radiance in perfume is an elusive quality. The best way of understanding it is to envision a candle burning in a dark room, its glow lifting the dark ...
16-11-2020 18:52
|
Perfumes That Make You Feel Dressed Up
In the beginning of the lockdown, my friends and colleagues reveled in casual dress, especially those of us who have worked together for years and no ...
13-11-2020 18:53
|
Ukrainian Borscht Poltava Style : My Family Borshch Recipe
You can spell it borscht, borshch, or borsch, but by any name, it’s the dish that embodies the essence of Ukrainian food culture–colorful,...
09-11-2020 18:52
|
Stained Glass and Light : Postcard from Brussels
Among the hidden jewels of Brussels is a tiny Art Deco church called Église du Divin Sauveur. Located in the commune of Schaerbeek, it is decorated wi...
06-11-2020 18:52
|
L?Artisan Parfumeur Traversee du Bosphore Giveaway
I hope that everyone had a great weekend. We have a generous giveaway made possible by Bois de Jasmin’s reader Sara. Sara would like to give awa...
02-11-2020 18:54
|
Recommend Me a Perfume : October 2020
Our ?Recommend Me a Perfume? thread is open this week. You can use this space to find perfume recommendations, to share your discoveries and favorite ...
26-10-2020 18:54
|
The Heavenly Voice of Mohammad Reza Shajarian
I woke up in Tehran on a cold October morning. The city outside of my hotel window looked grey and aloof. I was in a new city. I was alone. Tehran is ...
23-10-2020 18:53
|
Sappho?s Moon
In an effort to start the week on a positive note, I bring to you a dose of beauty via Sappho. We travel to the island of Lesbos circa the 5th century...
19-10-2020 18:52
|
Smelling in Colors : Blue
Do you smell in color" Or perhaps you associate scents with shapes, textures or tastes" For some people, a synesthetic perception of the wor...
16-10-2020 18:52
|
Mood-Enhancing Perfume with Chanel Misia Giveaway
I hope that everyone had a great weekend. We haven’t had giveaways for a while, but today I am back with a particularly generous one made possib...
12-10-2020 18:53
|
Women?s Fragrance for Men : Let?s Be Daring with Tuberose
As a counterpart to my article and video Three Men?s Fragrances for Women : Modern Classics, I would like to talk about women’s fragrances for m...
09-10-2020 18:53
|
If Your Perfume Doesn?t Last ? a few solutions
You find a perfume that seems perfect and you eagerly put it on. You enjoy the first few moments, but then over the course of the day, you can?t smell...
05-10-2020 18:52
|
Three Men?s Fragrances for Women : Modern Classics
The modern concept that scents can be gendered–roses are for women and cedarwood is for men–dates to the post-WWII consumer boom when mark...
02-10-2020 18:52
|
Mir Taqi Mir?s Jasmine Pilaf
While reading the memoirs of Mir Taqi Mir, a great Indian poet who lived in 18th century Delhi, I came across a charming anecdote about a jasmine pila...
28-09-2020 18:53
|
Recommend Me a Perfume : September 2020
Our ?Recommend Me a Perfume? thread is open this week. You can use this space to find perfume recommendations, to share your discoveries and favorite ...
21-09-2020 18:52
|
Sandalwood : Woods Series (New Video)
I?m continuing my woods series and today I?m discussing sandalwood, the most distinctive sweet wood in the perfumer?s palette. The beauty of sandalwoo...
18-09-2020 18:52
|
Poetry and Enigma of Mike Johansen
Why not start Monday with poetry" I’ve selected my favorite poetry by Mike Johansen (1895-1937), a Ukrainian poet of the 1920s. Johansen de...
14-09-2020 18:52
|
Learning Languages and Reading Techniques
Reading is one of the biggest pleasures for me, and often when I learn a new language, I relish the chance to read in it. It’s also a great way ...
11-09-2020 18:52
|
Postcard from Brussels : Flemish Chiaroscuro
Among the things I missed the most during the lockdown was going to a museum. The soft light in the exhibition halls, the scent of wood polish, and th...
07-09-2020 18:52
|
Penhaligon?s The Favourite : Perfume Review
I try not to read the marketing material before testing a perfume–and with good reason. If I had learned that Penhaligon?s The Favourite was ins...
04-09-2020 18:52
|
How to Satisfy Wanderlust with Perfumes
Perfume can inspire wanderlust as well as satisfy it. I can’t count the number of times I’ve planned my vacations around the harvest perio...
31-08-2020 18:55
|
Recommend Me a Perfume : August 2020
Our ?Recommend Me a Perfume? thread is open this week. You can use this space to find perfume recommendations, to share your discoveries and favorite ...
24-08-2020 18:52
|
Dry vs Sweet vs Bitter : Perfume Descriptors (New Video)
What does dry mean when applied to a perfume" In fragrance, dry is used to describe compositions that are not sweet–it’s similar to w...
21-08-2020 18:52
|
5 Moods, 5 Roses
Rose is a classical note in a perfumer’s palette. It can be a natural type-rose, with rich honeyed facets, a citrusy blossom, or a musky bouquet...
17-08-2020 18:53
|
Scent 101 : Skin Chemistry (New Video)
Is there such a thing as “skin chemistry”" I have to note that the phrase itself is misleading, because it implies that a chemical re...
14-08-2020 18:53
|
New Style-Chypre Perfumes
Chypre perfumes that rely on an intricate interplay of citrus, florals, moss, woods and musk are among the most intriguing and complex. As I’ve ...
10-08-2020 18:53
|
Vietnamese Green Oil, DIY Colognes and Other Cool Delights
The second part of my refreshing scents series focuses on non-alcoholic and DIY options. Some people prefer to skip alcohol during hot days, and I?m o...
07-08-2020 18:53
|
What?s a Perfume Pyramid and Why It Can Be Ignored
I have a new video based on this oft-requested topic. What is a perfume pyramid and how much can it be trusted" I wont bury the lead and tell you...
03-08-2020 18:52
|
Cooling Perfumes : Seeking Freshness
This summer has been strange in many ways, and the sudden onset of heat threw everything off-kilter. Normally I’d escape my sweltering apartment...
31-07-2020 18:52
|
My Favorite Summer Perfumes (at the moment)
I came back from the market the other day with a big bouquet of cornflowers and as I sat admiring their vivid color, I realized that these blue flower...
27-07-2020 18:53
|
Recommend Me a Perfume : July 2020
Our ?Recommend Me a Perfume? thread is open this week. You can use this space to find perfume recommendations, to share your discoveries and favorite ...
20-07-2020 18:52
|
Learning Scents (or Words) : A Few Tips
Recently I was making a new series of videos on learning languages, and as I was jotting down notes on learning words, I realized that for my studies ...
17-07-2020 18:52
|
Tuberose Perfumes for Men and Women ? The Most Voluptuous of
What flower evokes all things lush and sensual to you" To me, it would definitely be tuberose. This blossom has many elements that make it comple...
13-07-2020 18:53
|
How To Give Perfume as Gift?Or Not
What kind of perfume do you give as a gift" In my experience, selecting the right perfume for a gift is tricky, because guessing someone’s ...
10-07-2020 18:52
|
Carnations, Cloves, Eugenol : A Short History
Carnation is not the trendiest of floral notes, and yet modern perfumery would be unthinkable without it–or specifically, the carnation effect. ...
06-07-2020 18:52
|
6 Luminous Musk Perfumes
Why should summer be all about colognes and fresh florals" Why not don a plush tuberose or a bittersweet chypre" Why not explore how our dar...
03-07-2020 18:52
|
How to Smell Peaches in Guerlain Mitsouko
When I wrote my article about lactones, I explained that Guerlain Mitsouko was one of the first perfumes to use these compounds redolent of peach skin...
29-06-2020 18:52
|
Recommend Me a Perfume : June 2020
Our ?Recommend Me a Perfume? thread is open this week. You can use this space to find perfume recommendations, to share your discoveries and favorite ...
22-06-2020 18:52
|
The Beauty of The Old-Fashioned
Lately I’ve become fascinated by the perfumes that I’d characterize as old-fashioned. Or if you don’t like the word, vintage or retr...
19-06-2020 18:52
|
Dungan Spice Blend and Summer Salad : From Bishkek Via Bruss
Last weekend I had a cooking class with Zulfiya Ma Tian Yu of Dungan Food. Zulfiya lives in Bishkek, Kyrgystan, but we managed to overcome the Bishkek...
15-06-2020 18:52
|
The Beautiful Lactones : Of Peaches, Cream and White Flowers
What are lactones and why are they so enticing" As their name hints, lactones are aromatic organic compounds with a milky, creamy scent. Lactones...
12-06-2020 18:52
|
Guerlain Eau de Cologne du Coq, Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat and
With the start of summer it seems natural to reach for a cologne. This style of fragrances based on citrus is uplifting and bright, and wearing a colo...
08-06-2020 18:52
|
The Simple Magic of a Soap Bar
For many people around the world soap is the only scented product they use. Fine fragrances are outside of their reach. I remember my grandmother Dash...
05-06-2020 18:52
|
Revolutionary Perfume : A Brief History of Chypre
1917 was the year when the Bolshevik Revolution took place. It was also the year when another revolution happened. It wasn’t bloody, its scale w...
01-06-2020 18:52
|
Recommend Me a Perfume : May 2020
Our ?Recommend Me a Perfume? thread is open this week. You can use this space to find perfume recommendations, to share your discoveries and favorite ...
25-05-2020 18:52
|
Rubbish to Gems : A Tale of Javanese Tea Wedang Uwuh
While driving around the Indonesian countryside, especially in Sulawesi and Java, you see sheets of tarp spread along the side of the road with cloves...
22-05-2020 18:52
|
15 Years of Bois de Jasmin : The Essentials
What is the place of art in difficult times" The world has changed within a matter of weeks in a way that most of us couldn’t have envision...
18-05-2020 18:53
|
Putting Scents Into Words : Smelling Exercises
Describing aromas can be difficult. We’re used to associating a scent with something concrete–an orange, a rose, a steaming bowl of pasta,...
15-05-2020 18:52
|
My Three Classics : Introduction to Classical Perfumery
Who is afraid of perfume classics" Classical perfumery often elicits two different reactions. There are those who worship at the altar of Guerlai...
11-05-2020 18:53
|
Crafts as Cure
In Ukraine, there is an old tradition of embroidering a rushnyk, a hand towel, during dark periods of one’s life. It matters less what’s e...
08-05-2020 18:53
|
Contemplating a Peony : 5 Perfumes for the Peony Viewing
Cherry blossoms may be the flowers most strongly associated with Japan, but the peony is another beloved bloom. If you visit Tokyo in late spring, you...
04-05-2020 18:52
|
Recommend Me a Perfume : April 2020
Our ?Recommend Me a Perfume? thread is open this week. You can use this space to find perfume recommendations, to share your discoveries and favorite ...
27-04-2020 18:53
|
Why Enjoying Scent is Important
“Is there any point in wearing perfume these days"” asked one of my readers, arguing that in our socially distant reality, perfume is...
23-04-2020 18:53
|
Ballet Inspired Perfumes
?Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.? This wonderful quote nonetheless misses the mark. Music can be captured in words just as dan...
20-04-2020 18:53
|
How a French Perfume Company Influenced Ukrainian Embroideri
One of the most quintessentially Ukrainian embroideries is called rushnyk (pl, rushnyky), richly decorated hand towels that accompany a person from bi...
17-04-2020 18:52
|
How to Learn Multiple Languages at the Same Time
It’s usually recommended to focus on one language at a time, become fluent in it and only then start learning another one. However, language acq...
12-04-2020 18:52
|
Exercises to Sharpen Sense of Smell : Cloves and Roses
Starting one’s morning by smelling consciously is the best and the easiest way to sharpen your sense of smell. I’m sure that many of you w...
10-04-2020 18:52
|
The Turkish Art of Kolonya or How to Wear Cologne
The sight of a driver bearing a bottle of kolonya on the bus journeys across Turkey has always left me with mixed emotions. They always insisted on wa...
06-04-2020 18:52
|
Recommend Me a Perfume : March 2020
Our ?Recommend Me a Perfume? thread is open this week. You can use this space to find perfume recommendations, to share your discoveries and favorite ...
30-03-2020 18:53
|
Make Time for Yourself and Banish Guilt
If a person with children and living in an extended family were to write my article How to Handle Self-Isolation and Not Lose One’s Mind, they w...
27-03-2020 18:53
|
How to Maximize Your Sense of Smell (and an announcement)
Hope that all of my friends are well. I’ll start with the bad, although not at all surprising, news. The Ukrainian Scent and Taste Adventure is ...
23-03-2020 18:53
|
Asya?s Secret
Happy Nowruz! Happy Persian New Year! Happy Spring! Two days ago I recorded a short film for my Instagram stories about something I learned from my gr...
20-03-2020 18:52
|
How to Handle Self-Isolation and Not Lose One?s Mind
My daily routine during intense writing periods is almost always the same. During the week, I wake up at 6am, start working at 7am and continue until ...
16-03-2020 18:53
|
Haft Seen for Celebrating New Life and New Spring
Persian New Year is on March 20th this year, and as always, I set up my haft seen, or Nowruz sofreh–a presentation of 7 auspicious objects that ...
13-03-2020 18:52
|
Vanilla Orchids
Stepping inside the Princess of Wales Conservatory during Kew Gardens? annual orchid festival is an opulent fragrant experience. While the most popula...
09-03-2020 18:52
|
How to Save The Kashmiri Shawl
“On 5 August last year, I was finalising the itinerary for my upcoming trip to Kashmir. The same day, the Indian government revoked its special ...
06-03-2020 18:53
|
Lindens, Ukrainian Weaving, and Nataliya?s Other Favorite Th
I like meeting people who pursue their dreams. My friend and partner on our Ukrainian Scent and Taste Adventure, Nataliya Cummings, studied theater in...
02-03-2020 18:52
|
Recommend Me a Perfume : February 2020
Our ?Recommend Me a Perfume? thread is open this week. You can use this space to find perfume recommendations, to share your discoveries and favorite ...
24-02-2020 18:53
|
Green Perfumes : Spring Inside You
I grew up in the city, but every summer I traveled to Poltava to spend several months with my great-grandparents. In the Soviet Union, grandparents fu...
21-02-2020 18:52
|
À rebours (Against Nature) by Joris-Karl Huysmans : Scents i
?From black-rimmed plates they ate turtle soup and eaten Russian rye bread, ripe Turkish olives, caviar, salted mullet-roe, smoked Frankfurt black pud...
17-02-2020 18:52
|
Postcard from Ukraine : Kalyna Berries
Guelder rose berries, called kalyna in Ukrainian, taste like cranberries and have a bitter-sour scent reminiscent of almonds and lingonberries. After ...
14-02-2020 18:52
|
Chanel No 5 Body Cream : Between Silk Sheets with Marilyn Mo
“I know what we need. We need a bed, and we need white silk sheets ? they must be silk. Frank Sinatra records, and Dom Pérignon champagne.”...
10-02-2020 18:52
|
