My Favorite Autumn Fragrances (Ukrainian)

Lately, I’ve been finding it difficult to sleep. The news from Ukraine is overwhelming, and it’s painful to experience this war from the outside, knowing that my family and friends are living through it every day. For now, my obligations keep me here, and I have to find ways to keep myself going.

Perfume has always been a source of joy for me, but in recent weeks I’ve leaned on it even more consciously. Ever since studying the effects of scents on mood and cognition, I’ve noticed how much a small ritual can change the texture of a day. Choosing a perfume, putting it on slowly, pausing to inhale it—it may take only seconds, but done with intention, it becomes a grounding act. In autumn, when the days grow shorter and the light fades too quickly, these moments are especially precious.

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Autumn Perfume Rituals (English)

Останнім часом мені важко заснути. Новини з України не дають спокою, і дуже боляче переживати цю війну здалеку, знаючи, що моя родина та друзі живуть у ній щодня. Поки що обов’язки не відпускають мене звідси, тож доводиться вигадувати невеликі способи підтримати себе.

Парфуми завжди були для мене джерелом радості, але останніми тижнями я покладаюся на них ще свідоміше. Відтоді як я почала вивчати вплив ароматів на настрій, я зауважила, наскільки невеликий ритуал може змінити відчуття дня. Обрати аромат, повільно нанести його, зробити паузу, щоб вдихнути його — це займає всього кілька секунд, але, якщо робити це з наміром, такий момент стає заземлюючим. Восени, коли дні коротшають, а світло зникає надто швидко, ці миті набувають особливої ваги.

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When I first smelled a vintage bottle of Coty’s L’Aimant, I understood why it was once considered Chanel No. 5’s great rival. The fragrance shimmered with aldehydes, yet instead of the icy brilliance I associate with No. 5, it felt warmer, more tender, as if the light were diffused through silk rather than crystal. There was romance in its aura, a quality that seemed less about abstraction and more about embrace.

François Coty launched L’Aimant—“the magnet”—in 1927, determined to prove that his house could meet the challenge Chanel had set six years earlier. By then, aldehydic florals were reshaping the landscape of luxury perfumery, and Coty entrusted the task to Vincent Roubert, one of the most gifted perfumers of his time. Roubert composed a fragrance that was both modern and romantic, a scent that embodied Coty’s idea of femininity as magnetic, sophisticated, and irresistibly alluring.

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20 Must Try Osmanthus Perfumes (Ukranian)

I love osmanthus so much that I planted two shrubs in pots and placed them in front of my apartment building, hoping their honeyed scent might brighten the autumn days for anyone passing by. Someone else must have loved them too, because one morning I discovered that one of the plants had been stolen. I carried the remaining shrub up to my balcony, where it now perfumes only my private space. The pleasure is no less intense—each evening when I step outside, the air is saturated with the fragrance of apricot, honey, and soft leather.

Known in Chinese as 桂花 (guìhuā) and in Japanese as 金木犀 (kinmokusei), osmanthus is native to China and has long been cherished for its intoxicating aroma. Its scent is a paradox: honeyed and luminous, yet with a leathery undertone that lends it mystery and depth. In perfumery, osmanthus is one of the most captivating raw materials, versatile enough to form the backbone of a composition or to lend a delicate accent of fruit and warmth.

“Twenty perfumes you must smell” is, of course, a debatable list. I’m sure others would select different favorites. What follows is simply my own choice: fragrances that, in my view, reveal osmanthus in all of its guises, from floral to fruity, radiant to shadowed. Not all of these perfumes use natural osmanthus absolute—an extraordinarily costly material—but the best blends capture its character through accords of ionones, damascones, theaspirane, and lactones, recreating the apricot-violet-leather bouquet of this prized blossom.

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Chanel’s Comète українською

Chanel’s Comète, part of the Les Exclusifs collection, takes its name from the shooting-star necklace designed by Gabrielle Chanel in 1932. Where jewelry sought to capture the shimmer of diamonds, this perfume translates radiance into scent: a floral, powdery, musky caress, soft as starlight dusting the skin.

The opening has a surprising gourmand flicker—almond and cherry, weightless and fleeting. Soon the violet unfolds, first earthy and cool, then turning sweet and powdery. Violet and heliotrope add their familiar duet: tender, almondy, with a faint modeling-clay impression that some may find comforting, others distracting. To me, it’s a reminder that playfulness often hides inside refinement.

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