Beauty: 95 posts

Tonight, the moon rises full and radiant, the harvest moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival. In many places across Asia, families gather to share tea and mooncakes, to light lanterns, to pause. I’ve always loved this idea: the celebration of something as mysterious and serene as the moon.

When I read my childhood journals from Ukraine, I find many references to it—the crescent moon I saw on Christmas Eve, the full moon glowing above a blooming cherry garden at dusk. The moon made me look up, take a breath, and let beauty flood in. It still does.

When I lived and traveled in Asia, the Mid-Autumn moon became a kind of companion. I remember sitting on a balcony in Singapore with a cup of green tea, the city humming below, the sky pale gold. One marvelous autumn in Tokyo, I experienced the scent of osmanthus mixing with the soft moonlight. And tonight, from my home in Brussels, the moon will rise again, the same moon, the same quiet invitation to look and remember.

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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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One of the first articles I had written for which I won an award for Editorial Excellence was titled Scents of Kyiv, a walk through my native city and a story of its scents. Returning to Ukraine, I keep cataloging aromas that I encounter during my travels–coffee and cigarettes in Lviv, poppyseed rolls and lindens in Poltava, expensive perfume and car exhaust in Kharkiv. So it was with much delight that I discovered a candle collection by Sofiya Dolna, an independent perfumer based in Ternopil, western Ukraine. Sofiya’s candle collection paints the olfactory portraits of three different Ukrainian regions–the south (Acacia Odesa), the east (Rosa Donbas), and the west (Cedr Gorgany). The scents are evocative. The presentation is gorgeous. The candles make a fantastic holiday gift. And yes, Sofiya ships her products all over the world–one of the best things about Ukraine is its amazing array of postal services.

The candle collection was developed a year ago in collaboration with two other artists, with each contributing their own interpretation of their native place.

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The 10th century Persian philosopher and scientist Avicenna is credited with many contributions to astronomy, geography, psychology, logic, mathematics, and physics. He also found time to delve into perfumery and devised methods to extract essential oils, experimenting on roses. If Avicenna were to step into a fragrance lab today, he would orient himself quickly enough–modern perfumery is a curious amalgam of state-of-the-art science and traditional techniques. For instance, rose oil is prepared in much the way as in Avicenna’s time through the process of steam distillation.

Even older than rose oil is rosewater, an ingredient with a history predating Avicenna. Lebanese food writer Barbara Abdeni Massaad, whose award winning cookbook Mouneh explores the traditions of preserving fruit, vegetables and flowers, includes a section on making rosewater. “Yes, the distillates from roses and orange flowers continue to be made in villages,” she commented on the vitality of the tradition. “Older people still believe that homemade is best.”

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