I returned to Ukraine after a long absence. After a flight, several trains and a sleepless night in a small town in Poland, I watched the familiar countryside roll past the window and felt like I was in a dream. I imagined this scene countless times. I dreamed about it only to wake up with tears. Now I was looking at orchards laden with fruit and freshly harvested wheat fields and I tried to remember every detail, every leaf, every blade of grass.

Many people asked me why I wanted to return now. I explained that I could afford to take some time off from work this fall, that I could buy a ticket, etc. These were all practical reasons, but they didn’t capture the essence of what propelled me to return. The place where we’re born shapes us deeply. For someone like me who lived most of her life abroad in many different countries, the idea of home can be difficult to define. Today I know that my home is the place that draws me back despite all of the practical considerations. Returning to Ukraine during war, living through the daily reality of rocket attacks, air raid sirens and near constant blackouts, I feel at peace.

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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 scents, and to ask any questions about scents, aromas and flavors. Or you can just tell us what perfume you are wearing.

How does it work: 1. Please post your requests or questions as comments here. You can also use this space to ask any fragrance related questions. To receive recommendations that are better tailored to your tastes, you can include details on what you like and don’t like, your signature perfumes, and your budget. And please let us know what you end up sampling. 2. Then please check the thread to see if there are other requests you can answer. Your responses are really valuable for navigating the big and sometimes confusing world of perfume, so let’s help each other!

To make this thread easier to read, when you reply to someone, please click on the blue “reply” link under their comment.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

Due to a last-minute change, I have a space available in our Scent Training Masterclass on August 24, Saturday, 6pm-7:30pm CET (12pm-1:30pm EST).
Location: Zoom
Class duration: 1.5 hours
55€ SOLD OUT

I enjoy recreating historical fragrances. Even when modern materials are used, the combinations turn out to be so unusual and memorable that finding more sources for antique formulas becomes a quest. My incense journey began while I was conducting research for the ISIPCA course I’m teaching this fall, focusing on the cultural and historical significance of fragrance. As I delved into the subject, my interest in the ancient practices of China, particularly the art of incense, grew stronger. I was already familiar with Japanese incense from my university studies and travels and I knew that the tradition came to Japan from China during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE) and evolved into its own form. Learning about the original incense recipes and the scent philosophy in China thrilled me as it reminded me once again how deep and complex are the interactions between scent and culture, fragrance and art, perfume and society.

Incense was considered one of three “refined arts” in ancient China, along with tea ceremony and flower arrangement. Some of the earliest mentions of incense combinations date to the 3rd century BCE. As still remains the case, agarwood, the petrified wood of the aquilaria species, was the prized fragrance material, admired in its own right. Ancient texts mention frankincense and clove as ingredients to add facets to agarwood and lend it a different character, depending on the incense blender’s mood and artistic choices. Chinese women even mixed incense into makeup powders to paint their eyebrows black.
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Oud is a paradox. The exquisite aroma that set the imagination of Japanese poets and Sufi mystics aflame develops as a result of a disease. When healthy, the wood of Aquilaria tree species is odorless, but once a certain type of mold affects them, they release an aromatic essence to protect their tissues from decomposition. It’s a slow process, during which blond wood turns dark and hard as a stone and develops a fragrance of uncommon complexity. It has the notes of sweet tobacco, incense, leather, and smoked spices, with a lingering undercurrent of bitter honey and crushed mint. While it’s known by many names, including aloeswood, agarwood, gaharu, or jinko, its other name, dark gold, will be instantly recognizable to oud lovers.

Although an ingredient with centuries old history in the Eastern world, it’s a relative newcomer to European perfumery. One of the first fragrances to use this note was Yves Saint Laurent’s M7, created under the direction of Tom Ford in 2002. The composition—its dramatic effect enhanced by a controversial nude male ad–had a cool, herbal top note that fell straight into the tobacco and animalic warmth of oud. It was relaunched a few years ago as M7 Oud Absolu, softer and lighter, but with the original’s vivid character.

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When did we develop our insatiable craving for sweet perfumes? I could point to Thierry Mugler’s Angel, the grandmother of all gourmands; launched in 1993, this bonbon of cotton candy, bitter chocolate and patchouli still graces best-seller lists the world over. The success of Angel inspired several generations of perfumes redolent of crème brûlée, caramel and rice pudding, from Chanel Coco Mademoiselle to Kenzo Amour, and the boundary between fragrance and flavor became nebulous.

While Angel set the modern trend, sweet notes are as old as the art of perfumery itself. Many classics have accords that tease with their subtle references to desserts without venturing too far into patisserie. For instance, the combination of peach, roasted almonds and cinnamon in Guerlain Mitsouko, created in 1919, suggests an extravaganza worthy of Escoffier, while the moss and woods add an abstract, distinctly non-edible effect.

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