Today have a generous giveaway made possible by Bois de Jasmin’s reader Annette. She would like to give away a full bottle of Chanel Chance, EDP, 3.4 ounces (comes with a box, almost full.) She can send her package anywhere in the US (sanitized and well-wrapped, of course).

We are not responsible for leaks or damage during transit or for lost packages.

Annette says, “I received Chance as a gift from a colleague, but it doesn’t suit me. So I would like to find a new home for it.”

To participate, please answer these questions. I will randomly draw one winner.

1. Annette would like to find out what strategies do you have to improve your mood during winter. Do you have favorite scents that boost your spirits?
3. May I contact you via email to notify you of your win and share your email with Annette?

The contest is now closed. The winner is Delfine. Congratulations! I will notify the winner via email shortly.

I would like to thank our entire Bois de Jasmin community for your generosity and kindness, whether it means giveaways like this, advice or comments. 

Happy Lunar New Year! We celebrated it with our friends, making dumplings and eating hot pot. At the end of the dinner, my friend served jasmine tea with fennel tea and cocoa nibs. The flavor was surprising–pleasantly bitter and warm, with a lingering spicy sweetness. The floral note of jasmine retained its dominance, amplifying the rose-like accents of chocolate. It was a lovely discovery to start off the new year on a good note.

Scent Diary is a place to write your observations about the scents around you. Whether you write down 1 recollection or 10 matters less than simply reminding yourself to smell. You can add as many comments as you wish. You can comment today or over the course of the week; this thread will always be open. Of course, do share what perfume you’re wearing or what particularly good scented products you’ve discovered.

While looking through my articles, I found this article that I wrote a few years ago but that still remains popular and often-read: A to Z Tips for Enjoyable, Affordable and Rewarding Perfume Hobby. If you have any tips to add, I’d love to hear them.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

For the past few days rescue workers in the town of Dnipro have been searching for survivors of a devastating Russian attack. A missile hit an apartment building, destroying it completely. I spent several summers in Dnipro and I have several friends there, and these news have affected us deeply. Almost a year later and I still haven’t learned to cope with the pain of seeing familiar landmarks scarred by war.

After seeing images of gutted apartment buildings and bombed out streets, I needed to remember Dnipro as a vibrant town in the eastern part of Ukraine. Its name comes from its location on the Dnieper River, and its shores offer beautiful views. I went through my archive of photographs that I took during my travels in Ukraine. It was in Dnipro where I discovered the art of Petro Magro (1918–2010). A native of the region, he captured its landscapes in his impressionistic paintings. I hope that you will enjoy his artwork as much as I did–a reminder of beauty and an antidote to darkness and despair.

Do you have a favorite artist whose works uplift you? 

Continue reading →

My mother-in-law rubbed a piece of pink colored wood on a rough stone until it turned to paste.  My husband and I were about to travel back to Europe, and in the Hindu custom, my mother-in-law performed a puja, an act of worship, to ensure our safe journey. She lit joss sticks around the deities and dabbed some of the paste on the figurines of gods arranged on her small altar and then on our foreheads. The fragrance of sandalwood rose in the warm air. Many hours later as I sat on the airplane, the creamy, floral perfume lingered around me, carrying with it the memory of a caring touch.

In Indian paintings you can sometimes spot curious image of snakes curving sensually around sandalwood trees. According to legend, the tree releases such a beautiful scent that serpents are charmed by it. More than a pleasing aromatic, sandalwood is a means to feel closer to the divine, for all creatures alike. This is the reason why Vedic religious rites, from birth to death, are accompanied by this precious wood.

Continue reading →

I keep a tin of dried roses on my desk. I gathered them four years ago at my grandmother’s garden in Ukraine. My grandmother was sitting on the bench under the lilacs, watching me. The sun was making the rose smell even more intensely sweet. So much was lost during these intervening years, but the dried rose petals in my tin still retain their honeyed perfume. I close my eyes, take a deep inhale and feel myself bathed in the warm sunshine of a distant Ukrainian summer.

What scents evoke pleasant memories for you?

Scent Diary is a place to write your observations about the scents around you. Whether you write down 1 recollection or 10 matters less than simply reminding yourself to smell. You can add as many comments as you wish. You can comment today or over the course of the week; this thread will always be open. Of course, do share what perfume you’re wearing or what particularly good scented products you’ve discovered.

While looking through my articles, I found this article that I wrote a few years ago but that still remains popular and often-read: A to Z Tips for Enjoyable, Affordable and Rewarding Perfume Hobby. If you have any tips to add, I’d love to hear them.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin