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 who are reading this blog on a regular basis are already using your nose to its full potential, but if you would like to improve your olfactory vocabulary, distinguish scents better and learn to smell with more focus, I would like to share short videos with professional tips. The sense of smell becomes less acute with age, but by introducing such exercises into our routine, we’re ensuring that our noses remain as sensitive as can be possible given our genetic makeup and lifestyle. I’ve already posted a video on the basic principles of smelling in Bois de Jasmin’s YouTube channel, and the next installments will cover different techniques in more detail–smelling in images, looking for nuances in scents, etc.

This is a typical exercise I use in the morning. I pick anything scented–it can be a box of spices, a packet of coffee or a blotter dipped into an essential oil and think of images it evokes. It’s easier to do this exercise blindly (place spices in unmarked jars and smell with your eyes closed), but even if you know what you’re smelling, try to think only of the smell. What does it evoke? What does it smell of (other than the object you’re smelling)? It helps to write down your impressions, and if you like, you can share them in the comments here.

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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 waking you up and then drenching you with perfume, whether you wanted it or not. On the other hand, a splash of kolonya always felt refreshing, and I became so used to the ritual that I began to practice it myself whenever I needed a pick me up. Using my Turkish friends’ example, I would pour kolonya generously into my hands, rub and whatever remained, I’d dab over my clothes. Of course, one needs a light, cologne-style perfume to accomplish it successfully, and Turkish kolonya is perfect.

Kolonya comes from the word cologne, and it became popular in the court of sultan Abdülhamit II (1876 – 1909) before taking over the rest of the country. Kolonya supplanted rosewater, which was used in a similar manner, since it was seen as antiseptic and cleansing. Kolonya is still offered to people at the restaurants and cafes. Kolonya is the first thing you’d offered entering a Turkish home, along with a plate of candy. The former is for cleanliness and refreshment, while the latter is for ensuring a sweet conversation, according to one Turkish belief. The kolonya culture is part of an old tradition of hospitality and sharing as well as a reminder that perfume was once valued for its salutary properties.

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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.

In other news, I’ve uploaded the first two videos in my series, Scent 101 : Improving Sense of Smell and All About Ukraine. You can find them on Bois de Jasmin’s Youtube channel. More videos and exercises will follow. If you have any requests, please let me know.

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

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 would instead title it How to Survive Quarantine and Not Kill One’s Family. Then again, they probably wouldn’t even write it, because they would be too busy being a career professional, cook, cleaner, and school teacher. All of this in addition to the general anxiety. Since most of the household responsibilities fall on the shoulders of women, many of my female friends are finding this period of confinement stressful. Whether they live in New York, Tehran or Kyiv, the problems are the same–they are under pressure from their employers, schools and their families.

Far more qualified people than me can give advice on how to manage home schooling, household responsibilities and children. On these pages I can only provide comfort, distraction, and a reminder that taking a moment out of a day for oneself is crucial. And that such moments shouldn’t be tainted by guilt.

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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 cancelled, or rather postponed until further notice. I’m disappointed, but the situation is what it is. The most important thing is for us to stay healthy and safe. The good news is that I’ve been exploring making videos, and I’ve decided to make a series of short 1-3 minutes films about different aspects of Ukrainian culture such as folk arts, traditions, cultural idiosyncrasies, and customs. I will, of course, cover perfumery, and my first clip, Smelling Tips, will teach you professional perfumery smelling techniques that will maximize your olfactory impressions and sharpen your sense of smell. In the next film, I will explain how to put what you’re smelling into words.

Exercising your sense of smell is not only satisfying and fun, but also important, since doctors and researchers indicate that the loss of smell and taste might be one of the first signs of the coronavirus infection, appearing long before any other symptoms. Moreover, smelling is a complex activity for our brain, so doing it consciously ensures we maximize the potential of the amazing apparatus we have on our faces. Let us not take it for granted (yes, I know, I’m preaching to the choir here.)

The films will appear on Bois de Jasmin YouTube Channel.

I’m considering other topics, such as languages and books, so if you have a specific request, please let me know.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin