scent diary: 40 posts

The colors of Kateryna Bilokur (1900-1961). Born into a peasant family, she learned painting on her own. Her family thought that she brought shame on them by refusing to be “a normal woman”—marry and have children. The Soviet government wanted to showcase that even peasants on Soviet collective farms can do such incredible things, so Bilokur was denied education she sought and a transfer to Kyiv. In 1954, her paintings were praised by Pablo Picasso when he saw them at the international exhibition in Paris. But that praise didn’t materialize into anything significant for Bilokur. She died in poor health a few years later.

Look at these rich colors and the splendor of these flowers. Imagine a place where all flowers bloom at the same time.

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

What a beautiful fragrance do sweet peas have! Until I grew these flowers in my garden, I didn’t realize the full dimensions of their scent. In perfumery, a sweet pea accord is a common one in vintage-style fragrances, but I never enjoyed its cloying powderiness. Real sweet peas have a powdery scent, but this makeup-like note is uplifted by rose, pear and violet accents. Are you familiar with this fragrance? Do you have perfumes that resemble it?

For those curious to grow sweet peas themselves, I can tell you that they are not too capricious. They sprouted easily, but it took a few warm weeks for the plants to shot up and take over their corner of the flower bed. I bought a mix of different colors and it was a surprise to discover the hues of the blossoms as they opened up–magenta, purple, lilac, white, peach.

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Bitterness is usually to be avoided. We take easily to sweet flavors and scents, but it takes time to get used to the bitter ones. Yet, I find them most intriguing. One of the first things I planted in my garden was a black currant bush. I love the pungent tartness of black currants, but even more so the verdant bitterness of its leaves and buds. Its stems also have a wonderful scent that lingers on fingers. It’s the fragrance of summer at its most indolent.

Do you like bitter notes?

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

Another Ukrainian summer I will miss. I planted a few flowers and herbs that my grandmother always hand in her garden, such as marigolds, tagettes, hollyhocks and lemon verbena. One of the herbs I planted was thyme. It was too abundant in the fields around our house in Bereh to keep it in the garden, but for me its lemony, spicy scent epitomizes Ukrainian summer.

The variety found in our region is Thymus serpyllum, creeping thyme or serpolet in French. It’s called чабрец  in Ukrainian and it has an intense green fragrance reminiscent of melissa and rose geranium. This is because one of the major components of its essential oil is geraniol, also present in geranium, rose, lemongrass and citrus. Valentina added thyme to tisanes and roasted meat, but more often she would tie it into small bundles and leave them around the house to perfume the space.

Do you have a garden? What do you plant in it?

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

Happy May Day! I’m writing with a bouquet of lily of the valley on my desk, and although today is rainy and overcast, the delicate sweet scent of these white blossoms suggests spring and sunshine.

In other news, I wanted to let you know that Silvia and I are still accepting the early bird reservations for the Lavender Retreat in Bulgaria (June 26-30, 2023.) With the code BOISDEJASMIN you receive 15% off the retreat price and this code will be valid until May 31st. You can find more information via Silvia’s website. Of course, if you have any questions, I’m more than happy to answer them.

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