Day 22 in Ukraine. Sunlight?s soft ballet through lace of old curtains? glimpses of empty streets. — Dusk descends quietly Sirens wail through the stillness, Stars fade from the sky. — Awoken at night Flashes tear through the darkness,...

Luca Turin and I will engage in a series of conversations about perfumery: fragrances we can’t imagine the world without, trends we hate, industry gossip and other things. Both of us have our distinctive preferences and experiences, and Luca...

I heard a dull sound far in the distance, a slight reverberation of the earth under my feet and then the air raid siren blared. Or maybe it was the other way around. Now I can?t remember exactly. People continued on their way to work and school...

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...

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...

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?  To Book I enjoy recreating historical fragrances. Even...

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,...

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...

Did you know that smelling is one of the most effective brain exercises" Studies indicate that olfactive training “improved verbal function and subjective well-being. In addition, results indicated a decrease of depressive...

?Art does not reproduce the visible, it makes visible,? wrote the expressionist painter Paul Klee. The same could be said about perfumery, which is an art of intangible substances. The greatest fragrances conjure up the most complex of images,...

I used to look down on flavored teas. If tea is of high quality, why add anything else to it, I thought. Then, I reconsidered my prejudices, because it turned out that a well-crafted flavored tea could be a thing of beauty. Additional aromas...

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...

Munnar, a hill station in the southwestern state of Kerala, is one of India?s largest tea producers. Ensconced in the Western Ghats mountain range, the town is surrounded by plantations that cascade down the hills and hide in misty ravines. I was in...

A special announcement for my readers in Taipei. I will be participating in a discussion about Ukraine on Tuesday July 23rd. You can find the information below as well as via this link. Please stop by and say hello. When the Russian-Ukrainian war...

Announcement: I have an opening in the workshop/seminar on Japanese Incense. Location: Online, Zoom Date: July 14th, Sunday 12:00pm-1:30pm EST/6:00pm-7:30pm CET Price: ?55 Book Now In his marvelous essay Why Read the Classics" Italo Calvino...

My book The Rooster House is available in Chinese (traditional characters), titled ???? and published by Faces. I will be in Taiwan in July for a few events, including a seminar about Ukraine. I will share more details soon. In the meantime, I...

I?m inspired by the scents of spring, but this idea has little to do with the calendar season. My ideal spring is a state of mind, which is why the perfumes that evoke an exhilarating, uplifting sensation are part of my wardrobe all year round. The...

The Bois de Jasmin new class schedule includes new classes on Vetiver, Balsamic Notes, Musk and Japanese Incense. We will decode these fundamental perfume materials and analyze fragrances that use them. We will also learn about Jasmine, Tuberose and...

Syrnyky is a dish I order anytime I see it on the menu. Traveling around Ukraine, I ate these small fried cheesecakes at canteens in Odesa, diners in Kherson or fancy restaurants in Lviv and they have always been satisfying. In Kyiv, a restaurant...

One of the most intriguing aromas, that of roasted coffee beans, can be elusive. Anyone who has swooned over the perfume of freshly ground coffee– sweet, bitter, spicy, floral, toasted, with hints of blackcurrants, chocolate or hazelnuts?knows...

?This is a tree of life.? Pani Olga?s fingers traced the embroidery on a rushnyk depicting a fantastical plant. From its branches sprouted opulent blossoms. ?It means that the embroiderer dreamed of a long life and a big family.? ?This is Beregynya,...

Russian rockets struck our village the other day. It was a beautiful early summer day in June and people were outside working in their gardens. Our village in the Poltava region of central Ukraine has been unscathed so far. The rocket sounded like...

My travels in Pakistan started in Sindh, the third-largest province of the country. The ancient Persians referred to the land east of the river Indus as hind and the word Sindh was their variation on the Sanskrit, Sindhu, meaning...

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...

Bois de Jasmin new class schedule is now available for late June and early July. This will be the last session before my summer vacation. The new online schedule include 4 new classes on Vetiver, Balsamic Notes, Musk and Japanese Incense. We will...