Luxury and Nostalgia. The Jar of Thyme

Sep 29

3 min read

Updated: Oct 16

Olfactorium

A kaleidoscope of scents and memories.

On Ostap's desk at the town survey office stood a glass jar of dried thyme. His grandmother had gathered it the last summer he still visited the village, and no one had opened the jar since.

The village was two hours' drive away. His grandmother had long since moved south to live with her daughter, the house had been sold, and Ostap gave that area a wide berth, even though his work as a surveyor sent him all over the region.

In July the office sent him to mark out a field for a new road, right on the edge of his home village. That morning Ostap put Luxury and Nostalgia on his wrists. Bergamot and mint sounded fresh and slightly bitter, rosemary added a herbal coolness, and for the first time in years Ostap did not look for a detour.

By noon lavender, geranium and thyme had opened on his skin, spicy and warm. Ostap set up the theodolite in the tall grass, and the field seemed to smell exactly as it had in his childhood.

Towards evening a short rain passed. An elderly woman with a basket came along the field boundary, looked closely and threw up her hands. It was Anna Ilyinichna, his grandmother's neighbour.

"Ostap, is that you? You smell of herbs, like our meadow after rain. I thought at once, he's one of ours," said Anna Ilyinichna. Ostap hugged her and promised to drop in for tea at the weekend.

By evening moss, eucalyptus and cedar remained on his skin, deep and cool. Ostap folded the tripod and was in no hurry to get back to the car.

At the edge of the field he picked an armful of fresh thyme to pour into his grandmother's jar at home.

How it sounds

The opening is fresh and slightly bitter: bergamot, lemon and lime give a citrus spark, mint and lemon balm cool it, rosemary, basil and fennel add herbal spice, and green tea makes the start transparent.

At the heart herbs and flowers open: lavender, geranium and thyme sound spicy and warm, galbanum adds greenery, iris and magnolia softness, and juniper berries and coriander a light astringency.

In the base moss and oakmoss give forest shade, eucalyptus and fir coolness, cedar and sandalwood calm wood, and tonka bean, vanilla and musk leave a warm, soft trail.

What makes it special

Luxury and Nostalgia belongs to the Olfactorium collection. The brand describes it as a kaleidoscope of scents and memories: evening flower fields after rain, bathed in the last rays of the July sun, damp earth and moss, hopes and farewells, returns. It is a fresh herbal fougère unisex fragrance for spring and summer.

Alisa Zharikova on VKontakte calls it "a modernised classic, a sort of light chypre in the modern way, slightly bitter, slightly spicy, slightly floral" and writes: "Nostalgia? Yes, perhaps, for the time when impressions were unusually vivid and the sky bright blue!"

@sunshineladyvera on Instagram writes: "The fragrance is bitter-green, fresh, invigorating." And adds: "Very well made, solid. It opens smoothly and slowly, and lasts a long time."

*Quotes translated from Russian.*

People wear it for memory: on a summer trip, on a walk after rain, and on the day they want to go back to where they come from.