Soldier. Russian Tales. The Kitchen Clock
Обновлено: 16 окт.
Chilini Private
The clock in his grandmother's kitchen had stopped. The pendulum hung still at a quarter to seven, and in the quiet the dripping tap could be heard. Kostya noticed it from the doorway, his travel bag still on his shoulder.
He had come home from service on the night train, in October, when the village stoves were already lit and thin ice lay on the puddles in the mornings. He used to drop in on his grandmother for half an hour, hug her and head off to his friends in town.
"The man in the district town charges a fortune, it can wait till spring," said his grandmother, waving a hand at the clock.
That morning on the train Kostya had put Soldier. Russian Tales on his wrists. It met him with crisp apple and lemon, brisk and juicy, and beneath them a dark resinous note came through at once, like railway sleepers warmed by the sun.
He hung his jacket on a nail, spread a newspaper on the table and took the clock off the wall. Until evening he took the movement apart, cleaned the gears with an old toothbrush and straightened the spring. Plum and lavender honey drifted from his hands, and his grandmother kept looking into the kitchen.
"You smell like our forest in September," she said, setting a plate of pancakes in front of him. Kostya laughed and asked for a smaller screwdriver.
By evening birch tar and vanilla remained on his skin, warm as the side of the stove. He texted his friends that he would come tomorrow.
Kostya hung the clock back up and nudged the pendulum. The clock sighed and started, and the kitchen filled with ticking again.
How it smells
The opening is bright and crisp: lemon, apple, pineapple and nectarine give juiciness, mint and anise add coolness, and the petroleum note brings a dark resinous depth from the first minutes.
In the heart, plum and blackcurrant sound dense and tart, juniper and wormwood give a bitterish green, birch brings forest freshness, and rose, jasmine and lavender honey warm the composition.
In the base, birch tar and oakmoss create a smoky forest depth, patchouli and sandalwood add wood, and vanilla, ambergris and musk leave a soft, warm trail on the skin.
What makes it special
Soldier. Russian Tales belongs to Chilini Private, a private collection of scents made from expensive and rare ingredients, whose maceration and maturing take much time and care. It is dedicated to one of the best-loved heroes of Russian fairy tales: the soldier is saved by generosity, courage, a sharp mind and a sense of humour, with irony and kindness hidden beneath a stern look. The notes are gathered from all over the map: petroleum from Tatarstan, apple from Ryazan, birch tar from Tula, royal pineapple from Kerala.
In 2016 the scent shared first place in the Prix d'Aromes competition of Russian authors held by La Niche at the InterCharm exhibition. It is a resinous fruity unisex scent for autumn and winter.
"A very beautiful work! A fairy-tale Russian forest: white-trunked birches, neat little fir trees," writes a reviewer on Fragrantica. rita_letich hears in it a warm, dry autumn in the forest and finds the theme of Russian nature in it. One customer writes: "My husband, my son and I all liked it."
People wear it for character: juicy briskness, forest depth and a warmth that lasts all day.
Notes
Top: petroleum, lemon, apple, royal pineapple, nectarine, mint
Heart: plum, juniper berries, blackcurrant, wormwood, birch, lavender honey
Base: birch tar, patchouli, oakmoss, ambergris, sandalwood, vanilla
