Hay Zhasmina!

after pestering my roommate for the fourth time about this new line, she sends me a tiktok of someone saying “people who buy zhasmina don’t love perfume, they love chopova lowena.” i respond with the tokyo toni "well yes!" gif. i've never been to the balkan region, but zhasmina keeps a folded map of it somewhere in its lining – a dream geography stitched from unbridled art school bravery. queer comfort and morandi paintings and carabiners. i spray it and immediately google flights to bulgaria. i should be allowed to twirl in pleated skirts anywhere. jasmine oil and scholarships and applause melting under fluorescent lights. it’s flower-based boba tea that stayed up all night sewing. it’s nostalgia for a land i’ve never touched, an unfinished diy myth built from thrifted lace and collective memory. maybe it's the chopova fan in me, but i never fell in love with a perfume as fast as i did with zhasmina. heritage, here, happens when you patch your giddy longing to self-guided deliverance and wear it like a thesis. zhasmina reminds me that belonging can be performative and still be true. i took zhasmina with me on my entire roadtrip up to the scottish highlands and i think i loved life then. i doubt i'll ever feel that freedom again.

lovely gorgeous fresh sweet almost minty opening - that's the fennel i'm guessing and wow its dreamy.. agree with the jasmine tea reference below. stays fresh throughout but about midway the rose definitely makes its presence known and the fragrance takes on a wonderful powdery facet and gets creamy as it dries down. longevity seems decent but i may become a bit noseblind after the first few hours. great to spray all over on a sunny day after an invigorating shower! Edit: ran out of my sample and immediately had to buy a bottle. Somehow it’s even better and definitely long lasting! Still getting wafts of creamy, cashmere, musky goodness after 6 hours!

Jet-puffed jasmine liquorice. A springy, blossomy herbal. This is what faerie candy must smell like. My favourite of Chopova Lowena’s art school Powerpuff Girls. The main character is the fennel, which adds a nice “chew” to an overall airy profile. She’s a soothing scent – I swear I get some chamomile – but neither a quiet nor a sleepy one. I can also fool myself into thinking there’s jasmine tea too. Caffeinated tea. I may have been the most hypeless beast in Dover Street Market, but didn’t feel like such after misting myself in Zhasmina. Longevity hit over eight hours in fabric and was still going strong after a jog around Hyde Park, marathoning the Marina and the Diamonds discography. An absolute vibe. Mental Snapshot: Lying in a sunlit meadow. The pixies are trying to charm you into a nap but they’re giggling too much. It’s like listening to ASMR on 2x speed. They scalp massage you into a backcombed bouffant and braid in hundreds of daisies as an elaborate crown. It's going to take a whole day for you to detangle, but you've never looked so magical. tl;dr: chamomile Adderall 🧚🔋

The actual notes are as follows. Top Notes: Mandarin, Fennel, Pear, Neroli, Bergamot, Passionfruit, Lemon, Ginger Flower. Heart notes: Jasmine, Ylang-ylang, White Lotus, Vanilla, Passionfruit, Bulgarian Rose. Base Notes: Musk, Ambergris, Cashmere, White Woods, Sandalwood, Caramel. This is a super nostalgic scent for me. It's summery, gently floral, sweet, and a little fruity with a fennel that stays present throughout. The drydown leans a bit aquatic, seaweedy, I assume from the ambergris.

Selling my bottle (new with box). Message me if interested or text me at 608-881-2736. It's such a pretty little fragrance but I'm sensitive to one of the ingredients.