Ashka

It's known that scents have an unmatched ability, to some people - more than any other senses, to evoke memories; or as a simple tool in helping create joy, happiness, feeling of nostalgia; entice and thrill, seduce and captivate.... And a lot of fragrances have done just that. But what I've experienced upon smelling ASHKA was something entirely new and unknown to me!- it was the first ever scent that touched the very deepest, darkest corners or my soul, pulled those emotional strings that have never been moved this way by anything or anyone, ever. And that was the very first time I cried, as if the scent was trying to tell it's painful story and I was one of the few lucky ones who were able to hear it.... He promised he will come back. And her, to wait.... September 1st, 1939. The air is dense, filled with smoke from just fired gunshots. The fear, the hope, the unknown. The chilly night breeze brings the green, forest wood aromas that linger in the air, mixed with wafts of tobacco from a cigarette rolled by trembling hands. A delicate, beginning to wilt rose gifted by his lover, held close to the heart as the most precious and cherished memory. As he close those dark eyes a tear rolls down his face. And another one.... In what seems like a split second the whole life flashes in front of him. A happy, carefree childhood; mischievous teenage years; first love.... a love he always thought will be his ever after; her beautiful, sincere, loving smile. She will be his hope, his reason to hold on, to fulfill the promise given. September 2nd, 1945. The deafening silence as the time stood still. Victory. Defeat. An end. The dark eyes, stone cold. And her, still waiting, as promised. For his ashes....

Ashka starts like a shot to the head, very strong and hard, but then it mellows and lets you down into the calmer notes of birch tar, tobacco and something sweet I cannot really place. Would make a killer perfume for a man, but will work on a woman, too. Since NOT recommended using other ways of wearing the perfumes let me add a bit of that experience: I have the diffuser pendants with felt inserts now, and i must admit Ashka is way softer when worn in one of those, the gunpowder does not feel like Ashka tried to kill you just now, and i actually start smelling the peppers and juniper, and oud. But, since my body heat almost doesn't affect the wad of felt with the juice on it, the notes transition is pretty slow, and i wonder if it will dry out faster than the scent evolves. The scent does not radiate much when worn like this from the start, actually takes up to half an hour until it warms up and slowly envelops you. In a diffuser, Ashka is still a pretty harsh scent (i love it), but now she is an woman locked up in a cage, and not a vengeful gun-to-your-head kind of scent, and i think i preferred her on skin better. To conclude: pendants are an option, probably a scented scarf could do a better job. Ashka is great though, and my #1 candidate for a full bottle.Also i'm almost out of 0,5 ml sample for this experiment, and i feel like i'm probably gonna repurchase it.

So, total longevity results, for science: - a drop (around 0,1 ml) on bare skin (wrist) - up to 2 hours of noticeable scent. I normally don't wear bigger amounts anyway. - 3 drops on a felt wad in an airy pendant - around 20 hours, 4 of which I was sleeping, so the pendant was off and in a sealed plastic bag. Worn in a warm room, sometimes over t-shirt, sometimes under it because colleagues are sensitive to the look. Also it was on a short chain, and I could clearly smell it from a point roughly between solar plexus and collarbone. In conclusion - amazing results, way better than expected.

In Ashka, precious woods (a nice dirty oudh), cade oil (smells a bit like pine), oriental resins and a veil of smoke all but cover a melancholic rose. It is dense and dark (very much old school), a little gloomy, but shimmers with specs of gold. Like a byzantine chappel lit by candles....I LOVE!! it! The best NOT perfume to date..... It is an olfactory poem and should - rebelliously and proudly - be worn on skin! Lasts all day and then some more. A must try...

After a long while i decided to get a full bottle, and strangely i feel like this time it's softer than it had been in the sample -still pleasant, but not nearly the same shotgun to the head even though i'm wearing it on both wrists. Maybe Johanna had changed the formula in a way over the years, or i'm getting more jaded. Ashka is still darkish, smoky, steady, but no longer harsh for me.