Before I jump into this perfume, I'll quickly make a detour into the Danish etymological phenomenon, hygge.
According to the website, Hyggehouse, "the Danish word hygge (pronounced hue-gah) is a feeling or mood that comes from taking genuine pleasure in making ordinary everyday things simply extraordinary; whether it’s making coffee a verb by lingering over a cup to a cosy evening in with friends to lighting a candle with every meal." It's warmth, simplicity, contentment, and being fully invested in the moment at hand. For further exploration, NPR has some stunning photographs to illustrate the concept.
After reading a book that touched on the concept, I've been obsessed, asking friends and colleagues who've spent time in Denmark to explain what this word means to them and how to extrapolate its benefits to us. While we don't experience Scandinavian winters, the Pacific Northwest is no stranger to stark, chilly weather. Clearing the clutter, and lighting a candle in the morning while getting ready or upon returning home are good places to start. It's the combination of coziness and minimalism that resonates.
Kō Denmark's perfume roll has been, for me, the olfactory equivalent. It's a cozy floral suspended in a fractionated coconut oil base. (Most perfume is alcohol based; you'll get a heady blast of top notes like citrus and flowers upon first spray, and after dry down a couple hours later, a completely different fragrance, often a combination of woods, amber and/or vanilla.) Oil based fragrances, however, don't morph nearly as much, and tend to simmer on the skin all day long. Plus they're generally easier to make without veering into toxic or shady ingredients with little research behind them. Your wrists at 5:00pm may have a fainter scent than at 8:00am, but any shift has more to do with your own oil production and skin's chemistry than the essential oils themselves.
This gorgeous glass vial (which travels well, by the way) smoothly rolls out a glistening strip of oil that easily absorbs. Upon first whiff, it's a soapy and powdery blanket of Indian Jasmine and Ylang Ylang, than the Tunisian Neroli (orange blossom) comes through, lending it an aquatic sparkle. The Damascus Rose binds the three, deepening the cocktail, giving it a romantic, almost musky quality. Folks seeking a non-toxic alternative to D&G Feminine, Donna Karen Cashmere Mist, or Flower by Kenzo may find this to be their new classic.
Ingredients
coconut oil, indian jasmine absolute oil, tunisian neroli (orange blossom) oil, bulgarian rose damascena absolute oil, essential oils.
$45 / kodenmark.com
