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07/07/2019
FvSpee
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FvSpee
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From Trakai to the Curonian Spit
In 1994 I went on a voyage of discovery through the Baltic States with two friends. After the horror of the Kaliningrad region, where I certainly would never want to go in my life again, we were absolutely enthusiastic about Lithuania, which is why, after the two main and fantastically beautiful cities of Vilnius (along with a detour to Trakai and the Caraeans) and Kaunas, we also visited Klaipeda (Memel) and the Curonian Spit with Nida (Nidden), the Square of Thomas Mann's Summer Resort 1929-1932 and the second largest sand dune in Europe (the so-called "Lithuanian Sahara"). It was all so beautiful that in Latvia and Estonia only the time for the metropolises Riga and Tallinn (Reval) was left.
After 25 years I have finally managed to visit the country again; of course with more limited time than at the relaxed student times, but at least. To tell about the journey is not the right place here, but it was enchanting again. Even more beautiful in many ways. That the prices today are not only awarded in Euro instead of in Lit, but also (at least in the well visited places) are not quite as ridiculously low as they were shortly after independence - especially as Lithuania is still not an expensive tourist destination.
Due to my new hobby I had of course already researched what Lithuania has to offer in fragrances. What I already knew about was the fashion designer Juozas Statkevicius with his incense scent of the same name, which was rated very highly here, but which is not exactly "original Lithuanian", he is responsible for it by a French perfumer.
And beyond that, there is actually this fragrance here: "Lietuvos Kvapas", translated: "The Scent of Lithuania". On the back of the flacon (and of the box) is "The Scent of Lithuania" (and in each case as a subtitle "1009", the year of the foundation of the Lithuanian state), produced for the first time in 2011. Here at Parfumo the English parallel name and the edition year are missing, but I was too lazy to make a correction request here. If you visit the website of the manufacturer (and then click your way through the press articles from there, even the Spiegel has written an article about this fragrance), you learn that the project was started by some young Lithuanians who wanted to give their country a positive olfactory calling card. This probably worked out quite well, because the Lithuanian state gave away the rather beautiful and elaborately packaged 30 ml bottles (there is only this size) not only to all foreign ambassadors, but also to all Lithuanian soldiers who were in any NATO missions, etc. I'll do my duty. Whether the latter was tactically wise remains to be seen: I imagine that the enemy, if he only has a good nose, now always knows in advance that the Lithuanians will seal in...
I find all of this very likeable, even though patriotism has also made considerable compromises here: the fragrance was composed (as a commissioned work) by Galimard in Grasse, and the fragrance programme may have been inspired by Lithuania, but as far as I can see it is not really possible to build a bridge between "Lithuania" and bergamot and grapefruit, and to associate the patchouli with the fact that Lithuanian is supposed to resemble Sanskrit seems daring to me at any rate. One could have tried to compose something more "national" from the typical elements of Lithuanian nature and national cuisine (sea, forest, wild flowers, amber, mushrooms, berries, rye bread, beer). But at least, berries and moss are inside, and the distance between amber and amber is not far.
But now finally to the scent itself: The opening is slightly citric, but really only very light; bergamot and grapefruit are not to be felt as independent, pointed notes that dance around the heart notes, but from the beginning strongly integrated into stronger, strong, warmer and earthy notes, which I perceive as green, floral (with a strong accent on rose) and fruity. I think there is a certain appeal to the smell of wine gums, but not that of Haribo (I like them), but these English "Wine Gums", whose smell I find as terrible as the taste. For me, this note, which is perhaps particularly charming in other noses, always lets this Lithuanian wash on the edge of the unpleasant in the first hour. Maybe it's a mixture of the buried notes and the earthy patchouli mushrooms from the base. I'm not so much a friend of red fruit in scents anyway. In addition, there is a beautiful, fine, mineral note.
After about 20 minutes the whole thing has become greener, more wooded and herbaceous (my wife, who doesn't like to do long scent analyses, finds the whole Kvapas anyway "woody-moosy"), with more persistent seas of flowers and berries. After an hour everything becomes less sweet and fruity, more serious and more bitter. After that, I don't think there will be a huge change. The fragrance becomes noticeably weaker after three hours, but is still unmistakably present after eight hours.
All in all I perceive "The Scent of Lithuania" as a quite independent, special fragrance, which is anything but an ethereal Springinsfeld, rather full-bodied, substantial, intense, a bit earthy. Tactile he is anything but hard and smooth; that is no metal and no polished wood, no smooth linen either; rather moss, earth, velvet, fur also perhaps. The flowery-berry sweetness is a bit borderline for me, but my wife and other testers find the fragrance not only great, but also really masculine. Hmm. The bottle (which should really be from Lithuania!) is nice and heavy, and the sillage and durability are absolutely ok.
Lietuvos Kvapas gets a nice place in my collection, but I would recommend a visit to Lithuania even more than buying this fragrance.
After 25 years I have finally managed to visit the country again; of course with more limited time than at the relaxed student times, but at least. To tell about the journey is not the right place here, but it was enchanting again. Even more beautiful in many ways. That the prices today are not only awarded in Euro instead of in Lit, but also (at least in the well visited places) are not quite as ridiculously low as they were shortly after independence - especially as Lithuania is still not an expensive tourist destination.
Due to my new hobby I had of course already researched what Lithuania has to offer in fragrances. What I already knew about was the fashion designer Juozas Statkevicius with his incense scent of the same name, which was rated very highly here, but which is not exactly "original Lithuanian", he is responsible for it by a French perfumer.
And beyond that, there is actually this fragrance here: "Lietuvos Kvapas", translated: "The Scent of Lithuania". On the back of the flacon (and of the box) is "The Scent of Lithuania" (and in each case as a subtitle "1009", the year of the foundation of the Lithuanian state), produced for the first time in 2011. Here at Parfumo the English parallel name and the edition year are missing, but I was too lazy to make a correction request here. If you visit the website of the manufacturer (and then click your way through the press articles from there, even the Spiegel has written an article about this fragrance), you learn that the project was started by some young Lithuanians who wanted to give their country a positive olfactory calling card. This probably worked out quite well, because the Lithuanian state gave away the rather beautiful and elaborately packaged 30 ml bottles (there is only this size) not only to all foreign ambassadors, but also to all Lithuanian soldiers who were in any NATO missions, etc. I'll do my duty. Whether the latter was tactically wise remains to be seen: I imagine that the enemy, if he only has a good nose, now always knows in advance that the Lithuanians will seal in...
I find all of this very likeable, even though patriotism has also made considerable compromises here: the fragrance was composed (as a commissioned work) by Galimard in Grasse, and the fragrance programme may have been inspired by Lithuania, but as far as I can see it is not really possible to build a bridge between "Lithuania" and bergamot and grapefruit, and to associate the patchouli with the fact that Lithuanian is supposed to resemble Sanskrit seems daring to me at any rate. One could have tried to compose something more "national" from the typical elements of Lithuanian nature and national cuisine (sea, forest, wild flowers, amber, mushrooms, berries, rye bread, beer). But at least, berries and moss are inside, and the distance between amber and amber is not far.
But now finally to the scent itself: The opening is slightly citric, but really only very light; bergamot and grapefruit are not to be felt as independent, pointed notes that dance around the heart notes, but from the beginning strongly integrated into stronger, strong, warmer and earthy notes, which I perceive as green, floral (with a strong accent on rose) and fruity. I think there is a certain appeal to the smell of wine gums, but not that of Haribo (I like them), but these English "Wine Gums", whose smell I find as terrible as the taste. For me, this note, which is perhaps particularly charming in other noses, always lets this Lithuanian wash on the edge of the unpleasant in the first hour. Maybe it's a mixture of the buried notes and the earthy patchouli mushrooms from the base. I'm not so much a friend of red fruit in scents anyway. In addition, there is a beautiful, fine, mineral note.
After about 20 minutes the whole thing has become greener, more wooded and herbaceous (my wife, who doesn't like to do long scent analyses, finds the whole Kvapas anyway "woody-moosy"), with more persistent seas of flowers and berries. After an hour everything becomes less sweet and fruity, more serious and more bitter. After that, I don't think there will be a huge change. The fragrance becomes noticeably weaker after three hours, but is still unmistakably present after eight hours.
All in all I perceive "The Scent of Lithuania" as a quite independent, special fragrance, which is anything but an ethereal Springinsfeld, rather full-bodied, substantial, intense, a bit earthy. Tactile he is anything but hard and smooth; that is no metal and no polished wood, no smooth linen either; rather moss, earth, velvet, fur also perhaps. The flowery-berry sweetness is a bit borderline for me, but my wife and other testers find the fragrance not only great, but also really masculine. Hmm. The bottle (which should really be from Lithuania!) is nice and heavy, and the sillage and durability are absolutely ok.
Lietuvos Kvapas gets a nice place in my collection, but I would recommend a visit to Lithuania even more than buying this fragrance.
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