Pigmentarium Genesis, photo by Nicoleta©

“The sun had not yet risen. The sea was indistinguishable from the sky, except that the sea was slightly creased as if a cloth had wrinkles in it. Gradually as the sky whitened a dark line lay on the horizon dividing the sea from the sky and the grey cloth became barred with thick strokes moving, one after another, beneath the surface, following each other, pursuing each other, perpetually.” *

Remember, when you were a kid, how the last days of summer felt? When the rays of light tilted, casting longer, reddish shadows, and the very air around you began to shift, whispering the promises of something beautifully new and delightfully unfamiliar. The beginning of the end of the endless holiday. Childhood is that time when we all practice the natural “mindfulness,” so present, so aware of sensations, so rooted in the now. And I got to relive it, again, this summer, by the sea, watching the waves and re-learning to melt down time and make it flow slowly, and steadily, as it once did. And I have my kid to thank for showing my inner child the path that is so easily forgotten.

Fresh morning air, in the first hours of the last weekend of summer. This is how, in short, Pigmentarium Genesis feels to me.

AI generated image of the sea, edit by Nicoleta©

“There is the white house lying among the trees. It lies down there ever so far beneath us. We shall sink like swimmers just touching the ground with the tips of their toes. We shall sink through the green air of the leaves, Susan. We sink as we run. The waves close over us, the beech leaves meet above our heads.” *

From the first seconds, there is a gust of cool wind that startles you with its intensity. Feels just like that heart-stopping moment when you jump from the rocky cliffs into the deep waters and feel the coolness of the sea infusing your veins, foamy and icy cold. You ascend and hang on a rock while the lungs fill up and you take deep breaths, hands slipping and borrowing the green herbal mossy imprint of the sea stones. The scent feels like a green gust of wind that runs above the waters, touching the waves, and changing their shape.

 “The flowers swim like fish made of light upon the dark, green waters. I hold a stalk in my hand. I am the stalk. My roots go down to the depths of the world, through earth dry with brick, and damp earth, through veins of lead and silver. I am all fibre. All tremors shake me, and the weight of the earth is pressed to my ribs. Up here my eyes are green leaves, unseeing.”*

AI generated image of a meadow, edit by Nicoleta©

Herbal, cool, airy, clean, with the bay leaves that bring to mind forgotten memories, the vision shifts to the image of a meadow, the impossible green-ness of the grass, the bite of the bitter granny smith apple, the innocent cleanness of the lily of the valley. In the shade, a tall glass of unsweetened lemonade brings to mind promises of hesperidic delights, but in this case, the effect is carefully constructed from other notes, with the verbena, and the bay leaves adding the realistic, bitter deep touches. Pure, uncorrupted, this is a version of paradise in Technicolor high saturation, almost fluorescent in its uncanny brightness.

If you think “freshies” are just scented necessities you are forced into by the summer heat, but never fall in love with one, Pigmentarium Genesis might just change your mind. Stays quite close to the skin, but with good longevity and has added special effects, as the lung-opening airy feel and the effect of breezy coolness is obtained without pulling the usual citric rabbits out of its hat. Overall – an intelligent, well-rounded, and refreshing scent, light enough to be worn on the hottest of days yet with enough depth to make you come back for more, even after summer’s end.

“I am rooted. But I flow”*.

*All the quoted excerpts taken from Virginia Wolf, The Waves

Editor’s note: Pigmentarium is an independent Czech perfume house founded in 2018 by the creative duo Tomáš Ric and Jakub Hiermann. With Tomáš’s flair for fashion, there’s an evident aesthetic touch in all the elements of the brand – be it in the striking visuals, the polished luxury of its packaging, or the unique scent profiles that defy conventional trends.

Top: laurel, aldehydes; Middle: verbena, lily of the valley, green apple; Base: fig leaves, rosewood, musk, amber

Nicoleta Tomsa, Senior Editor

Disclosure:  Bottle gifted by the brand, opinions are my own

Pigmentarium Genesis via the brand

Thanks to the generosity of Pigmentarium we have a 50 ml bottle of Pigmentarium Genesis for one registered reader in the EU or USA. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what sparks your interest based on Nicoleta’s review and where you live. Draw closes 8/29/2023

​Please enjoy Emmanuelle’s review of Pigmentarium Murmur and my review of Erotikon.

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