Most perfume descriptions read like a menu. Top notes, heart notes, base notes. Toskovat doesn't do that. Every one of their scents comes with a short text that starts the same way: "Today I remembered…"
What follows is closer to a diary entry than a product description.
A diary in bottles
Take Last Birthday Cake. You'd expect something cheerful. Instead the text starts: "I'm done pretending I like cake, done counting the days." It's a birthday scent for people who've had complicated birthdays.
My Past Selves Flowers is about receiving flowers for the first time, at the end. Born Screaming is about dancing, and about dancing without love being as hollow as love without dancing. Age of Innocence is strawberry jam, raspberry yoghurt and cotton candy, interrupted by the screech of a car braking.
Then there's the pair Hoary Date F2 and Present Gambit F7, which share the same text and are made to be worn alone or layered together.
Why it's not for everyone
Toskovat asks more of you than most houses. You can't just read the notes and know what you're getting.
The texts can also be heavy. Toskovat writes about loss, war, growing up and growing old. If you want a perfume that's just "fresh and clean", look elsewhere. If you want one that makes you feel something, start here.
Our advice: start with samples
Because the descriptions are stories rather than note lists, Toskovat is the brand where samples matter most. A 2 ml sample costs 75-100 DKK, and that's a lot cheaper than guessing on a full extrait. Pick two or three whose stories speak to you, and wear each for a full day.
See the full Toskovat collection, or come by the store at Badstuegade 16 in Aarhus. We'll happily read you the texts out loud.
