Saturday, June 22, 2013

Midsummer Magic - A Scentual Journey

Hi everyone! Sorry about the long absense! Finishing up my studies and moving back home again took a lot of time and effort.  My room is in chaos, too many books for such a small space, but it's getting less and less chaotic every day! I'm really happy to be back home again! Especially right now, Finland is so magical at Midsummer!

(This will be a very picture heavy post, consider yourself warned!)

It never gets dark here at Midsummer, the time between sunset and sunrise is so short that it never gets darker than twilight. One of my Midsummer Night traditions is to around midnight take a walk through the woods to a dark forest lake where I can swim naked and alone in the black water. That is Midsummer Magic for me. Last night I took my camera with me so now I can invite you all along on a little journey through a Finnish Midsummer forest! I will also make this a scentual journey by adding perfumes that to me give much the same experience as these landscapes.

The nature is so lush that the path is barely visible...
Ferns.
The forest I walk through is dark and dense. Moss covered rocks, ferns and blueberry shrubs are shaded by slender white birches and dark green spruces and pines. This part of my journey reminds me of Norne by Slumberhouse. This dark and mysterious forest is just as magical as that fragrance. Herne by Arcana would also suit this landscape. This scent is heavy with powerful resins enhanced by spicy cinnamon. Definitely what a dark god of this forest would smell like.


Suddenly the forest ends but what is coming is hidden on the other side of a hill and will be invisible for a few more steps. Anticipation bulids because I know what I will see and it is always magical. The lake is nestled in a deep bowl surrounded by the rugged rocky forest hills. The suitable scent fro this part of the journey is Samhain by Haus of Gloi. There is a hint in the air of something wet, of humid soil and green herbs.


The sun is already rising in the northeast, or maybe this is the lingering glow from the recent sunset in northwest... It is hard to tell when the wholse nothern sky is aglow above the mirror calm lake. Sometimes there is mist on this lake, but not tonight. The scent that would suit the beautiful dark lake is Gaea by Alkemia. This scent is water over rocks, decaying plant life and the clear scent of white water lillies.


Blueberry and Cloudberry shrubs and birches.
The edges of the lake are wet and marsh-like, very lush and green. Devils Milhopper by Solstice Scents has a similar note of fresh green leaves. A powerful green, full of life and growth, just like Midsummer is the height of the growing season.

Labrador Tea leaves and flower.
Other parts of the lake edge is dryer and rockier, here flourish baby pines and lingonberry. But all around this lake grows Labrador Tea, looking like rosemary but with its own unique scent and white flowers. As the name implies this fragrant herb has been used for tea. Every year I collect and dry the fresh sprouts so that I can drink this tea and enjoy this wonderful scent all year.

Tea of Labrador Tea and Veronica flowers.
You can get an idea of the scent of Labrador Tea by sampling the perfume oil with the same name by Salmonberry Origins. Or if you are really interested in smelling the real deal I can just send you a little sprig of Labrador Tea!

That's the end of the journey folks. There are no pictures of me skinny dipping in the lake...
The quality of the pictures is a bit influenced by the thousands of mosquitoes that landed on me every time I stopped to take a picture. Sorry about that. I have pictures of what my arms, legs and neck looked like afterwards, but I'll spare you. I looked like a victim of bubonic plague...
Several of the scents mentioned here were gifts from the wonderful Amanda of more tea, Wesley?, she really nailed my tastes when we swapped packages! Here is a picture of the perfumes I got from her! :D


Hope you all had as wonderful a Midsummer as I did, those of you on the Northern Hemisphere who celebrate the solstice that is... ;)
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20 comments:

  1. Insomniac's AtticJune 22, 2013 at 7:44 AM

    What a beautiful place - except for those pesky mosquitoes! We have the little purple flowers too, but I didn't know what they were called until now. I'll have to keep my eye out for the Labrador Tea - I think we're a bit farther behind in the blooming of everything than you are! :D

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    1. LaDomnaJune 22, 2013 at 7:55 AM

      Yeah, it really is a very beautiful place, and the mosquitoes didn't find me until after my skinny dip, so it was fine. :) You're in Canada aren't you? Then your nature is probably very similar to mine... Most of my readers are Southerners. ;P Spring here was rather extreme this year, came late but was very fast and very warm so everything is blooming ahead of schedule! If you find some Labrador Tea you should really try to make some tea! The taste is as unique as the scent! I'll have to write a blog post about my herb collecting one of these days... There are so many plants out there that can be used to make really tasty herbal tea!

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    2. Insomniac's AtticJune 22, 2013 at 11:26 AM

      Thank goodness you managed to get in a dip before they found you! LOL

      I am in Canada, and I know from reading various Scandinavian and Nordic blogs (hope that is the correct terms for the countries) that the plants seem to be quite similar to ours, as does the short growing season. ;o)

      I'd love to read a post about your herb collecting!

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    3. LaDomnaJune 22, 2013 at 11:43 AM

      Scandinavian usually refers to Sweden, Norway and Denmark while Nordic also includes Iceland and Finland... so I think your terms are quite correct! :)

      I'll have to take some photos of both herbs and herbal tea before I can do a post on the subject... But I will, eventually! :D

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  2. Liber VixJune 22, 2013 at 11:44 AM

    Glad to see you back Nadja! What a wonderfully evocative post, and such beautiful scenery! I've smelled Samhain and Devil's Millhopper, so I can definitely imagine such a setting smelling just like those perfumes. It all sounds so peaceful and transcendent (funny how all those perfumes only bring to mind the lovely aspects of nature, never the mosquitos or slippery slimy things or multi-legged fiends.) Ah, I much prefer the fantasy!

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    1. LaDomnaJune 22, 2013 at 11:51 AM

      Thank you Liber Vix! Lately I have only wanted to wear pefumes that smell like nature, that smell very realistic... I guess the realistic perfumes are the ones that really transport me to all those lovely landscapes but without me having to suffer all the bugs and other less plerasant aspects of nature... ;) But sometimes even pictures + perfume cannot beat the real deal. I can't skinny dip in a photograph you know... ;P

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  3. UndinaJune 22, 2013 at 3:59 PM

    After your warning I expected much more pictures ;-p But thank you for sharing these. I've experienced white nights only once many-many years ago in Leningrad, Russia and it was weird. In your story everything, other than mosquitoes, sounds magical. Can you fight them off with some type of a repelent?

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    1. LaDomnaJune 23, 2013 at 6:24 AM

      Lol! I couldn't imagine summer without these white nights! In Finland it is never dark and warm at the same time so I think that I would find that kind of situation very unnatural! ;)

      I actually don't mind the mosquitoes. They don't like me very much, and I'm not very sensitive to their bites. I use repellents if I go berry picking (and have to stand still) or if I'm taking a walk on a bog (prime mosquito country)... But most repellents stink, so I avoid them most of the time...

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  4. linnea-mariaJune 24, 2013 at 3:41 AM

    Beautiful midsummer night pictures! I didn't knew that about labrador tea, thank you so much for that information :) It grows plenty of them where I live. I would love to read a post about your herb collecting and what use you have to them :)

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    1. LaDomnaJune 24, 2013 at 7:45 AM

      Skvattram är en av mina favoritväxter! Teet är det godaste örtte man kan tänka sig! ;)Har en del örter på tork redan och tänkte plocka lite mer imorgon när jag är ledig så så småningom blir det nog en blogpost om mina örter!

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    2. linnea-mariaJune 24, 2013 at 11:37 PM

      Ha ha, hade ingen koll på att du pratade svenska ;). Just det, skattram heter den!

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  5. Melancholy and MenaceJune 25, 2013 at 4:35 AM

    I love all your images, this looks like such
    a beautiful place : )

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    1. LaDomnaJune 25, 2013 at 3:47 PM

      Thank you! This lake is one of my absolute favorite places!

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  6. AmandaJune 27, 2013 at 1:25 PM

    This is a lovely post! You know I share your love of woodsy-smelling scents, so this one hits home for me. :) I'm glad you enjoyed the package! I still need to do a post about yours, I've been so neglectful of my poor blog.

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    1. LaDomnaJuly 5, 2013 at 12:09 PM

      Thank you! Ahh, yes! Forest scents, how I love them!! Especially Norne, that one is crazy realistic!!

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  7. MargaretJuly 7, 2013 at 1:24 PM

    Oh wow, that place looks magnificent :3 I'd love to celebrate midsummer in Scandinavia sometime, I think that would be a very unique experience indeed.

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    1. LaDomnaJuly 12, 2013 at 12:57 AM

      Midsummer in Scandinavia is really an experience! Especially if you travel to the far north and experience the midnight sun!

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  8. BrightestStarOfAllJuly 11, 2013 at 3:20 PM

    Holy freaking crap! I think I just died from jealously. You are so lucky, pretty petal!!! And I love how you told us a perfume to match each part of the visual journey- very creative!!! I'm glad you're happy and at home and surrounded by beauty!!! You deserve the very best!!

    Ok so Mosquitos seriOusly suck. My coworker got bit by one here in Nevada- she got West Nile Virus, which turned into menangitis, and she has so many problems now. She had to get a hysterectomy because of it... And the poor sweet one is only 23!!!! And she only has like 25 percent lung capacity, she can't go potty without literally doing it manually... List goes on... So I consequently am not fond of those critters (I know it's not their fault, but I am irrationally mad at them for what happened to my coworker) :P

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    1. LaDomnaJuly 12, 2013 at 1:06 AM

      Thank you! I definitely feel lucky when I go out and enjoy the nature on my doorstep!

      Oh man, that sounds so horrible!! I'm glad that the mosquitos here are perfectly harmless (apart from the itching bites) and don't spread any viruses! Here it's the ticks that carry viruses of the horrible kind... but I've never gotten bit by one.

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    2. BrightestStarOfAllJuly 16, 2013 at 6:41 AM

      I'm glad that your Mosquitos don't carry any viruses! I'm glad the ticks have stayed far away from you! Lyme disease is no joke. And what sucks most of all is that when you get those degenerative diseases, doctors (at least our shitty doctors here in the US) seem to be absolutely clueless about symptoms, treatment options, and anything else. So it's like you fight the battle alone.

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