A few weeks ago, four samples of hima jomo reached me, which since then of course eagerly await a review. Now the time has finally come, and I present to you the newly arrived at Aus Liebe zum Duft brand along with Eaux de Parfum. The name hima jomo sounds already somehow Asian for me, and actually the brand refers to the mountain massif of the Himalayas. The first name component can be found here directly.
JOMO and FOMO
“Jomo,” on the other hand, is said to come from Tibetan and to mean something like “holy mother.” Also, JOMO is still the abbreviation for Joy of Missing Out, which is the opposite of FOMO, which means Fear of Missing Out. These two terms, especially “fear of missing out,” refer to social media as well as computer games, but many an Ape (or equivalent) is also affected. Insiders will know what I’m talking about. 😉
The joy of missing out, i.e. JOMO, is certainly found in Digital Detox in the media world, in the return to personal contacts and the appreciation of time in real life. Putting aside the smartphone, game console or remote control and living in the here and now and making it your own. You don’t even need a long-term JOMO for this; the digital timeout certainly has a positive effect even in the short term.
hima jomo – scents of the high mountains
The brand hima jomo was founded by Vittoria Jiaxin Lui and Randry Glorieux in 2020, two friends and fans of the high mountains with the highest elevations in the world. Her creations combine French perfumery art with Asian elements. Precious and rare raw materials are used in the fragrances created by perfumer Delphine Thierry. Some of them are found exclusively in alpine regions.
The perfumes of hima jomo (…) promise a journey into the wilderness and tranquility of the Himalayas, allowing everyone to return to the sources of life and original well-being by evoking the olfactory richness of this heavenly land.
Four fragrances comprise the collection of the young French brand, each dedicated to a particular season and place: Autumn in Lhoka, Winter in Manaslu, Spring in Bome and Summer in Paro. I’m a big fan of chronological order, so of course I’ll start with the fall and winter scents. In my next post I will then present you spring and summer. 🙂
Autumn in Lhoka – 29°15’21.9 “N 91°57’58.3 “E
The city of Lhoka – commonly called Shannan in Chinese – is located southeast of the capital Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Located south of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which is called Brahmaputra in Indian, Lhoka was the granary of the Tibetan highlands several thousand years ago.
On ancient maps, Tibet was depicted as a female body. Located on the chest, Lhoka is known as the soul of Tibet and the cradle of ancient Tibetan culture, which is more than 4000 years old. The Lhoka Plateau, situated between two mountain ranges, is one of the most important cultivation areas for highland barley, the daily food of the Tibetans. The fertile land of Lhoka has allowed Tibetan civilization to grow and prosper based on barley.
For the autumn fragrance of hima jomo called Autumn in Lhoka Delphine Thierry used the ingredients black pepper, saffron, cinnamon, barley, bran, fir balsam, incense, patchouli and birch tar. Cereal is definitely not an everyday scent, and if it is, it tends to be in gourmand form in fragrances accompanying sweet bites or pastries. Here the grain is combined with lush spices and dark notes, which could be really exciting.
Autumn in Tibet
Fresh and dry pepper meets the dark spice of saffron and subtle cinnamon, to soon merge into the resinous-woody and coniferous nuances of fir balsam. The composition appears melancholic and cool, which is certainly also due to incense and patchouli, which determine the further course with their woody and somewhat gloomy accents. The patchouli comes up with an earthy soft creaminess that gives the creation an incredible calmness.
Almost mist-like, the incense passes by the fragrance firmament, gently roaming around the peaks and through the valleys of the composition. The notes of roasted cereals give the fragrance a golden touch, adding a hint of sweetness and color to the smoky earthy nuances. Birch tar provides additional depth in the finish thanks to dark and leathery accents.
Autumn in Lhoka by hima jomo is a dark and smoky spicy woody scent with grain undertones that really smells like November to me. When it is dark and rather gloomy outside, when the mist lies over the fields in the morning and the smell of wood fire is in the air. Certainly not an all-rounder and not Everybody’s Darling, but in my eyes a special, unusual and striking eau de parfum that exudes an incredible calm. Great!
Winter in Manaslu – 28°32’59.0 “N 84°33’34.8 “E
Manaslu is a mountain a little over 8100 meters high, located in Nepal. Mountain of the soul means its name translated. That already sounds incredibly contemplative and a little spiritual. It was not until the mid-1950s that Manaslu was officially first climbed. Many other ascents followed and today, of course, there are – as probably everywhere in the Himalayas – countless guided tours where all those with sufficient capital can climb to the summit of the Soul Mountain.
The gigantic but fragile glaciers of Manaslu dominate a rough and steep, mineral and rugged landscape. There is no room for moderation here, everything is extreme, plants struggle to penetrate the snow cover. And yet this valley is a haven for many endangered animals such as the snow leopard, the Himalayan musk deer, the blue sheep and the red panda. Here the icy wind whispers between the conifers a legend of eternal snow and a wild animal world.
Delphine Thierry used for Winter in Manaslu fragrance notes of peppermint, basil, star anise, clary sage, cypress, pine, cedar, sandalwood and ambergris seeds.
Nepal winter
Greenish fresh notes of peppermint and herbs open winter in Manaslu. This makes the eau de parfum light, airy and cool, like a breeze blowing over a mountain top. This wind is not icy, for that in my eyes the accents of camphor are missing. It is not a snowstorm that we experience in the creation of hima jomo.
The sun shines on the snow-covered peaks, surrounded here and there by clouds. A hint of spring is already in the air, carries greenish nuances and light wood notes. The coniferous facets of cypress and pine play around the cool herbs with citrusy woody moments. In the finish the fragrance becomes a little warmer thanks to sandalwood.
Winter in Manaslu by hima jomo is a cool coniferous fragrance carried by delicate mint freshness, very bright, transparent and elegant. A lucid and introspective eau de parfum that can be used throughout the year and on any occasion, refined and distinguished effect, sometimes aloof and cool, sometimes warm and comforting. Friends of more subtle and Asian-inspired creations with softly coniferous notes should be quite taken, if not thrilled, by this composition. 🙂
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