Toskovat Perfumes

David-Lev Jipa-Slivinschi doesn’t want to be called a perfumer - although he is the ‘nose’ behind Toskovat, an untranslatable word that is approximate to the idea of ‘longing’, it might be more apt to call David-Lev a storyteller, or the scenic designer of these scents. His creations, these ‘extraits de memoire’ are drawn from memories and insights: they are not perfumes in the traditional sense. They are, rather, opportunities for an artist to share their humanity with the rest of us. On the level of composition, these are non-linear phrases and fragments. Through the act of creation, David-Lev recovers his memories - he is a cage in search of a bird.  

• “These extraits de memoire are sometimes brutal, sometimes uplifting, always evocative and seen through a clouded glass. Please take your time understanding them!”
• Romanian ‘ultra-niche’ perfumery fronted by David-Lev Jipa-Slivinschi. Small-batch and small-business.
• Innovative and unconventional: perfumes shaded with nostalgia and shadows of previous experience. The ideal fragrance is the one that can awaken old and forgotten recollections.
• Rich, non-linear fragrances bursting with impressions and nuance.
• “No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.”