About Me
I am Victoria Belim-Frolova, a writer, journalist and perfumer. I was trained at IFF under Sophia Grojsman and I teach history and composition at ISIPCA in Versailles. I am also the author of The Rooster House, a memoir that explores Ukraine’s past through the story of one family. My work has appeared in the Financial Times, the New York Times, and ELLE.
I write about the ways art and beauty help us understand ourselves and endure difficult times. I am deeply interested in rituals, sensory history, and the way smell shapes our inner landscapes.
About Bois de Jasmin Circle
Bois de Jasmin Circle is the companion space to my long-running blog Bois de Jasmin. Here I write about scent, art, memory, and the rituals that help us stay grounded in a complicated world. I share essays, travel notes, behind-the-scenes glimpses of my work as a writer and perfumer, and reflections from my journeys through Ukraine and beyond.
Many pieces begin with chance encounters, questions from readers, and small moments that deserve more space than a social media caption can hold. I hope you will join the conversations, share your own rituals and discoveries, and help shape this space with your presence.
Why subscribe?
Subscribers receive full access to essays, studies on scent and culture, travel dispatches, and archival materials that I do not publish anywhere else. Paid subscriptions support my writing, research, and the educational projects I run in Ukraine.
Stay up-to-date
You will receive every new post directly in your inbox. For a quiet, ad-free reading experience, you can also read in the Substack app.
Join the community
Bois de Jasmin Circle is more than a newsletter. It is a community of readers who care about culture, scent, history, and the small rituals that make a life feel whole. You can join conversations in the comments, share your own experiences, and support this work through a subscription.
I am glad you are here.
