ON A purely superficial note, I must note that if you have bottles in your bathroom called Joy, Love, Calm and Peace, people who visit the lav while at yours, might take some time. When they do emerge, they might come out smelling a lot nicer than when they went in. And looking slightly guilty for helping themselves to your stuff.
The Kalmar Joy jubilation foaming polish, £32
The Kalmar skincare range focuses on soft scents, soft skin, and a sort of intention of emotional state-what you should feel while using the product, and what you should feel afterwards. The products are intended to work on the soul through the senses of smell and touch and, though it’s not stated, clearly, ritual. The ritual of using the products at the time they are intended to be used, and by inhaling deeply while using, absolutely instils a sense of well-being and serenity.
Interestingly, none of these scents are overpowering, but do jog the memory to a place that is both pleasant but strangely not fixed geographically. It’s not like, “Oh this smell like my holiday in Bali…” but triggers some sort of calming and centred response.
The foaming, cleansing polish is invigorating and gives you a blast of “Can do “freshness to start your day. On the other side of the day, the sensual bath oil would probably be perfect in a shared bath with your partner, but is also gorgeously lush and pampering for a singleton like me. It can be used in two ways; apply directly to skin before the bath, or pour a capful in the bath. The subtle scents include the heady ylang ylang, jasmine and vanilla.
The Kalmar Beauty set
Post bath, the Calm body cream (£50) helps lock the moisture and mood in, with a slightly more powdery scent, with hints of iris, lavender and amber. At this point you might be thinking you will wind up smelling as if you’ve had a sample floor spritz from every perfume counter in a department store, but that’s the magic of this line. One scent fades ever so slightly and lets the next one in.
Kalmar Peace Balm of Serenity, £40
My favourite item in the range is the Peace balm, not only because it is beautifully packaged in a slide open wooden disc, but also because it smells so woodsy and a bit dabbed on your pulse points and, in my case, over my upper lip before masking up, brings me into a forest, when I am actually on the 55 bus sitting next to someone eating fried chicken. So that is a joyful miracle.
by Michele Kirsch