Ksandra Osinina

0 The countdown begins. It was the small town of Kostanay in Kazakhstan. Of course, I didn't remember it, only some fragments of stories remained as multi-colored glasses, but, they say, the place of birth affects a person)

3 The first memories. They are specific: an incredible, favorite aroma of fresh strawberries, disturbing and terrible smell of blood when I cut my hand with a grandfather's blade. Feeling of weightlessness in the hands of parents, a sun-blazing tree on my favorite playground. All those feelings, sounds were crucial for me, but, perhaps, the smells were the most important.

6+ I loved books, even when I hadn't read them myself. There was a tradition of evening readings in our family, and most of the time we chose adult, profound and philosophical works. I loved everything that gave me the feeling of immersion into a fabulous imaginary reality. But my all-time favorite was - the Master and Margarita.
And there were dances. My grandmother brought me to dance class and for these hour and a half the whole world stopped, I moved between heartbeats and breaths, light and irresistible, as if I was flying.

9  My love and interest in nature, especially plants and stones, began to grow into the study of these topics. I always asked all the adults, what kind of grass it was, what to do with it, how to treat it. I guess my inquiries in the local bookstores, apparently, were a legend due to the strangeness as of my age. I always asked something either about herbs, or about stones, then about mushrooms, then lucid dreaming etc.
During the season I collected herbs for tea and herbarium, cooked very unusual jam and prepared simple cosmetics. I still have these seasonal gatherings every year, with more expirience and knowledge they are more conscious now, but I still feel inspired and excited as in childhood. Love and curiosity for stones also did not leave me in adulthood.

12 My beloved grandfather was dying of a terrible disease and there were those times when nobody talked about it. And we didn't have to tell him he had cancer. For several months he suffered terribly but still managed to make some plans for the future that may not happen at all. This was my biggest pain and actually the end of my childhood. But that was a moment when I decided not to plan anything in advance, not to put anything off, and never to accumulate things but only keep the impressions and dreams that came true.

18 After school I didn't go to university, and I had no idea at all what I wanted to do. Due to the large amount of free time and the convenience of living in the center of Kyiv, I often walked to cult places such as Andrew's Descent. During that time I met a number of incredible people - artists, musicians, historians and reconstructors. Before that I thought I was weird, I tried to understand others, but I still felt apart from them. It turned out that I felt at home among creative people.

And then it became even more interesting, because I realized that I really want to learn to draw. And if I want to do something  - I have to do it. My creative path began and it could have seemed spontaneous but it was very logical for me.

19  It turned out that my boyfriend and I were able to hitchhike to the Crimea for three weeks, packing my grandfather's tent in a homemade backpack. It was a serious test, an incredible experience, and an impressive inspiration. And it turned out that when you need the sea and the mountains - nothing else can stand in the way.

20 My first permanent job was a prop maker in an Operetta Theater. There’s nothing you can name that we didn't do there! In fact, it was very interesting and useful to master many decorative and applied techniques, while studying drawing and painting. It was the time I began to create unusual jewelry in various techniques, which I do now when I have time and inspiration.

The theater is a whole new world, where even the storekeeper is a great actress, able to play everything from deep drama to light comedy with incredible insight. The theater stays with you forever, even when you leave it.

22  It was a year of irreversible changes in my life. Marriage, admission to art college, and the beginning of a passion for photography. I still don’t know what affected me the most.

26 Divorce, bachelor's degree and starting a first business. With my three friends we started a photo studio. Eventually, only one person remained a friend, and all the others started other activities. But at that time we were full of dreams and ambitions, and from time to time worked with quite large and well-known companies.

28  I graduated from university with a non-standard job. Given that it was the Publishing and Printing Institute, the Department of Graphics - almost all diploma works were illustrations: pencil, ink, gouache or watercolor - a comprehensive set of visual aids. But that was not about me. I painted 13 canvases, after which I took photos of the canvases and then created the layout of a full-fledged calendar. For that work I’ve received a well-deserved high grade and recommendation for publication as a special award.
Getting a degree did not affect my work much, I just got more time for professional growth.

I took a lot of photos, in different genres, experimented and learned something new, continued to paint with oil in my own style, and read and dreamed a lot. Orders, creativity, hobbies were crucial for me and I wanted more and more.

Same year I met my true love near so much adored sea and mountains. A person with whom I feel happy today, because he is my partner not only in the sense of personal life, but also in all other spheres. He is my partner in crime and sometimes dicking around is the best time we spend.

29 An interesting woman introduced me to the world of natural essential oils and home cosmetics. I liked it so much that I spent all my free time on formulas, structures, ingredients and flavors. Thanks to my mother, a chemist, it was not so difficult for me to master the basics, and everything else was time and practice. A little later, I started to develop my own recipes, and prepared useful products for myself, family, girlfriends and for customers.
I became interested in the aromas more and more. But at that time I created  aromatic massage mixtures and therapeutic supplements for cosmetics. And yet the beauty of olfactory combinations was fascinating, I could not use the mixture if I didn’t like the smell myself.

33 Yet again, things have changed completely, because there was one more incredible little girl in our family. My love, tenderness, my inspiration, my daughter who teaches me about life even more than I teach her.

34 As always - a new puzzle, that seemed to occur by accident, but again very naturally. I had to give up painting and serious photography. Perfumery came to the fore as a logical creative continuation. Initially, perfumes were one of the areas of cosmetics I created. Eventually they became the main work, which combined all previous professional skills at the same time. Creating a perfume composition for me is like painting a canvas, or illustrating a favorite work, or work in theater, or to dance… All kinds of art have much in common after all - an idea, a composition that unfolds in time, space and imagination, and most importantly - interacts with the viewer.

At that time the war was already going on, and our Land was trembling with blood, pain and tears. I didn't have (and still don't have) words for that, and all I can say comes through creativity. That is why my perfumes are about Ukraine, they reflect the life, nature, soul and memory of Ukrainian people. That beauty, which they used to devalue by flattering other people's cultures.

38 Perfumes have received a name that fully reflects their essence - Char-Zillya (Magic Potion). All perfume names are in Ukrainian, sometimes I use English translations for foreign clients, but without changing the content. This is an important component of the perception of the compositions as a whole.
Now the idea of ​​perfume space, that I nurtured for some time, has been implemented for olfactory artists and those who are interested in the topic of author's perfumery. My colleague and I started to create this space, and we are already holding practical master classes and thematic meetings. We introduce the others to the classic and modern perfumes in our small showroom.

39+ Speaking of dreams. The main dream of my life is to see that the world has become a better place. And I would like not to just see how someone changed it, but to make a significant contribution. I believe that beauty will save the world, so I try to create it every day of my life.

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