When people asked me during the creation of Liquid Picnic what these oils were actually “about,” what inspired them and what I wanted them to express — I kept realising that the story was always bigger than a list of ingredients. The truth is: the answer is layered. These blends didn’t appear in a single moment. They grew over time — slowly, honestly — through observing, feeling, learning. Through places, memories, scents, moods, mistakes, experiments, and a whole series of small shifts inside me.

I’ve always appreciated nature, of course — but not with the depth and clarity during my inside-out-journey that arrived in the last one and a half years. Slowing down, being away from my known routines, moving through different climates and landscapes — this time it changed something. I started noticing more: the way air smells at different hours of the day, the texture of heat on skin, how certain places make your shoulders drop or your energy rise. None of these were “product ideas” at the time. They were just feelings — little imprints that stayed with me.

Botanical oils became a way to translate some of that. Plants carry wisdom, nourishment, softness, protection, and a quiet kind of power. Oils hold a plant’s chemistry, its scent, its memory — and our skin, this huge sensory organ, knows how to absorb and interpret it. For centuries people have used plants to ground, soften, energize and calm. I wanted to bring a piece of that closer to everyday life — not as something esoteric, but as something intimate, sensory and practical. 

So I began blending. Not with the goal of creating “a product,” but with the intention of creating a feeling. What scent opens the heart? What combination brings clarity? What texture makes someone breathe deeper? Which plants bring warmth, which spark, which are grounding?

I mixed from instinct, mood and memory — guided by what certain scents evoked in me. I knew how I wanted a blend to feel emotionally, and what I wanted it to do for the skin: nourish deeply, absorb beautifully, feel light, clean and botanical. Never synthetic, never sticky, never overwhelming.

For months I experimented with ratios, textures, absorption, stability and scent structure — the dance between bright top notes and grounding base notes. I created prototypes, tested them, scrapped them, began again. Learned more about allergens, EU regulations, phototoxic compounds, IFRA limits and documentation than I ever expected. I wanted high quality — but not complexity. Effective — but not aggressive. Luxurious — but natural. Honest — but sensory.

And somewhere in all that exploration, three distinct blends emerged.
So none of the oils were actually created “on the spot.” But the emotional signatures of those journeys stayed inside me. Later — much later — when I began formulating, those memories became anchors. Not literal recreations, but emotional translations, certain emotional states I had met in those places which resurfaced.

Forest Affair started with the feeling I had at the beginning of my journey on the Philippines: a kind of inner awakening. Freshness, clarity, curiosity — that sense of being more awake in your own life again. Warm air, salt on skin, movement, possibility. Forest Affair is not literally a forest in a bottle; it’s that green-spicy, crisp, slightly wild energy of aliveness and forward motion. The blend became my way of bottling that “I’m fully switched on again” feeling.

Jant Jubilee carries a softer, glowing joy — a blend of radiance, playfulness and quiet shimmer. Much of that came from my time in Morocco: slower days, warmth, light that stretches instead of burns, and small everyday moments that felt like gentle celebrations. Citrus, a touch of spice, something round, luminous and alive. It’s not about being the loudest presence in the room — it’s that warm inner glow, that playful light that makes everything feel a little lighter, a little more golden.

Oil of Noonight holds the sensation of arriving, grounding, settling. It reminds me of evenings in Senegal and Morocco, where time felt slower and deeper in the best possible way. Woods, resin, a soft hush. Not heavy, not sweet — more like a gentle weight that says: you can land now. A blend for before bed, slow mornings, or the in-between moments where pausing becomes a small ritual.

What I love about these three blends is that they mirror something we all know: we’re not the same every day. Our skin changes. Our mood shifts. Our energy moves in cycles. And our rituals can shift with us. That’s why there are three very different blends — so people can choose what they need, mix them, layer them, pair them with body lotion or hair oil, or use them at different times. There isn’t one right way. These oils are meant to meet the version of you that shows up today. That’s the beauty of oils: they adapt, they support, they soften, they brighten.

Forest Affair, Jant Jubilee and Oil of Noonight are many things at once: part travel diary, part plant wisdom, part emotional language, part skin nourishment, part ritual. They carry pieces of places and phases that shaped me — but they’re not only about my story. They’re here to hold space for yours too. Three moods. Three stories. Three invitations to come a little closer to yourself — softly, naturally, intentionally.