When I lived in a dorm, the only way I had to make the room “mine” was to buy a cheap vanilla-scented candle. In the evenings, I would light it and close my eyes, as if I were not in an old building with thin walls, but somewhere far away — somewhere warm and quiet.

Since then, I have a whole collection of aromas for traveling without suitcases and tickets. If I want to feel like I’m in France, I light a lavender-scented candle and put a cup of strong coffee next to it. For me, Italy is basil and tomato. And Asia is green tea and citrus sticks.

I like to choose a scent to suit my mood or the season. In autumn – cinnamon and cloves, in winter – pine needles and orange peel. In spring, I put sachets with the scent of freshly cut grass everywhere. Sometimes it’s enough to open a small bottle of essential oil to find yourself in another city, where you’ve never been before, even for five minutes.

Aroma travel is not only about candles or diffusers. You can make cocoa with vanilla and imagine that you’re sitting in an Alpine chalet. Or add a few drops of neroli oil to your bath and feel like you’re in a spa in Bali.

It’s funny, but sometimes it’s the smells that give me my strength and dreams back. They remind me that the world is huge, and even if I can’t get away and leave right now – a piece of another place is always with me.