Ally
For our ninth conversation we sat with Ally, a stay-at-home mother in Bekasi, around the clock, who also writes, makes candles, reads the stars, and calls herself a dreamer. She grew up moving from place to place, a lone wolf who watches the moon and lifts her palms to the sky. Fragrance reached her young and deepened while she was pregnant with her daughter, who is now the axis her days turn around, and now she reads it as a spiritual journey, each perfume a chapter, something connected to her roots. We spoke about damp wood and jasmine and childhood rain, the incense smoke she watches dance at dawn, and why you should speak your truth even when your voice shakes.
I am the youngest of three siblings, and I grew up moving here and there. I never really stayed in one place until senior high school, so I have always been a bit of a lone wolf. I contemplate a lot about the universe and the world we live in, and I always crave justice and honesty. I have a deep connection with nature. I love to watch the moon at night and absorb the cold and the warmth that illuminate the sky by lifting my palms. People may think I am crazy for it, but that is fine by me. Let them perceive through their own level of perception.
Your relationship with fragrance
My relationship with fragrance came from a young age, and then it began to grow when I was pregnant with my daughter. I see it now as a spiritual journey, something that will take me somewhere, or something I will cherish along the way, especially since I began to dive into the world of HoM Haute. It is something deeper, connected to my roots. Every perfume is a chapter.
Every perfume is a chapter.
A scent that takes you somewhere
A scent of damp wood, wet soil, and jasmine takes me back to my childhood in Jakarta. I would just watch the rain fall and ask questions.
What you are wearing now
Rococo Jazz Fragonard and Shalimar Millésime Rose. Sometimes I wear them alone, sometimes layered. Somehow they calm my nervous system; I sense a familiarity that is still unknown to my memory.
A daily ritual
Alone time in the morning with my black coffee, watching the smoke of the lit jasmine incense dancing.
On good taste
For me, good taste is being aware of yourself and your surroundings, being grateful for what you already have, and always finding a way to create.
One belief you would defend
Speak your truth, even when your voice shakes. And let people perceive it through their own level of perception; that is theirs to carry, not mine.
Selalu ada terang. There is always light.