Long Evenings and Everything That Comes After.

In September the days get shorter, but the evenings get longer to make up for it. You meet someone after work. Stay for one more glass. Move on, because an exhibition is opening somewhere. Order something to eat after all. And at some point the question comes up whether going home even makes sense anymore.

We love these evenings. Maybe precisely because they can’t be planned. This month is about fragrances for long nights, places where you like to linger a little longer, and the things that happen after the evening was supposed to be over.

An evening in six fragrances.

19:12 — Olène, Diptyque

The air is still warm. Somewhere behind a wall, jasmine is in bloom. You set off without quite knowing where the evening will take you.

21:24 — Mooncake, d’Annam

Dinner is long over, really. Then something sweet arrives after all. A golden crust, a warm, salty filling. You share, take another bite, maybe order one more glass. Nobody is in a hurry.

22:31 — Notturno, Meo Fusciuni

Rum in the glass. Leather and spices. Someone tells a story that may have happened that way. Or maybe not. The night writes the rest in ink.

00:07 — Freudian Wood, WienerBlut

The group has grown smaller. You move closer together, speak more quietly, and say things nobody would have said at the start of the evening.

02:18 — Hexensalbe, Stora Skuggan

At some point, something has shifted. The air is heavier, the thoughts lighter. What seemed clear a moment ago no longer is.

04:43 — Neon Garden, Dries Van Noten

There’s no one left outside. Mint in the cold air, pale light on the asphalt. For a brief moment, the morning still belongs to the night.

What remains of the evening.

Rarely the plans. What stays are people, stories and single moments that settle somewhere in our memory. And hardly anything brings them back as suddenly as a scent.

Years later, it’s all there again: the room, the voices, the closeness, the night. One of those evenings you never forget.

From our calendar.

September doesn’t exactly make it easy to go home early. A few dates already in our calendar.

09.–13.09.
PARALLEL Vienna, Otto Wagner Areal

10.–13.09.
Astoria Artshow, Astoria Garage

11.09.–17.10.
curated by: Love, 24 Vienna galleries

14.–19.09.
Vienna Fashion Week, MuseumsQuartier

23.09.–04.10.
SLASH Filmfestival, various cinemas

25.09.–04.10.
VIENNA DESIGN WEEK, various venues across Vienna

28.09.–03.10.
Vienna City Gallery Walk, 1st district

New from Versatile Paris.

Limoncello and pistachio. Cola and popcorn. Rum and frankincense. At Versatile Paris, fragrances are made from things you’d normally expect on a menu or on a table late at night.

The extraits you may know as roll-ons now come as 30 ml sprays too. Six fragrances that play out somewhere between aperitivo, dinner, cinema and the morning after. Rital Date pairs limoncello with pistachio and a surprising hint of pesto. God Bless Cola smells of cola, popcorn, caramel and vanilla. Culot Thé brings together mandarin, tea, apricot and wasabi. Very Bad Rice combines rice and ube with mango and coconut. Croissant Café is warm, toasted and creamy with coffee, cappuccino and butter. And Gueule de Bois – French for hangover, fittingly – runs much later, with rum, frankincense, pepper and sandalwood.

Six fragrances for very different evenings, then. Or maybe for a single one that runs a little longer than planned – hangover included.

And at some point, it’s morning.

Maybe that’s the beauty of long evenings anyway: you never know in advance which ones will stay with you. Often it’s not the big plans, but a conversation that suddenly turns personal, a last table you stay at a little longer, or the moment you step outside and notice it’s already getting light again.

And sometimes a scent stays too. Years later, a hint of jasmine, rum, cold morning air or coffee is enough – and for a brief moment, you’re right back there.

Until the next long evening.