Two from April Aromatics to bring hope & comfort

2020 has brought a lot of stress and misery to us all. Months of being confined in your own home space and not being able to interact with others in person surely wasn’t good for our mental health. Later in the year we could see the reports & surveys that proved that people started feeling more lonely or close to depression in more extreme cases. In perfumery, especially among smaller, independent brands you can see how this reflects in the style of fragrances that are being created. These new compositions are calming, comforting, healing for the soul. For April Aromatics and Tanja Bochnig it was only natural to use her holistic approach while composing in 2020.

First thing that comes to my mind upon smelling Lotus Rising is comfort. First whiff brings something earthy to my nostrills but in a matter of seconds the perfume transforms completely. After that brief moment it turns into cocooning goodness that to my nose smells spicy in a sweet way, like a warm scent of sweet cloves or cinnamon bark dipped in confectioners sugar. It’s a very comforting smell that puts you in a dreamy state within seconds. This fuzzy, plush warmth becomes gradually richer as it evolves into more floral tones. Lotus Rising reveals a creamy, lactonic frapgipani and champaca flower that harmoniously sing their flowery song, soothing the senses as they do so. Peace and calmness are two great virtues of this April Aromatics fragrance. Heart of the composition feautures some watery-floral tones. Still surface of the water lets the lotus flower emerge. A bloom that looks like a new year’s eve firework bursting, the harmony of pink and blue kisses the skin with an extraordinary scent. Tanja used some very special lotus absolutes and thanks to her understanding of natural materials, these flowers can bloom on skin so beautifully. A little sweetness of rose, rich character of jasmine in the background and iris dust on top of the silky lotus petals add extra charm to Lotus Rising. Some perfume bring light & hope to sad, gloomy days. This is exactly what this fragrance does. Only 30 pieces of this limited edition fragrance were made, so if it sounds like something you might like, you’d better act fast or you won’t be able to try it…

When it comes to sweet, gourmand fragrances I am not the biggest connoisseur of those. Obviously I prefer to satisfy my sweet tooth by eating something delicious rather than smelling it only (although I try to be good and not eat too much since my goal is to keep the new weight) but there’s one thing that really bothers me… I find it quite pretentious how French brands (mostly) put an equal sign between vanilla and oriental family. “It’s an oriental, you know, it’s got vanilla inside” – this makes me giggle. Jokes aside now. If you desire a divine, superb vanilla that sends shivers down your spine, you must try Vanilicious. It’s a beautiful mixture that uses a bunch of vanilla varietes among which Bourbon vanilla is the most pronounced. There’s no excess sweetness here. The fragrance opens with a rich, dark brown scent of real vanilla beans. It’s quite resinous, gooey and delightfully boozy. Tonka gives it a charming smoothness while Peru balsam provides more dimension and depth. More grounded & earthy tones come up later in the fragrance development. They also unveil a golden tobacco note that has a chewy, aromatic feel to it. Precious woods with sandalwood at the fore give Vanilicious a substantive base so that it lasts for a surprisingly long time. It’s a beautiful perfume, very enveloping and comforting. The best thing about this vanilla concoction is that it’s totally drool-worthy and that it’s not sweet at all. It’s an adult vanilla if you want to call it like that. This one is not limited edition so I hope you can try it at some point.

We already bid farewell to 2020. We expressed our grudge towards that year and all the bad things it brought. We also expressed our hopes and dreams for a new year when the clock struck midnight on the last night of December. 2021 should be a better year but there’s not knowing what the future holds. That’s why I’m grateful for amazing fragrances and for talented & intelligent perfumers. They all took off some weight from the last year experiences. Thanks to Tanja of April Aromatics and her Lotus Rising & Vanilicious, these dark and cold winter days will feel much brighter.

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Crystal roots, April Aromatics Pink Wood

When we’re young we usually don’t travel too much. We might be visiting different places in our cities or in our regions but I don’t think there are many who could say they visited half of Europe by the age of 6. It’s natural then that after a while we all grow attached to places we visit most often and to people we meet on regular basis. There’s a nice phrase for that – we’re growing roots. Our first roots are where our home is, however Tanja Bochnig thinks that these roots should be within us, in our hearts so that we can feel at home anywhere. That’s when a new perfume idea budded.

On my skin Pink Wood opens relatively dark and mysterious. At first impression I get a lot of rich patchouli that offers a combination of intensively woody and earthy notes with a little bit of rooty stench and rotting leaves. It might not sound tempting at first glance but I’m truly intrigued. Few minutes later a brightening light appears in the darkness when rose note is trying to emerge. It’s rich aroma slowly fills the space around you as it becomes stronger. There’s some weight to this rose accord, probably because Tanja used both absolute and otto (attar) of this precious flower. On the other hand it feels fresh and crispy because there’s a lot of geranium in Pink Wood. It adds a crunchy vibe to the scent, making it quite green at the same time. At some moment it almost becomes minty. I like the fact that a lot is happening here, the perfume changes rapidly.

Would you ever expect a natural perfumer to reach for oud? I certainly didn’t see it coming but… yes, that’s what Tanja did. She added oud to her new perfume, introducing yet another dark & resinous facet with some warm spiciness hiding in the back. I’m not against oud if it’s not overdone. In Pink Wood it is not. Plus rose kind of tones it down. Actually it feels as if oud offered its substantivity while rose offered its gorgeous aroma. The result is somehow woody-rosy concoction. A rosewood to be more precise. It’s scent reminds me of a rosary I once had. Later on labdanum makes an appearance, bringing forward a smoky incense facet with a gentle sweetness. Oakwood adds an interesting feeling that is highly similar to rum – there’s something a bit boozy about it. Few hours later I smell a faint fragrance of candied & dried fruit sitting in a woody bowl of sandalwood, the latter one serves as a base. Along with few other accords it lingers on skin for hours.

April Aromatics Pink Wood stays far away from being a banal perfume. Even if it uses some long-known pairings such as rose + oud it feels quite unique. It’s definitely original and creative for a natural perfume. I like it hundred times more than 2016’s Agartha. With just 1 spray on my wrist the perfume leaves a gentle scented veil few inches above my skin. The longevity is quite decent but doesn’t exceed much what I usually get from natural compositions. My standard is 6 hours; Pink Wood lasted  for 7. Available as eau de parfum in 2,5ml (sample), 15 ml (travel) and 30 ml flacon.