New Perfume Review April Aromatics Wild Summer Crush- Full Spectrum Perfume

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, New Perfume Reviews and tagged , , .
1

As we inexorably march to the longest night of the year the Florida Boy wilts just a little every day. As sunset gets earlier and earlier with sunrise getting later and later, I cling to the precious daylight. I’ve tried it all to alleviate some of the dread. One of the things I found helped whether in reality or because I wanted it to, was adding full spectrum light bulbs to a couple of lamps where I sit. The idea of adding sunlight to the short days was a way of trying to push back against the tide. I should have looked closer at hand. Many of the citrus-based perfumes I have described as sunlight in a bottle were waiting for me. It has turned out to be the best way for me to battle these seasonal blues. I have a new weapon to brighten my days, April Aromatics Wild Summer Crush.

Tanja Bochnig is one of the best natural perfumers in the world. Over the years she has become an artist where she fuses her spirituality and her technique. It is what has made this brand one of my favorites. There are many independent perfumers who claim to do this Fr. Bochnig is one of the precious few who does.

Tanja Bochnig

Wild Summer Crush is a perfume which wears its heart on its atomizer. It is inspired by a summer crush of her young life. Most of us go through these intense short-lived affairs in our youth. They blaze with passion for a few weeks to be snuffed out by Labor Day. To capture that she compiles a scent bursting with natural energy. It is an easy reminder of heady times when the sunlight lasts late into the day.

The very first seconds fizz with a grapefruit unlike any other I have encountered. This is the same scent I get when I slice open a real one for breakfast. The tartness of rind, oil, and pulp are all here. Then the technique Fr. Bochnig has become adept at, is shading this kind of intensity. If the grapefruit is so brilliant to verge on too much. Precise amounts of mandarin, green tea, and yuzu adds compelling threads which create a gentler accord while retaining the energy. A floral heart is designed around rose and neroli. The green inherent in the neroli spears the citrus accord as the rose covers it in a subtle veil. As this moves towards the base, she again shows her expertise with shading. A set of light woods are given some texture through the sweetness of coconut and most impressively a precise tobacco. I can’t remember the last time I’ve encountered a more subtly impactful use of this.

Wild Summer Crush has 8-10 hour longevity and average sillage.

This year when I need to do battle with the encroaching darkness, I am throwing away the full spectrum light bulbs. Instead, I’m going to rely on the full spectrum perfume of Wild Summer Crush to do the job.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by April Aromatics.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review April Aromatics Lotus Rising- Floating Beauty

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, New Perfume Reviews and tagged , , .

Once a perfumer makes the decision to use a rare ingredient there must be a moment of uncertainty. I don’t think any established perfumer doubts their skill. The indecision creeps in when you have access to a one-of-a-kind ingredient. You have a concept on how to proceed but there can be a big difference as you execute that. I imagine it is even more difficult if you’re using two ingredients like this as Tanja Bochnig does in April Aromatics Lotus Rising.

Fr. Bochnig is one of those independent perfumers who has developed into one of the best in natural perfumery. Over the last few years she has become more nuanced in her perfumes. There is also a personal connection through her experience as a licensed yoga teacher. When her spiritual side is more deeply connected to her perfumer side that is when she is at her best. Which is what’s happening here.

Tanja Bochnig

Fr. Bochnig was inspired by her trips to the lotus ponds of India. She wanted to create perfume which exemplifies the ability of the beautiful lotus flower to grow even in the muddiest of water. Representing the ideal of beauty in uncertain times.

Which leads to the special ingredients she uses. She had small quantities of vintage pink and blue lotus. Based on experiencing Lotus Rising it is my guess that these have aged into more exuberantly floral versions much deeper than lotus I usually encounter. It also dials back the watery aquatic nature of normal lotus.

The lotus is what you first encounter. They have so much presence they radiate with unusual power. I was not ready for it when I first tried my sample. These are exquisitely faceted florals. I can’t pick out which lotus is doing what. What I do encounter is an intensely floral accord which is all-encompassing. It is as if you are standing next to the lotus ponds and the flowers are all you first perceive. Once you take them in then you are open to other experiences Lotus Rising evolves. When I complement Fr. Bochnig on becoming a better practitioner of nuance the remaining development of Lotus Rising proves my point. She weaves three primary florals into the symphony of lotuses. Champaca comes first which carries a kind of tea-like scent amongst its floral quality. There is a moment when I smell green tea among the keynotes which is probably the champaca. Jasmine comes next providing a floral in a different key. The final ingredient is iris in its powdery aspect. It covers the lotuses in a gentle haze, softening the floral effect into a memory. Ambrette provides a musky foundation, the figurative muddy water for the rest of the perfume to float upon.

Lotus Rising has 12-14 hour longevity and average sillage.

Because of the small quantities of the vintage lotus absolutes used this is a very limited edition which will be unable to be duplicated. If you are a lover of full-bodied florals this is something you will want to try finding a chance to sniff. Fr. Bochnig reminds us in the final days of 2020 that beauty can still float on top of a muddy pond.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample supplied by April Aromatics.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review April Aromatics Vetiver Coeur- Vetiver Harmonies

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, New Perfume Reviews and tagged , , .

There are perfume ingredients which seemingly find their way into a high percentage of all fragrance products. Everyone is familiar with them, the typical florals, the classic woods, and the juicy fruits. If I had them laying out on a table in their natural form, you would probably easily identify all of them. There is one ubiquitous perfume component I bet most have little idea what it looks like; vetiver. It is used so often because it is so versatile. Its profile varies dependent on the region of the world it is grown in. Perfumers can choose the kind they want for the corresponding effect it will have. This is where independent perfumer Tanja Bochnig began her latest perfume April Aromatics Vetiver Coeur.

This is vetiver

Fr. Bochnig is one of the early independent perfumers who has grown into being among the best. Over the last four years her perfumes have shown the imprint of an author who knows her subject well. One of the things which has helped define the overall April Aromatics aesthetic is Fr. Bochnig’s experience as a licensed yoga teacher. It informs her use of specific ingredients. As it does here. Vetiver has been one of those oils which has been purported to impart an inner harmony. While that is probably true; I imagine some of the smokier versions of vetiver I have smelled would impart panic that something was burning nearby. Fr. Bochnig was looking for the harmonious version. She describes it as a “soft vetiver”. She sourced it from Haiti, one of the largest producers of vetiver in the world. For Vetiver Coeur she places that vetiver at the center of a perfume built upon harmony of composition.

Tanja Bochnig

Her vetiver is apparent right from the start. She has found a source which has removed much of the sharp green vetiver usually displays early on. It does enhance the citrus-y scent vetiver also has. She adds in some other citrus with orange and lemon to form an early sunniness. The green that has been lost is brought back by using coriander and clary sage. Fr. Bochnig can use these as replacements which allow her to fine tune the proper amount of green she wants present. It is evidence of a confident perfumer to be able to provide this kind of shading. The heart is a gorgeous conversation between orange blossom and the vetiver. This is a rich slightly indolic orange blossom which finds the intersection of woody and green to park itself at. On my skin this is where Vetiver Coeur ligers for many hours. It is a harmonious place to be. Eventually the base of authentic Mysore sandalwood, tobacco and orris propose a warmer place for the vetiver to settle upon. Fr. Bochnig uses these ingredients to form a comforting final piece of Vetiver Coeur.

Vetiver Coeur has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.

Vetiver Coeur is a deeply engaging vetiver perfume. I’m not sure if it affected my inner harmony. It surely affected my appreciation for Fr. Bochnig’s ability as a perfumer to find the right vetiver harmonies in a perfume.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by April Aromatics.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review April Aromatics Irisistible- Rainbow Bridge

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, New Perfume Reviews and tagged , , .

One of the fun things about writing on perfume is watching the growth of an independent perfumer. There is the introductory phase where I realize there is something there to watch. The second phase is the inflection point. That is the moment when an artist finds their aesthetic and the days of slow growth will be followed by the third phase; ascension. The great majority of the independent perfumers never find that second phase. They create nice smelling things, but they lack something. Something they never get past. It is why when I sense the inflection point has been hit, I expect something special to follow.

For independent perfumer Tanja Bochnig that inflection point was 2015’s Erdenstern. It was the most complete perfume she had made. Over the next three releases each would become better and better. The rising slope of creativity was evident. With her latest release, April Aromatics Irisistible, Fr. Bochnig has outdone herself.

Tanja Bochnig

Fr. Bochnig wanted to make an iris-centric fragrance. She was inspired by the mythological Goddess Iris. Iris was the messenger to the Gods and used the rainbow to travel between mortals and immortals. It is that rainbow bridge which Fr. Bochnig re-creates in brilliant bands of flowers instead of colors.

One thing I am always asked about iris perfumes I write about, “Is it powdery?”. Irisistible opens on the antithesis of that query. The iris in Irisistible is the earthy slightly doughy root from which iris is extracted from. It erupts to life after a brief fanfare of announcement by a bright flare of lemon. This is the style of iris I prefer. It is rarely as vibrant as it is in Irisistible. Fr. Bochnig then adds in floral bands to the iris to form a floral rainbow. Jasmine, rose, tuberose, and cassia flower. Each of these add in a different shade of floral to an overall accord with iris in front. A lot of times, in other perfumes, florals tend to flow into each other. Fr. Bochnig keeps each on its own separate band where it is easy to pick each one out. That is like just focusing on one color in a rainbow you miss the beauty of the whole. The same is true here. This comes to an end with a slightly musky sandalwood as a foundation. As if it is the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow.

Irisistible has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.

On the days I wore Irisistible I had to suppress a constant smile. One was for the iris rainbow bridge which was swirling around me. The other reason was the realization of what a complete perfumer Fr. Bochnig has become. She has never made anything better than Irisistible.

Disclosure: this review is based on a sample provided by April Aromatics.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review April Aromatics Pink Wood- Perfume Genealogy

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, New Perfume Reviews and tagged , , .

Looking back with science to find out about our ancestors has become all the rage. There is a desire to understand where you came from to inform where you are going. Unlike the fanciful stories in the commercials I found out my genealogy is exactly as I had been told my whole life. The only thing I discovered is my grandfather’s claim that there was some Cherokee blood was not borne out by science. I found that confirming my ancestry in this way was comforting. My place in the flow of history is anchored by the generations before. When you ask a perfumer to use “roots” as an inspiration you expect the literal application of ingredients which have roots to be used. Independent perfumer Tanja Bochnig took this a step further for April Aromatics Pink Wood.

The beginnings of Pink Wood came from Ms. Bochnig’s entry into the OSA! Competition at the Smell Festival in Bologna, Italy in May of this year. The theme all the perfumers were asked to interpret was “Roots”. I think these kinds of projects can have the effect of taking a perfumer in a different direction than when left on their own. In this case Ms. Bochnig sought to tie notes that are roots to the concept that “home is where the heart is”. This results in a perfume where a heart of layered rose is surrounded by the rooting effect of the earth grounding it all.

Tanja Bochnig

Pink Wood opens with a suite of dried fruits, they provide a concentrated effect without becoming too exuberant. The rose heart is a mixture of geranium and Turkish rose. The latter has a rich spicy core which is enhanced here. The remnants of the fruits provide sweet contrast while the geranium drapes it in a green tinted veil. This is a rose accord which evolves minute-by-minute and as the roots ensnare it that is when Pink Wood takes off. Oud, sandalwood, labdanum, oak wood, and aged patchouli are the roots below the rose. The oud swirls through the heart, like smoke from a brazier with oud chips burning within. Sandalwood provides a steady platform for the heart accord to rest upon. Oak accentuates some of the rougher aspects of the oud while labdanum coats it all in a resinous shell. The linchpin to the base accord is an aged patchouli from Indonesia. Used sparingly it unites the disparate genes in the base into a cohesive whole upon which the rose heart can rise above in glorious waves.

Pink Wood has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.

Pink Wood is among the best perfumes Ms. Bochnig has released. It has a dynamic profile not often found and my description above does not capture that quality adequately. There is the concept of life in motion grounded by the earth below. In the OSA! Competition Pink Wood finished third which makes me wonder how good the other two above it were. For 2017, Pink Wood is one of the best perfumes of the year.  

Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by April Aromatics.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review April Aromatics Agartha- Serenity

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, New Perfume Reviews and tagged , , .

Perfume has many different abilities depending on the person wearing it. I write often about how it ignites specific memories. It also has the effect of enhancing, even changing, my mood. This is the subject of many, many aromatherapy volumes. It is always something I am curious about because of the way we perceive different scents; whether it can be universal. What I can say with certainty, for myself, one independent perfumer has always produced fragrances which have a pleasantly calming effect is Tanja Bochnig of April Aromatics. When she contacted me a few weeks ago, to let me know that a new perfume was on its way to me I almost sent back a reply, “Bless you!”. This has been one of those times when a bit of perfumed serenity would go a long way. Her new release Agartha was just the prescription for my edgy nerves.

The name comes from the “hollow Earth” myth describing a city called Agartha. It is analogous to Shangri-La as a place of study awaiting a day when it can once more re-appear for it to become the dawn of a new age. Ms. Bochnig imagines all of us as our own Earth looking inward to try and re-connect with our childhood memories to provide innocent joy. This was what she was thinking of as she composed Agartha.

Tanja Bochnig

Agartha is a fragrance of glowing golden panels. Ms. Bochnig works with an all-natural palette which can really create some beautifully fragile synergies; Agartha is full of them. It is like chasing butterflies across a field never quite catching them but the pursuit is where the enjoyment is found.

Agartha opens on a fabulously burnished mimosa. I’m not sure what her source is but besides the golden sweet floral nature there is also a sturdy green leafy thread running throughout. To keep the mimosa more towards that sweeter character she buffs it with a few fruits underneath. The goldenness really gets deeper in the heart where honey forms a viscous matrix for the mimosa with complementary yet slightly competing versions of sweet. Down the middle, she runs hay and cardamom. The hay is a key piece of the early going as the dried grassiness provides a stable point for both the mimosa and the honey to bounce off of. The final throw of sweet is the slightly narcotic nature of dried tobacco leaves. It provides a third spoke on this exploration of sweet notes. The interstitial notes in the late going are patchouli and labdanum. They provide the foundation to propel the tobacco upwards into the honey and mimosa.

Agartha has 10-12 hour longevity and moderate sillage.

Agartha is another fantastic mimosa perfume in a year which has seen its share. What sets it apart from those others is the beauty in the spaces in between from using the natural ingredients. Plus, it provided me some moments of serenity in these final hectic days of 2016.

Disclosure; This review was based on a sample provided by April Aromatics.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review April Aromatics Purple Reign- Violaceous & Vibrant

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, New Perfume Reviews and tagged , , .
3

I love words. I love knowing interesting words so I can score big in Scrabble. I also like them because sometimes they fit a particular perfume I am wearing perfectly. Two of my favorite adjectives beginning with the letter V came to mind while enjoying the latest release from indie perfumer Tanja Bochnig and her April Aromatics brand called Purple Reign.

The first adjective is violaceous which is defined as “of a violet color”. Ms. Bochnig wanted Purple Reign to be inspired by “the purple flame” which is “a unique light of subtle realms that supports the enhancement of our vibrations”. That last word leads to the other adjective, vibrant. Most often it is defined as “full of energy and enthusiasm” I am thinking of it more as an alternative definition which reads “(of color) bright and striking”. Ms. Bochnig as a yoga teacher also keenly feels the spiritual harmonics and in Purple Reign wants to capture those.  

tanjabochnig

Tanja Bochnig

Working with an all-natural set of ingredients Ms. Bochnig pulls together a bouquet of some of the best purple flowers. At the heart of Purple Reign is a natural lilac tincture. This is the ingredient which reigns in Purple Reign. With this tincture lilac is drawn in strong very defined strokes. It allows what can often be a lilting note when used as an absolute a much stiffer spine. A regal spine. Sitting up erect on its throne. What other notes come to pay court is what makes Purple Reign so enjoyable.

The lilac is present right from the first moments as the tincture sets up the axle upon which things will travel. First up is violet and lavender. The violet adds its odd candied sweetness. The lavender hews more to its herbal nature. The lavender in particular meshes with the lilac tincture softening some of those stark lines. In the heart orris provides a powdery alternative purpleness. Jasmine deepens the sweetness. Even with all of that the lilac stands tall holding its own. The base is osmanthus and opopanax. Even here where these might have overwhelmed the lilac it still holds its head high beckoning the apricot nature of osmanthus and the earthy resinous quality of opopanax to kneel before it.

Purple Reign has 10-12 hour longevity and moderate sillage.

I have to return to vibrant as the final word on Purple Reign. Throughout the time I wore it I really was captured by the very distinct different tonal shifts around the lilac. That tincture can only come from the individuality which defines an indie perfumer. Purple Reign captures all of the positive vibrations that come with that independence.

Disclosure: this review was based on a sample provided by April Aromatics.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review April Aromatics Erdenstern- Getting Botanical With It

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, New Perfume Reviews and tagged , , , .

Back in 2010 while I was working at CaFleureBon we participated in a project sponsored by the Natural Perfumers guild called The Mystery of Musk. The idea was to have natural perfumers create a botanical musk accord and then use it in a perfume created for the event. Twelve natural perfumers educated me in the myriad ways a real musk could be created using all-natural ingredients. Perfumer Tanja Bochnig of April Aromatics was just getting started in 2010 and was not part of The Mystery of Musk. When I tried her latest release Erdenstern it felt like it was a lost entry in that project.

tanjabochnig

Tanja Bochnig

Fr. Bochnig has become one of the leading natural perfumers over the last four years. I have been an admirer for a long time but I realized this is the first time I am writing about one of her perfumes. That lack of attention is not due to anything but my inability to cover everything I like and I like Fr. Bochnig’s perfumes a lot. She states on her website, “I strongly believe that people can feel the love and energy I give into my perfumes.” Speaking for myself I have always felt the passion she has appears in the quality of her perfumes. Fr. Bochnig comes from a background of aromatherapy and yoga and that shows up in her perfumes. While they aren’t meant to speak to specific chakras per se they do attempt to evoke specific feelings.

Erdenstern translates to “Earth Star” it was inspired by Avalon, the holy place between the worlds of gods and mortals. Naming Erdenstern after a place where two worlds coincide is a perfect analogy for the perfume. Erdenstern captures a combination of damp earth and wood along with the animalic accords of what lives among the trees.

As I mentioned above Fr. Bochnig has fashioned a botanical musk accord and it is where Erdenstern opens. The advantage of a botanical musk is the ingredients themselves add a texture not available from a traditional synthetic musk. As a result I really enjoy the more natural feel of these botanical musks and Fr. Bochnig’s version is as good as I’ve encountered. She pairs it with a very strident vetiver. So often perfumers try and pull the reins in on vetiver. Fr. Bochnig allows her vetiver to gallop freely alongside the botanical musk. Together they create the smell of the damp forest floor as you walk through it. The heart transitions to tobacco and opoponax. This is a very gradual shift from woods and earth to sweet tobacco. It always took me by surprise while wearing it in a very good way. Fr. Bochnig finishes Erdenstern with another botanical version of an animal ingredient as she constructs a botanical ambergris accord in the base. There is a delicacy to this accord that is mesmerizing and Fr. Bochnig wisely leaves it pretty much by itself to finish Erdenstern.

Erdenstern has 6-8 hour longevity and moderate sillage.

I mentioned that I haven’t written about Fr. Bochnig much prior to this but I have tried all of her perfumes. Over time I have seen another independent perfumer come into their own as each successive release built upon what came before. In Erdenstern it culminates in the best perfume Fr. Bochnig has made, so far.

Disclosure: This review was based on a sample I purchased.

–Mark Behnke