China White – Nasomatto

"a metallic floral, the oxidation of woods and resins, smooth porcelain riddled with cracks but cracks incorporated, glazed and translucently hardened"

"pure control, man-made intrusions on nature´s chaos and the ecstasy of drawing out the essence of things"

"China White is a bone white floral, a fixture of ashes, burned to create an austere fragrance that is unbreakable while allowing vulnerability" 

Preemptive Ramblings:

Discussing the experiences that served as my initiation into the world of fragrances and an overall turn in approaching culture not from the fixed standpoint of reason and theory, but from sensory experiences and a bodily grounding in contemplating culture, China White isn´t just my first niche scent purchased, but the one encounter with a fragrance that showed me, that there is an art to it. 

Not in the way that other scents were purely functional and thus inferior, but in showcasing a singular execution and one-track mindedness in making a piece of art, not relying on the singular purpose of being worn but much rather putting a vision and concept in front of creating a fragrance and generally utilizing olfactive means to create something out of nothing. After having encounter Noir de Noir and before knowing of Oud Ispahan, China White was in the first ten samples I ordered in the quest to find a new scent, my scent. 

Owning about six perfumes to this point, while most of them held a special place in my heart, filled with experience made while wearing them and having proven themselves in countless situations and occasions, the idea of finding "me" in a scent rose from the underlying knowledge that these fragrances were bought to fill a space in my wardrobe, act as an addition to my clothes and daily grooming. Most of all, they were meant to smell good to others – my olfactive solipsism of being fragrant for my own sake and transmitting something that might not attract others was imminent, but not born in these days. (My first scents in order of their appearance were: Versace Blue Jeans (a gift for my 16th birthday), Azzaro Elixier (my first own purchase), Dior Homme EdP, Kenzo Flower, Rochas Man and Hanae Mori for Men). 

Picking the first samples of brands I´ve never heard of and hadn´t done much research on, the criteria were simple: Find what sounded off the hook, had interesting notes, branding, and concepts, anything that appealed to my sense of "this might smell different". Scrolling through the Nasomatto fragrances and having heard vague echoes of the beast called Black Afghano, the image of China White struck a nerve. All the bottles held appeal in their own sense, Black Afghano for its black cap and juice pushed all buttons of loving everything that seems "dark", "mysterious" and "metal", but China White expressed understatement and one thing that appealed to me more: melancholy.

The Actual Review: 

Approaching Nasomatto fragrances, it doesn´t seem too far off to start not only with the first blast of fragrance but before that, with the presentation and the underlying concept behind each offering. While other brands do unyieldingly stand as "brands" on the grounds of marketing and appealing to certain images and tastes in general, Nasomatto, as defined in concordance with "The Nose" Alessandro Gualtieri, showcases artistic explorations of various themes by olfactive methods and contexts. Other brands, especially in the niche realm do this in the same way, but almost none share the reluctance of giving insight to processes and ingredients other than recurring on artistic freedom and journeys. The themes of Nasomatto fragrances touch upon the more abstract while not completely abandoning usual cornerstones of perfume: male/female, nature and certain smells or images within them.

Yet, when Nasomatto speaks about these things in the fragrance descriptions without actually giving any note breakdown, they become abstract terms like "a quest to arouse the effects of temporary bliss" in connection to "the best quality of hashish" in Black Afghano or the "raw taste sensation" in the "quest to evoke the powerful and mighty whisper of an olfactory stirring, which magically rejoins the whole and the nothing" in Baraonda. Central are the operators in these descriptions, most fragrances are described as the result of a quest to evoke, stimulate or find certain qualities, while "aiming" to deliver these abstract concepts. In a way, the progress, the journey or quest is telling. These fragrances represent the outcome of Gualtieri's artistic process and remain in a constant performative state: They might be results and offered up as finished products, yet, as fragrances, appear to be caught in the ongoing exploration of these themes and don´t stand as definite representations of what they are aiming to evoke or make you experience. The best example for this might be Blamage, the fragrance after a three-year absence of new releases and described as "an unwise and unfortunate creation caused by bad judgment and care". (There is a documentary dubbed "The Nose - In Search of Blamage" which is worth checking out
 http://www.thenosefilm.com/THENOSE_FILM_Home.html) 

Touching upon China White, the companion text reads:
"The fragrance aims to reveal the treasure of a sentimental journey. It is the result of a quest to reveal the strength in fragility". Before picking up on this mission statement in the scent, the cap serves as the initiation. As with all the Nasomatto fragrances, the cap is the first haptic statement, the tactile and visual overture to the olfactive centerpiece. We have the "burned" wooden black cap in Afghano, polished wooden caps in various shapes for Silver Musk, Duro or Nudiflorum, or one of the more telling and unique caps of China White. In going with the first semantic associations with "China White", the cap is a porcelain-like cylinder in a lacquered look, smooth and heavy. What can hardly be felt, however, are the cracks underneath the glaze, covering the whole cap, visually fracturing and making what feels compact and unyielding brittle. The connections to lacquer work, porcelain, and especially Chinese ceramics become apparent, techniques that came from China to the west and made this kind of pottery possible in the first place. 

This chain of references, "the strength in fragility" of porcelain carries over to the scent itself. As Nasomatto refrains from releasing any actual notes, a concrete breakdown of ingredients or natural associations is blocked off in favor of experiencing the blend and the work in its own universe of meaning. The first spray opens with fresh smoke, wet incense, almost the fragrant paste before being dried and shaped into sticks or cones. Smokiness becomes a misnomer, but the notion of burning or heat aren´t completely wrong either. In traditional terms, the top notes represent a green floral scent that verges on the edges of resins and bright incense. 

What can be experienced as burning, aren´t any woods but the floral notes. Petals, leaves, and stems set ablaze without being completely dried out. The floral note here comes close to a powdery rose and strong and dirty jasmine in a perfect mixture: The subdued rose retains an uplifting kick, the jasmine, on the other hand, is not musky or fecal but remains irreverent to being natural or clean. In a way, they work together to form a unique take on the powdered makeup feel, one working without an iris note. What offsets the whole incense-powder-floral combination is a metallic note layered throughout. It almost feels like amidst the burning flowers and juicy stems evaporating in soot and mushy embers, something iron-like rises, too. The metallic note here might be the note that will put off many to the scent in general, but it is the pulse of the blend and saves China White from becoming "incense in a bottle".

The blend of China White is incredibly tightly woven, almost to a point that a breakdown of notes defers from approaching the scent. The blast of flowers is cast in metal and wavers between being incredible natural and unnatural at the same time. Carrying on the theme of burning, Chine White plays with ideas of transformation and changing states. Burning as hardening and refining, oxidation and building something from the ashes. Apart from the porcelain metaphor, another helpful and seemingly intended association might be heroin or opium. The sentimental journey in its sensuous associations could coincide with the act of shooting up. Not only the images of liquidizing a white powder under a spoon, it catching some soot and changing color come to mind, but the plastic/acidic smell heroin is said to have in combination with heat, burning or heating metal and the synthetic feel of needles and syringes. Scent-wise opium, or poppy and the harvesting of it seem closer in a way. The field of flowers, the unopened poppyheads, and the incision made to let the milky white latex drip out and harden. 

The hybridity carries over into the heart of the fragrance. After two hours of pushing out, the burned out flowers settle down and become closer to a translucent incense. The freshness subsided only slightly, remaining crisp and far from being dark of cloying. For lack of a better term, the heart comes close to the blanket sensations of oud. In China White in a green and medicinal way, a white floral amber, opaque and balsamic. Touching upon the dirty/clean comparison, Chine White dwells in a special place here. The fragrant woods and resins point towards a dirty feel, but again the metallic undercurrent and uplifting nature of the floral tones form a clean aura, nothing akin to naturally occurring, picked from the soil. The scent evokes pure control, man-made intrusions on nature´s chaos and the ecstasy of drawing out the essence of things.

Towards the end of the fragrance, the metallic current wanes in favor of the balsamic and powdery ambiance of the florals and a concoction of woods, while it is hard to pin down which woods exactly. The green base carries medicinal undertones but heightens attention not because of any synthetic feeling or being out of place, but for creating the affects of sophistication and comfort. Just as the sexes blend together in China White, the aura works like a second skin, pushing out for 8 hours without being loud and drawing closer to a skin scent in the last 6-8 hours.

To give an impression and mental image: While China White is weirdly different and falls in line with most of the Nasomatto offering in being an attention grabber, the scent portrays a sense of professionalism. This isn´t someone pushing out sexual attraction or useless banter in being approachable, but a sense of "knowing what to do" in combination with a sense of humility and thoughtfulness. With the concept of "strength in fragility", melancholy as a state of being rings in unison. Melancholy not as a downtrodden sadness, but a powerful in-betweenness of mindful interaction with the world and the intrusions of this very world on the own ways of being. As transgression plays a huge role in the work of Gualtieri and Nasomatto, China White stands as one of the highlights in the collapse of binaries – a metallic floral, the oxidation of woods and resins, and smooth porcelain riddled with cracks but these cracks incorporated, glazed and translucently hardened. In the same way, the melancholy is not sadness, but an empathetic awareness and willful call to action. Concluding once more with the metaphor of pottery, China White is a bone white floral, a fixture of ashes, burned to create an austere fragrance that is unbreakable while allowing vulnerability.

Details, Details, Details:

Occasions/Seasons: Signature scent worthy, casual as well as formal/ for work. Works year-round, but not in the highest heat of summer.

Sillage/Projection: Strong for the first 2 hours, at arms length for the next 6, at half an arms-length for another 6-8.

Longevity: 14-16 hours. 2 sprays tops.

Price: 30ml for 124 Euros (formerly 118 Euros) of Extrait de parfum. Well worth the price in strength and quality.

Numeric score: 11/10