drseid's Review of White Lotus by TRNP (Teone Reinthal Natural Perfume)

White Lotus opens with a nose tingling slightly sweet floral honeysuckle and white lotus tandem at the fore supported by jasmine-like white tea before gradually transitioning to its heart. As the composition enters its early heart the white floral tandem from the open remains though smooths out as the white tea gradually cedes its supporting role to just a hint of gauze-like real Oud and slightly sweet nutmeg enhanced sandalwood rising from the base. During the late dry-down the white florals gradually recede though never completely vacate, as the slightly sweet sandalwood takes the fore through the lengthy close to the finish. Projection is average for the first couple hours, then minimal for the rest of the perfume's over 12 hour duration.

White Lotus is a bit of an enigma... The perfume comes right out of the starting gate hitting the wearer with the white florals, though the subdued honeysuckle and white lotus have an almost ylang-ylang-like smell, actually presenting more like a yellow floral accord despite not being one. Real Oud is used extremely sparingly in the heart, with just enough of the real stuff to give a well-executed counterbalance to the florals, with the sandalwood adding needed smoothness to the mix. Probably the best part of the development is the late dry-down when the florals recede and the Oud vacates, leaving the sandalwood as the primary player through the deceptively lengthy finish. In fact the longevity metric is a tough one to judge, as after a couple hours you have to really put your nose close to the application point to smell the perfume anymore, but it is still there in strength and lasts for quite some time, just as a more personal perfume for most of its duration. As to the overall fragrance profile, while obviously this perfume can be worn by anyone, it leans stereotypically feminine. The bottom line is the $170 per 30ml White Lotus successfully provides an alternate take on the crowded white floral focused perfume genre, though keeps most of its secrets known only to the wearer, earning a "good" to "very good" 3 to 3.5 stars out of 5 rating and a recommendation to those looking for a distinctive but more self-centered white floral journey.