Lotus Rising perfume review (Tanja Bochnig), first published in Cafleurebon.
“The lotus flower blooms most beautifully from the deepest and thickest mud“ – Buddhist Proverb
Lotus – a flower with unparalleled resilience, a symbol of life, death, and rebirth often tied to spirituality inspired Tanja Bochnig during gloomy days in 2020 to create a fragrance that would offer hope and strength, and point us in the direction of illumination.
It is the law of nature that nothing is permanent, and Rota Fortunae- the wheel of fortune keeps turning on and on…and we can learn so much from the lotus flower.
Its existence goes back to more than a hundred and a fifty million years back: lotus flowers are actually living fossils that survived the Ice Age, and their seeds can survive for thousands of years without water, under ice, or in the scorching sun. They are resistant to pollution, or a dirty environment, and usually grow in the mud.
Each day, they open their flowers petal by petal, each night they dive into muddy water, and each morning they bloom again, unsoiled – a symbol of purity, grace, and beauty which Tanja expressed through two vintage lotus absolutes, using (again) very high-quality ingredients, and staying true to her holistic approach to fragrances.
April Aromatics Lotus Rising opens with tenderly green nuances, but as with all-natural perfume, it is necessary to give it time, and your skin. At first, you witness the birth of a lotus flower rising brightly above a misty and calm surface, more like a reflection of a bud in the still water than the bud itself.
And yet, within this tender bud is a promise of bloom: very soon the sunlit tones of frangipani bring warmth and just a light touch of sweetness to the composition, giving it an inner-light feeling of optimism and hope. A bud is born, and what a joy this is!
Slowly two lotuses begin to dance around each other, and all the other notes build up a stage, humming quietly in the background. It’s time to bloom, and lotus accords begin to prevail, gently embracing you in their floral tenderness and pulling you inward to the center of the mesmerizing flower, now fully opened, with fragile anthers made of jasmine, adding depth to the lotus centerpiece.
As the fragrance further develops, the fascination of observing a lotus flower in full bloom gently quiets down and the feeling of calmness slowly takes over. Dusky and powdery elements rise like mist, covering gently the flowers. And the flower slowly, petal by petal closes down and sinks into a lake made of powdery iris and natural musks. The cycle has ended, only to be repeated again, with every new wearing: life, death, and rebirth, and beauty that comes within.
Available at April Aromatics, test before you buy. You can also read my snapshot review of Irisistible, here.
I hope that Lotus Rising brings you comfort as it did to me.
Notes: Vintage Pink Lotus, Vintage Lotus, Champaca, Frangipani, Iris, Botanical Musk Accord.
The Plum Girl
Elena Cvjetkovic
Photos: The Plum Girl for April Aromatics, Pexels
A sample of Lotus Rising was kindly provided by April Aromatics, opinions – as always – are of my own.
