Nashi Toro

Three fragrances evoke the essence of Japan for me: Sogni by Meo Fusciuni, Mono No Aware by Baruti, and this one: Nashi Toro by Ānti. From what I understand, the evocative purpose of this fragrance is to recreate a meditative atmosphere: the scent of rain falling over Asian rice fields, the smell of tatami floors and aged wood. It is not a fragrance that seeks to seduce immediately, but rather one that restores inner order, like a slow walk among water, earth, and rain-soaked timber. Its beauty is restrained and cultivated. It is not “rich” in an opulent sense, but rich in space, texture, and atmospheric depth. The opening is built around nashi pear, hinoki, and black pepper. The nashi pear is neither juicy nor gourmand. Instead, it feels fresh, crisp, and almost watery, with a clear yet restrained sweetness. Hinoki immediately introduces the sensation of clean Japanese wood: resinous, slightly citrusy, and gently damp. Black pepper adds a subtle dry vibration, like a spark suspended in cool air. At the heart, the fragrance becomes more contemplative and tactile. The iris lends a soft, mineral-like texture, reminiscent of smooth stone or fine paper, without becoming conventionally powdery. Ambrette adds the impression of warm, clean skin, while the incense remains delicate and ceremonial, more like a spiritual mist than a dense cloud of smoke. At the base, the scent becomes even quieter and more reflective. You sense wet soil, damp greenery, the dry caress of rice, and a musk that does not darken the composition but anchors it. It is the most poetic part of the fragrance, because it does not conclude with sweetness or warmth, but with the feeling of a landscape slowly breathed in. Nashi Toro smells like a morning of water and wood in an ancient Japan, where the fruit is fresh, the incense is delicate, and the earth still seems to remember the rain. A subtle, almost milky creaminess from the rice bran softens the composition throughout, wrapping everything in a warm, silky veil.

Ordered a sample as I read that it has a similar vibe to Neon Veil. Both open up a bit spicy-cool but really what the two fragrances manage to achieve is their ability to tap into a very specific feeling and qualities; they are meditative, quite spa-like. Yet this is a distinct fragrance on its own. Much, much different than any others I have gotten my nose on, at least. Quite earthy (like soil) and very woodsy with a true-to-life starchiness like I have never experienced before. Never comes across as imposing itself despite being quite 'dense' in composition. The pear at the top is noticeable, melding nicely with the slight hit of spice along with a fresh and woody hinoki. Once the heart opens everything starts to transition quite smoothly; lots of incense, a hit of iris butter. Very meditative, very earthy-clean. The woods here are more like early morning dew, being neither dry nor damp. The sun rises and the clouds start to break, and it feels like you are walking barefoot along barely rained upon soil within lush, green woods. An ancient temple that may be lost to time can be intuited through billowing clouds of lofty incense. Very, very interesting how the scent unfolds! Feels elusive and yet entirely present at the same time. An incredible dry down: musky, woodsy. Lots of starchy rice but not overwhelmingly so--everything remains tempered beautifully with the woods and barely sweet smoke. Lasts on skin quite a bit longer than anticipated, minimum 7-hours possibly closer to 8, clothing gets the same. An exceptionally crafted fragrance.

OMG delicious rice salty perfume ! What a masterpiece and a mind game. Probably my fav rice perfume for the note interpretation. Dirty rice, green woody balsamic, sweet and comforting. Smells like all my years in Japan in a bottle. The stickyness and "emptyness" of glutinous rice sweets or red bean paste jelly sweets , cut in small portions, prepared on the table on an old tatami, ready to be served with tea. Red rice tea, smoky, starchy, boiled in an old kettle, seasoned by time. At the same time fresh with a hint of pepper and balsamic from the hinoki wood. As if the tatami room had it's sliding doors open on a garden with fresh resins tree and a typical pond, you can smell the sweet and muddy "pond water" smell too. At the same time the whole composition smells clean, what a mind game. Oh how magical and photographic ! similar in creation to Meo Fusciuni Sogni, but this less salty and more balsamic, while Meo's is more salty and dirty ( i love both but this is more wearable on daily basis , although Meo's more powerful in a way ) . Wonderful ! Unisex 10/10 ( love Bast also, but this one stole my heart ! )

Nashi toro is the best from that line to me. I did not really look at the notes before testing them all, and I was realy drawn to Rosa Antiqua but I fell in love with Nashi Toro. An earthy/ starchy iris where the rice and hikonki are pretty strong, and I love both of those notes. It is what I was expecting from Blanc Sada from L'entropiste in a way. The nashi pear pops in the opening; which makes a nice contrast with the woodier dry down. It is a bit of a cliché to use rice to evokes Japan but, the result is so good that I can't really complain. Its is a complex scent with a lot of textures, and the incense brings a kind of meditative, holy touch to it. It's a really good skin perfume as it does not project a lot, but it has that translucent quality that some musky perfumes have while being complex.

8/10. would be a 9 if the beginning 10 minutes wasn't weird on my skin. Smells amazing on paper, but on my skin at the beginning it has a dusty smell to it. My skin is weird though and does this sometimes. I think it reacts to musk that way. But after like 5 minutes it is gone and this is an amazing scent. I smell earthiness, hinoki and pear. Everything is so well blended, the pepper helps with projection while the musk also smooths it out. Super well done. A bit expensive, but if you have the money, do it.