Tian Di

To understand Tian Di you need to read Frassai's blurb detailing its inspiration. Without that, you will be scratching your head when trying to understand what the perfume is saying to you, but even without the information you will be smiling at its novelty and wonderful execution. Olivier Gillotin does an excellent job of overlaying yellow tree fruit to a burnt, smoked, and funky anise and a salty and mineralic incense in such a way that showcases their commonalities that I had never mentally connected before. In the opening there is a peach note, which I fully accept as such per the brand's statement, but it is unlike the overwhelming majority of peach notes out there in perfumes. There is nothing particularly juicy, ripe, or zesty about it, but it is deeply, darkly sweet in the way molasses is sweet - not syrupy sugary sweet - and fruity in a very unctuous way like mango, not fruity like oranges. There is a bit of spicy piquancy from ginger and a little bit of sharp green notes from galbanum. The two stars though, rushing up from the heart and base out of refusal to wait their turns for dry downs are anise and a myrrh-like incense. The anise is quite licorice-y; very rooty and earthy, and almost tarry and sticky as if it's been burnt in a wood fire. The myrrh has been steered completely to the direction of its more challenging side, mainly the saltiness and mineralic qualities that myrrh can have, which, when combined with the musks in the base, gives an almost ambergris impression as it reaches into the upper regions of the perfume. As a whole, the unctuous fruit, spicy piquancy of ginger, the sharpness of galbanum, the funky and earthy anise, and the faux-ambergris combo, made me think for a considerable amount of time that I was smelling a good string of cumin in this perfume. As the materials start to dry down it became more apparent that the woodiness one should expect with cumin was coming from sandalwood in the base, while nearly all of cumin's other characteristics were more or less present via the other materials. However, as I said, this was an illusion or a miscalculation of my nose, because the way these notes are presented is very striking and unusual. If you don't know what a sound mixing board is, look it up; you've seen it before, even if you can't readily call it to memory. When music is playing through a mixing board you see numerous different bars quickly going up and down, and changing colors, depending upon the volume/intensity of the inputs into the track. One bar might go up while two more go down, and the three go up while one goes down, etc. These notes in Tian Di present themselves to me like this - like they are the inputs for a music track changing up and down throughout the perfume's life. In the last half and final stages of Tian Di, the peach lingers as a sole and separate string far in the background, the anise has gone a sweeter gourmand route, orris has made more of an appearance with its dry and floral starchiness, and the sandalwood, incense, and musks are now finally harmonizing and on-beat with each other. Tian Di pulls-off one of the best tools of literature, film, and music: first create disparity and tension through coarse textures and incongruous notes, then resolve it in a beautiful harmonic crescendo and finale. Unique in its notes, unique in texture, unique in behavior, and downright fascinating and wonderful to smell at every point. Excellent work.

A powerful green fragrance with gentle, unparalleled florals, whilst peach notes drift quietly in the background. As time passes, the scent becomes somewhat powdery, yet each note seems to linger distinctly on the skin. The smoky elements emerge subtly at the end, leaving a pleasant trail. Chinese incense, though an unfamiliar note to many, offers more warmth and an exotic character compared to typical incense. Tonkin musk may also be unfamiliar, but I believe it’s that distinctively musky scent felt deep within the incense in the base notes. Whilst all perfumes may present differently on mouillette versus skin, this creation notably transforms with body temperature. In a warm indoor winter setting, it unfolds as described above, but outdoors, the green and smoky aspects become slightly more pronounced than the florals. Understanding that fragrances evolve through the heat of body temperature, the complexity and memorability of this creation truly showcases the perfumer’s exceptional skill. To summarise briefly, this is a composition where green, floral, fruity, and smoky elements are all present and distinctly perceptible. Given its remarkable level of refinement as a perfume, I highly recommend trying it if you have the opportunity.

Tian Di - the perfect spiced peach. A thoroughly modern scent yet classic in style. Reminiscent of other spicy peach frags (Mitsouko, Tuscany per Donna, Gio, Coco, Jubilation woman...), but this is my favorite of the bunch. The peach here is perfectly ripe and fleshy. To my nose the spice blend consists of cinnamon, star anise and clove. A mix of chrysanthemum + galbanum brighten the scent, providing a green freshness like a cut stem. Something in it smells slightly medicinal, camphorous, that I find bracing and addictive. The base has a woody-resinous quality. It’s immensely beautiful. I had to buy a full bottle. When I got the full sample set, it was maybe my 4th favorite, and I got a few others first, but I kept reaching for my sample of Tian Di, and it has wormed its way to possibly being my favorite. [Edit: I just noticed that “powdery” is the first descriptor above. This isn’t a powdery fragrance. It’s fruity, resinous, green, fresh, amber, woody before it is powdery.]

Wearing Tian Di is like wearing poetry: plush comfortable sandalwood room with terrace facing peach trees. Sandalwood brings warm creamy woody comfort from my childhood. And sweet peaches here are just perfectly ripe and juicy here without being too sweet or cloying. This is the perfect sandalwood-peach combination! Plus the ginger, it adds a dash of bright warm sweetness. Just comfortable. Wearing this, my day is always warm and comfortable and happy. A whiff now and then is all I need to brighten up my mood. The name is suitable too: heaven tian and earthly di. Truly a heavenly scent but still grounded on this earth. It was a love at first sniff for me! Sandalwood and peach lovers, do try this one at least once!

Beautiful fruit forward fragrance. I would say for the first 30 minutes, the peach insists a lot. But then it smooths out into lovely, peachy goodness. The aforementioned fruit, sandalwood, ginger and incense all take center stage mixing together in harmony. The rest of the notes are blended so well that single notes don't stand out, but otherwise give the perfume a beautiful backbone to support a fragrance that is far more than a generic fruit perfume. I've also sampled Blondine, which I loved as well, but I need more time with it before I review. I am quite impressed with this house so far.