REA

I’ve been sitting on this one for a while. Sometimes a fragrance will be so redolent of past memories that it’s hard for me to give it an objective note-by-note breakdown, and I think that might be the issue I’ve been having with REA. It’s a good one, though. The memory-trigger aspect of perfumery is probably the main reason I’ve stuck with the hobby: Byredo’s Sundazed weirdly brings to mind a particular Cirque du Soleil performance my parents took me to once; Neroli Portofino contains the memory of all my family vacations to Florida when I was a kid; JSP’s Burvuvu and Tauerville’s Vanilla Flash each contain a crucial aspect of my conflicted experiences at an overly evangelist Christian summer camp when I was a preteen. And for some reason, a lot of fragrances remind me of my maternal grandparents... It’s never a direct one-to-one “this smells like their house” kind of thing. Instead, it’ll be weird shit that’s only tangentially related to them. Like, something about 1996 Inez & Vinoodh perfectly captures the scent of an old toolbox my Grandpa used to keep in his old Ford pickup truck. I feel like that scent is probably supposed to have a more high-fashion lean, but when I smell it, all I can think about is sitting in the passenger seat of that truck. He’d let me shift gears while he steered and worked the clutch. Good memories. But another sensory memory that I associate with my grandparents is that once a year on Easter, they would send me a Terry’s Chocolate Orange, which, if you’re not already aware, is an orange-flavored milk chocolate sphere that’s divided into segments (like an orange) and wrapped in aluminum foil. I think their unofficial motto was “tap it and unwrap it” because the easiest way to get the segments to separate was to whack it on a table before taking it out of the foil. Enter REA. As a youngster, I always thought the flavor combo of a Terry’s Orange was sort of “out there” in theory compared to most other candy from my childhood, but at that time, it was genuinely the only thing I knew of that tasted that specific way, and the uniqueness of the flavor along with the rarity of my getting to experience it meant it was always a big deal when I got one. And now as an adult, I feel a similar delighted feeling when I wear REA. The orange and chocolate combo hits, I’m zapped back in time, and it’s like wearing a blanket made of a comforting childhood memory. I've been given a gift by people who care about me, and all is right with the world. I’m actually sure you could argue that I’m unqualified to speak on it because my positive memory bias is so strong here, but either way, when I smell this perfume, the fond echo of childhood Easter holidays is pretty much all I can think about, to the point that I honestly struggle a bit to pick the scent apart on its own terms. Clearly this is getting a positive review in my book, but I don’t think this will be for everyone because there’s an aspect of unadulterated fun to REA that some of particularly “selective” taste might write off as juvenile or conflicted. That’s not to say this lacks sophistication, but the chocolate, orange, floral trifecta here has the potential to be misread as unfocused or too much of a good thing. That said, I think the people this will hit home with are those for whom this will conjure up a memory of better, simpler, more innocent times in their lives. For me, there’s a clearing-of-the-mind effect when I apply it, with just a hint of melancholy humming in the background as I think about the people I miss from my past. Experiences will vary, but I think this is terrific. Great performance, unique scent profile, memory bomb. Very glad to have experienced this.

REA is another exceptional fragrance designed by the team of Rajesh Balkrishnan and Antonio Lasheras. Their last collaboration was Mallo’s ARC which I have rated as near the top of all of my many fragrances. Arc sold out very quickly at LuckyScent, so I would encourage those who are interested in this one to purchase it sooner rather later. The back story of this fragrance is worth including here (I’m quoting from the description on LuckyScent) : An ode to youthful beauty and charm named for co-creator Rajesh Balkrishnan's niece, REA is a floral gourmand like no other But make no mistake, this fragrance is unisex. It is not overwhelming but subtle and shape shifting. Here are the notes: Valencia Orange, Chocolate, Indian Night Tuberose, Spanish Carnation, Sandalwood , Vanilla planiflogia, Ambrette Seeds I had a wonderful conversation last night with a friend who has worked with some of the top houses and she is convinced that Ambrette Seeds are magical. I am not sure I would go this far but the blending of these notes is bewitching both for the rarity of the materials and the way they work to form a whole greater than the parts. I admit I have many fragrances with chocolate, but I find its presence here to be just one great note among many. I am familiar with Carnations, but I have not been exposed to Spanish Carnations before and it is wonderful. Blending is a magic art and separates what is good from what is great. The same can be said for the quality of the notes. Maybe my Maris/Mantle reference was incorrect. This is a classic fragrance that sings like a great piece from Rogers and Hammerstein. I will be wearing it a great deal this summer. The silage and longevity are quite good but do not attempt a coup of a room. It is a joy to wear, and I may have to purchase another bottle before they sell out.

The nature of the fragrance is a cozy gentle fragrance of love and youth. The soft morning curls on your toddler’s head and the sweet powdery scent of them. The carnation note has an unexpected beauty, the vanilla in this brings out the mossier side of it as opposed to the usual spiced clove aspect. A uniquely warm carnation! A bit of chocolate flits here and there never settling in. The night tuberose is the star in this composition, beautiful and dewy sweet. With the orange adding a nuance to the sweetness and sandalwood adding a spice. The ambrette gives it a blanket of coziness. This is overall a tender fragrance, yes it has sweetness but it’s not a gourmand or a sugary floral. That said the sillage is fairly big, with 2 sprays creating quite a strong scent projection. Longevity is quite long as well. This is obviously a high concentration and high quality release. Highly recommended for Night Tuberose lovers out there and anyone who likes an ambrette cozy floral. This is a beautifully made “soft” fragrance with a big heart and sillage and I definitely feel the celebration of youth in it.

This is an absolute masterclass on how to use tuberose from Antonio and Rajesh. In REA, you can smell the best of each perfumer’s skills put to work. REA opens with a huge blast of tuberose absolute, punched up by a sweet orange oil. As the perfume settles, the floral tonality is grounded by simultaneous wooden qualities of ambrette and sandalwood in combination with rich qualities of carnation and chocolate. Everything sings in complete harmony into drydown, where it doesn’t necessarily change, just turns into a powdered skin scent. What I love most about REA is how it has balanced the often loud and garish tuberose material into a composition which feels in total harmony. Nothing is here that doesn’t need to be. This is by far both perfumers’ best work to date. On a second note, REA avoids the trap of pairing tuberose with ylang-ylang. Which, while they may aid each others performance, often leads to a cloying banana sweetness in a perfume. Thankfully none of that is present here.

This fragrance presents a delicate dance between tuberose and vanilla-chocolate, seamlessly blending modern and classic elements, while balancing floral and gourmand notes. It’s fascinating how the composition unfolds in multiple dimensions, almost like a 3D pyramid. Each note stands distinctly on its own, yet together they create something greater than the sum of their parts. The drydown is my favorite phase, where the tuberose softens (though still present), allowing the ambrette and vanilla to take center stage. A truly masterful creation.