China White

So, yes I am like 15 years late from actually owning a full bottle of this fragrance but i am so glad that i finally have it. It’s official that China White has been discontinued and I am honestly bloody shocked at the decision Nasomatto has taken! Let’s take a real good look at what China White is all about. China White first and foremost is right down the middle a unisex fragrance. It most definitely was wrongly marketed for women only. Also get over the gimmick drug related name that caused controversy when it was first released. I remember reading an article about this fragrance to not wear it near airports because sniffer dogs would think you would have narcotics on you. I have no idea if China White has any illegal substance in it but I can vouch that it certainly has an addictive beauty in it that makes it incredibly unique. If you judge China White on it’s first few minutes you will be like judging a book by it’s cover like I had done 8 years ago when I discovered Nasomatto and bought my first ever niche fragrance Black Afgano. There are so many facets in this fragrance that it feels like a long journey. From the initial spray i am immediately reminded of Silver Musk but this is accompanied by the smooth leather that Alessandro would later use in his Orto Parisi fragrance Cuoium. I am not the biggest fan of that fragrance but the same leather note that is used in Cuoium is to my nose the same one used in China White. A few minutes into the fragrance and I can start smelling a beautiful floral note. The notes begin to flourish and the fragrance becomes airy. It’s not a monster fragrance to suffocate but it’s not a slouch either. In my humble opinion it’s perfection in sillage, projection and longevity. Since i live in a country where humidity is high this fragrance seems to work flawlessly. The more time passes by the more something unique and striking seems to come out of China White. I am probably starting to believe now that it’s name is a reference to ‘addiciton’ because I can tell you that once you try this on skin it becomes seriously addictive. If not blended professionally a fragrance with floral notes and musk can become offensively cloying and boring. Alessandro expertly makes China White incredibly smooth and almost spiritually calming. Again, i cannot stress enough that those bothered with the name China White keep in mind that it’s a gimmick. Alessandro is a master of advertisement and you really should not be upset by the controversy in his creations. I have yet to smell his new fragrance Sado Naso that is again creating so much discussion and controversy but I am sure that there will be something interesting in it. I admit, I didn’t take much notice of China White before and once I knew that it became discontinued i remembered that i had a sample of it and tested it out. I left it on my arm for good duration of 6 hours and i was 101% convinced that what I was experiencing was a piece of art that needed to be in my collection. You might call this a fomo ( fear of missing out ) phase. But I can assure it’s not the case here because China White is hands down so far along with Nudiflorum my favorite from Nasomatto. Yes I have other fragrance in my collection from Nasomatto which I love. But Nudiflorum and China White have something in them that makes them feel extra special. I do not know how to explain it but they feel like ‘the most prestigious’ from his entire collection. Like an exclusive Guerlain limited edition. Every single thing about China White feels luxurious. The cap? Beautiful heavy ceramic cracked cap that is so beautiful to display and hold. Probably the best looking cap from his whole collection. Back again to the journey of the scent. I feel inspired and when this happens I cannot stop writing, so if you stuck with my review so far I thank you. China White has one of the most magnificent dry downs and if you are surprised by the beauty of it’s opening powdery notes with a touch of rose too, you will be more surprised how this turns into a beautiful more calming musky incense with earthy and woody notes that makes you want to smell it up close. If i had to find just one minor criticism in China White is that when it reaches the drydown it becomes more of a skin scent, but let’s face it the majority of fragrances become skin scents and this after a good 8 hours of moderate projection. China White is definitely not a linear fragrance and that is what surprised me the most. It’s a real treat to perfume lovers that love to go on a real fragrance journeys. With a perfumer that never reveals the notes China White has a lot going on. The majority of notes here could probably be synthetic but i cannot confirm as Alessandro never talks about notes. But if they are synthetic boy they are extremely blended to perfection! i see myself wearing China White in Spring and Summer as it feels incredibly fresh, clean and so polite. It’s not intrusive and as I have already said it makes me personally feel so calm. I am actually wearing it as I write this review and i am enjoying every minute of it. Some fragrances are not always appreciated as much as they should be upon release and are sadly ignored and forgotten. It sometimes takes a heading warning of ‘discontinued’ to get the attention it deservedly needs and i am glad I took notice. I feel like I won a small lottery and found a piece of olfactory art that I had ignored for so many years! One last note. Alessandro or anybody who works for Nasomatto I honestly wish that you reconsider keeping this masterpiece in production as It’s undoubtedly one of the best creations that has ever been made. For anyone who has yet to experience China White I strongly urge you to run and test it properly on your skin asap. Chances are that after a few hours, you will return back to the shop to add it to your collection and you WILL own a treasure!

Unisex I wanted to say something about this unique parfum since it was just discontinued and now you can still find it even if it’s not anymore in Nasomatto’s website. This is great for the springtime and summertime. Gualtieri never releases used ingredients and notes of his perfumes and it’s ok but what comes to China White I think it’s really rare to find honest opinion about how it really smells. It’s obvious that CW belongs to floral woody fragrances but all other is speculation and even there is florals and “powdery” note, I want to speak about this creation straight and with the right definition. Powdery for example here doesn’t mean powdery like it’s used in perfumery notes. It’s just trying to describe the scent without using correct words which would be considered inappropriate. Nasomatto’s China White and Black Afgano has described as Yin and yang which is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. Black Afgano is really mellow unique scent with potent untraditional Hashish whiff and I would lie if I wouldn’t say that China White has been made to bring strong chemical Cocaine vibe. That vibe comes straight away after spraying and there is no reason why it wouldn’t be meant to be like that. No doubt that it is maybe as well the one main reason why this scent is discontinued since it’s really challenging to sell this because of it’s unique character and scent which is some kind of tabu to say it out loud. I hope no one gets offended now because of what I have wrote since that is the reason why this is not described as is should. I’m not trying to glamorize anything - I only want this scent would be described as it deserves since this is very unique and captivating yet brash take on perfumery. I respect the courage which is needed to create something like that and that was the main reason why I bought this long time ago. I was actually thinking that this will disappear even more quickly from the market. Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗

I was lucky to score my own bottle from my Costco Australia for only $99! What a steal! I've been wearing it for a 2 whole days now and I can say that although there's nothing groundbreaking with the perfume's core DNA, it still has quite some complexity on it that wows me every time I get a whiff of it. First of all, I think this is absolutely unisex. When you first spray this perfume you will get a little bit of zing, like smelling some clothes detergent. But unlike actual detergent, nothing about it is harsh nor sharp. About the name, maybe they named it after a popular drug or maybe it reference to China's culture about purity and serenity, you will get that in here. It's smells chalky but not in the obnoxious powdery kind of way. I feel like the woods in the background (which are very faint I must say) really does a great job grounding this perfume. For some reason, the image that this perfume conjures in my mind is that of a very bright room with white walls surrounding it. It reminds of me being somewhere very sterile and bright. On the other hand, it makes me think of an antique ceramic shop where everything is glossy and shiny with a little hint of dusty imperfections in between. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a "clean aesthetic" perfume. But this isn't like your typical perfumes you see on YouTube (ie Glossier You, Diptyque's Fleur de Peau) because this has got hefty, hefty weight on it and with a good projection & sillage that can lean towards the heavier side. I'm an oversprayer but this perfumes I can only afford 2-3 sprays coz that already feels enough. So if you're in Australia, as of writing, it's still available in Costco! So grab a bottle of this before it's gone!

This fragrance is a dream... The young girl rests her focus on the maroon carpeting on the commuter ferry to Governor's Island. Her eyes are relaxed far away. / In Hell's Kitchen, the 53 year old petite Hispanic babysitter wears a lavender silk blouse with black polka dots, and a grown out pixie haircut. The young girl embraces her, feeling her bony shoulder blades through the sheer fabric. The girl exhales and her tangled ponytail becomes a still life. / She's somewhere in Georgia during Spring, climbing up onto an enormous mound of sandy earth. There's a workshop with tires hanging on the walls, particles of dust float in the shaft of light from the doorway, and on the upholstered wicker bench on the enclosed porch, there is a light blue plastic Pegasus with pink and yellow fairy wings, because even though she doesn't know her age, it's her birthday. / Each time she visits this brownstone off Central Park, it is both worn and exquisite: a red carpet on a severely warped staircase... A square shaped Chinese grandmother insists that she eat a warm, skinless pear covered in herbal medicine. The girl promises to eat it, then hides the bowl under the sink in the bathroom. They are both sure of themselves. They go for a walk to the park at sunset so the girl can jump over and over onto her own shadow. / She is now staring out the window of an empty flat in Istanbul in late afternoon in June. The window is open. It feels perfect to be truly alone. In Nasomatto China White, there is a reflection that renders mirrors obsolete.

I walked in to my local fragrance shop and their i stood deciding between seminalis or China white. I tested both on my two arms and wandered in the city for about 4-5 hours. It was a rainy day not typically cold, i sat down at a café and had a coffee and some lunch. Sitting there looking out seeing the rainy weather and smelling both perfumes i fell in love with the mysterious scent of China White. I had not worn it for long but there was something very addicting with this scent i wanted to smell it over and over and made me completely forget about seminalis. The powdery, floral and woody scent just played really well on my skin, i finished my business at the café and started to walk towards the shop. Directly when i walked in the man who worked in the shop and i locked eyes and he walked towards me and says "China White, right?". Something about the way he already knew which fragrance i was going to buy made me speechless and falling in love with the scent even more. This scent can and can not be described it ́s weird in that way that sometimes i can define it really well but other times i can ́t grasp what I'm smelling. That is the beauty of this fragrance that i really enjoy and will forever enjoy, Alessandro made a great scent that really brings out nostalgia and sentimental moments.