Garden of Pleasures

This is my first review. Less than a year ago, at the youthful age of 61, I was drawn in to the world of fragrances. Since then, I have tried many, with an increasing tendency towards perfumes containing natural ingredients, even to the point of awkwardly blending some myself. In this vein, I learned about TRNP and purchased samples of a number of fragrances. I surely expected them to be of high quality, but I did not expect to be captivated quite so much! The experience seems more mystical than rational or even emotional. It evokes in me a sense of gratitude, certainly for the craft, but also for the coming together of elements with a human capacity to have such experience at all. I love all of the TRNP fragrances I have sampled so far. I am reviewing Garden of Pleasures because of the way it reaches out to me. At first, I admit that I found it too intense, even a little harsh. However, without my intention, the fragrance pulled me back again and again until I perceived its depth and beauty. There is dark and bright, soft and sharp all mingling together in a dynamic balance. Maybe even like lovers colliding as suggested in the description. It is so interesting! Like all beautiful things, Garden of Pleasures is ephemeral. I considered purchasing more, but now sadly not available. In a way, this adds to the mystery. The essences of all the rare trees and flowers from around the world somehow coming together and perfectly combined to become a crystal clear burnt orange liquid that evokes feeling as it evaporates away into the atmosphere. Just as the memory sparks and then fades. Yet no Taj is erected for a fragrance, just our memory and a continuing search. Teone Reinthal, thank you for what you do, please continue.

Garden of Pleasures has a snake in it. This is not romantic; not sexual; a quiet maleficence. Slithering, slinking, whispering taboos and temptations. Sure, it has pretty florals in it. Sure, the oud is exceptionally smooth and restraining of its ill-behaved animalics, but that side-eyed smirk says something other than polite behavior. The desirous temptations are delivered to us via champaca and frangipani with their allure of floral exoticism. The former bringing a musky creaminess, warmth, honeys, powder, and dry aged woody aromas, and the latter a fruity and citrusy gardenia-like quality that is softer, more musky, and spicy nutty. The serpentine timbre is a blend of Hindi and Vietnamese ouds that are more floral, earthy woody, and leathery than their medicinal and fecal cousins. They are silken hisses tickling your ear, the bassy rumbles augmented to tenor vibrations by a sweetly creamy and brightly spicy mysore. As with the vast majority of TRNP perfumes I’ve smelled, which is a large number at this point, Garden of Pleasures is rich and thick with its all-natural materials composition, but it wears very lightly and coexists with the air around it rather than pushing it away and carpet-bombing the area. I’ve worn this on cool days and warm days, and, surprisingly for a floral oud, it works quite well in both. A little bit of heat and humidity adds to its sultriness, in fact. I’m finding myself quite drawn by its tempting hisses as its so rare to find a yellow floral oud that wears so easily. Excellent work.

Opens with a rubber medicinal burst, you almost want to call this ‘Tiare Criminelle.’ Here, the naturally indolic facets of white flowers are harmonised to great effect with leathery oud; at first dense, heady and woody but slowly melting into the floating wetness of tiare in tandem with a smoky Mysore sandalwood incense. This duality is wild and fresh; an equatorial Buddhist temple, calm and meditative, in the midst of a humid tropical shower. Even though I am not familiar with the differences between the two kinds of ouds and I do not necessarily smell lotus flowers, the contrast in notes follows the perfumer’s narrative of a torrid love story set against a backdrop of sublime architecture and water lotus gardens. This is beautiful and artful perfumery.

Two words I would use to describe GOP are pleasant and charming. The floral opening is beautiful and a spray on my arm makes me want to chew it. Like Night Song, it leans slightly feminine but with a bit of confidence and conviction, guys can wear it too.

Years before TRNP was a rage, an American florist-turned-perfumer was weaving olfactory magic using naturals, including Oud. If one swoons over this creation, try "Tropic Of Capricorn" by Olympic Orchids. Instagram: @Eclectic.Scents

I have tested plenty of perfumes (almost 50) from Teone Reinthal, and I can confidently say that Garden of Pleasures is my most favourite from her, sharing the 'most favourite' title with another one of her gems: Queen of Sheba. Update: Something changed in the bottle or my nose changed, not sure, but I let go of my GoP because I found a different perfume with Champaca-oud. Also, I prefer Night Song and Night Song devotion to GoP.

This opens with syrupy, candy-like oriental florals, and it's the best of its kind. Equal mix of holy-smelling champaca and chic frangipani. Then the notes start to pulsate - you can feel it radiate on your skin in waves of very pleasant woody and floral notes. Dry down into powdery sandalwood. This is amazing, it is pretty much what I think Samsara would smell like if everything in it were naturals.