The other morning, as I was pulling out of my driveway, I happened to notice the charming scene of my neighbor across the street watering some tall green plants in her backyard with a great big watering can. I can't be sure, but from a distance they looked like large leafy tomato plants. I was reminded of my own adventures in trying to grow tomatoes; one year I had cherry tomatoes which gave me plenty of fruit but none of it very good, and so the next year I tried the larger kind, which proceeded to overwhelm my garden with their large stalk-y bases and profuse green leaves. They also attracted some extremely odd looking (and rather large) caterpillars who took shelter in the dark shade provided by the plants, and which gave me a queasy feeling whenever I tried to pick a tomato. Whatever the reason, once again, the fruit was mealy and the skin too tough, and so this year I decided that perhaps my climate is not the best for tomatoes and to forego them altogether.
Unexpectedly, the joy of lush ripe tomatoes found another way of appearing, in the form of Roger & Gallet's Cherry Tomato Bath & Shower Gel. I picked up this little body wash on sale early in the summer, and have found it to be a cheerful occasional pleasure. The opening note is that of deep, rich, lush red tomatoes, the kind of smell you get from a wonderful marinara sauce bubbling on the stove, stopping just short (happily) of the pungent garlic and oregano or basil one might expect to follow. With an attitude of unanticipated flirtatiousness, the gel instead turns to offer a powdery bouquet with hints of old-fashioned rose tones. The combination of the fruity rich tomato, a slight bite of tomato leaf, and coquettish rose accents makes this an unexpectedly pretty scent, in a rather odd vegetarian sort of way. It's not at all what I expected when I bought it, but I find myself smiling when I use it. It cleans nicely, foams gently, and leaves a slight veil of scent on the skin which fades away after an hour or so. I don't find myself reaching for it every day, but for those lingeringly warm days where I feel like using something pretty in the shower, and avoiding perfume altogether, it does the trick nicely.
I'm wondering if Roger & Gallet is in the process of phasing this line out, as it used to be available at beautyexclusive, but does not seem to be any longer (they do carry the lettuce line, for those curious to continue the vegetable trend). It is, however, available on sale right now at fourseasonsproducts, at $6 (marked down from $12) for 6.7 oz. You can also find it at amazon, hamptonct.
I'm sure it would match nicely with Liberty Fizz by Nina Ricci, have You tried it, Pia?
Your climate seems allright for tomatoes.Years ago someone explained to me that the superbe quality of Sanmarzano tomatoes grown around Naples depends on the soil. He said Naples's soil is ground volcanic lava. (“someone” sold something called zeoliti, supposedly the same soil in sacks, but was not making a fortune out of it, because here in northern Italy tomato grows fine anyway, though in scanty amounts on account of the colder climate). Maybe a plant in a vase, with black soil bought from a gardening centre?
Dear Pia, I may have said something about the time earlier this year when I found R&G Cherry tomato soaps for sale on a local perfume store.
I am almost sure that they are phasing them out, as I probed their website and the line did not appear.
So unfortunate that the quirky-lovable scents get discontinued inexorably, isn´t it??
Kind regards, and great review
P.
This sounds amazing! I'm not completely sure if I want to buy it just yet though, having not tried any Roger and Gallet products, but I'm going to consider it.
Lettuce sounds good too! I wish there was a store around here that carried these products.
No, I have not, but now I would love to try it…what's it like?
Volcanic lava? That's very interesting. I do remember hearing somewhere that tomatos like sandy soil…maybe the earth here was too dense. I always imagine the wonderful Italian sun being much better for ripe juicy tomatos than our muggy August heat though….at least, that fits my romantic notions of Italy!
Thanks P!
Yes, quirky-lovable is apparently not as high on the priority list for some of these companies, LOL, which is too bad because I think these little scents should get high marks for showing character.
I hope you enjoyed the soaps!
On the whole, I think the Roger & Gallet line is quite good, especially in that price range. It's not cheap, but not outrageous, and they do have some lovely scents….their green tea soaps are, I think, the best I have ever smelled. If you do try their products, I hope you enjoy them!
The products are excellent, especially the soaps & shower gels. A little goes a long way and the scents are marvelous!
Where are you , Pia?
By the way, my name is Anna. How nice to get to know you.
Hey Pia! About Les Belles Liberty Fizz (it's french name Liberté Acidulée): it is a greenish, leafy, just a bit sweet fragrance. It starts out with that leafy-greenish tomato note, then it gets sweeter as the raspberry starts to accompany a red tomato and it dries down into an herby-basil base. Very nice for spring/summer, also cheap on the internet.
I'm in New York. Nice to get to know you too! Are you a native of Italy or a transplant?
Glad you enjoy them as well! I remember seeing their classic mini soap sampler box as a child and thinking it was the prettiest thing ever…then I forgot all about them until discovering those green tea soaps about five years ago…lovely.
Oh that sounds like fun, and could well be a perfect complement to this gel…Will definitely keep an eye out for it–thanks!
In New York! Fancy growing tomatoes there, you do have the new frontier spirit. I'm italian-italian, but unfortunately from that part of Italy that has little to do with mediterranean sun&sea, romance,rooms with a view…I live in the Po valley. Our romance here is opera, my town has no athletics stadium but the third largest XIX century opera house of Italy. “Alfredo, Alfre-edoo…”
LOL, I've never thought of myself as a having the frontier spirit here in suburban New York, but I like the way that sounds!
The romance of the opera is lovely…I once saw a presentation of Aida in the old opera house in Verona…that was amazing. Sounds like you live in a lovely place!
Ow, that's not for me to say. :-))
Here are a few pictures:<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia>
My goodness, it's GORGEOUS! Thank you for sharing that!
LLol, you mean the Urban Jungle that is NY?
LOL, well yes, THAT's true. I suppose that could make the various L'Artisan Parfumeur stations around town into highly necessary 'watering holes'?
Hi IrisNobile, where are you finding Liberty Fizz on the internet? I'm having difficulty getting it anywhere as it was discontinued a couple of years ago (and is my favourite ever perfume) – the only place I've seen it is on ebay, not particularly cheaply!
(sorry to butt in on this thread, I stumbled across it through google… while looking for products similar to Liberty Fizz, in fact…)