If I could stuff my mattress and bed pillows with one fragrant material, they would not be stuffed with rose petals, powdery sandalwood dust, dried herbs or even beloved vetiver — they would be stuffed with delicious-smelling black tea leaves. A favorite black tea of mine, Kalmi Gulabi, comes from India, and I get as much pleasure from sniffing the tea box containing it as I do sipping the brewed tea. Whenever someone mentions a “great tea fragrance,” I run — to the store or to a perfume sample supplier — and try it.
For those of you familiar with my perfume tastes and longings, pardon my mentioning ONCE MORE the late, great Comptoir Sud Pacifique Thé Eau de Parfum (its black tea note was rich and true). I would do almost anything for a bottle (or two…or three…) of Thé. I continue to mention Thé on this blog in the hopes I’ll open my email one day and read: “I have a case of the stuff in my basement; how much do you want and…what’s it worth to you?” I would reply: “All you have! Where do I ship my kidney?” Comptoir Sud Pacifique reformulated and renamed Thé — turning it into the watery, rather ordinary-smelling Écume de Thé (now discontinued) — and I’ve been searching for a replacement.
Christian Dior Escale à Pondichéry opens with the refreshing scents of lemony black tea, served with a sprig of musky, almost civet-y, jasmine. As jasmine fades, the aromas of fruit arrive: a quince-like note and bergamot. “Quince” quickly disappears and bergamot morphs into BERGAMOT — harsh, slightly oceanic (Pondichéry is a seaside city) and long-lasting. BERGAMOT takes over Escale à Pondichéry and my interest wanes; the fragrance dries down to a rather “sporty” cologne, its sandalwood and cardamom are barely there, almost worthless (unless you spray your colognes on your upper lip for easy sniffing).
In print and film spots, Dior makes much of the use of “exceptional ingredients” from India in Escale à Pondichéry (jasmine, cardamom, sandalwood, tea) but as Escale à Pondichéry develops I sense a stinginess in the formula; these “exceptional ingredients” must be utilized in miniscule quantity because the overall quality of the fragrance is “middling.” The Dior Les Escales fragrances, Escale à Portofino and Escale à Pondichéry, are lightweight and pallid; both fragrances fall flat after their top notes disappear.
So, the search for a great black tea scent continues. Till I find it, I’ll make do with green tea fragrances and my big box of Kalmi Gulabi tea (image, right).
Christian Dior Escale à Pondichéry is not yet available in the U.S. The Dior representative at my local Nordstrom, who just returned from a trip to company headquarters in Paris, said the fragrance will arrive in the U.S. in late fall or early winter 2009. It will be available in 75, 125 and 200 ml Eau de Toilette.
Note: Jasmine image via Wikimedia Commons; Comptoir Sud Pacifique Thé Eau de Parfum bottle and Kalmi Gulabi tea box photos by the author.
I share your love of drinking (and smelling) tea so I read this with fascination. I hope you tell us when you find your perfect black tea scent. Meanwhile, what are you favorite green tea fragrances (the ones you are making do with)? And what do you think of CB I Hate Perfume Russian Caravan?
Suddenly: Russian Caravan leaves a metallic/’aftertaste” on my skin…I can’t wear it. Annick Goutal Duel has a nice tea note but at the moment I’m making due with some black tea soaps from Italy for my “fix”…
Drat. I just ordered a sample 3 days ago, and now know I needn’t have bothered. I had the same experience w/Portofino that you did, despite the love it got from so many. Oh well…
boojum: some people really like this…so maybe you won’t be as disappointed as I am.
Suspect I will be, though, since those who love the Pondichery seem to be the same ones who loved Portofino. I, like you, found it flat. Ah well.
Hi kevin, I find the black tea note in Osmanthe Yunnan quite true to the black tea leaves smell, even though it is just a whiff among the apricotty flower and hesperidic top notes. Maybe it is not enough?
There is also a L’occitane bergamot black tea that didn’t smell bad on mouillette (note the bergamot in small caps ;)…
I’m sure I smelled more, but can’t recall just now: I’m a fan of the beverage, but I don’t appreciate much the smoky black tea note in fragrances – yet.
I much prefer the black over the green tea brew; but in perfumes I’m all the way around
P.S.
If I could I would stuff my pillows with dried lavender flowers: love the smell and it just makes me sleep oh so well…YAWN… Black tea would wake me up!!
Zazie: what about a nice blend of lavender AND black tea!?
Oooo… that would be incredible! Also, Kevin, I know many people weren’t thrilled about Serge Luten’s “5 O’Clock Au Gingembre”, but as a hard-core tea lover, did you care for it? Something else; I get a heavy black-tea note sensation from Dior’s “Dune”—that of very dried and old tea.
NLB: I should re-try the men’s Dune too…. The 5 O’Clock didn’t do it for me…again, I like my black tea note without too much spice.
Kevin, have you tried Harmatan Noir from Parfumerie Generale?
Merchella…I THINK so…but will have to look at my “notes”….
Zazie: I’m TOUGH when it comes to tea…ha! Osmanthe Yunnan left me cold and the new Bergamote The/Tea from L’Occitane is so watery.
Oh, do please try High Tea from Possets. It’s oil-based, which is never my first choice, but it’s wonderfully black tea-y. In fact, Liptons-y. It’s $10 a bottle so even if you hate it, you won’t have to make a voodoo doll of me. And I love it. http://www.possets.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=63
Ducks: I will try it! Never knew about it!
Ducks Deux: HAHA! Love this line in the text: “High Tea is your antidote to vulgarity” (I take this to mean I can wear it with my biggest Gucci sunglasses and tightest T-Shirt and still be classy!) It’s been ordered…you might see it appear in a Cheap Thrills post in the future….
Do you have a review of your beloved Comptoir Sud Pacifique Thé Eau de Parfum? I’d love to have a fuller description sine it seems a sample is out of the question…
This is the first I’ve heard of it, and I’m a black tea fan in both perfumes and drinks. One of my men’s scents in development has a lot of black tea and ouds. When I get it finished, i’ll send you out a sample…
Paul Kiler
Pkiler: I’d love to smell it…I don’t have a review of CSP The…since it cannot be found I didn’t think posting it would be that helpful! I have other a few drops left in my last bottle…SAD
Dearest Kevin: Just the other day I posted this at the “Escale a pondichery New Perfume” post here at NST:
” Imagine my surprise yesterday when , while sniffing around and looking for new releases I found a bottle of Pondichery!!!
I have not seen the Scales (Portofino) outside Duty Free shops before! It seems that the economic crisis is forcing manufacturers to “expand” their distribution from “exlusive” to “wherever you can sell a bottle please!!”
It does smell like tea, but not black tea to me…
I know I’m getting boring with the “It reminded me off” but it seems as I become older every new release reminds me of an old one, except for a very few lucky ones.
This smells to me VERY MUCH LIKE H2O+ Plus Green Tea Fragrance. As a matter of fact I looked around in H2O+ site to see if they still l had it. But it seems like they killed all fragrances, male and female except their signature Mariel, which smells to me like a Calone bomb. ”
I love your reviews, and although sometimes I do not agree, This time I must say that you’ve hit the nail in the head with the “Minuscule Quantity” comment. Pondichery may be a great cologne for someone with a lot of money on a paradisiac location (like pondichery
) but I know I can get more bang for the buck than this.
Kaos: yes, you can certainly do better!
Hmm, curious but not optimistic about this one. Portofino smelled like orange dish washing liquid on me (not kidding, the day I sampled this an SA in Nordstrom’s asked if I knew had had a spillage before leaving my house).
BTW, if you like black tea scents, have you tried Bulgari Homme Soir? One of my personal fav masculines to wear.
I also got around to sampling the Gap re-release of Grass. Very disappointing, weird synthetic note & smells nothing like the original.
Licia: I’ll try the Bulgari…thanks for the tip.
I own a bottle of bvgari pour homme soir. In my estimation, its got a similar scent to Burberry Touch, and also to Hugo Element.
Rictor07: AAAAHHH! Hugo Element I hated.
Kevin, I’m a huge black tea drinker and I have enjoyed Barooti Gulabi in that same package. My favorite everyday black tea is Lipton GREEN label, and I just love to inhale the scent from my tins.
I was not as disappointed as you were with Pondichery. What I had problems with was concentration and lasting power, but I decided to look at it as a beautiful, refreshing summer “cologne” to be sprayed with abandon (which means its a shame for the consumer if it will be hitting shelves here only in late fall). I also get much more cardamom than jasmine, and not much of the later fruitiness you describe. I just find it more “airy” than “pallid” and it doesn’t “fall flat” for me… it just needs to be reapplied after a short while. I guess this makes me a fan? I also like Portofino a lot and that one seems to last a bit longer on me.
Thanks for the review, and we can always agree that the scent of a package of black tea is divine (check out the Green Label!).
Joe: “we’ll always have Gulabi!” HA!
Kevin, as always, a fine review!
You all can have your tea, I’ve mostly given it up….too much tooth staining capability. (I like my pearly whites , pearly white) but I like tea scents. I quite enjoy BERGAMOT (lower and upper case) and I love cardamom, I get some of the fruitiness in the dry down but virtually no jasmine at all (what jasmine?) . The tea is there but really, Pondichery is all about cardamom and bergamot on me. And just to be different from Joe: Portofino lasts only a short lemony time on me while Pondichery, although it is not a “strong” fragrance, has good lasting power (several hours) close to the skin.
My daughter loves Pondichery and would have left (and I quote) “strong comments” except for your very fine Jamelly…
Daisy! HAHA! Saved by the strawberry! There is an art to tea-sipping that once mastered, keeps the teeth nice and white! The jasmine makes a quick entrance and exit…put on some Pondichery and keep those nostrils pressed to skin for the first two minutes. I think you’ll detect the jasmine…but don’t turn away or you’ll miss it.
The CSP black tea sounds amazing. I haven’t found a good, straight black tea scent, but I dole out occasional spritzes from my hoarded bottle of (discontinued, of course) Fresh Moroccan Mint Tea.
I would like to have my mattress stuffed with hundred dollar bills, thank you, in neat little foot-high bundles. It would be an amazing scent. My pillow could be stuffed with lavender.
LOL! I’m with you there.
Dissed: a money-stuffed mattress is a must for niche perfume lovers, isn’t it? And a lavender pillow may alleviate the guilt of all the money spent….
Soooo PICKY!!! I’d be perfectly content with twenties.
At this point, I’d be perfectly content with singles…
shhhh…me too, we don’t want to look too cheap & easy….
I love black teas too and the nicest truest tea scent I’ve come across is Speziali Fiorentini’s Te Nero. It comes in a 50 ml perfume for just $38 and the line also has body lotions, after shave, sachets, shower gels.
And as to drinking tea, have you ever tried Mariage Frere’s wonderful teas? Love their Marco Polo and their Fruits Noir
Oh, I bet that Te Nero is worth sniffing. I have some white tea lotion from that line that is just fantastic (if a little more masculine than I was expecting!).
Kevin, seconding (thirding?) the Te Nero, sorry if I’ve blathered about it before at you… it’s dirt cheap online, $26 maybe? And it’s TEA, dark and rich and a little bitter. FWIW I like the “body mist” better than the EDT and it’s cheaper.
Pondichery – bergamot? Wah. You killed my lemming.
March: all I ever see for sale is the perfume OIL…I will look for the cologne instead.
http://www.shoplondons.com/spfiblteabom.html
they have the lotion and EDT too, I’ve heard nice things about the lotion but can’t remember it, I’m not a big body products gal.
boojum: that line is good…but I’ve never tried the fragrance oil…since I don’t love oils in general.
No, I don’t like oils either…didn’t realize that was the format.
Boojum: see March’s comment above…a cologne version is available.
Tante Kat: yes! Have you ever been to the Mariage Freres shop in Paris…the big one near the Place des Vosges? Heaven for tea sniffers and drinkers. Love both the teas you mention. I also love the Black Tea soap from the SdF company.
Kevin, I’ve never had the pleasure of going to Paris, though I have seen the shop in an episode of the Amazing Race, LOL
I buy mine online from the Cultured Cup in Dallas, not only do they carry wonderful teas, but their service is just spectacular.
Stuff my pillow with chamomile flowers, please, and yes, my mattress with moolah.
Thank you for your typically great review, Kevin. I have not gone to the tea scents much – a few green teas, I guess, but not in actual perfume – more a BBW and Body Time way. I am interested in exploring it, though, and will look into the recs above as well as the Pondichery when it comes out (even though I am steeling myself for disappointment).
Tama, are you “Tama” on MUA?
Yes, I am!
k I sent you a message
Tama: thanks!
Hey Kevin, intersting… I love Escale a Portofino but this one I only tried quickly on paper and at first sniff I found far less interesting than the first. You don’t like them either?
I’m a teaholic too…I’m always curious to know more kinds: What type of tea is Kalmi Gulabi? I love Darjeelings.
My favourite morning tea is Marriage Frères’ French breakfast, a light but full-bodied black tea blend with a wonderful chocolatey aroma, which comes from light roasting process not added fragrance. During day I drink a lot of Oolongs and green teas (Longjing), sometimes smoke tea. I don’t know many black teas though.
LL: the Gulabi box is not in English…but I believe it’s an assam. Love oolongs too and have started drinking white teas…quite delicious.
At the moment I drink an Assam every morning. Ran out of French Breakfast and last time at MF I spent all my money on 2 Oolongs…
I will try to find that Kalmi Gulabi.
Thanks for the lovely review, Kevin, and now I’m mourning the loss of a fragrance I didn’t even know existed… nothing really smells like BLACK tea, does it? Sigh.
The closest I’ve come so far is Ava Luxe’s The’ Noir. Real BLACK tea, with spices – it seems about equally weighted between the tea and the spices. AL’s notes don’t specify which spices they are, but my notes say “cinnamon, clove, pepper, cardamom, and anise.” It’s a bit like very strong chai made without milk or sugar, which I guess isn’t chai at all. Okay, spice tea then. It is lovely, though.
oooh I need to try that Ava Luxe and also the Café Noir
Masala chai is just spiced tea ^______^
mals: usually like tea scents with florals instead of spices…or fruits…but thanks for the tip.
Yes, tea leaves smell very floral to me – I just haven’t found a scent that smelled like black tea with flowers. (Any suggestions? Tks.)
My beloved Bvlgari Eau Parfumee Au The Blanc (this computer is not letting me add the accents) is a gorgeous, if lightweight, WHITE tea with flowers; but I don’t know of any BLACK tea with flowers. I’d like a more concentrated version of the Bulgari; but I’m going to try the Ava Luxe, too, as that sounds (literally) delicious! And I love Ava Luxe’s Moroccan Mint Tea.
Mals, have you tried the Osmanthe Yunnan? Also, this Pondichery, even though I don’t detect jasmine per se, has a sort of floral sweetness, so you should try it.
Joe – Osmanthe Yunnan is gorgeous… and then it’s GONE. Seriously, within an hour of application I was snarfling all over my arm to get the barest whiff. (Think bloodhounds here.) And then I went and spilled the rest of my sample vial, ACK ERGH NOOOOOOO! It was lovely, but faint, and spendy into the bargain, so (sigh) I’ve crossed it off the list, even in decant size.
Mals…did you ever try Parfum d’Empire’s Osmanthus scent…though not a black tea, its notes conjure up a tea-with-flowers aroma.
No, I haven’t tried the PdE one; will have to sample it. Thanks for the rec! TDC’s Osmanthus was really nice, but I got no tea vibe out of it.
I also tried CBIHP Tea/Rose, and although I am a card-carryin’ Rose Ho, I did not like it. It did start off with a gorgeously floral black tea scent, but within an hour was straight up rose, a bitter, vindictive spinster rose. Ack. But I think CBIHP has some accords in oil format (which I don’t hate, although I prefer alcohol-based) – maybe they’ve got a straightforward tea scent as well as Russian Caravan.
mmm…sounds verra nice….will check that one out.
I’m afraid of Ava Luxe….soooo much stuff to choose from! Just like DSH…I just keep flinging things into the basket!
ooh, I’d like to try that one for sure!
Kevin, I feel your pain. I will keep my eyes open for Comptoir Sud Pacifique Thé Eau de Parfum. I have a fragrance that I spent nine years looking for, and finally was ready to admit defeat when I found it at the Perfume House here in Portland. Somebody somewhere’s got to have it, right? I will be on the lookout.
Miss K: I HOPE!
Hi Kevin,
Thank you for this review, I felt the same about Pondichéry even though I do like lightweight scents. I was looking for a fresh scent for summer and the bottle seemed soooo inviting… but this had no body and in my skin it didn’t last long at all. I just bought a summer tea perfume unsniffed on ebay, but I don’t think it has black tea: Thé por un été, and I’m praying I will like it.
Angela: oh, I think you’ll like that one!
Waiting….still waiting…LOL! Portofino finally appeared at the Duty Free store in my area last August. Hopefully it’ll be around the same time this year. And I think Portofino appeared at my Nordstrom around Mother’s Day this year I think. Strange how these limited editions make their way around, and so off-season.
Kenzo seems to be doing the same thing too with 7:15 AM in Bali and now 5:40 PM in Madagascar. Seems to be available only at Duty Free stores only. Managed to snag a bottle of the former. Hopefully I can find the latter soon.
I think I saw Bali at one of the discounters…
Yes, they’ve finally started to appear here and there. I got Bali off eBay.
iMav: the trip from Europe to the U.S. can be a LOOOOONG one when it comes to perfume. It’s hard to wait!
I definitely hear you, Kevin. But there are the little distractions coming up or already here. Cristalle Eau Verte for one, and definitely Terre d’Hermes Parfum, although I do hope that Td’HP does not take the slow barge across the Atlantic as well.
I smelled Pondichery at the duty free store in Montreal, Canada on Friday. Didn’t care for it, it was a rather strident, synthetic tea smell that lasted a lot longer than I wanted it to. I like Portofino a lot better, but wouldn’t purchase either of them.
Cazaubon: to me, neither has much character …nothing distinct about them.
My go to Tea scents are Bvlgari Au The Vert and The Rouge.
C: both of them are nice…(got the samples…gracias as usual…what an unexpected surprise Cabaret is!)
I would love to find a perfume that smells like my favorite tea–Persimmon White Tea from the republic of tea. It’s an intoxicating scent, and if anyone has any suggestions, do tell.
Polly> OOOOOH! that sounds VERY VERY GOOD…I’ll look for that this weekend.
Friends and family have definitely caught me with my nose in the tea tin, just sniffing. Good luck and I hope you like it.
Kevin –
I have a sample of this thanks to the wonderful Daisy (poster above, not the limited edition silver bottle below) and your review is dead on! I had no idea until Daisy told me later that this was even supposed to be a tea scent. I had about ten minutes in the beginning that was lovely (as you did) and then an extremely bitter heart, followed by a pleasant enough albeit very generic dry down. I will say though that the dry down stayed on my skin FOREVER – even after showering the next morning.
Rappleyea…wow…that’s a long time to last on skin for this! It “lasted” on me a long while but I really couldn’t smell it unless I put my nose against my Pondichery-sprayed arms.
Re drinking tea (and tea with flowers): have you ever tried the French Earl Grey with blue flowers from Mariage Freres? It’s wonderful.
Suddenly: nope…have not tried that one…YET (what are the flowers?)
Hi Kevin,
This probably sounds strange, but in some way, I’m glad I never tried it and won’t have to miss it, if that makes sense….. Nothing worse than having a holy grail scent and not getting your hands on it.
I do like L’A’s Tea for Two, but I love honey/milky/spice notes so it fits the bill for “that” craving…
Smokey: these days we ALL have to be hyper-alert, don’t we. If there’s a scent we love, we must buy it, and lots of it, WHEN we love it…otherwise we not only risk it being discontinued, but reformulated…no moss! no ‘this’, no ‘that’….
I love Tea for Two, but what I would really love to find is a scent that smells like my favorite tea. It’s some kind of green tea with jasmine and just amazing. I usually drink it in bag form, but while on vacation my friend had it as a flower that blossoms as the water’s poured over it. Just fantastic.
You know, I’m not sure it’s possible to have too many tea scents.
Rachel: Have you tried L’AP’s The Pour un Ete? That’s green and jasmine tea, quite lovely, if a little lightweight.
Great rec BooJUM, that IS a nice green tea scent with jasmine. I think there is also a Parfums de Nicolai tea scent-Fig Tea that is quite nice. But it’s not a black tea, it’s light and diffusive. Lovely for summer…
It’s funny, my collection of Tea perfumes is much like the tea I drink, lots of variety. Sometimes there’s green tea, black tea, chai tea, english breakfast tea, just depends on the mood of the moment!
ALL: will second the Nicolai Fig Tea scent…very powerful on me but still refreshing.
Oooo…those all sound really good, especially The Pour un Ete. I’m such a sucker for L’Artisan. I also love fig, though, so the Perfumes de Nicolai sounds amazing to. I think it’s time for another sample order.
I searched and it looks like your favorite packaged tea is indeed a long leaf Assam — a strong, somewhat malty Indian black tea for the ME market. Make it with distilled water sometime to see what it can be without the usual change in taste from your local water.
hereitcomesagain: OK…I’ll try a pot with distilled water, K
K – I came home to a nice new sample set…barely a whiff so far, but what about CDG’s Nomad Tea? Definitely some smoky tea buried under the mint…
Boojum: yes, that one was OK…as was the old TEA in the green bottle (very smoky). And my memory is fading at this hour but Parf. Generale has a nice smoked tea fragrance.
Is that the l’Eau Rare Matale that’s on the way in my TPC order?
Boojum: I do believe it is!
Just mix Un Jardin Apres La Mousson with some 4711 and there you go.
Kevin! Your kidney for a bottle? Your devotion puts me to shame! I wince if i have to part with more than £68 (which is the price of an Ormonde Jayne!) However, I feel a major Andy Tauer spree coming upon me, worth a few internal organs atleast……..
I am a dedicated tea drinker, (kyoto sencha being my fave) but never explored this note in scent. The only one I have, i believe, is Bvlgari Black and I bought that for the rubber/smoke notes rather than the lapsang. What are your favourite tea scents, Kevin? So’s I can sample a few of the top-rated and not waste time on the dross!
Talking of tea drinking, when I was living in Boston, Tea Luxe was my Zen temple. It was lovely to be served tea in a pot, with a proper cup and saucer. And the whole place smelled of tea. I felt like such a stereotypical ex-pat, but sometimes an Englishwoman needs a pot of tea, a cup and saucer.
Blimunda: a kidney for a CASE! HA! Think I’ve mentioned or endorsed some of my fav tea scents in the replies above.
I am mostly a “quiet reader” of this blog but thought I’d comment on this since I’ve actually smelled it and completely agree that it started of rather exciting but after an hour or so it had lost all originality.
Reading the notes I had hoped for a cologne version of Yogi tea, one of my favourite teas, which is all spice and no tea leaves at all. Yogi tea has cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and an almost stinging black pepper. It would make a lovely fragrance on the skin I think.
I also recently discovered rose teas and I love the to taste the rose, which makes me feel like I’m drinking perfume!
The same thing with high quality jasmine teas that can fill the whole room with scent, as convincingly as any Diptyque candle.
lilylys: thanks for commenting; Robin here at NST sent me a sample of a great tea from Palais de Thes : The des Fakirs…a great green tea with spices…delicious.
for tea frags, i love all 3 Bulgaris. Vert is fresh. Blanc is soft and warm skin. Rouge is refreshing black tea.
Estee Lauder’s Green Tea is also nice, but in terms of beverages, it’s more green tea lemonade than actual green tea.
prism: hmmm…never tried or heard of the Estee Lauder one!
I don’t think they have one – unless you consider Elizabeth Arden Green Tea a Lauder since they hold the license for EA scents.
oops. yup, exactly that one LOL. i always get both of em confused.
Obviously I’m hanging with the right crowd here, as I sit as I do every morn with my cup of strong black tea (this season loose leaf Yorkshire Gold mixed with Darjeeling) with a splash of organic milk. I, too, have been disappointed with the perfume industry’s attempts to capture the truly beautiful flowery resiny tannic smell of black tea. Bulgari Black is pretty good but the rubber/vanilla comes across stronger than the Lapsang Suchong. L’Artisan’s Tea for Two just seemed too soapy/ tobacco-y to me.
The door’s WIIIIIIIDE open for a great black tea perfume…let’s hope someone is listening!
If it’s citrusy, then I might like this new one. I love citrus perfumes that are very light and the pic of the bottle is beautiful.
The TRUEST tea scent I have ever smelled, is CdG Sweet Series: Nomad Tea. It smells like a cop of rich, black mint tea with a bit of sugar. It just does, does, DOES smell like a cop of freshly brewed, mint but very rich and intense, woodsy tea and nothing else. I can even smell the base notes as something that resembles the “aftertaste” of such tea to me.
Also L’occitane’s Bergamot Tea is a great, great discovery for me this summer!!! Smells like a wonderful cop of my favorite Earl Grey tea and stays on my skin for quite a while. Like it very much. Try it, Kevin, for sure!
Lavandula: believe me, I was all over the L’Occitane and it was a huge disappointment; it didn’t even last seven minutes on my skin! The first few minutes were nice though…most L’Occitanes these days are very “thin.”
Kevin: I couldn’t believe how fleeting the Bergamot Tea was… however, I have had great success with their Green Tea, which lasts a good half-day on me.
I just tried this and so far I like it. I wasn’t expecting any one note to stand out, I was just looking for a light summer scent and, to me, that’s what this is. It may help that it’s ridiculously hot where I am and light scents fit perfectly with this weather!
Just thought I’d add that upon futher testing I’ve noticed that this lasts approximately 2.4 seconds on me so reapplying regularly is a must!
I wish Bvlgari would come out with more tea scents, including some Black Tea variation (i dont smell tea in their Black Perfume). I liked the White Tea, Red Tea was weird on my skin, and Green Tea was a bit too green. I would be curious to see what they can do with other teas, as far as fragrance interpretations!
I used this fragrance all the summer together with Eau Vitaminee.It’s fresh with a little bit scent of tea but for my tottaly diferent then other tea scents.I bought 125ml and after 2 monts it’s almost empty.Usually my perfumes stay longer.I used full bottle of Eau Vitaminee-but it’s not so expensive.Escale is quite expensive on polish market and i hope to have it longer.But i had to used it few times by the day if i wanted smell nice.Maby reason is this is summer fragrance without alkohol
“Spray on your upper lip for easy sniffing”…HAHA, I love it! Awesome sense of humour in your review, I enjoyed the kidney too:-)
Anyway, Flowerbomb is supposed to have black tea in it. And I also think Bulgari Black.
Too bad you didn`t like Prodichery, I loved it, and the after smell too, quite opposite to you but maybe cause I like bergamot so much
Portofino is too simple, if Pordichery has the strong note of bergamot that stays, Portofino fades in some kind of olfactive obscurity. Marquises is better than portofino but I am sticking to Prodichery, ah