The scent of black tea makes me smile; it can reset my mood from blah to cheerful. Any flavored version of black tea I enjoy tasting, I enjoy smelling, too, even in perfumes. Black tea mixes well with citrus (bergamot, orange, grapefruit, the "classic" lemon), spices, flowers (jasmine, rose), fruits (plum, apricot, peach, berries). Black tea can be sweet, bitter, fresh, or rich and smoky. In Eau Parfumée Au Thé Noir, Bvlgari mixes a black tea accord with bergamot, rose, leather, oud, patchouli and vanilla.
Though I've tried Bvlgari's other Eau Parfumée perfumes — Eau Parfumée Au Thé Vert, Eau Parfumée Au Thé Blanc, Eau Parfumée Au Thé Rouge, Eau Parfumée Au Thé Bleu — until recently, Eau Parfumée Au Thé Noir was a stranger. I'm glad I discovered it since 1.) it's my favorite of the bunch and 2.) it's not for sale in the US (except via discounters). Of course! My favored scents always get reformulated, terminated or become hard to obtain (insert a whiny tone). As of this morning, Bvlgari's US website lists only Eau Parfumée Au Thé Vert and Eau Parfumée Au Thé Blanc for purchase. I read about Eau Parfumée Au Thé Noir in an online fashion magazine from Dubai and I ordered a 150 ml bottle, unsniffed.
Eau Parfumée Au Thé Noir comes in cologne and intense cologne versions and trying to find a definitive list of fragrance notes for each is impossible (and, I guess, unnecessary given the unreliability of lists of perfume notes). Today I review the cologne version; it opens with a citrus and slightly floral black tea accord. Eau Parfumée Au Thé Noir's smoky mate, leather/saffron and oud arrive next and I imagine sipping strong, caffeine-rich tea in a shop full of brand new leather goods. The final stage of Eau Parfumée Au Thé Noir is a mélange — shy pink rose, merry (not pensive) oud, balmy patchouli, 'beige' musk and some sweetened black tea. Though Eau Parfumée Au Thé Noir's list of fragrance notes sounds hefty and overpowering, its effect is not bulky, but gauzy and enlivening.
Eau Parfumée Au Thé Noir is not diffusive; the scent stays close to the body. When I apply it, I make sure to get some of the cologne on my shirt or sweater, where all the perfume's facets stand out and last all day. This is a great year-round non-citrus cologne. If you've always wanted to like oud but found it too strident, medicinal and overwhelming, Eau Parfumée Au Thé Noir may give you an oud you can enjoy. Eau Parfumée Au Thé Noir was developed by perfumer Jacques Cavallier, who also created Eau Parfumée Au Thé Blanc and another sensational oud fragrance — Yves Saint Laurent M7.
On Bvlgari's French website all versions of the Eaux Parfumées are listed; Eau Parfumée Au Thé Noir Eau de Cologne is available in 75 (€82) and 150 ml ( €134).
Re: “brand new leather goods” – yes, this has always reminded me of the leather of expensive shoes, the same way Cuir dAnge does.
Annie: I noticed that many online said it reminded them of “new car scent” (when the interior is leather).
This is my favorite of the bunch, too. They used to sell it at Sephora in a small travel size. I am glad I bought one (and a Bleu).
monkeytoe: I read all the old (2015) Bvlgari PR for this one and even Bvlgari spokespeople said they didn’t expect the perfume to be a hit with consumers…but it was an experiment in creativity. Poor thing was doomed from the start. HA! But I guess Europeans are more accepting.
ALL: If anyone’s tried the intense cologne version…please comment…I’m wondering how it differs from the cologne.
I love many of their scents, Pour Femme, Au the Blanc and the Vert are my top three. For some reason, I’ve never tried this one. I hope at some point, I’ll get the chance, although I admit – I need another bottle of perfume like I need a hole in my head!
I’ve come to the conclusion as soon as I adore a fragrance, it’s the kiss of death via reformulation or it gets the ax.
ST: same here!
I love tea scents but I feel like I get it throughout the day from all the teas I drink(yes that is why I picked my name). Too bad it is hard to find. A candle I enjoy is Nest Apricot Tea. It is low key, but the scent opens up more when burning. It is a very relaxing scent to me.
Tea Thyme: love apricot tea…glad you mentioned it (I need to buy a bag!)
Thank you for the review! I am intrigued. I‘ve not yet found an oud to appreciate. In fact every time I see ‚oud‘ in the title or notes I recoil fearing an Intense Woody Projection Bomb. Unfair to probably a whole plethora of wonderful oud scents.
@ka_rina, you’re welcome and I’m sure you can find a friendly oud out there.
I may have told this tale here before, so forgive me if that’s so & hope I won’t bore people! When Bulgari launched what I believe was their first ever fragrance, Parfumee Au The Vert, certainly in the UK back then it was only available in their actual stores. So I popped into their Sloane Street location on a trip to London, & once the security person had looked me up & down (comfortable shoes for pounding the pavements, jeans & no doubt a t-shirt from some rock concert!) I was guided to a chair, asked what I could be helped with, & when the assistant realised that I had read up on the fragrance I was offered a glass of fizz & given the most gorgeous free sample – miniature of the standard size bottle (not a phial, I was delighted to note!) set into a hollowed out small cardboard book, with a few pages explaining the ingredients & showing illustrations of some of the ingredients involved, all in this beautiful pale green & cream setting, tied with a pale green ribbon. I was chuffed to bits! I’m sure I still have the empty bottle & book somewhere, & I did go on to buy a couple of full size bottles over the years. Just haven’t quite got round to buying a piece of jewellery from them…
Carolyn…excellent service…and I laugh when I get jewelry emails from them, too.
I completely forgot about this Bulgari. I always got confused, in my mind, between this and Black by CdG.
I also forgot this has oud.
Thanks for the reminder!
Mike…hope you get to smell it. I’m tempted to buy the intense version, too…I believe it adds magnolia and tobacco to the mix.
I saw a bottle of this at Marshall’s and did not buy it. Of course the next time I went, it was no longer available.
Hajusuuri, of course!!!
Your Marshall’s is not like my Marshall’s…..
TB fair, I do not visit often (even pre-COVID), so who knows what I’d find if I went regularly.
skalolazka; agree…bet you have to be a “regular” to get a good selection. I go once or twice a year and head to the perfume section to find; Drakkar Noir or some Paris Hilton junk
Hi, Kevin! This is my favourite of the bunch, too. A kind friend had made a generous decant which, alas, I went through in a matter of weeks.
Interesting that you don’t find Au Thé Noir diffusive. The friend would complain to me that it became a skin scent on her after a mere three hours even as she was wafting the room!
Thanks for the review.
Hi, Dusan! Maybe there’s a musk your friend and I can’t smell? The latest Zoologist Koala also zaps my nose in minutes.
I had a sample of this from one of the “Perfumes — The Guide” sample packs I bought a couple years back and decided to go for the FB when the sample ran out…and of course couldn’t find it anywhere, except on US Amazon (sigh). It’s now sitting at my sister’s house in the States, waiting for the borders to open again.
ockeghem: are you in Europe? If in Canada, it doesn’t seem to be stocked there either. Maybe ask your sister to remail it to you for your Xmas present?
This is one of my favorite summer office scents in a “take charge, roll up your sleeves, be energetic” kind of way. Hence – I haven’t worn it much this summer! Got on my radar after Turin’s review and then I found it on clearance at the local Tj Maxx because the box was all dented. This find probably still makes me check from time to time , two years later, for other steals!