Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Is tea a spring note and other musings


I've been meaning to write about this for some time now but I'm glad I waited and had a chance to smell some DSH creations that arrived last week.

As the spring started, I thought a lot about things I would like to wear, what feels right in spring and came up with tea among other things, smelling it in Amaranthine and The Silk Road (also by DSH). But the tea note I crave is not black tea, I need greenery now in all forms. Not the tea that makes appearance in CdG Tea - that smells like some Chinese tea I tried some time ago and hated. That is just a total scrubber in my case.

So, in my mind, green tea is one of the spring notes I like and prefer.

Then I read Katie's comment to my Scents that sing Spring! post and realized she is right. My choices are zesty and yes, I enjoy citrusy stuff because it gives off an energetic vibe I seem to need in the spring. Everything is waking and after the initial surge in energy, my energy level slowly decreases so I crave smells that will help with that.

So, you can imagine I was happy when I discovered some new gems in the DSH package.

I just wish that they weren't letting go Wasabi-Shiso. That is bottled spring energy! And I have no idea why is it considered an autumn scent on DSH site?!



I have the notes now but when I smelled it for the first time it was a rush. :) The description at the DSH site says Whoosh! Well, that certainly is one way of putting it. You get this strong lemon peel vibe underscored by green (those are my initial ideas - lemon peel and perhaps basil and majoram). It is very optimistic and energetic and once I saw the notes, I realized there was quite a lot to give that citrusy vibe. It is almost grapefruity, smells more like lemon peel and pits and is just a limey, juicy, happy thing. It practically fizzes with all those citruses. Later it settles down and I lose my note detection ability. Some easy vetiver and sandal.

I am happy to have a little bottle of this, especially if it's going out of production.


And now on to the one that has my spring cravings. Bancha.


Here is what DSH has to say about it:

"The season of new life, new beginnings and renewed wellbeing, Spring signifies a rebirth through a harmonious celebration of balance and revitalization. To welcome this invigorating time of year, we've created a special ayurvedic, all botanical scent elemental to the season, Bancha. Charismatic and refreshing, the bold citrus top notes of Bancha intertwine with a base of earthy, green aromas for a crisp, lively fragrance that will revive the senses and restore harmony."


My initial thought was osmanthus perhaps and it smelled like lemon-tea but better. :) I know, I really smell a lot. ;)

The problem was I smelled this after Wasabi-Shiso and thought it smelled like a watered down version of it. With citrusy opening but with the grapefruit association, some lemon peel no pits.

It doesn't have the juiciness and doesn't project so much energy but it grows on you. Me especially because there are similarities with Charmes et Feuilles and whatever is similar to that is guarantueed my love. The mandarin and lime peel underscored by greenery hinting at spearmint and basil, what more could you ask? And then it mellows even more and the tea note comes from somewhere (have no idea where, it is not listed, perhaps yuzu and rose?). Anyway, it is really a calming scent and totally for me and my spring cravings.

Although, you know, nothing beats spring. I guess that is why I keep looking for something to wear in spring but I don't think anything will ever compare.


15 comments:

  1. Hi Ines
    I can't wear any tea scents - they go all bitter-sour on me !!
    Have you sniffed any Roger & Gallet frags ? I think you would like them - Lotus Bleu , The Vert and Cedrat are all happy citrusy things !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Carol.
    I'm really sorry to hear that - I enjoy good tea scents immensely. Well, I enjoy green and herbal teas in real life as well.
    Thanks for the suggestions - I never sniffed any of the R&G stuff but I'll find them now. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ah, green tea. I do enjoy it...and yes, I see why you would like it zesty for spring. I kinda like it earthy for spring. We can sit an waft together and make a sort of "layer cloud" for passerby to enjoy.

    Looking at the notes for your happy-place Wasabi-Shiso, and I'm guessing that the same thing that makes it catalogued as a "fall" scent is also the reason it's going out of production: myosore sandalwood. Beautiful, rich...and painfully overharvested and therefore no longer approved as a source.

    You are on the Bancha bus, too? I really need to try that stuff. (Notice, responsible, approved, and different smelling *Australian* sandalwood there.) Certain green leafy ingredients in that list are ringing a bell...ah, Manifesto...I wonder if Bancha succeeds in a sprightly with depth something that I would have thought Manifesto was going to be, but wasn't?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ines, I do really like DSH, but I'm very drawn to her florals rather than the ones you've been enjoying. I saw Wasabi Shiso and said, "Um, NO." I did really like The Silk Road: tea, spice, florals, leather. But then Tabac Aurea, which overlaps a lot with the notes, just blew it out of the water, and I Just Don't NEED a lot of scents that smell alike.

    I don't care much for green tea in fragrance - but then, I don't care much for citrus, either. I want my leaves to smell, well, leafy. Not citrusy, and green tea smells a bit like lemon to me.

    All the more green tea & citrus for you, then, since I'm leaving it alone!

    ReplyDelete
  5. ScentScelf, I think our cloud would be really something to smell. :)
    I'm ashamed now, you made me realize I don't really look at the notes listed, I never go further than sandalwood, I see there is a word in front of it, but sandalwood is all I read. Shame on me!
    Bancha bus - oh yes I'm on it. I believe that soon I will be fighting for my place there, the more I smell it, the more I like it. It's one of those scents that make me relax and smile. And at the end of the day, it doesn't get better than that. Ok, I don't mean I wear at the end of the day, but it will help with stressful days ast work.

    ReplyDelete
  6. He, he, he. Mals I'm happily rubbing my hands. You can the florals, I'll go with my zesty thingies and DSH gourmands and orientals. I haven't really smelled that many florals from DSH. This package contained African Violet which reminds me again of my childhood and my other grandmother who adores the smell of violets, and even though I like it, I'm seriously contemplating giving it to my grandmother because I know she will love it. And now I wrote this I know there is really no choice. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ooops, Mals, it was supposed to say, you can have the florals. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I *love* tea in scents, but haven't found one that doesn't smell like a sad used tea bag on my skin after, say, 20 minutes (I'm looking at you Bvlgari "Au Te Vert"-- heartbreaker...)
    But I think tea is a perfect spring scent idea.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love tea of any colour in scents - have just discovered Gucci pour Homme II on the men's side of things. I have read about Bancha and am curious to try it, though the Wasabi one is new on me. Meanwhile, have been wearing Ava Luxe The Blanc lately - a very pretty white tea scent with bergamot and freesia.

    ReplyDelete
  10. LCN, I used to think tea was no good one me too, Bulgari is just not meant for me and Elizabeth Arden Green tea just doesn't work on me. It is definitely worth trying some more tea scents - I'm sure there are some that will work for you - we do seem to share a lot of our perfume loves. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. FS, The Blanc sounds interesting. I'm sure pairing white tea with flowers is a success.
    I will definitely try Gucci, I'm always on the lookout for new things to buy for my BF. He never buys anything of the sort for himself - he has me. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love tea scents and think they are perfect for spring and summer- I especially like them if they are citrusy teas in the height of summer- I bought Elizabeth Arden Green Tea on holiday once out of necessity (yes believe it or not I has forgotten perfume and there weren't many available)- i have never recieved so many compliments! and a tea scent cools you down like real tea does

    ReplyDelete
  13. Rose, thanks for reminding me of EA Green Tea - it's been long since I tried it (and didn't particularly like it) but I wanted to re-sniff it and see what happens.
    I'm sure forgetting perfume happens to the best of us (hopefully not more than once in a lifetime) ;) - at least you got a lot of compliments out of it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love black tea scents - L'Eau Rare Matale, Harmatan Noir, ElizabethW Sweet Tea, Bvlgari Black, CdG Tea, The Pour Un Ete, Tea for Two, CB I Hate Perfume Black Tea, Sandalo E The, and does Osmanthe Yunnan really count as tea?

    But I've never found a perfume "tea" note that really smelled like tea to me. The closest, through some quirk of my nose, is Patchouli 24's birch tar. The others have the mood of tea - refreshing aromatic bitterness - but not tea.

    So maybe green tea - conspicuously absent from my list - would be different.

    Wasabi Shiso? Wow. That's an exciting concept.

    ReplyDelete
  15. CF, the only black tea so far I can stand is Bulgari Black, CdG Tea smells absolutely awful on me. And I don't really enjoy drinking black tea, I'm a green kinda person. :)
    And I'm probably not the person to say if Osmanthe Yunnan is tea - all osmanthus containing scents remind me of tea. :)

    ReplyDelete