The scent of tea - BPAL's tea note, BPAL blends like your favorite tea

[ivyandpeony]

I just wanted to put in a good word for Famine here. It is a wonderful smoky black tea scent. I detect some honey, although it isn't listed on the notes, but the overall effect is not as sweet as White Rabbit or even Dorian. I was afraid that Famine would be too masculine for me to wear, but it's not. It reminds me of Chergui, a very exclusive Serge Lutens parfume that can be only obtained in Paris.

 

I had only sniffed this in the bottle, and I thought I wanted to try it, but not necessarily desperately... Now you throw that at me. Good thing I haven't placed my Sea of Tranquility order yet!

 

Currently I have been wearing Bakeneko lately for that warm spicy tea scent, just perfect for the chilly days we have been having.

 

I noticed that Cordelia doesn't get mentioned a lot in the tea scent discussion - I don't get the green tea as the dominant note in it (it's hard for anything to dominate lilac, wisteria, osmanthus &/or cedar on my skin!) but it has the same feel that I get from Shanghai, Embalming Fluid, even F5, like a sophisticated and more complex cousin to those scents. If you like those and haven't tried Cordelia (and aren't completely opposed to florals), definitely slap that baby onto your next imp order!

 

I love the lab's white tea note too, I find it a little more delicate and floral and less "juicy" than the green tea note. It's lovely in The Fox Woman Kuzunoha Leaving Her Child and of course in Kumiho (another fox woman! Coincidence? ) It rocks in Maiden and the original formulation of 13 too.

[Ina Garten Davita]

I love tea scents! My latest favorite is Vampire Tears. I adore Spirits of the Dead, too. They are sort of like two sides of the same coin. Another favorite is Snow Angel, that sweet peach tea note is fabulous. I've been having a mad affair with Dorian for years (love at first sniff), he's my favorite tea scent, especially aged.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

I'm faithful to Dorian. Had a very brief affair with Spirits of the Dead but it wasn't mean't to be.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Dorian is such a gorgeous Southern-sweet-tea + sexy musk scent that it's no wonder Atlanta girls like Andra and I love it. (To clarify: I was born there; I live in the Northwest now but will always be a Georgia girl at heart. )

 

My favorite tea blend of all, though, is Dormouse--peony and tea are two of my most beloved notes, but they are both delicate and inclined to be drowned out in other blends. With Dormouse I can smell both distinctly.

 

It occurs to me that tea notes are universal favorites in my family. My Mom wanted White Rabbit as her first big bottle; she loves to wear it for teatime. My S.O. loves Usher--it's all citrus tea on him, and smells really clean and elegant without any of those "ick" notes that he hates in most non-BPAL men's cologne. I've passed my bottle on to him. I've smelled Severin and liked it, so I have some on order for him. I think of Dorian as utterly gender-neutral (but hottttt on guys!) whereas Usher and Severin have a...I believe it's a fougere?...which makes me like them on boys.

 

Honestly, seeing "tea" as a prominently listed note is a big incentive to me to try a scent. However, while I *like* green tea (as in Embalming Fluid or Gennivre) and white tea (as in Kumiho), I *love* black tea. That's always the winner for me.

Edited November 25, 2007 by Laurel the Woodfairy

[Apple]

I also love black tea, both as a beverage and as a fragrance. Of the BPAL scents with black tea, I've tried:

 

Dorian

Dormouse, The

Severin

White Rabbit

 

Severin was all bergamot on me with no leather and very little tea. Sort of a super Earl Grey. It was pleasant, light, and refreshing, but only lasted about 15 minutes.

 

Dorian, The Dormouse, and White Rabbit all open with the same wonderful black tea note (that unfortunately never lasts on me), but then the three rapidly diverge. The Dormouse scampers off into tea + clean linen (which is how White Rabbit smells initially), whereas Dorian moves quickly into sweet vanilla land (which is how White Rabbit finishes).

 

To me, White Rabbit is the best, and the other two smell like fractured versions of it. E.g., neither Dorian nor The Dormouse contains White Rabbit's milk and ginger notes. Furthermore, Dorian does not contain the fresh linen scent common to The Dormouse and White Rabbit, and The Dormouse does not contain the vanilla note common to Dorian and White Rabbit.

 

On the other hand, neither The Dormouse nor White Rabbit contains Dorian's wintergreen/menthol/eucalyptus note. (I know none of these are listed as notes in Dorian, but my nose definitely detects something akin to them.)

 

Still, I find White Rabbit to be more full and interesting and more pleasing to my nose than the other two. Dorian is too overpowering; it's sickly sweet and eye-wateringly vanilla-minty, whereas The Dormouse is too light and clean and delicate. White Rabbit strikes the right balance for me, although I know that milk note isn't for everyone.

 

That's my three cents.

[ClareN]

Honestly, seeing "tea" as a prominently listed note is a big incentive to me to try a scent.

Me too! I feel a compulsion to try everything with tea and have probably worked my way through about half of them by now, but not all of them work for me and I'm still waiting for the Lab to release that perfect black tea scent. I have high hopes for Famine, which I just got a decant of but haven't tried yet. Plunder would probably smell great, but the cinnamon would burn me so I'm steering clear of it.

 

Quick rundown of some of the ones I have tried:

 

Bengal smells like Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice tea, but the cinnamon burns me.

 

Bakeneko is my favorite scent; it's more amber and citrus than tea on my skin, but I think the tea helps round it out and make it into perfection (can you tell I love this one?).

 

Dorian is probably my favorite GC. I just don't think I can add anything to what's been said about it already!

 

I really like Embalming Fluid too. The tea seems to help make it more complex than your regular "refreshing" summery scent. I think the bottle I have may be somewhat aged, but it smells great.

 

My imp of Severin smells like Earl Grey, but the first imp I had smelled only of lemon, so there may be batch differences there. I don't wear it often because it isn't very strong.

 

I think I remember Kumiho smelling similar to Dorian without the vanilla, but very faint.

 

Bien Loin d'Ici, bizarrely enough, smells like very good jasmine tea for the first half hour or so (rich jasmine tea without the usual "BPAL jasmine" note that I dislike). I love that one. But tea isn't a listed note and I don't see anyone else mentioning it in this thread, so maybe that's just me.

 

I wanted to love White Rabbit, but it turns out I actually hate it (I feel sacrilegious!) - what I think is the linen ruins it for me - and I am aging the imp I have to see if the linen fades out and leaves me with a nice black tea.

 

I need to start watching this thread, and read the rest of it carefully for more suggestions!

Edited December 7, 2007 by ClareN

[blancwene]

I'm a BPAL newbie, but I've discovered that I absolutely LOVE the smell of tea. I've tried Gennivre and White Rabbit and liked both of them, and have added Dorian & Embalming Fluid to my "must try" list. (Sudha Segara, while a lovely sharp honey, sadly didn't last long enough on me to develop into a chai scent.) But both Gennivre and White Rabbit seemed a little too cool and summery for my chilly Pennsylvania weather.

 

Could anyone recommend a scent that's a warmer, spicier tea? I find tea a very comforting scent, but in the winter I want something spicy as well.

[ivyandpeony]

...

Could anyone recommend a scent that's a warmer, spicier tea? I find tea a very comforting scent, but in the winter I want something spicy as well.

 

Have you had a chance to look through the thread about scents that resemble chai? If not, I feel sure you'll find a suggestion or two there. You can also dabble with some layering, like Kumiho with something spicy, say Bengal, to spice up a normally light and fresh tea scent.

[deusdexmachina]

I am desperately seeking any tea/spice scents. I want something sexy, but not powdery or overly sweet. (Think Dorian without the vanilla.) I love ALL kinds of tea scents, but I am mostly interested in red, white, and black teas. I must admit, when it comes to the more exotic Indonesian-type scents. I like the spicy tea roses as well, but not the over poweringly sweet "rotten" red rose smell. As far as scents I cannot stand, I hate anything even slightly powdery, and I don't normally care too much for vanilla. Dorian is the first vanilla-dominated scent I can EVER remember liking. I know I'm picky, but I think I'm among like-minded people who understand the difficulties in searching for their perfect scent, lol. If anyone has any recommendations for scents, please let me know! If you'd like, e-mail me directly at DeusDexMachina@aol.com.

 

 

~*~ Kat ~*~

[tartchef]

Hi, Kat, we've got a lot of rec's floating around that might be just your thing: try the tea thread, or the chai thread for starters. For my money, the Lion & Plunder feel like your best bets, especially Plunder - it has all the tea & spice without any extra honey/vanilla notes. The Lion has a heavy dose of amber, which may go powdery on you, but on me it's a beautiful tea & spice scent - it's particularly fine aged... Other thoughts: Bengal (but beware the honey), Baghdad, Morocco & Scherezade... not tea, exactly, but with that same feel...

 

If you have the wherewithall to track down LEs, Bakeneko is a tea-lover's favorite.

[deusdexmachina]

Hi, Kat, we've got a lot of rec's floating around that might be just your thing: try the tea thread, or the chai thread for starters. For my money, the Lion & Plunder feel like your best bets, especially Plunder - it has all the tea & spice without any extra honey/vanilla notes. The Lion has a heavy dose of amber, which may go powdery on you, but on me it's a beautiful tea & spice scent - it's particularly fine aged... Other thoughts: Bengal (but beware the honey), Baghdad, Morocco & Scherezade... not tea, exactly, but with that same feel...

 

If you have the wherewithall to track down LEs, Bakeneko is a tea-lover's favorite.

 

Thanks so much for the advice. I had no idea there even WAS a tea thread! LOL. Shows how long I've been away. I'm off to check that out. Funny you should mention Scherezade: not five minutes before reading your post, I was thinking of how perfect it sounded based on the reviews

 

~*~ Kat ~*~

[Trish]

I love tea and spice scents too, and Plunder is the first thing that sprung to my mind! On me it's far more spice with a touch of sandalwood though. Kumiho is another - ginger and white tea and it's another of my faves. It's fairly simple and refreshing.

Edited February 21, 2008 by Trishek

[ayelienne]

You could see about tracking down a decant of the LE Bakeneko, which is very tea-and-spice to me.

[deusdexmachina]

Thanks for the suggestion, Ayelienne I am looking to track down a decant of that now, actually. As far as the suggestion for Kumiho, that is actually my current staple scent. It is the only big bottle I've ever purchased, and I have worn it every day for a couple of years. I have never tried Plunder, so I'll have to give it a go.

 

You forum folks are always so helpful

[jeniferknox]

White rabbit is the ultimate tea scent, in my opinion... if you like black tea smells, you have to try it!

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion, Ayelienne I am looking to track down a decant of that now, actually. As far as the suggestion for Kumiho, that is actually my current staple scent. It is the only big bottle I've ever purchased, and I have worn it every day for a couple of years. I have never tried Plunder, so I'll have to give it a go.

 

You forum folks are always so helpful

[ivyandpeony]

Hi, Kat, we've got a lot of rec's floating around that might be just your thing: try the tea thread, or the chai thread for starters. ...

 

yay tartchef for tracking down those threads! DeusDM, another thread you will have fun in would be this one, discussing the spiciest BPAL blends.

 

I agree with the posters who have cited Bakeneko as the ultimate spicy tea scent. It can be hard to find, though, because it's so damn good that no one wants to part with a bottle (it was an LE from January 2007).

 

Famine, from the Good Omens series, is a very unusual tea blend: it's smoky and a bit sweet and spicy, not a drop of vanilla in sight (the listed notes are black tea, tobacco leaf, frankincense, lilac, and white musk). It's not available from the Lab in imp form, though, so you'd either have to take a chance on a bottle or track down a decant in the swaps forum.

 

If you like Kumiho, have you tried The Apothecary? In comparison, the tea note is stronger and the ginger is lighter, but it's so pretty and fresh.

 

I also love the spicy, creamy tea that I get from The White Rabbit. Although vanilla is a listed note (the others are black tea, milk, white pepper, ginger, honey and linen) I don't get vanilla from it at all. If you read the reviews, it seems to be one of those blends that can smell wildly different from person to person, depending on what notes you happen to amp. But since it's GC an imp won't set you back much and trying it will be an adventure.

 

Oh, and one quick mod note - I added a subtitle to the thread, so people will see it's a request for personal recs and not a dupe thread of the tea, spice &/or chai threads.

[heartlilly]

I don't get a lot of tea from White Rabbit, but it is fantastic. I feel like a broken record lately, but Bengal is sooo good for the chai feel (though it might be too sweet for you). The chai thread is a great resource!

 

Bakeneko is just amazing; spicy citrusy tea delight...but yes a bit hard to come by. I have the urge to buy every bottle I see, so I'm not helping that issue I guess. Seriously though that kitty is delicious.

[hkhm]

sadly, i don't get any tea from white rabbit either. more like the feel of sitting down to tea, but not the scent of tea itself.

 

for my tea needs i turn to either plunder or bengal. both are made of spicy, chai-tea yum.

[Ina Garten Davita]

I didn't get any tea or any of the other gorgeous notes in White Rabbit. That linen note was a scent killer for me.

 

I have to second or fifth Plunder. It's a gorgeous but dry spice scent. Bengal might be too sweet, I really amp the creamy honeyed vanilla quality in that one, but I amp sweet.

 

A second to Famine. A luxurious and sexy black tea scent.

 

Bakeneko is a tough one to find, but if you do grab it up. It's spicy citrus tea sex in heaven.

[deusdexmachina]

You guys have all been so helpful! Thanks so much for your suggestions. I have really enjoyed perusing the threads y'all posted, and I have some great ideas for new scents that I am absolutely dying to try! I really appreciate you guys taking the time to give me some advice.

 

 

 

Also, since a good deal of the scents that were recommended to me are now discontinued and whatnot, what is the best way to go about tracking them down? Or is it better not to fall in love with a discontinued scent? Any thoughts?

 

~*~ Kat ~*~

Edited February 28, 2008 by DeusDexMachina

[alterosen]

For some reason, Imp smells like peaches & black tea to me. The notes don't suggest tea (peach, amber, patchouli, musk) but that's how my nose reads it. You may find it a bit sweet, though. I think it's really yummy.

 

Your best bet for finding those discontinued scents is the swap & sales threads or to post an ISO. I've found people to be very helpful & generous (all you fabulous evil enablers out there, stand up & take a bow!)

Good luck!

[starwild]

I have a sneaking suspicion that every blend in the Mad Tea Party has a bit of tea in it! For a sweet tea floral, try The Dormouse. It's cool and refreshing.

[azhriaz]

Spirits of The Dead reminds me a bit of Dorian without the vanilla.

[Delirium1009]

The Spell of Amorous Love is one of my new favorite tea blends. It smells like plum green tea on me. Very fruity, but refreshing.

[Gwydion]

I second the swaps/sales threads, but ebay is where I get a lot of mine.

 

Bengal is awfully intense and White Rabbit is too linen on me, but results bay vary. I second Kumiho and plunder though.