My fetish for Christopher Brosius creations is, no pun intended, well documented. I feel about ultra-realism in perfume the way some people love neo-classical painting or high fashion or classical music. Well-made perfume is incredibly challenging to create, and to make something that lasts decades or even centuries is truly art distilled into lovely bottles for our enjoyment, so I enjoy Jicky and Mitsouko and a plethora of Chanels because I recognize their artistic quality. That said, the challenge of actually trying to recreate scents that are common to our every day experiences in a way that reads as high quality perfume and not syrupy sweet scents better suited to Yankee Candle creations is something I find profoundly awesome. Because the real is what we frequently end up tying our memories to, the ability of the ultra-real to recall those memories is especially strong. Brosius describes Lavender Tea as follows:
This is one of the scents I originally designed for my Wardrobe collection. I made the swift discovery that it is wonderful to wear. So I've redone it in a richer concentration especially for you to wear yourself. Lavender Tea is a rich blend of French Lavender, Black Indian Tea, a few warm woods and a subtle touch of Indonesian Patchouli (just a hint).Now I’m not a huge tea drinker. It’s taken me years to get around to enjoying even a few select flavors. But in scent? I love tea! Here, the combination of lavender and tea is so excellently put together. I’m sure it would make a great wardrobe scent and it would make an excellent room oil scent.
Also, lavender is known for being helpful with stress reduction, and can be used in a number of comforting ways -- tea, food, scent. I can certainly imagine spraying it on my pillows on stressful nights to help me relax and sleep. I think it would make a refreshing scent for summer because it’s got a nice herb-y lightness, but the wood and patchouli notes warm it up enough that it also will work well for cooler weather. Lavender Tea is very unisex in presentation; since there isn’t a lot of sweetness and lavender isn’t very traditionally floral, you could easily get away with this if you were a man. For women, it’s not a very formal scent. I see this less as a first date, nerves and a little black dress scent and more of a cuddle close/stolen moments with your sweetheart in a hoodie and knit cap under the bleachers at the homecoming football game. It feels like it would work for a woman in high school and their early twenties, so if you’re looking for a nice gift for a younger woman, this would be a nice and unique option. That said, I think it will work well for me, and I am decidedly not in that age group. On the whole I find it refreshing and hopeful, a sort of bottled upbeatness that seems to welcome tomorrow.
You can buy Lavender Tea for $60 in either 15ml perfume absolute or 100ml water perfume direct from the perfumer. You can also get samples from the CB website or from The Perfumed Court.
“I used to think maybe you loved me.
Now I know that it’s true,
And I don't want to spend all my life just a-waiting for you.
Now I don't want you back for the weekend, not back for a day.
Baby ,I just want you back and I want you to stay…
I’m walking in sunshine, woah-oh!
And don’t it feel good!”
- “Walking on Sunshine,” Katrina & the Waves
Want more reviews? Try…
~ A review from I Smell Therefore I Am
Images from CB I Hate Perfume and Stress Less in Vegas.
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