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Browsing by tag: cheap thrills

Perfume review: Guerlain Anisia Bella, with an aside on Etro Anice

Posted by Robin on 29 March 2006 19 Comments

Guerlain Anisia Bella fragrance

Anisia Bella was launched in 2004 as part of Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria range of fragrances. It was created by perfumer Aurelien Guichard, and has notes of aniseed, orange, bergamot, basil, star anise, violet, jasmine, liquorice wood, and cedar.

I love anise-based perfumes, and Anisia Bella is one of my favorites for warmer days when Serge Lutens Douce Amere or Caron Aimez Moi are too heavy. Anisia Bella opens with lightly sugared citrus; the anise is pronounced from the start and stays central through the dry down. There is a minty-peppery undertone from the basil and a bit of sweet violet drifts in and out, but for the most part it is all about the anise. The base is musky and woody, with a fair amount of cedar…

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Two verbena fragrances: L’Occitane & Le Couvent des Minimes

Posted by Robin on 3 March 2006 23 Comments

L'Occitane Verbena

I love the cheerful, summery scent of lemon verbena. Back when I used to garden, I always had a plant in with the other herbs. These days I settle for a nice splash of perfume. Today I am trying two bargain renditions of lemon verbena:

L’Occitane Verbena (Verveine in French; shown above) is a blend of lemon verbena, lemon tree and geranium. It has a nice fizzy start, mildly green and very crisp. The dry down is tart but sweet, and smells just like lemon sorbet. Just as I am starting to wish it was just a tad drier, the whole thing is over and it is time to reapply.

It is a simple fragrance, perfect for hot summer days, and if you can snag one of the glass spray samples, it is a great thing to keep in your purse…

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Perfume review: Bvlgari Eau Parfumee au The Blanc, aka White Tea

Posted by Robin on 27 February 2006 30 Comments

Bvlgari Eau Parfumée au Thé Blanc, aka White Tea

Bvlgari followed up on the success of Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert with Eau Parfumée au Thé Blanc, or White Tea. It was created by perfumer Jacques Cavallier and released in 2003. The fragrance notes are artemisia leaves, white tea, ambrette seeds, white pepper, woody amber and musk.

Thé Blanc starts out mild, with soft citrus and a hint of aromatic bitterness from the artemisia. As that calms, we get the white tea and pepper as promised, but the overall effect is more that of a musky skin scent with woody undertones. It is clean, more warm than bright, and very smooth, with nothing like the refreshing crispness of Thé Vert…

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Bvlgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert Extreme fragrance review

Posted by Robin on 24 February 2006 21 Comments

Bvlgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert Extreme fragrance

Yesterday’s Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert is a very light fragrance, with minimal lasting power. In response to the demand for something stronger and longer lasting, Bvlgari introduced Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert Extreme, aka Green Tea Extreme, in 1996. Like the original, it was created by Jean Claude Ellena, and the notes are also the same: bergamot, orange blossom, cardamom, coriander, pepper, rose, jasmine, green tea, oakmoss, tonka bean, and beeswax.

As you would expect, the Extreme is a deeper fragrance than the original. It starts with the same mix of citrus and spices, but the spices are heavier, and I find the pepper to be much more pronounced in relation to the cardamom and coriander…

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Bvlgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert (Green Tea) fragrance review

Posted by Robin on 23 February 2006 46 Comments

Bvlgari Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert

Bvlgari released Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert in 1992. It is a unisex cologne created by perfumer Jean Claude Ellena, and the notes are bergamot, orange blossom, cardamom, coriander, pepper, rose, jasmine, green tea, oakmoss, tonka bean, and beeswax.

According to Chandler Burr,

Ellena and his wife Susannah are serious lovers of tea and usually bought at the house Mariage Freres, which at that point hadn’t become as famous as it is now. He went often, and loved the smells….and after making his purchases, he would go back to his lab and, all but compelled, write short formulae, the scents he’d been buying running in his head.

The result, Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert, was Bvlgari’s first fragrance release…

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