Demeter Earl Grey Tea

I spent a lot of time trying to find just the perfect tea fragrance. Something that smells exactly like a cup of earl grey tea without any other fluff surrounding it. I tried Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs with notes that were supposed to smell like earl grey tea but found there were other notes getting int he way. I tried niche and mainstream and finally I decided to settle down and see if Demeter Fragrance Library could get me any closer to that earl grey scent. Earl Grey Tea

In Bottle: Bergamot with a squeeze of lemon, I think. There is a heavy, gritty, dusty note settled on a black tea like note underneath the citrus opener. It’s almost like smelling a cup of weak tea with a sprinkling of dust on top.

Applied: Bergamot comes roaring out on the entryway, dragging this very bright yellow lemon behind it. The dynamic citrus duo is followed by a really strong hit of black tea. This is the earl grey scent I’ve been looking for. No punches pulled, no extra fluff, just plain old earl grey with a squeeze of lemon. It smells as advertised and I’m just delighted! Then, just as quickly as I was delighted, Earl Grey Tea disappears on me. It packs its bags and heads out the door, leaving almost nothing but its slightly astringent black tea scent. And after a few more minutes, even that’s gone. I understand this cologne is truly meant as a very temporary burst of happiness and amazement but the longest I’ve ever gotten Earl Grey Tea to stay on my skin was around thirty minutes. I’ve tried lotion, I’ve tried using more, I’ve sprayed it on my clothes but this stuff just wasn’t meant to last. It’s fabulous while it’s there though, as close to earl grey tea as any perfume has gotten so far.

Extra: Demeter Fragrance Library, instead of focusing on complex evolutions of top, middle and base notes,  focuses more on creating scents to invoke memories. They have a huge selection of literal interpretation fragrances. If you think you might like Earl Grey Tea, why not try out their Orange Cream Pop fragrance? Dirt is a very popular one, and their Espresso scent might send you to the nearest Starbucks after sniffing.

Design: Really simple bottle. Glass cylinder with a metal cap. The sprayer distributes a larger than normal amount of fragrance but trust me, it’s necessary here. The labels and packaging are fairly simple but there’s not much complaint on my end here. Demeter doesn’t charge anywhere near as much as other fragrance houses might so I’m more than happy with the packaging we do get.

Fragrance Family: Gourmand

Notes: Bergamot, lemon, black tea.

Gourmand, not gourmand? It smells good enough to drink to me. In either case, one could spend a lot of time smelling the offerings from Demeter but don’t forget that one of the founding noses of Demeter has branched off to form his own line too. Christopher Brosius creates fragrances under CB I Hate Perfume.

Reviewed in This Post: Earl Grey Tea, 2009, Pick-Me-Up Cologne Spray.


Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Morocco

Morocco is among one of the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s more popular fragrances. Morocco conjures up romantic images of drinking tea in one of the most vivid nations in the world. The fragrance is BPAL’s interpretation of the place, using spices and warm milky notes to bring forward a very lovely gourmand fragrance. Morocco

In Bottle: Creamy, sweet tea with a touch of spices. I want to say I’m smelling saffron, nutmeg and cinnamon blended into a warm, milky, spicy beverage. There’s a touch of sweetness to this too that helps Morocco avoid being a hit of spices and milk. The sugar adds a much needed dimension because the sugar helps tip Morocco into gourmand territory.

Applied: Spices and milk before the milk settles off. Morocco moves along, carrying its cinnamon and nutmeg scent as sugar trails in behind. The fragrance ages into a slightly spicier piece of work when carnation starts to bloom. As Morocco continues to unfold on the skin there’s a touch of something musk coming up and intensifies as the dry down continues to wind its way through the streets piled high with spices and milky tea. Final dry down is a lovely creamy musk and woods.

Extra: BPAL fragrances are perfume oil blends. Which means they are fragrance oils set in carrier oils. This means the fragrance is set in an oil base such as almond oil or jojoba oil instead of alcohol and water.

Design: Morocco is contained in a 5ml amber glass bottle with a plastic top, just like other general catalog Black Phoenix Alchemy lab fragrances.

Fragrance Family: Gourmand

Notes: Spices, milk, sugar, carnation, sandalwood, cassia.

I do like Morocco, really and I was leery to even try it because of the spiciness. Sometimes too many spices can be a bit much to handle but Morocco strikes a very agreeable spice middle ground.

Reviewed in This Post: Morocco, 2009, 5ml Bottle.