By Dane
Drinking tea has never appealed to me. I've been suckered into buying many beautiful tins of Mariage Frères tea because they look and smell so beautiful, but I've never actually drank it more than a few times. I'm a coffee drinker, and probably always will be, but the smell of tea is something I'll never be able to get enough of.
Russian Caravan Tea is one of my favourite interpretations on the subject. It's very simple and plain, and that's what I love so much about it. Other than a brief, tart bergamot opening, the rest of the scent is just tea - and what a tea it is! By reading the name, you'd expect a dark, smoky tea accord, but Christopher Brosius has instead opted for a lighter tea with a faint, musty background (apparently the smell of old books).
Brosius has come up with the genius solution of using water instead of alcohol as his perfume base (more concentrated absolutes are also available). While I was hesitant of this at first (for some reason the thought of using water meant shorter longevity to me), I've grown to love the absence of the biting alcohol. It must have been quite a feat to figure out a method of getting oils to dissolve in water, but I'm glad he figured it out. The scent is very light, but lasts longer than any other fragrance I own on my skin.
The bottles of "water perfume" are tall and elegant with a spiraled tube inside...I just wish the labels themselves were a bit more "professional" looking, but that's only a minor quip. I look forward to trying more of the line in the near future.
Russian Caravan Tea is one of my favourite interpretations on the subject. It's very simple and plain, and that's what I love so much about it. Other than a brief, tart bergamot opening, the rest of the scent is just tea - and what a tea it is! By reading the name, you'd expect a dark, smoky tea accord, but Christopher Brosius has instead opted for a lighter tea with a faint, musty background (apparently the smell of old books).
Brosius has come up with the genius solution of using water instead of alcohol as his perfume base (more concentrated absolutes are also available). While I was hesitant of this at first (for some reason the thought of using water meant shorter longevity to me), I've grown to love the absence of the biting alcohol. It must have been quite a feat to figure out a method of getting oils to dissolve in water, but I'm glad he figured it out. The scent is very light, but lasts longer than any other fragrance I own on my skin.
The bottles of "water perfume" are tall and elegant with a spiraled tube inside...I just wish the labels themselves were a bit more "professional" looking, but that's only a minor quip. I look forward to trying more of the line in the near future.
Year: 2005
Perfumer: Christopher Brosius
Notes: Smoked Black Indian Tea, Bergamot, "Shelves full of old books"
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