Through my beloved online perfume community I recently discovered Christopher Brosius’s I Hate Perfume Russian Caravan Tea water perfume and perfume absolute. At first spritz I thought hmm, a lovely black tea scent, and went on about my day. It is the dry down of this Russian Caravan Tea that surprises and delights. And the fact that such a gentle, water based scent could last all day. By gentle I mean hardly any sillage, it wears very close to the skin but throughout the day little wafts of the scent of warm comforting steeped tea wrap around me like a silk scarf. This isn’t an herbal tea, or a green tea. It’s a rich black tea, steeped for a long time. It smells like a quality black tea that brings to mind the Russian Tea tradition. A cozy baroque room, tea served in beautiful podstakannik (silver holders for glasses) and maybe even some Russian Tea Cakes.
The notes from CB I Hate Perfume’s site say there are smoky notes but I can’t smell any smoke at all. Perhaps its so smooth it doesn’t smell lapsang souchong smoky which is good because that kind of smoky would not be a pleasant perfume. There are also notes of bergamot and the citrus is noticeable but so subtle and compliment the tea perfectly. And Russian Caravan Tea is very lovely, addictive almost. Interestingly it is not sweet, which is what ends up bothering me about most tea scents. Perhaps the citrus balances the tea and adds another dimension in lieu of sweetness. Yet its not bitter either- its just right.
CB I Hate Perfume Russian Caravan Tea is available on their website on their website. If you haven’t tried CB I Hate Perfume, you might have fun navigating through his selection. He has a very interesting, often odd, take on perfume.
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