Bulgari Eau Parfumée au Thé Bleu
08/07/15 16:43:01
www.Atrbazan.com The Perfume Master in iran
Summary: Bulgari’s 4th installment in the Eau Parfumée au Thé (Tea Perfume) collection after Vert (green), Blanc (white) and Rouge (red) is the lavender, mint, and violet focused Thé Bleu or Blue Tea, combining the best of its predecessors’ citric and powdery compositions with a vanillic lavender accord. Of special note is the inclusion of shiso leaf, a rarity in modern perfumery.
Perfumer: Daniela (Roche) Andrier.
Try this if you like: Lavender; powdery scents; leafy green aromas; the other Bulgari Eau Parfumées, especially Thé Blanc and Thé Vert; Oolong tea; petrol fumes.
Pros & Cons: I’m a huge lavender fan so was pleasantly surprised that overall, Bleucapitalizes on the purple herb! And as I already have a number of lavender-focused fragrances, I was even more excited that Bleu fills the gap in my collection for a lavender-tea aroma. This led me to wonder why Thé Bleu wasn’t actually named Thé Lavande until I did some research and discovered at Botanical-Online.com that there really is such a thing as blue tea. Apparently, Oolong tea is also known as blue tea and is semi-fermented, longer than green tea and less than black tea. As mentioned above, the use of shiso, with its minty-citrus vibe, is also quite noticeable throughout the development.
The bottle and packaging of Thé Bleu are both lovely and the fragrance is easily unisex, though some might find it reminiscent of bath products for infants with its gentle powdery lavender. Thanks to the violet leaf, there is an intriguing petrol note that some reviewers have found offputting but I find compelling. As an EDC, longevity and sillage are both modest after the 2nd hour.
Notes: “Lavender, Shiso Leaves, Oolong Tea, Violet, Iris and Musk.”—Bulgari.com
Reminds me of: Like a cross between Thé Vert and Thé Blanc; Czech and Speake’s minty-lavender Oxford & Cambridge; Acorelle Jardin des Thés; Bath & Body WorksMoonlight Path; Bulgari Ashlemah (also by Andrier).
Designer’s Description: “Inspired by the finest Chinese Oolong Tea, an airy luxury Eau de Cologne for men and women. A precious fragrance with floral and aromatic tones, a new sensation of renaissance for the body and the mind.”—Bulgari.com
Number of times tested: Three times over the last week.
Number of sprays applied for this review: One spray to the back of my hand from a 2.5 oz bottle sent to me from Bulgari’s PR agency in the USA (ca. 2015).
Fragrance strength: EDC
Development: (Linear / Average / Complex): Thé Bleu shimmers and radiates throughout its development with alternating accords of lavender (sometimes with a vanillic, almost mimosa-like powderiness), violet (more leaf than flower), and bitter, earthy tea notes (thanks to the shiso and oolong). Whatever musk is used is subtle and supports the longevity. The drydown most closely resembles herbal lavender. The power of the violet and iris in the midnotes is surprising and at times even startling.
Longevity: (Short / Average / Long-lasting) Not bad for an EDC though the scent was rather subtle after its third hour; four-six hours overall.
Sillage: (A Little / Average / A Lot) Not as quiet as the original Thé Vert EDC but more in keeping with Thé Blanc and Rouge; definitely office-safe.
Note about the packaging: Bulgari continues its frosted, glass cylinder as used in the original Thé Vert and pour Femme, this time in a soft aquatic blue with gold cap and accents. A liberal sprayer adorns the bottle and the fragrance is packaged in a white, paper box with gold and blue accents.
Where can I buy it? A 75 ml EDC spray is $97 USD at Bulgari.com.
The Bottom Line: It is truly exciting to see Bulgari expand their tea line. Having been a fan of all of the tea launches and still wearing Rouge (red) and Vert Extreme (green), I was eager to approach Bleu without any knowledge of the composition. I immediately recognized the lavender, violet or violet leaf, and the earthy tea notes. A powdery violet-vanilla emerged at the fringes which I considered might be iris and I knew there was a synthetic musk anchoring the composition. The one note I didn’t immediately perceive was shiso leaf, likely because it is such an unexpected treat to find shiso in a perfume!
Having lived in Japan throughout the 2000’s, shiso was one of my favorite discoveries. A member of the mint family, shiso is not quite as bracing as peppermint for example, and also has a lemony-citric vibe. It is often served with sashimi and shredded radish as a kind of wrapper and is just as ubiquitous in South Korea as Japan. Comme des Garçons created a striking take on shiso as part of their Series 1 Leaves line; Mandy Aftel delivers an intriguing inspiration in her Aftelier line; and Dawn Spencer Hurwitz (DSH) and Roger & Gallet also offer addictive interpretations.
What all of this adds up to in Bleu is a slightly bitter, herbal, leafy composition that is quite unusual and unlike anything else recently launched on the market. It is not a candy sweet or peppered lavender, nor is it a straightforward tea aroma; such complexity should be expected from Bulgari by now. The addition of violet also creates a surprising accent that we quite often find in aromas offering a gasoline/automotive/petrol note such as Histoires de Parfums Pétroleum from their Edition Rare line. Not quite as easy to love (or to wrap one’s head around) as say Thé Blanc, lavender and violet-lovers will be thrilled to find Bulgari finally embracing these notes in a new tea-themed fragrance.
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