Virēre

Looking at the notes, I fully expected to be bored by this. But what a surprise. There’s something so comforting and addictive about it that I can’t stop sniffing my arm. If you like tea fragrances but are starting to find them all smelling the same (Thé Yulong, Wulong Cha), you need to try this. It’s a greener, earthier take on tea. The tea and maté smell unsteeped, like pressing dried leaves straight to your nose. Great for citrus lovers who want something different, too. The bergamot gently sweetens the composition, while the maté, hay, and cedar keep it grounded and interesting. The opening is beautifully green, with galbanum giving it a crisp edge. The heart is just as good, though I wish the opening lasted a bit longer. I get why some compare it to a classic men’s cologne, but it doesn’t smell vintage to me at all. This feels like a modern take on that style. Really interesting. I already own too many citrus and tea fragrances, so I wasn’t sure whether to get this. But I’m honestly tempted to let a few bottles go just to make room for it. 8/10 ✨

Tried a tester in store today (kept secretly in the back, as this won’t be released for several more weeks apparently.) It’s such a chill, zen scent. I mostly get the tea, a faint touch of citrus, and hay. (I don’t get any of the supposed fig accord that the lovely salesman mentioned). Subtle and natural and, in my opinion, hard to dislike as it is so smooth and natural. I was expecting the performance to be underwhelming based on the scent profile, but I do keep getting nice wafts of it from just a spitz on my wrist. It’s the kind of scent I’d like to generously splash on, but the price point prohibits that! Funnily enough, after the twenty or thirty minute mark, I’m reminded of Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Lavender (the best Green Tea flanker imo). This one definitely has an aura of luxury about it, but the EA one is £9 for 100ml.

I made an account just to write a review on this, as I don’t agree with what everyone else is saying. To me, this perfume smells like the sexiest man I could conjure up in my brain. It’s green, masculine, peppery, and there’s some sort of masculine musk to it that smells like a very tall man with good hygiene that just finished working out. There’s also just a tiny hint of a cigarette note, which I haven’t seen anyone mention yet, which brings the fresh and green notes down to just the right amount of sluttiness to pull me in. This is by far the sexiest perfume I’ve ever enjoyed, and I think the best way to describe it would be that it smells like what I imagine Derek Hale would smell like. This perfume is Derek Hale.

The breeze off a 'green-glacier'! Bright, very fresh (like when you breathe in through your mouth whilst eating a mentholated lolly/candy), almost invigorating, but definitely green! When I first sprayed it on, I was instantly transported back in time 30 years ago to a holiday I had in New Zealand. Visiting the glaciers that come all the way down the mountains and into the thick, aromatic, verdant, lush, sub-tropical rainforest. The icy air swirling around glacier and forest, green and bracingly fresh. One sniff, and you're there.

Despite a number of less than flattering reviews I really like this one. I gave it a number of tries on my skin from different shops before buying. What really does it for me is the lush fig, green scent, so vegetal. I wanted a daily fig frag and I just love the idiosyncracies of Aesop's range.