A Rather Novel Collection Taverns & The Hague by Caroline Sabas

I don't actually have this in spray form, I have it in the fragrance pencil. I love it so much! It is very fresh and has a strong scent. A little goes a long way! The pencil form is great for travel and is a very unique idea.

This is very green, and correctly listed as "fresh". Grassy green, ozonic and citrus are what come through for me. The perfume pencil does not have a strong scent and lasts just an hour or two - easily rubbed off. It's generally a 'clean' smell, and would be nice for summer.

I was reminded by Illuminum Tahitian Yuzu of this limited edition Anthropologie tea fragrance, which I have not worn in a while and neglected to review previously. Taverns and The Hague is one of the "tea in a book" series perfumes commissioned from well-known perfumers. This entry by Caroline Sabas features a light tea scent in a clean musky base accentuated by citrus and violet leaf. This is a nice tea fragrance and fits right in with my current exploration of the overlaps between perfume and tea. According to some sources, the tea in question is oolong. Apparently the name, Taverns and the Hague, derives from a place in Holland known to serve "a unique blue-green tea combination" (from the box). I've never tried that tea--or does it refer to oolong more generally?--but this one smells light and violet-leaf laced, so the color reference makes sense. In my tea travels, I have found that adulterated oolongs tend to taste like whatever has been added in, as the tea itself is less assertive than the flavors. This particular creation is less of a fruity-floral and more of a violet-leaf and citrus tea fragrance. Refreshing, cool and clean with a bit of sweetness, Taverns and The Hague is a fine summer afternoon scent to complement a large glass of iced tea. Today I am wearing it inside my humble abode, in something of a state of denial about the inclement weather outside.

I absolutely adored the Fragrance Book series from Anthropologie, and the fact that this is the only one I have left attests to the fact that sweet, sweet scents are my least favorite. All of the descriptions are correct -- grassy, ozonic, fresh -- but add to that cloyingly sweet! Not my style at all. It wouldn't annoy me to smell this scent on someone else, but having it follow me around all day is not a pleasant prospect. Caroline Sabas has created some great fragrances, but this, unfortunately, is not one of them.