Monday

As someone on a quest for a tea fragrance I am not noseblind to, I am happy to announce that Monday is one of the only fragrance's where the tea note stands out for me. What's lovely about Monday is that, while it is inspired by and does smell like a frothy lactonic Earl Grey tea, the bergamot and lemon zest notes stand on their own: you immediately clock that it's tea, but you can smell the individual notes too. I also enjoy that the lavender note is understated (I find a lot of perfumes with lavender notes almost smell medicinal to me) and elevates the other elements of the perfume. There is something very fresh and almost fairy-like about Monday and feels like a skin scent. It doesn't project much for me, which I like for Monday. I think this would be a great scent for the office: it's unique but familiar, subtle, and makes you feel clean (especially on the dry down). It lasts about 3 hours on my skin upon my initial spray . However, for the image that this perfume evokes, I enjoy that it fades. It follows Monday's story well. I'm going to test it some more. I have a lot of ideas for layering and want to see how it clings to my clothes as we head into winter. If you want to test it out, I highly recommend going to Arielle Shoshana's shop in person: you can spray it from the beautiful bottle in person and they can give you a tester to bring home. If you don't live near their shop I imagine if you DM'd them on Instagram they could point you in the right direction (I think they sell it on their website?). Overall, I am excited to purchase the full size when it comes out.

Monday is my favorite from Arielle Shoshana so far. To my nose, black tea and bergamot are fully present, as you would find for an earl grey tea-based beverage. The black tea has body, but is not bitter and is brightened by the citrus of the bergamot. This is a lactonic scent, as in a London Fog latte. I prefer this milky, creamy scent compared to the similarly lactonic Sunday perfume. In regards to the lavender, I don't pick up on a ton of it but it adds a delightful herbaceous quality, rather than anything powdery or soapy (which is often my complaint with lavender notes). I would say that notes like the Iso E Super, woods, etc are more present in the dry down after the light and bright citrus notes have done their time. Overall, I love the wear of this scent from start to finish! This is another smash hit for me in the tea-scent category which I am loving lately. On my skin, Monday is a soft and warm cocoon that stays rather close to the skin, but lasts all day. This is my prefered way for a fragrance to wear! Granted, I only apply 1-2 sprays at a time as I am prone to migraines, but cannot give up wearing perfume. If you were to apply more at a time, you may get more projection (a.k.a., YMMV). I ordered this directly from AS and their shipping to Canada was reasonably priced and very quick to fulfill the order. Overall, very positive experience with the retailer and love the scent itself!

Monday is a happy, uplifting citrus. I always imagined it the scent was coming from orange, but now I recognize the citrus as bergamot. Plus, there's a little lemon in it, too. The openness of the scent comes from tea. And then the bergamot blooms with just the right type of lavender. Once upon a time in the late '90s or early '00s, I had a body wash from Yves Rocher called (I'm pretty sure) Cirque du Soleil. I was devastated when it was discontinued because it had one of the best smells I had put my nose on up to that point. This fragrance smells like it so very much, especially in the opening. It's also similar to Wulang Cha. I've tried this and Wulang Cha back-to-back, and this one has a much brighter citrus and less green presence, which I remember from Cirque du Soleil. I like this one better than Wulang Cha, and it's $50 cheaper. This is a great scent for any time you need a mental lift. It's so calm, fresh, and happy-making. It's also extremely unisex.

This does remind me of Earl Grey tea though the freshly brewed tea has a richer scent. I am not sure I get much milky note. After drying down, when I closely sniff, I get a watered down tea. This just may be my skin chemistry. I tested again this time on my clothes, and it’s Earl Grey tea through and through for hours. My partner said, “you are right, that is Earl Grey!” It’s a very good tea perfume. Very nice. I still wish I got more milky note, but I can always layer it. Update: 7/18/2025 I have worn a few more times since my initial review. And this is so so good, such a realistic Earl gray tea scent. Not really London Fog, but I think I downgraded the milky note before. I think it’s definitely there because it is smooth and not bitter. Update: 7/28/2025. The perfect London Fog—this layered with Piper & Perro Lepus. This combo is much better than Brandt’s London Fog, which is sandalwood-heavy.

I am very excited to try this one since this is the scent from the collection most everyone raves about! And woah this did not disappoint! Easily my favorite out of the collection! It starts off with a fresh tea like citrus and it followed by a very spot on earl grey tea smell. I love love love earl grey tea! I am blown away by how this is so photorealistic. I do feel energized and ready to start the day but also clam and collected after smelling this. This perfectly encapsulates what I want to feel at the beginning of a work week. I will try this is with a laconic sweet scent layered on it to really customize my earl grey cup of tea, I do take it with cream and sugar regularly! Layered with Sunday is interesting, but I want to try it with other lactonic scents that are more on the sweet side. Amazing perfume though, I definetly need a full sized bottle asap! 💕