Citrus Tea

If your wardrobe is mostly pink, your favorite fragrance so far is anything with marshmallow in it, and you'd give your right arm for Taylor Swift concert tickets, this perfume is not for you. If you love hole-in-the-wall coffee shops and bookstores and are a little on the freaky side, please come right in. 😂 (I'm only mildly kidding here.) But seriously, this is not a "crowd pleaser" fragrance. I love unique and somewhat unusual scents, and this fits the bill. I'll start by saying that I have not experienced Le Labo's Thé Noir 29, so this review is strictly on the merits of this perfume and not how it stacks up to its inspiration. In a few words, this scent is woody, dark, earthy, and spicy. But that hardly does it justice. The first thing I notice is the scent of a strongly brewed cup of Early Grey tea. The bergamot (and maybe a slight hint of cardamom???) is just lovely, and makes me feel like I should be wrapped up in a cozy sweater and blanket sipping on that tea. But don't let that description make you feel like this is a winter or fall fragrance only. In my opinion, Citrus Tea can be worn year 'round, because it isn't heavy, if that makes sense. Even when the tobacco note (which I love) settles in with the cedar wood and incense, it still remains light. By the scent profile alone I would have found it impossible to believe, but honestly it is ok for spring and summer too. (And while I usually role my eyes when someone paints a scene just from smelling a perfume, Citrus Tea makes me think of an overcast day in early September, when the weather is still hot and humid, and I'm running into a used bookstore to escape a downpour. Weird, I know, but some perfumes just tell a story, and this one is mine.) The sillage is moderate and not overpowering, but this perfume is LONG Lasting. Well over 12 hours on my skin (which is super unusual for my body chemistry), and lasts on clothing until you wash it. (I pulled out a sweater I wore weeks ago and the scent is strong enough on it I didn't feel like I needed to apply any to my skin.) Two or three sprays will do the job. I can easily see this being a unisex fragrance, and some have called it out right masculine, but I think (like all fragrances) you just have to be the right woman and it has to speak to you.😊 It's also, in my opinion, a great value for such a complex scent!

I didn't like The Noir a few years ago but I somehow got my hands on a new bottle of this Dossier version and it has been love ever since. So either my taste has evolved or this is just such slightly different making me love it..? My good guess would be the first ;). I just really love the combination of sweet, woody, fresh & green going on here, and where TN smelled too boozy on me, I don't have that issue with this one. Quality is really good for this price point, longevity & projection are both excellent and I have gotten many compliments on it, even though I'm a conservative sprayer (2-3 max). Well worth getting imho. However, I'm not a fan of how they do business in the EU, they advertise with 20% discount when you become a subscriber to their mailinglist, however, I've never received a code. They really want everyone to buy multiple bottles and you get a stacked discount for it, but since you can't actually sample any of them you end up buying too much of something you might not like. I have bought this bottle of Vinted for a decent price and will keep an eye on the brand there because I do think (basing it on just this one) that the quality is really good. I especially would love the Citrus Matcha one, since I'm a big The Matcha fan, but it isn't sold here for unfathomable reasons.

If you’re looking for an affordable alternative to Le Labo Thé Noir 29, Citrus Tea by Dossier is the closest dupe I’ve found so far. The first thing I noticed was that, right out of the bottle, it smelled almost identical to Thé Noir 29. On the initial spray, it leans a little greener and grassier than the original, but as it dries down, it becomes much more similar. On clothing and in the air especially, the resemblance is impressive. I’ve compared it with Black 92 and with Salt & Stone’s Black Rose & Oud body lotion and deodorant, and Citrus Tea is the clear winner for me. The Salt & Stone products have a somewhat similar dark, smoky character, but Citrus Tea does a much better job of capturing the overall feel and dry down of Thé Noir 29. I’m still looking forward to trying the Salt & Stone fragrance spray, but I have a hard time imagining it being as solid of an alternative as this one. No dupe is going to be completely identical, but this is the closest one I’ve tried so far. For the price, it’s an excellent affordable option.

Since I dropped a hefty sum on a real oud Strangelove fragrance over my holiday break, I decided to be financially responsible and opt for an "impression" of Thé Noire 29, before re-buying the OG, due to the great reviews. I'm so glad I did! This IS thee Thé Noir. Fresh, bergamot heavy Earl Grey tea opening, unfolding into the crisp, grassy/woody notes of vetiver + cedar, finally drying into the clean fig, bergamot, and cedar fragrance we all know and love in Thé Noir 29. There is little, if anything, to distinguish the two (right down to the unlisted touch of rose like the original); and now I have my day to day "work safe" fragrance back in rotation without dropping the entire $300, rather 10% of that. I feel so responsible ☺️. Now I wonder if their Rose 31 impression is this good? That's next on the list. If it is, Le Labo ought to really reconsider their pricing...

Just when I'd lost hope of finding a great tea fragrance, this beauty came along! I love a good tea note in my perfumes, but most fragrances with the word 'tea' in their name tend to be fresh and citrusy, leaning into the Elizabeth Arden 'Green Tea' aesthetic. To me, that's not tea, that's lemonade. Or they go in the opposite direction, blending a sweet, creamy chai accord. It smells lovely, but it's not what I'm looking for. I want the scent of dried black tea leaves, all shrivelled up and waiting to go in the kettle. That slightly crunchy texture, so rich in aroma! This perfume absolutely delivers. The smoky, spicy composition is simply gorgeous. I've only just started a new bottle, but I already know I'll be buying another as soon as this one runs out.