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.

To me the slightly intense opening lasts only couple of minutes. And I would not call it very unpleasant, just rather masculine. But then it goes straight to the The Noir territory and stays there. I love the OG, but the prices of Le Labo are just crazy. This one is a fantastic alternative and exactly hitting the spot. I would not say any note jumps at me, just feels like a great smooth blend of pleasant things. If The Matcha is more fun spring/summer perfume, this one is a great fall/winter alternative. Would suit day and night. Performance is good! You can easily smell it in your scent bubble for couple of hours. Prices of dossier are not dirt cheap, but with discounts it feels like an okay deal. Highly recommend if you like the OG!

Couldn't afford my dream bottle of Thé noir 29, fell back on this. I couldn't compare them side by side, but I got a similar feel, except I don't get the distinct cinnamon note I get from the original. But overall, truly love it, as a green, dry, serious fragrance that makes me feel like a badass, sophisticated lady. It's fairly potent so I only use one spray on skin, and then walk into another spray, and it lasts almost all day. On its way to becoming my signature fragrance, yes even now in the middle of summer, fight me. (I would love to alternate with Citrus Matcha, but it looks like that one is not available in Europe, oh well.)

oh this is lovely! been wanting a tea fragrance for a long time but have been trying to mind my finances...this is beautiful. fresh, clean smelling, a little more masculine than most of the scents in my collection, but definitely truly unisex imo. I actually am a big fig hater normally so it's kind of crazy that I love this. this is going to be my top wear-to-work frag this season i can already tell

I've had the original Thé Noir for years and it's my dream scent but the price is just too much for me to use as a daily... Now I can use daily and never have to think about savoring because this is spot on! I'll still buy the smaller bottles of the original for special occasions but this is going to help stretch the scent so much bc I can spray a bunch and on clothes layering with the original

Tried and it’s a no for me...at initial spray ya maybe 80% similarities but much more sour. Drys after 30 min you smell a leather note and then just a mix of everything. To me it is not the same at all. I will continue to purchase the real thing. 4th time trying a dossier fragrance and will be my last. Another dupe company that got me.

I think this is one of the best dupes out there! Smells nearly identical to Thé Noir. On me it stayed as consistent as the original throughout all three stages. This is ideal for the office because then you’re not wasting your most expensive perfume for everyday wear. Lasts forever on clothes.

Wonderful unique tea scent with great longevity. It’s the elevated spring summer scent it projects beautifully i love it

Amazing tea scent plenty of compliments.

Initially, it came off as simply quite sharp and spicy, but after a while it seems to settle into a gentler, deeper scent. However, I don't really smell any fruitiness or sweetness. It definitely smells quite green, almost a bit like herbal medicine but in a pleasant way. It's a nice, fresh scent. The performance is quite good, I find that one spray is enough for people to noticeably smell it in the same room. It also lingers for quite a while.

Havent smelled The Noir before so I cant really compare the two, but to me, this perfume smells like a way too sharp version of Above the waves by ELdO. Made my head hurt :(

Bought this hoping to just get away with not forking out the cash for thé noir 29. Although it does smell similar, this fragrance is so polarising that it gives me a headache (I’ve worn thé noir 29 before and been fine). The fragrance does last a long time. I’m letting the bottle sit for now, hopefully that’ll make it less strong and I’ll be able to actually wear it.

Nah, no clue how similar it is to Le Labo, but this stinks to me - veeery sharp smell, I imagined it would be a citrusy tea, but this is a grandma-like scent, the one they wear to church.

I've been fortunate enough to own Le Labo's Noir 29 for years and have refilled it 3 times. I just finished my bottle and truthfully didn't want to pay for my 100ml refill just yet so I decided to give this a try. I would say it's a 90% dupe of Nior 29. I think because of the way it's composed it last longer/isn't as thick as the original so it feels like you're getting an airier version which I don't mind. If you want a cost efficient The Noir 29 experience, my recommendation is to purchase the scented massage oil ($80~) or fragrance balm ($100~) from Le Labo and use it as a base layer along with a good unscented moisturizer and then spray this on. That combo lasts on me all work day and creates a SOLID scent bubble that I enjoy and is very reminiscent of the original fragrance at a solid discount. Overall not a bad interpretation as there aren't very many on the market. Just my 2 cents.

Citrus tea On its own ; it’s a beautiful black tea steeped with lemon. The bay leaf I believe is the connecting note between the citrus and the tea. There is a spiciness that comes out as it dries down. Cant say much for longevity yet, but it only lasted about an hour or so on skin ( but this is my first testing). I’ve also smelled the inspiration The Noir 29 from Le Labo and while CT is good on its own, it doesn’t have the complexity of The Noir 29. On my skin, The Noir 29 has this beautiful powdery/ musky tea scent. The tobacco is more prominent but doesn’t push it into masculine land. As it dries down there’s a sweetness that shows itself . Such a wonderful combination of notes. Last longer on skin as well. A must have. Both great scents, but TN29 takes the medal.

I just got this one. I've owned thé noir 29 and it's my favourite scent. At first I hated this one because I thought it smelled nothing like it, and it really doesn't while it dries but after an hour or so it smells exactly the same. Love it!! It's a really good economic alternative just don't panic while it sets lol. At first it smells REAL citrus-like and strong, even a bit sour but it doesn't set like that. I'd say if anything this one smells a tiny bit more masculine than thé noir, it's a bit stronger like stingier, but it's still a pretty low-key unique scent.