Bohea Bohème

Heavenly. Smoky tea ecstasy which makes me go weak at the knees and sigh with honest, instant, extreme pleasure. The herbal-green colour of the juice and mention of bay & box (two leaves which often give me headaches) frightened me off but I should have been braver, and more loyal, to one of my first great loves, the house of Mona di Orio. For this is true tea for grown-up sophisticates, wisps of really punchy woody stuff and smoke beneath the ethereal herbal wafts of the tea, everything suffused with real, natural, organic life. Makes you feel truly alive, and outside in some wonderful landscape with every breeze bringing you a different wave of aromas from the plants all around. Somehow, despite all the smouldering fires in its imaginary landscape, you can also smell hints of dewy leaves and rain clouds coming too. It's endlessly interesting, keeps my nose glued to the wrist. A longterm want, confirmed in the most conclusive way the second I got a droplet of this precious stuff onto my own body. Cannot recommend it highly enough. Performance, sadly, does not match up to the beauty of the smell itself - longevity is just not great, it's pretty wispy by 3h in and almost completely lost 4-5h after application, which is really sad. Its projection is extremely discreet, but that doesn't bother me half so much, as this thing is all about restraint and classiness - a big blowsy cloud and assertive trail wouldn't be in keeping with its mood. So, so beautiful despite these weaknesses. ETA: one of very, very *very* few things I've ever shelled out full retail price for without regrets, because it's so truly unique. On further wearing, there's a weird twist to its performance: from 4-6h after application you may feel it's disappeared entirely, BUT, sniff deeply enough at your skin and there will still be some surprisingly strong, lingering smoky notes there. It's stronger than first impressions might suggest. (And maybe I just wasn't applying enough, as I wanted to preserve every gorgeous drop ... it might do better if sprayed on extravagantly at first, or with a second coating a few hours in.)

This fragrance is highly controversial to me. There are some pros as well as cons. First of all, it smells the different way it is described by the company. This is not a tea fragrance (at least for me), but an ordinary tobacco scent, or spicy citrusy tobacco. Second, Bohea Boheme doesn't smell really unique or distinct. Third, it gives zero projection and stays very close to skin. However, I must say the fragrance is well done. It starts off with a spicy note of cardamom and old leather, then turning into citrusy tobacco (the second stage is close to Olfactive Studio Still Life) and ambery tobacco in the dry down (this way it is similar to watered down Tom Ford Tobacco Oud and most of perfumes with that tobacco accord). I do like to wear Bohea Boheme, the quality of components is high. The longevity is above average though nobody will notice it unless you make 10 sprays. Is it bottle worthy? No. Is it for tea lovers? No. Is it for tobacco lovers? Maybe. Is it for casual wearing? Yes, if you like inoffensive scents with a niche vibe and quality.

My favorite perfume of all I've tried. Opens up fresh and quite strong with a slight menthol vibe, probably from the cardamom. The cardamom is followed immediatly by fir and juniper and smokey tea. The longer it's on, the softer it becomes until it's a bit sweeter and woodsier with more bayleaf. If Gypsy Water is being in a lukewarm sauna surrounded by some vanilla and citrus, this is like being in a boiling hot sauna surrounded by aromatics and smoking fir. Love that this is wood and incense without smelling like a dusty wood cabin with tar paint. More like being outside a cabin an autumn morning, clearing the pine brush and making a bonfire while drinking tea. This is how i want to smell when I'm not in a formal setting. Longevity and sillage is not great unfortunately. I can spray 4-5 sprays but it will not radiate after 2 hours, although some wafts of it from the clothes (especially if warm or working out) are wonderful. 100% worth it anyway, just for sniffing it every other day.

WOW! Amazing aromatic, dark and mysterious. It leans towards the masculine but if you like strong aromatics then it should be winner. Spicey and aromatic that seem to sum this up perfectly. Its got some of my favourite notes of spices, herbs, smoke, lots of tea with a spoonful of honey. It reminds me of the lovely fragrances made by Ellen Covey of Olympic Orchids such as Javanica and Kingston Ferry. Im darned if I can make out any iris in this. In fairness it does have some powerful notes to compete with. I defintely get a burnt wood vibe. It just gets better with time. It softens and evolves, this powerful beast of a fragrance. The elemis comes more to the fore as it finally closes. Big sillage and long longevity.

The most gorgeous tea perfume! I'm with shuskin - WOW! Misty smoke rises from tea fields, surrounded by resinous woods, pollinated by dew-drenched bees. MdO perfectly describes it as a complex aroma. There are so many nuances that I can't pick them all out. A tiny hint of medicinal plants, a puff of powdery comfort, a distant floral sighting. All noticeable as the tea mists thin and thicken. And the tea - brilliant. My new favorite tea scent by far.