Tea Rose Jasmin

This was a real blast from the past for me--I used to work for Perfumer's Workshop at the height of the Tea Rose craze at Bloomingdales, about 1977-1980. We had the Perfumer's organ of 64 different essential oils in various sizes and Tea Rose had it's own separate line of products. This scent is based on their night-blooming Jasmin oil and was also sold as a separate line of products. Eventually they launched their Pret-a-Porter line of EDT's and purse spray perfumes based on the most popular oils--Freesia, Violette, gardenia, Lilac--(Freaking AWESOME lilac!!)Amber, Tiger Lily, French Lily, Lily of the Valley and Amber--which also eventually got it's own line. Oh--and a wonderfully sugary and pure White Jasmin NOT based on any of the oils, that I wore at my wedding! I had the pleasure of getting to know, slightly, the actual perfumer behind Perfumers' Workshop, the brilliant and very eccentric Howard Molyneux--Yes, one of THOSE Molyneuxs--(he was prevented from using his last name on any products he created because the name had been copywrighted by his relatives.) He was a genius when it came to scent and could reproduce any commericial fragrance that had existed since the 30's, when he had worked with actress Constance Bennett on her cosmetic line. I watched him re-create Patou's Joy for a customer using his oils. I tried to do that for months and could never pull it off! He was a tiny man with an eccentric style of dress-(very dandy-ish) an English accent and absolutely the world's WORST toupee! This new, re-packaged version is not as lasting as I remember the EDT of this scent to be, although that could just be my post menopausal nose. Still, I was trilled to smell it again--it always suited me--Howard really understood florals! Unfortunately, Howard was screwed out of this share of the ownership of the company by a sleazeball liar and thief who will go nameless here. He went to his reward in the early 90's and I still wonder what ever happened to his astonishing collection of antique perfume bottles--he displayed and sold them for a while at Bloomies. I'm am sure that heaven is a much better smelling paradise since he got there! Cheers, Howard!

As with TPW-Tea Rose, TPW-TR Jasmine is a gem; a natural smelling jasmine soliflore, with good performance, at a very affordable price. I think the “tea rose” in the name just indicates that this line is for soli-notes, but I think it’s a bit confusing. And although rose is in the notes I cannot detect it at all. This is jasmine from Earth 🌍, not the extra-terrestrial jasmine brought by Alien 👽 ( I love that one very much as well). Like with Tea Rose representing the whole rose bush, TR Jasmine represents the whole jasmine shrub; the fresh leaves 🍃 accentuated by the LotV, various stages of jasmine from buds, to full bodied blooms (anchored by tuberose), to those starting to wilt (some indolic nuances detected), down to the stems and earth (woods and amber). Fantastic. Honestly these two products from TPW should put many designer and niche houses to shame.

Wow! Beautifully executed jasmine! I also find it similar to Lush Lust, but this is less sweet and more naturalistic. Lush is neon candied jasmine, and this is jasmine blooming in your garden. Lush also has a bit of vanilla which is absent here. I would give Lush the edge in terms of performance, but the earthy quality of Tea Rose Jasmine makes it more wearable. I personally adore both, and if you are a jasmine lover you can’t go wrong with either. I often use Lust (spray and solid) for layering and will layer with this too but it is perfectly lovely on its own. Unfortunately, this is getting hard to find. I luckily came across a sealed 4oz bottle very inexpensively.

The name may be a little confusing. This is the Jasmine flanker of the fragrance Tea Rose. It is definitely Jasmine forward (or a Jasmine Bomb as fragrance community folks might say). I don’t get rose on my skin at all. But just like Tea Rose is a very natural smelling rose perfume, this is a very natural smelling Jasmine perfume. Perfect for jasmine lovers. I suspect this would also be great for layering a jasmine note with another fragrance, but I have not tested that out yet personally.

I walked into TJMaxx and found a small 1oz bottle. How thrilling since I've wanted this fragrance for a long time. I hadn't smelled it but was familiar with the other Tea Rose renditions. I then scoured every TXJaxx and Marshals in the greater St. Louis area. No luck. I did find it online and immediately bought two bottles. It is a great summer perfume. A paradox scent both fresh and light and yet strong.