smell tales

In its essence, Tea Rose is so well made that manages to evoke a whole rose garden, with leaves and stems and everything. The bergamot gives it intensity and a slight effervescence, while the fresh floral notes and the woody tones provide warmth and depth. But actually the only relevant note here in terms of smell is the rose, which makes Tea Rose a very realistic soliflor.

The fragrance was created and launched in the early-mid seventies, with a simple bottle designed by Pierre Dinand.

Donald Bauchner, the brand founder, stated at some point that their newest modification for Tea Rose will only come out in 2015 and he was sure there will be no difference.

Well, a couple of years ago I used to own a bottle made in the EC and now I just got one made in the USA in February 2015 and guess what? Quite a difference!

So of course it got reformulated and unfortunately you can really tell. I also have to point out that there seem to be two versions of the same Tea Rose edt, a more expensive one, that you can find in Europe, and a cheaper version, marketed for the American market.

After receiving my US “bargain” I felt that the fragrance resembles the one I used to have in my collection, but it feels more synthetic, is more evanescent, not as strong or mouth watering as I remembered it, not as bright and definitely has a less oily consistency.

Also, the label on the bottle is a little different: for my previous one, the brown frame was thinner, darker and actually carved into the label, not just drawn as on the US version. Also, the label on the European made bottle was paler, it had more of a buttery color, not as yellowish as the American one. The one I just got has the code stamped on the bottom of the bottle, while the one I used to own had the information embedded onto the glass. The sprayer was taller on my previous bottle, the actual one is shorter and made out of a more transparent plastic.

Now, the chemical compound of the fragrance that has the role of consolidation tends to evolve on its own even in the older version, but fortunately is quite subtle there and not ambitious enough to harm the beauty of the perfume. On the other hand, the current formulation does have that plasticky whiff for quite a few minutes after being sprayed. It eventually goes away, revealing the beauty of the scent, yet it’s still a little bothering in the beginning.

Bottom line, I haven’t ever encountered a competitor for the original Tea Rose, both in terms of flavor authenticity and longevity. It’s really extraordinary, so if you adore roses, go grab a vintage bottle if you get the chance. You can settle for the current formulation, but I can’t guarantee that you won’t be disappointed to some extent. It’s not bad, you get to smell the roses, it’s just not as beautiful as it used to be.

Official website: Perfumer’s Workshop