Aka

Aka

I sample about 10-15 perfumes a month and very rarely love a fragrance. But this is special. It smells soft and clean like laundry but also a hint of woodiness to keep it interesting. There’s also some amber to keep it rich and silky. Thankfully I do not smell the patchouli or even the lavender (a note I almost always hate). To me this is like a cleaner and lighter watercolor version of Initio Rehab. Completely unisex. Ordered a full bottle, the 15th in my intentional collection. For reference, my favorite perfumes are Bal d’afrique, Eau Duelle, Black Tie, Cedrus, and Ethereal Wave.

This is a very pleasant fragrance. I happened to sample it on a Sunday morning while doing some lazy reading on my laptop, still in bed. In that moment, it felt incredibly comforting and interesting. If I’m rating it based on originality, uniqueness, and the quality of the blend, I would absolutely give it 5 stars. It smells like a tea I would want to drink to relax.

However, when I ask myself, “Do I want to smell like this?” my immediate answer is no. On my skin, it leans more toward aromatherapy than toward perfumey. It has an aromatherapeutic quality, soothing and herbal, rather than something I personally want to wear out. It might be one of those fragrances that grows on you over time, but I’ve stopped buying perfumes with the hope that they’ll eventually grow on me. If I’m unsure from the beginning, I usually take that as my answer.

I should also mention that I’m generally not drawn to tea fragrances. The only tea-based scent I ever purchased was Tea for Two by L'Artisan Parfumeur years ago, and I eventually sold it because I wasn’t reaching for it.

It’s beautiful to experience, just not something I personally want to wear.

I love how interesting this fragrance is. I am thinking about buying a full bottle.

I have so many tea perfumes and I love them all, but I don’t buy full bottles anymore unless I find one that offers something new. This did - it’s hard to describe but it’s “deeper” and more complex without being smoky. It’s not light and refreshing like The Yulong. It’s not smoky like Phaedon Cendres de The. It’s unisex and I love it and it’s unique to me.