Robert Piguet - Chai

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Chai is a green fragrance accentuated by  flowery notes grounded in subtle and smooth, lingering teanotes. Chai is a part of the Robert Piguet Pacific Collection which is created by Aurelien Guichard.

Chai starts with a burst of the same fresh teanote that is the maintheme of the classic Bulgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert. The fresh teanote quickly enters to the background but emphasizes the sparkling green freshness of the scent of just cutted  greenery and a gentle touch of white flowers, probably orangeblossom. A touch of a subdued citrusnote is also present. As Chai reaches the basenotes a wellbalanced smoky teannote joins the light teanote and the pronounced notes of greenery. A waxy note smoothens and warms the texture of Chai. Teafragrances are often cold and bright but Chai is warm and gentle in it's apperance. The smoky note is gentle, it's not the sharp smokiness of Lapsang souchong but a smooth smokiness. The smoky note reminds me somehow of a light version of the pleasant almost cigarette smoky note of my favourite Carner Barcelona, D600 . This smoky note is also present in another favourite, Annick Goutals herbal, smoky Nuit Etoilee. Finally there is (of course) also similarities to the smoky teanotes of L'Artisan Parfumeurs masterpiece Tea for Two but the smoky notes are subdued in Chai compared to Tea for two.

Chai is the perfect daytime spring and summerfragrance, also wearable in the colder month when longing for the summer. This green fragrance is suitable both for work and casual and even if bright and light in texture, Chai is sort of compact and not att all fleeting in its structure. The sillage is medium and the longevity for at least 12h.

Chai is suitable for wearers who likes the two perfumestyles indicated above: "Pure" tea fragrances and fragrances grounded with transparent, fresh lighten cigarette smoky notes. Other tea fragrances that comes to my mind when testing out Chai are Dior Escale à Pondichery (bergamot, jasmin, spices, black tea) and ByKilian Bamboo Harmony (bergamot, neroli, spices, tea).

To me Chai is the star of the Pacific Collection. An uplifting, comfortable fragrance, just in time with the color of 2013: Green.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot leaves, white tea, (white flowers), beewax, mate tea

Robert Piguet - Blossom

 

Picture:Closeup of mandarin tree  in the Berkeley Botanical Garden
Photo by Allen Timothy Chang (cc) Wikimedia commons, some rights reserved

Another Piguet to like! The fragrances of the house of Piguet seems to be the perfect match for my skinchemistry. Blossom, created by the Piguet housenose Auerlien Guichard, is a part of the Pacific Collection, which is intended the Asian market, but seems to be avaible also in other markets around the globe. The Pacific Collection consists of three fragrances inspired by symbolic plants of China—Blossom, Chai and Jeunesse.

Blossom starts with a delicious, almost natural smell of mandarin. After a while notes of orangeblossom appears and the dry down is dominated by the interaction of those in addition with juicy, green leaves of the orangetree. All these different shades of orange is anchored in a pleasant, not detergent smelling, white musk. Blossom  gives me the imagination of strolling around a sunny day in a mandarin grove in a garden of The Secret City during the Chinese Empire.

Picture: Blossom from the Robert Piguet Pacific Collection
Photo: PR Parfums Robert Piguet (c)

Blossom is a wellbalanced, straight forward "orangefruits" composition which is comfortable to wear year around, especially in the late winter when the sun is warming the snowy fields as a forerunner of the comeing spring. The mandarin note which is the special in this blend is as mentioned above, fresh and natural smelling, not the darker, spicy almost marmelade mandarinnotes of Serge Lutens Mandarin-Mandarine which is more complex and more of a glowing autumn perfume, compared to Blossom. Longevity of Blossom is about a day, sillage is close, this is the perfect inoffensive, happy, officescent that anybody could feel comfortable with.

Those who pronounced orangeblossom perfumes such as Ramon Monegal  Entre Naranjos Maison Francis Kurkdjian APOM pour Femme, Elie Saab Le Parfum, L'Artisan Parfumeur Seville à l'Aube and Oscar de la Renta Granada will certainly enjoy Blossom

Rating: 4 (Feb 2013) 5 (April 2013)

Update april 2013: The more I test this fragrance the more I like it. Uplifting, happy and a real pleasure to wear. Also comfortables as a " go-to-sleep" frag, calming despite its uplifting character. 

Notes: Neroli, mandarin, orangeblossom, orangeleaves, musc