Photo by Rodney Smith
“Wouldn’t it be dreadful to live in a country where they didn’t have tea?” asked Noel Coward, apparently aghast at the idea. As a tea lover, I wholeheartedly agree. It’s not just the comforting cuppa that starts my day that I’d miss, but the endless variety of aromas tea leaves and their brews impart: the delicate, lychee perfume of Shui Xian Oolong, the malty, dark chocolate of Assam, the smoky dried bark smell of Lapsang Souchong. And then, of course, there’s the quintessentially English Earl Grey, whose distinctive bergamot note summons daydreams of emerald lawns, fine china and elegant silver tea service. Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s new summer scent, Royal Grey Cologne, is a multidimensional take on that celebrated beverage. The result is a delightful, aromatic sparkler, both playful and sophisticated, that will have you pining for misty English gardens and plates of scones.
Citrus bergamot, watercolor by Margaret Ann Eden©
Royal Grey Cologne is an all-botanical fragrance made with no less than four different teas. Using these variations on a theme notes gives Royal Grey a complexity a straight-up black tea fragrance might lack. “I think that tea is a rather difficult note to get right” says Dawn Spencer Hurwitz. “It’s something that many are really familiar with and with that notion of it being an ‘every-day’ kind of thing, it might be easy to compose with. But it’s very easy to make either thin, flat accords or ones that don’t really have the correct tannin/floral /earthy relationship.” To create dimension and balance, she created a black tea accord with black tea absolute and co2 and combined it with a strong infusion of earl grey tea, green tea absolute, and green tea co2 before marrying it with florals, brilliant, bitter citrus and woody notes.
A tea purveyor’s calling card, c.1770
Royal Grey opens with a life-like, bright burst of bergamot that is flowery, bitter, juicy all at once. Tea rises like steam behind it, stretching out in different directions: astringent, pungent, anisic, nutty. The black tea notes dominate well into the middle section, when the grassy smokiness of green gunpowder tea comes through. Sandalwood intensifies as Royal Grey develops, as the middle section takes on woody, earthy aspects. As it leans into the dry-down, a sweet herbal note wends its way through. Yerba mate, along with milky vanilla and some understated rose, segues Royal Grey from morning rouser to afternoon cream tea.
Tea Time (Portrait of Louise Quivoron) by Marie Bracquemond, 1880
DSH Perfumes Royal Grey Cologne is more complex than a typical summer cologne, which should appeal to those looking for something a bit different from the many light tea scents on the market, but bright and sparkling enough feel refreshing and easy. Royal Grey is both bracing and calming, perfectly pitched for a lazy day in the heat. Breathing it afresh, it makes me long for the shade of a huge chestnut tree, Henry James in hand, while tea seeps nearby on the terrace. Now, please pass the clotted cream.
Notes: Earl Grey natural (Accord), Earl Grey tea infusion, ruh khus, ambrette seed, Australian sandalwood, vanilla absolute, black tea, Bulgarian rose otto, damask rose absolute, green tea absolute, gunpowder green (botanical accord), patchouli co2, yerba maté absolute, bergamot.
Disclaimer: Sample of DSH Royal Grey Cologne graciously provided by DSH Perfumes. My opinions are my own.
– Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor
DSH Perfumes Royal Grey Cologne from Dawn for this post
Thanks to the generosity of DSH Perfumes, we have a 10 ML Voile de Parfum bottle of Royal Grey Cologne for 1 registered reader worldwide. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about DSH Royal Grey Cologne based on Lauryn’s review, whether you have a favourite DSH perfume (and if you’re a tea drinker), what’s your best-loved brew (mine’s Taiwanese Tung Ting Oolong)? Draw closes 8.8.2019.
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