"What are you wearing today? It's lovely."
"Why, this morning I spritzed on a bit of Liz Earle Botanical Essence Eau de Parfum No. 1. Thank you!"
This is natural skincare wizard Liz Earle's first bespoke fragrance. "Bespoke" is a word that's all over the press release and it irritated the hell out of me until I realized it's the British way of saying "custom-made". Here I was thinking it was all hoity-toity and annoyingly antiquated, but it's just a British thing. Or is it? That's what Wikipedia told me. I haven't ever heard a Brit say "bespoke," but then again I hardly hang around a lot of Brits who can afford to have something "bespoke" for them. ;)
PS: One Brit I know who could use some bespoking is Britney Spears. She needs a bespoke wig!
At any rate, this is one of those fragrance reviews where you may think I've bumped my head. Hard. Or you may agree wholeheartedly. It's difficult to predict!
I was curious what other people were saying about this scent, and I found quite a few people PANNING it. I saw comparisons to cat pee and old ladies (and sometimes both). It was really interesting!
Read on to see what I thought...
Top notes- bergamot, mandarin, orange, bigarade (A sour orange, apparently. Yes, I googled it.), lemon and cardamom
Heart notes -floral rose absolute, lavender, geranium, coriander and nutmeg
Base notes- cedar wood, vetiver, tonka bean absolute and patchouli.
Other selling points: It's made by Liz Earle. Hello?!
Also, it's over 98% derived from natural ingredients.
It's implied that this scent is uplifting and possibly mood-boosting.
Price Point: $78 for 1.6oz
Initial thoughts: I'm not a citrusy kinda gal, rose usually amps up into a ginormous, unattractive panty-drawer sachet on my skin, geranium isn't my favorite scent, vetiver can go wrong sometimes, I dislike cedar. To say I was a little fearful about trying this is an incredible understatement. If there's one thing my romance with Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has taught me, though, it's to be more open-minded about fragrance because the number of things I don't understand about how fragrances work is mindboggling.
Review:
This perfume opens with a hit of bright citrus, but it smells crisp and fun and not like a juice box. (My analogies are getting worse the more time I spend at home with the kids!) The great thing about this opening is the cardamom, one of my favorite scents!
Once the perfume dries a bit, it broadens, but not with strongly discernible notes to my (poor) nose. Yes, I still smell citrus, and I can just pick out the lavender, but the notes really blend well in this stage.
What it all boils down to is a slightly vanilla woodsiness. The patchouli gives it a nice depth, but isn't a prevailing note, and the cedar and vetiver are great here.
While the initial spritz may seem a bit heavy, it softens quickly so don't be alarmed. Longevity is a bit of an issue here, which is to be expected from all-natural ingredients, so don't expect this to be an all-day scent. I much prefer it for shorter periods, especially when I want to lift my spirits.
Final thoughts:
I don't get the "old lady" thing and certainly not the "cat pee" reference. I'd say slightly woody and green citrus. Maybe not what you'd expect from Liz Earle (I don't know- I thought maybe a light sparkling-floral-thing, somehow classic and modern?), but it works for me. I have worn it daily for a few weeks now, and really like it. It's the only thing that got me to break my Urban Decay Revolver habit!
Since this is such an unusual blend, I'd suggest trying to sample it before buying it. But then again, I always suggest that with fragrances, since scent is such a personal thing. Liz Earle says that this scent is even more apt to take a personal twist on the skin, by the way, due to the all-natural ingredients.
I have not tried Chanel Cristalle Eau de toilette or Diorella, to which I've heard it compared (they all in the same "citrus chypre" family). Anyway, I can't speak to that comparison, but if either of those are favorites of yours, you may want to track down this perfume.
I really do think this gives a bit of a mood boost (if you like the way it smells- otherwise it might depress you!). I like to use it in the morning to help me get in my groove, and have also been known to spray it on before bed to help me settle into slumber. For me, this is a feel-good scent. (And I thought that before I read the info that said it might be a mood lifter)
Have you tried it?
photo credit: Thank you to my assistant, Wizard. I couldn't do it without you.