New at Anthropologie: a collection of six tea-based fragrances under the name A Rather Novel Collection:
Not a travelogue, but a scent-o-logue: each fragrance in this edition was inspired by a different flavor of tea found in one of six global locales. Housed in book-like boxes, the titles of each are based on the tea’s place of origin. Crafted exclusively for Anthropologie by five perfumers from the perfume house Givaudan.
5 O’Clock At Belvoir Castle (shown above left) ~ developed by perfumer Stephen Nilsen, “crisp bergamot and heady jasmine, sandalwood and damp moss”.
Silk Road Caravan ~ also from perfumer Stephen Nilsen, “white tea buds and fresh apricot paired with peony and vanilla”.
Hamarikyu Gardens (shown above right) ~ developed by perfumer Marypierre Julien, “green tea-inspired, featuring sweetened lemon and bergamot zest, verbena and the softest amber”.
1856 Darjeeling ~ developed by perfumer Adriana Medina, “touches of cardamom, mint, fresh jasmine and cedarwood highlight this yellow tea blend”.
Cape Of Good Hope ~ developed by perfumer Claude Dir, “a steeped blend of red tea leaves and lemon, gardenia petals and musk”.
Taverns & The Hague ~ developed by perfumer Caroline Sabas, “exotic Oolong spiked with mandarin and lemon zest, violet leaves and rich musk”.
The Anthropologie A Rather Novel Collection fragrances are available in 50 ml Eau de Parfum, $48 each.
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Oh good grief. Sign me up for all of ‘em, but 1856 Darjeeling in particular.
Don’t these sound fun?? Whoever smells them first, pls report back!
Me too! I want Taverns & The Hague especially, what a scrumptious blend of scents that sounds! Want want want! It’s on my Christmas list!
I’m sure everyone in the Southern Hemisphere and very southern states are really excited but I just can’t get interested in what seem to me to be hot weather scents while I’m watching the frost slowly lift off my grass and my dying flowers…..sigh…I need another spritz of Theorema now….
Nope, I’m excited too, LOL…maybe these would help you ignore the frost??
I dunno…..maybe a cup of HOT tea ……and an FB of VC&A Bois d’Iris, yeah, that’d make me feel lots better…..
oh did I mention that I’ve been sniffing the Bois d”iris and it sucked me in like crazy? I’m surprised you all didn’t hear the big suction-y noise…..my piggy bank heard it….
Did it sound something like a Dyson on steroids? if so, then yes, I heard it.
uh-huh, that was it!
I’ll sit in the grumpy corner with you, just because when something calls itself “Rather Novel”, I expect it to be either a) book-themed, or b) really different, and this seems to be neither. That said, once warm weather rolls around, I wouldn’t mind trying 5:00 or 1856 (or several others, but those 2 stand out to me).
I, too, am disappointed to discover that “Rather Novel” isn’t a play on words and doesn’t feature a literary theme. They missed such a great opportunity there.
I almost missed these at Anthropologie the other day — despite stopping by specifically to sniff them — because they were in a book-themed display! Each fragrance was sandwiched as a collection in between (fake?) books, like, 6 copies of Wuthering Heights, six “books” of Silk Road, and so on. Brilliant. Perhaps the only attempt to tie the concept to the execution makes them almost invisible in the store. Sigh…. They weren’t bad, though! I actually like Cape of Good Hope best, even though from the notes I’d figured 1856 or 5 O’Clock would win out.
Thanks for the warning, esp. because I’m hoping to go look for them this weekend!
very southern states: that would be me!
It’s 89 here today. So sign me up for either of the first two which sound perfect in this weather. Actually, they all sound worth trying.
Me want – now where’s a coffret with all 6 scents? Because no way am I buying 6 FBs of tea scents.
Yes!! Perfect idea.
Poodle scoot! Why didn’t someone think of that? A coffret would be fantastic for Christmas! Come on, marketing people! I’d love to try all six too!
These do sound like fun, don’t they? Sign me up for the Belvoir Castle one – damp moss, yumm!
Doesn’t that just sound deep and delicious. Taverns & The Hague sounds pretty rich and wonderful too.
Yeah, they had me at damp moss, too. Speaks to my inner eight-year old, who wanted to be a unicorn and live in a forest. (Imagine my disappointment when I was informed “unicorn” was not a viable career option.)
Guess what – neither is “fairy princess”. There went all my career aspirations.
And mermaid. Don’t forget mermaid!
Mermaid and witch were high on my list when I was seven. So was space ranger, and I haven’t attained that one yet either.
in a teeny tiny voice….but I AM a fairy princess……
Me, too – much to the CEO’s chagrin.
Alas, I am more of a “Disney evil queen.”
I’d get to be Ursula the Sea Witch from Little Mermaid–she got the best song….and yes, don’t even ask: we do go around singing disney songs here…somedays it’s like a musical review!
I *would* be an evil queen, but they all die in the end – so I’ll stick with being a fairy princess.
I love the sound of that one. But actually, I love the sound of all of them except the Silk Road, which sounds awfully bland for a Silk Road thing.
I will be a Belvoir Castle @ 5 o’clock, your majesty!
5 O’clock and 1856 sound lovely, I wonder if they’ll offer them at the Anthropologie in Canada? Hopefully so I can get a wiff of these fragrances.
I don’t know, sorry!
oh catch me as I swoon!
Just reading the first line had me salivating. I love tea – white, green, oolong, english breakfast, earl grey, lady grey – would love to get my hands on the 5 o’clock and Silk Road Caravan!
They really all sound great!
These are all on the list to try. Anthropologie seems to be focusing on fragrance and they’re featuring such interesting ones. I’m down with that.
Yes! Most unfortunately my local Anthro. store doesn’t have a great selection.
Well that’s not fair!
Exactly.
I smelled them today, and immediately bought 5 o’clock at Belvoir Castle. It’s gorgeous on the skin, especially with the sandalwood and moss in the base – perfect for a cold Seattle day! I did also try 1856 Darjeeling on my skin, and it was light and crisp.
Oh good — glad to hear at least 2 of them are nice!
Robin, I tried all of them and I wish I could describe them better.
=(
I liked 5 o’clock at Belvoir Castle, although I didn’t think it was “crisp” as in the description. Hamarikyu Gardens smelled of sweet tangerine. I like it too but it doesn’t last too long.
I don’t remember which one, but one of them smells very similar to scent from Gap, named “Heaven.”
Thank you so much Na! Were you tempted to buy any of them?
Unfortunately no… (or fortunately for my wallet ^^)
I was rather tempted to buy Magnolia of Annick Goutal. I’m going to try it one more time before I decide though.
Ha, $ saved! Except the Goutal is even more expensive
I figured when I went again to try it again.
I also embarassingly noticed that the name of the perfume was Mandragore instead of Magnolia. ^^;;;
Oh, that’s a great scent! Shop around, you can probably find it at discount online.