A couple of years ago I was at the mall and followed my nose to something that smelled good. I was surprised to find at the end of my journey a bottle of Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Fig. It put me on notice that maybe I should pay attention to this line of flankers. The latest release Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Pear Blossom rewards that.
Rodrigo Flores-Roux
The original Elizabeth Arden Green Tea was released in 1999 as part of the trend of that time. Every spring they release a new version, adding another ingredient. To their credit these perfumes aren’t just the original Green Tea formula with the new listed note shoehorned in. Since 2008 it has seemingly become a nice creative outlet for one of my favorite perfumers Rodrigo Flores-Roux. He has overseen each year’s new iteration. What drew me to Green Tea Fig was the dual green of unripe fig and green tea. Green Tea Pear Blossom is the antithesis of that sparkling with juicy fruit despite the green tea.
That fulsome fruit is pear. Sr. Flores-Roux recreates the juicy Anjou version of the fruit. This is a slice of pear with a clear droplet of juice hanging off the end. Along with that lemon provides the sunlight to that droplet with citrusy sparkle. The heart is a floral pairing of pear blossom and jasmine. It is mostly the latter as the sweet floral nature of jasmine slowly replaces the pear. This is where the green tea enters the picture. It flows through the floral heart in slightly bitter plumes of steam. In this non-indole version of jasmine it adds a different type of bite. A nibble perhaps. Some amber warms the overall effect before a set of white musks add lift to the later stages.
Green Tea Pear Blossom has 8-10 hour longevity and average siallage.
This is another spring floral alternative to the rose offerings out there. Sr. Flores-Roux has crafted a fruity floral bursting with vernal vividness.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample supplied by Elizabeth Arden.
–Mark Behnke
