Tag Archives: Tea

by | April 26, 2018 · 7:00 am

Niral by Neela Vermeire Creations – And A Giveaway!

 

By Sandra from Australian Perfume Junkies

 

Silk Road…

Hey there ABR! How are you all doing?

As many of you know, I am a huge Neela Vermeire fan. She has been working with perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour for all of her creations and the latest perfume has been in the works for over two years.

Neela pours her heart and soul into each of her creations and her vision is clear and determined until she is satisfied with the final outcome.

Niral, an eau de parfum, is her newest release. I stalked the website for days waiting to be able to purchase Niral. I received my brand new bottle last week and have been wearing it every day since.

Niral means calm, serene and unique in Hindi and it suits the perfume beautifully as we will see further on. Niral is an olfactory ballad in honour of Sir Thomas Wardle (1831-1909) who received a knighthood for his work towards the silk business.

Before I continue I have to let you know that the packaging has changed from the box to the bottle. The box is a beautiful purple with silver embossed logo and lettering. The bottle shape remains the same, however Niral is a gorgeous gradient purple flacon. What I love most is that it has a thin silver cord with the name Niral on a small pendant.

 

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The notes listed on the NVC website are: Angelica, Champagne Accord, Iris, Tea, Rose, Magnolia, Cedar, Sandalwood and Leather.

When I first spray the perfume, I am greeted with a vibrant champagne accord. It has a slight liqueur undertone which quickly fades into the background. There is a lot of iris in the opening as well. It starts out muted and as the perfume warms up it becomes alive. Together with iris is the delicate floral bouquet of a black tea leaning towards Darjeeling.

For a few moments, Niral’s tea note has the muscatel grape note sometimes found in second flush Darjeeling teas. I find the subtle shift from the champagne accord to the iris and tea phase so fitting since Darjeeling is considered by many as the champagne of teas. There are times when I can imagine getting a whiff of magnolia. It is fleeting but I do not detect it every time I am wearing it.

As the perfumes shifts it moves into a more rounded phase where cedar and sandalwood are mixed in and bring the whole composition to the next level. The sandalwood is smooth and the cedar lends it a slightly woodier side. The elegant finale comes when the drydown is a chorus of iris, tea and soft, almost suede-like, leather with a smooth woody finish. It has an almost tactile quality about it bringing a sense of calm into my life.

 

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Niral is a complex perfume with sublime notes. One word describes it – exquisite.

I adore it and hope that you all will as well. I would like to send my sample to one lucky reader. Please leave a comment telling me what your favourite spring time flower is and why. On a side note, I would like to state that Niral truly does need to be sprayed to experience the full beauty with all the nuances.

Entries for the Giveaway close at midnight on Thursday 3rd May and the winner will be announced here on Saturday 5th May. Good luck!

 

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Raw Silk: Neela Vermeire Creations

 

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by | February 1, 2017 · 7:00 am

Fragranced Organic Teas by Aftelier Perfumes

After I shared a surprisingly popular post about tea a couple of weeks ago, the wonderful indie perfumer Mandy Aftel kindly sent me samples from her own tea collection. I was thrilled and had a fine time trying each one.

 

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I drank them without milk and without sugar (on my first cup at least) to get the true taste. All four teas are organic and use edible essential oils and absolutes on a base of premium tea leaves. Depending on what method of infusion you use, on the first steeping you can watch the leaves unfurl in the water. You can also re-infuse them several times, which is great. Below are my impressions of each variety.tea-roseginger-2tOolong Tea Rose & Ginger 

This organic Tieguanyin oolong tea from Taiwan is infused with Mandy’s Chef Essences of Turkish Rose and Fresh Ginger. I thought I didn’t like floral teas, however either rose is an exception or this tea is so subtly flavoured/scented it’s a joy. I was also concerned the ginger might be overpowering but it added a lovely gingerbread background warmth. I think I might struggle with straight-up oolong but this combination of flavours gives it body and make it work beautifully for me. Now I’m looking forward to trying more rose flavoured teas.

Black Tea Cardamom & Orange

I love the scent of black tea, cardamom and orange so it’s no surprise that this turned out to be a hit with me. The cardamom comes through more than the orange but it’s a gentle backnote to the tea itself which is full, rounded and satisfying in the way black tea usually is for me. According to the website this is “Organic Red Pearls Black Tea, a rare tea from Fujian, is fully-oxidized Mao Feng tea leaves that have been rolled into small black pearls. They are then pan-fired where they develop a burnished sheen, toasty caramel-like aroma, and spicy, assertive — yet wonderfully sweet — flavor.”

Oolong Tea Frankincense GABA

An incense tea! I love incense so this was a novel and fun experience for me. The scent is fantastically resinous, rather than smoky and it’s the fullest oolong tea I can imagine.  The oolong tea from Taiwan has fruit and honey notes and is infused with hojary incense. GABA is a natural enzyme that calms and relaxes which is a definite plus. You’d think it might feel strange drinking incense but doesn’t. It’s perfect for de-stressing after work on a cold winter’s evening.

Aged Pu’erh in Tangerine Peel

Until late last year I hadn’t even heard of Pu’erh. It’s actually a fermented tea from Yunnan, China. Here, the leaves are packed into the rind of a whole tangerine.and aged for four years. They take on the flavour of the tangerine and the citrus is enhanced further by the addition of Mandy’s Yellow Mandarin Chef’s Essence. I found the unique scent very comforting.  It’s earthy and rubbery and laced delicately with citrus. Perhaps surprisingly, this tea is really refreshing and I found it easy to drink without sugar, which is rare. I also love that it comes in the tangerine peel.

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Each tea composition is expertly balanced with essences and absolutes that complement and enhance the leaves; never overwhelming them.  They are clearly created with the same care and artistry as the Aftelier perfumes. They’ve brought home to me just how closely smell and taste are connected and how making a cup of tea can become, in Mandy’s own words, “a time-stopping pleasure” during a demanding day.

 

Do you like the sound of any of Mandy’s teas? Are there any scented teas you currently enjoy?

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by | January 15, 2017 · 7:00 pm

Fancy A Cuppa?

I’m a tea person. I’ve never liked coffee (although I like the aroma) and since giving up squash and fruit juice, I now only drink water, green juice and tea. You can imagine which one of these I enjoy the most.

The narrowing down of my beverage options has motivated me to look into improving my daily tea experience.  I’ve long been aware that tea-bags contain little more than the sweepings from the factory floor, but now I’m finally investigating loose leaf tea for the first time.

Just before Christmas my sister bought me a lovely little tea pot with a built-in infuser and so I needed something to put in it. I bought a cannister of Gold Leaf Tea from M&S thinking this would be a good start. Sadly, it’s very powdery and is very strong, so I decided to look online. I searched for organic teas (considering I’m trying to go in that direction with my food) and came across TeaLyra.

After suffering from duodenal ulcers about ten years ago, I was advised to avoid black tea early in the day, so I drink at lot of Rooibos (or Red Bush) tea from South Africa. It is caffeine-free and is said to contain a number of minerals and is a high source of calcium, iron, potassium, copper, manganese, magnesium and zinc  I don’t think it tastes as good as black tea but I can drink it with half a sugar and no milk. Unfortunately I can’t abide herbal or fruit teas.

I ordered some Organic Rooibos Pure from the website as well as a small amount of Organic Orange Pekeo Ceylon.  I wanted a “proper” tea to have around 4.30pm (tea-time!) and really liked the softness of the Ceylon tea-bags a work colleague brought me back from Sri Lanka. It turns out Orange Pekeo doesn’t mean it has an orange flavour but that the young leaves are picked when the tips first open. Not unlike perfume, tea is a whole world of its own with its accompanying jargon, varieties and of course, connoisseurs.

Obviously I have a lot to learn, so tell me…

 

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Do you have a love of loose leaf tea? What are your favourite varieties and where do you purchase them from? Have you tried any of the teas by Aftelier Perfumes? What equipment do you use and do you drink it from china or glass?

Let’s talk tea in the comments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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by | February 24, 2016 · 12:00 pm

Vanilla Smoke Eau De Parfum by Aftelier Perfumes 

Per fumum…

Notes: Yellow Mandarin, Siam Wood, Saffron Absolute, Vanillin, Vanilla Absolute, Lapsang Souchong, Ambergris, Coumarin

Shalimar, with its gorgeously smoky opoponax, is the closest I’ve come to loving a vanilla-focused perfume. The usual straight-up vanillas are just too cloyingly sugary for my taste and are often very simplistic.

The only problem with the Guerlain was it just felt too dressy most of the time. Reluctantly, I found loving homes for my little used bottles of the EdP and Shalimar Light.

So my interest was more than piqued when I read about the 2015 creation Vanilla Smoke by talented indie perfumer Mandy Aftel. Could this be the vanilla fragrance that works for me? An order from Surrender To Chance later and I was about to find out.

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On application, I get a shot of black tea but this is quickly overtaken by bright orange splashes of mandarin and saffron. Saffron is such a striking note with a luxurious feel, but I don’t like it in overdose. Here it’s mellow, savoury and sophisticated.

With usually weighty ingredients like vanilla and smoke at its core, you’d think Vanilla Smoke would be a heavy fragrance but it’s actually surprisingly sheer. This is what helps to make it incredibly easy and enjoyable for me to wear.

The smoke is provided not from incense but by lapsang souchong tea essence which has been extracted from tea leaves smoked over pinewood. This deep, complex accord wafts up beautifully as if from a piping hot cup and provides a lot of interest and depth in this deceptively simple composition. The lapsang souchong creates a definite fireside effect; it’s not an conflagration like Bois d’Ascese but smoke that rolls off a campfire in the darkness.

Rather than being upfront, the vanilla acts more as a backdrop, providing a beautiful contrast to the overlay of soft, smooth smoke. As well as the more typical vanillin, Mandy uses Madagascan vanilla absolute, with all its nuances. This natural material has facets of spice and woodiness, making it a thousand times more exotic than your run-of-the-mill vanilla fragrance.

While it lasts well, it’s pretty low-key, although there is also a Parfum concentration.

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I find the smell of smoke grounding and add some unsweetened vanilla to the mix and you have my ideal comfort scent. It’s just the kind of thing I wish I had in my collection on drab days when I need a bit of soothing but want something with more warmth than incense can provide. It’s not just a scent to ease your worried mind though, it feels incredibly sensual too – I want to bathe in it.

Vanilla Smoke is more than just a  grown-up vanilla, it offers me the perfect smoky fragrance, being sensuous and wearable rather than austere and masculine. For this reason I feel more than justified in putting it on my Full Bottle Wish List.

Just when I’d got it down to zero too…

 

Have you tried Vanilla Smoke? Any Aftelier favourites?

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