Cool and Iced Green Tea Spray Scent (Elizabeth Arden: Green Tea, Eau de Toilette)

Member Name: TheChocolateLady

Product:	Elizabeth Arden: Green Tea, Eau de Toilette
Date:	23/08/09 (126 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great citrus scent when you put it on

Disadvantages: Fades quickly, doesn't last long

After falling in love with Body Shop's Passion Flower Eau de Parfum, I was devastated to find out that the fragrance had been discontinued. So the next time I was at our Duty Free, I went looking for a substitute, and the Elizabeth Arden Green Tea was what I went home with.

From their webpage, they say the scent is made up as follows:

Top Notes: Caraway, Fruity Rhubarb, Lemon, Orange Zest and Bergamot
Middle Notes: Cool Minty Peppermint, Green Tea, Sweet Jasmine, Spicy Carnation, Fresh Fennel and Crisp Celery Spice
Base Notes: Oakmoss, Musk and Amber

While all this sounds interesting, I have to say that I was surprised by this list, since there is almost nothing here that seems to jive with what I experience with this scent. In fact, the first thing I smell when I put this on is grapefruit. Now, that could be the lemon and orange zest mixed with the bergamot, but to me, it smells very much like grapefruit. It certainly has a heady citrus overtone that's pleasantly sour, but not quite as strong as the scent of cutting into a fresh grapefruit. The overall sensation of the scent is very refreshing and clean smelling, which I think is perfect as a summertime perfume.

As the perfume fades, you'll lose that zesty scent quite quickly. What you'll be left with is something that certainly reflects the green tea, but with a powdery undertone. That new aroma is probably one of the flowers that they mention, and I smell more carnation than jasmine, since it isn't overly sweet. While this isn't as cool and refreshing as what you'll experience when you first put it on, there are enough bright tones left over to keep it from falling totally flat. I'm thinking that the peppermint is probably what helps the most with this.

While all this sounds good, not all is perfect here. The problem with this perfume is that as lovely as it smells when you first put it on, and as nice as it is after it's worn off a bit, it really doesn't have much staying power. Within only about half an hour after I put this on, all the sparkly citrus has faded away to the softer powdery tones. Since I was looking for something "grapefruity", this was a bit of a disappointment for me. I've also noticed that what's left over also doesn't seem to stay with you all that long. I'd say, after about 6-8 hours, you might not notice you've put this on at all. To counter-act this, I've even tried spraying more on me, but that doesn't seem to solve anything.

The biggest drawback to this problem is that you will be tempted to use more of it, and therefore, it will run out sooner. My old Body Shop Passion Flower 50ml bottle lasted since December 2003. Frankly, I can't see this 100ml bottle lasting almost 6 years, at the amount I'm using of this now. Mind you, this is hardly one of the most expensive scents on the market - and I see you can get it from Amazon for only £8.10! So I guess it isn't a total disaster if this finishes up quickly. Still, as far as summery scents go, this is likeable, and had marvelous potential when I first put it on. Too bad that it fades too quickly and doesn't keep the kick I like so much. I'd say this deserves three stars out of five, but still recommended if you are looking for something inexpensive that's not too strong and good for summer or daytime wear.

Davida Chazan © August 2009

~~~~~
Technical stuff:
As mentioned above, the 100ml skin scent spray is available through Amazon £8.10, with the 50ml going for only £5.54. From the look of it, this simple version might be going off the market as it looks like it is being replaced by versions called Exotic and Revitalize.

The website for Elizabeth Arden in the UK is http://www.elizabetharden.co.uk/ where they have a store locator to find somewhere you can buy this in the UK.
~~~~~

Summary: Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea is a very nice summery scent