Sci Fi Ellis Brooklyn 2017

This one is weird. I have citrus/vanilla scents, citrus/tea scents, and have layered vanilla, tea, and citrus scents together, and this one is WEIRD. These are the three main notes in this fragrance, and yet somehow I have never smelled anything like it before. The beginning of this fragrance is a cacophony of all three climbing over each other, screaming for attention. It's...confusing. My nose is still confused.

That being said, it's a good weird. At least to me. This is definitely one you want to sample before you buy. And make sure that you sample it a few times and do a full wear. The first time I tried it, I really liked it and immediately bought a full bottle. I love citrus/vanillas and I enjoy a lot of tea scents. But then, for a year or two, something about it just did not appeal to me. Like I said, the notes are strange.

I just gave it another try last week, and I'm back to liking it, but still finding it a bit unsettling in the beginning of the wear. The notes seem to be competing for attention for an hour or so before they start to settle down. After that, I couldn't stop sniffing myself. I smelled like a woody orange creamsicle.

Like I said, definitely try a sample before splurging based on the notes. The scent is somehow both familiar and strange.

At first the name felt a little misleading. For me, the term 'science fiction' calls to mind metallic sleekness, the soothing white of the space traveller's cryochamber.

The blue juice of Ellis Brooklyn's Sci-Fi, in contrast, is a citrus-vanilla confection laced with green tea and a whisper of florals. It's a scent which wouldn't be out of place in a spa – fresh, a little herbal, uplifting despite its creamy sweetness. Delicately synthetic, sitting close to the skin. It's gentle, dreamlike rather than futuristic.

If this is sci-fi, it's less Star Wars and more Emily St. John Mandel's Sea of Tranquility. Vanilla clouds in a creamy orange sky. Watching a simulated sunset inside a biodome on the Moon. I like it very much.

It opens with a burst of fresh orange and a hint of bergamot but both notes give quickly way to the green tea. For the majority of the wearing time, the scent is a floral tea scent with some hint of orange. The freesia is surprisingly nice (I'm not the biggest fan of freesia normally). The vanilla gives it some softness but it doesn't turn into a gourmand. Overall, it's a very mild and soft vanilla tea scent with a floral aspect.

Depending on how long the day is: I would have to reapply the scent at least once because it's pretty much gone after five hours. By that point, you can get only a hint of it and that's mostly the cashmere wood.

I would consider it as very office-friendly because it's non-obtrusive and has a low throw, so the entire office wouldn't notice that you arrived.

I still don't know why the scent is called Sci Fi though. The term would give me the idea of something alien, metallic and sleek. While the actual scent is delicate and gentle. Maybe the perfumer thought of some soft Sci Fi (in the vein of solarpunk) instead of Star Wars & Co.

This is one unusual perfume. In hindsight, it's probably what I thought "I Don't Need A Prince By My Side To Be A Princess | Kilian" would smell like. Sci Fi starts with a jumble of notes. I could detect some freshness, something almost green, a pleasant creamy sweetness that reminded me of marshmallows, a hint of florals and the tangy, tart scent of citruses. The scent is on the clean side and is not boring by any means.

After the jumble of notes start to settle on my skin, I finally get bitter oranges with a hint of green tea freshness and some sweet vanilla that's reminiscent of marshmallow. It's a soft, feminine perfume that can be worn for many occasions. Is it groundbreaking? Not really, but it's sufficiently different from what I've seen up until now that I may end up adding a bottle to my collection one day. Will probably get a travel size to test it out further before committing though as it's truly an unusual fragrance. It's also not a blind-buy for anyone as the notes may settle differently for everyone.

I have a story to tell you: My sister spotted this at a local discount store (where I tend to get most of my fragrances nowadays lol) and when we initially looked up the notes I thought nothing of it. However, it kept hounding my thoughts for the next few days. Orange, vanilla, and green tea? I like all of those notes! I resisted the urge to buy it, since I'm supposed to be on a no-buy (especially for perfume!!). I read and watched so many reviews, hoping they would dissuade me, but each descriptor of the scent only made me want it more ;-;

So I finally caved and got it (paid $25, and the store had a mini bottle of Ellis Brooklyn's Vanilla Milk for $10! Yippee!)

The bottle is really cute! I love Ellis Brooklyn's packaging in general; the fact that the perfume liquid is blue is a plus for me. The opening scent is exactly like peeling a fresh orange. I've actually never smelled such a photorealistic orange before in one of my perfumes. Over time it transforms into a softer, sweet-ish scent with a pleasant hint of tea and vanilla. The projection fades from about medium to mostly a skin scent by the end of the day. I don't mind, since I wear it to the office. In fact, I've worn it nearly every day since I first bought it!

Overall, this is one of the best blind buys I've ever done! It's really unique in my collection and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a sweet, fresh scent! I do think the name is a misnomer though - nothing particularly sci-fi about this at all.