Citron Citron Miller Harris 2000

This fragrance opens with a blast of lemon enhanced by other citrus notes. The resulting accord is pleasantly tart with a sparkly sweetish undertone. At first the scent is fresh and zesty, but it eventually becomes sweeter and juicier as it progresses. The last stages of the fragrance are herbal-woodsy, since basil joins the citrus notes from the mid-development onwards. I feel Citron Citron is in the vein of Lemon Sorbet, but is a far superior offering.

Based on the fragrance notes, I would have expected a perfume in the style of Goutal's Eau du Sud or Detaille's Aeroplane, but in my perception, Citron Citron is mainly candied lemon - likely an effect of the sweet lime combined with the other citrus notes. It lacks the zesty freshness of Trumper's Limes or the juicy intensity of the brilliant M. Balmain iteration from the 90s, and instead of the charmingly dirty basil-citrus duet of the unparalleled Goutal classic, which truly lingers for a long time and comes across beautifully French, Lyn Harris's creation quickly becomes insignificant, disappearing into oblivion after a short while. Not bad, but certainly not the "bells of St. Clemens." Especially not for the absurd price relative to the quality and brevity. Big "meh."

Yes, my title refers to the title of the comment below, as I didn't feel that the scent necessarily smells like bratwurst seasoning.

I have always been very curious about Citron Citron, not only because the name suggests something very citrusy, but also because I always have higher expectations for a fragrance that comes in beautiful bottles... good thing I don't tend to make blind purchases and don't immediately buy something just because the bottle looks great (to a dear friend, whom I hope reads this comment: "Stop calling me a packaging victim!"). Because although this fragrance comes across as very fresh and citrusy, in the end, it is not a particularly outstanding scent.

The scent:
The fragrance starts off citrusy-fresh with naturally smelling lemons and oranges, with the lemons being the stronger notes. You can also already smell the mint very well, which smells almost as intense as peppermint candies (you know that feeling when you suck on such candies and then inhale the air with your mouth. The mouth or tongue gets so cold that you think it's freezing!).
I don't understand where a bratwurst scent is supposed to come from here (see the comment below me), as the fragrance is very citrusy and can certainly provide a good refreshing kick on hot days.
The heart note has spicy notes, making the scent more herbal or bitter. These spicy fragrances combine well with citrusy scents and smell correspondingly good. You can best smell the marjoram, but basil and thyme are also noticeable. However, the orange has long since said goodbye, while the lemon is still very present.
In the base, the spicy notes are stronger, and the fragrance remains citrusy, now a bit warmer due to the (light) cedarwood and perhaps also the cardamom. However, due to the cardamom and the spicy-bitter notes, the fragrance in the base already smells like kitchen spices, and you get the feeling that the spicy notes are becoming stronger.

Longevity and sillage:
The longevity is at an below-average level. It lasted about four to five hours on me, gradually fading after that and only smelling spicy.
The opening is intense and thus refreshing. It settles down quickly, but can still be perceived well for a not-so-long time. Especially the spices have a long projection. If you're looking for a refreshing kick, you should definitely reapply beforehand.

The bottle:
The bottle is rectangular and has no label. Instead, you can see very nice floral patterns on the bottle next to the name, which enhance the bottle a bit and make it more beautiful than conventional bottles. The cap is cylindrical and black. I think the bottle is quite nicely done.

To be honest, I expected more, as I was dazzled by the beautiful bottle and automatically expected a good-smelling fragrance. This might be a bit wrongly expressed, as the fragrance doesn't smell bad, but also not so good that you would want to have it.

But well, it can be worn in summer. Intended as a refreshment or daytime scent, it is simply nothing special for going out. The beautiful floral patterns on the bottle don't help either.

Miller Harris could have spared themselves Citron Citron, as it unfortunately does not stand out from many other fragrances. It is citrusy and, due to the mint, feels cool and refreshes temporarily. You already know this, either from much better-made fragrances that also cost a bit more, like Menthe Fraiche by Heeley, or from "budget fragrances" like 4711 with their various "flavors."
Additionally, it soon only smells intensely of kitchen herbs, but at least it does so naturally. If you like that, you can check out the fragrance; otherwise, you don't necessarily need to test it.

Nutmeg, pepper, coriander, cumin, marjoram, mustard seeds, lemongrass, lemon balm. You can guess what this is. No, these are not the scent notes of this perfume, but the ingredients of the ready-made mix for bratwurst seasoning, which is available in the wholesale meat trade.

But how did I come to this? On www.basenotes.net, I read a comment about "Citron Citron," in which the writer - for me initially completely absurd - claimed that the perfume smelled like bratwurst. After testing it, I must now say: he was right.

No, not fried bratwurst, but that characteristic aroma of the butcher's shop when sausages are beautifully fresh and appetizingly presented with a slice of lemon and a sprig of parsley. For anyone who is neither vegetarian nor vegan, this may not sound particularly disgusting at first, but it has less to do with perfume.

Of course, this is a silly coincidence and certainly not intended by Lyn Harris, but the reinterpretation of the classic Eau-De-Cologne theme is not an easy task. The citrus notes in the richly titled "Citron Citron" only smell timelessly fresh for seconds and quickly become dull and lifeless. The suspicion that not the finest essences were used here arises.

Now begins the unpleasant chapter, in which an attempt was made to create a kind of longer-lasting fake freshness with mint, which unfortunately does not smell fresh but only cold, thus bringing the butcher's cooling counter into play, because in the background, the coarse spices mentioned at the beginning are lurking, and as my research revealed, ice water also plays an important role in bratwurst production. This stage surprisingly holds stable for several hours, which is less helpful if you want to quickly get rid of the meaty-parsley-like scent.

For the sake of fairness, it should be mentioned that towards the end, a subtle and pleasant moss note emerges, but by then it is already a bit late. You never get a second chance to make a first impression!

A highly disappointing, somewhat sloppy scent. Well, it was Lyn Harris' debut work, and soon she tried her hand at the theme of "modern Shalimar derivatives." No idea if the fries were then dealt with.