Porcelain Fog

London Fog

Brandt 2024

The House of Brandt's London Fog is some spectral cousin to fog—something that exists in the otherworldly luminosity of Agnes Pelton's "Winter, 1933." The perfume pulses with the same geometric abstractions that hover in Pelton's misty void, not the creamy bergamot-laced Earl Grey of marketing copy, but a cold, misty-creamy radiance emanating from some unseen source rather than actual tea or milk.

Imagine if fog machines at every art school party since 1987 had been secretly emitting tiny particles of Pelton's visionary essence instead of glycerin—a milky bath of fog that somehow has its own consciousness. The promised vanilla isn't gourmand or even particularly sweet—it's the idea of vanilla translated through some cosmic filter, the way the visionary artist rendered natural phenomena as pulsing light forms floating in electric blue atmospheres. The promised lavender exists only as a faint purple outline around a gossamer cloud, a geometric frame containing something vast and dreamy within it.

The scent creates a numinous space around the wearer, a sanctuary of vapor and light. Whispers of lemony citrus thread through lactonic vanilla, while soft sandalwood provides not structure but a luxurious dissipation—a comforting dissolve into soft, meditative disembodiment that feels both intimate and infinite at once.

I was hoping I was gonna love this enough to go for a full bottle due to the notes, but unfortunately, even though I will say it's a pretty solid scent in terms of uniqueness, I won't be going for a full bottle and here's why.

Beautiful fresh, spicy start of earl grey and bergamot. Bergamot is particularly prickly and sharp, fresh and citrusy, but it didn't bother me as much as others have mentioned. Smoky notes aren't too apparent and are dosed well which is a good thing to me. The scent transitions into a lovely honeyed, milky dream with a touch of lavender. Nothing too spicy, herbal or overwhelmingly sweet, just nice enough. It's comforting, soft and elegant all around. Unfortunately, the top and middle notes don't last long enough until the sandalwood comes through. It starts smelling woody pretty fast with a hint of vanilla sweetness and muskiness. The drydown is lovely, but it's something I've already seen in other fragrances and I don't think it fits the theme of the fragrance. I know sandalwood is often used to make a fragrance last longer on the skin, but for this one, I'm not sure it was the right choice. It could've been a creamy, toned down sandalwood, but instead it's a strong woody base that is slightly jarring compared to the earl grey and honeyed vanilla milky cloud notes. In the deep, deep drydown it becomes a competition between honey and sandalwood. It smells warm, sweet and woody.

It's a still a pretty good scent and I really enjoyed the top and middle notes. If these had lasted longer, I would've gone for a full bottle. Unfortunately, for the price it's at, I'm scared sandalwood will end up overtaking everything in the long run. Was still happy to try it out and will be keeping my 4.5ml decant for use!

I am a devotee of Earl Grey tea with milk, I chug it in gallons every day. No, you do not understand me: I drink liters of it. Every. Single. Day. I am not exaggerating. It is my drink of choice, my blood is 50% Earl Grey, at this point. So, when I've been told (by more than one person, mind you!) that this fragrance is the best Earl Grey on the market, I set out to find me a sample. I have finally found it... Lies! Lies, I say! Oh, this fragrance has disappointed me so... Synthetic sandalwood dominates, it almost chokes you. The milk note and honey produce something caramel-like and overly sweet. Too sweet for an Earl Grey impression. Bergamot and lavender straight up smell like soap. No tea in sight. I feel robbed. It's not a bad scent, if you like sweet sandalwood and zesty citrus soap. It is a very bad scent if you want a realistic Earl Grey perfume.

Bergamot heavy, extremely citrusy in the opening, almost too sharp. Thankfully, it balances out as it dries down to the promised milky, honeyed earl grey latte. It's perfect, really.

The bergamot is still very prominent, but it's so much cozier. It doesn't feel as overwhelming. There's also something distinctly clean feeling about it, presumably because of the citrus and lavender. Not a sterile kind of clean, just... clean. Nice. I can't stop smelling myself. I love this so much more than I thought I would.

By the end of the day it's still got a relatively strong sillage, and it wears much sweeter. Leaning beautifully into that milk and honey with a touch of sandalwood and musk. So, so lovely.

I've only tried two fragrances by Brandt, and they've both completely blown me away.

you're in several puffy layers but everywhere your skin is exposed, you can still feel the biting cold of the middle of winter; the fog this morning casts everything around you in a hazy filter, making the ice on the sidewalks that was snow a few days prior look frosted; clasping onto your steaming drink, you take a sip of warm milk and a spoonful of honey, realizing you forgot to add a packet of tea on your rush out the door

something about the overly misty and sharp facets of this fragrance just didn't agree with me but i can appreciate the complexity it has; that being said, i bought a sample of this because i kept hearing how it was the "best earl gray tea scent" and after wearing it for a day, i didn't smell the tea at any time during the wear at all

date tested; 260908; size: 2 ml

first spritz: even thought i don't love the scent, the name for this is actually perfect; there's a smooth and cool feeling i get from it that does remind me of porcelain, and a misty and hazy quality that reminds me of fog; it reminds me of when you exhale in frigid temperatures and you can see the fog of your own breath; there's something sharp about it that i don't like; it also kind of reminds me of spearmint

two hrs later: moderate projection; there's still a misty aspect to it but it feels sharper?? like the biting cold of winter; or that feeling when you're touching something so cold it burns

four hrs later: mild projection; i have yet to smell the tea note i bought this sample for unfortunately; but i am getting the honey note, it's like a spoonful of honey, not anything too sweet; it still has a misty facet but isn't as sharp as before

six hrs later: light projection; sweet and slightly milky with a dulled down version of the winter-like facets i mentioned before

eight hrs later: skin scent; the original sharpness i kept smelling dulled down into something smoother and milkier that i actually like a lot better compared to the scent i was smelling when i first spritzed this; it's smooth and very lactic