Kapsule Floriental Karl Lagerfeld 2008

At first, I encounter a musk-vanilla ice cream, and an oriental warmth surrounds me. A short time later, I can already catch a whiff of black tea, the warmth subsides a bit. In this black tea, violets blend in. An interesting and successful combination. I can sense the ivy note, but I don't perceive it distinctly.

What does Kapsule Floriental smell like? I mean, the scent can best be described as when you enter a tea shop. It smells like when you open a large tin of flavored tea or a loose tea blend with all sorts of flowers, etc. It smells like vanilla-infused black tea with violet leaves in it.

The vanilla, which is not listed here, naturally adds sweetness. Not my cup of tea! I neither like dominant vanilla nor sweet scents. Without this sugary addition, I would find the fragrance more interesting and masculine. There is supposed to be leather in it... well, a combination of black tea, leather, violets, and ivy could have made for a great scent, but always this vanilla!

I don't find it particularly feminine, as the black tea repeatedly creates bitter, masculine notes that smell quite nice. The aura of the fragrance remains warm and soft, rather masculine-floriental. If you focus solely on the vanilla and the warmth, one might think it leans more feminine... I find it quite unisex... there are no surprises in the scent; it actually smells just as I have described it. It's nothing special. The packaging is quite cool, but the low price of about 40 € EDT doesn't suggest that a century-defining fragrance is hidden behind it. By the way, the scent was created from a collaboration between Lagerfeld and Coty, with three perfumers contributing to the Kapsule series.
Such fragrances are a matter of taste: oriental, gourmand, etc., for the small wallet... it's clear that not only natural essences are hidden in it, but also a good portion of lab work. I once had an American host mother to whom I brought Extase Musk from Germany because she was totally into the warm, sensual musk notes. She would have really, really liked this fragrance.