FreshKatsu

The frankincense in the opening makes it somewhat interesting while the fruitiness dominates. The pear gives a lot of sweetness and adds a youthful quality to it. In the dry down a floral spiciness takes over and it becomes more mature and feminine. There's very little sweetness after an hour or two. As with other Amouage fragrances it is very well blended and hard to pick out individual notes. I can see this being an inoffensive office lady fragrance and an easy grab as a crowd pleaser. Longevity and sillage are great. One spray lingered on me for almost 8hr. It's pretty but a tad too conservative for me.

Slow World is a meditative scent true to its name. It delivers an assertive but soft black tea note that is slightly herbal and medicinal (dragon's blood perhaps?). It feels like sitting down with a traditional Chinese physician and watching them pick herbs out of an apothecary cabinet. The presence of vanilla is definitely notable and helps tame the bitterness. I also sense a bit of sweetness from the malt. Dry down is a straight forward vanilla Sandalwood that nonetheless retains some of the meditative quietness of the opening. It strikes a perfect balance between realism (Tea Service) and abstract prettiness (Weeping Rose). Great wearable scent with above average performance.

This is the least tea-centric perfume out of Chasing Scents' current line up, however it is also my favourite. The fragrance of rose is amplified by apple and berry which make it pleasantly sweet without being sugary. Compared to Tea Service and Slow World, Weeping Rose is more of an abstract tea scent and you really have to use your imagination as there's almost no earthiness/greeness that I would associate with tea. There are undoubtedly better rose fragrances out there but I do enjoy this take on a subdued, drinkable version of it. Longevity and sillage are great but not as good as Tea Service.

This is a photorealistic green tea fragrance. Compared to other tea perfumes I've tried (Le Labo's Matcha & Thé Noir, Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea, Memo's Winter Palace, Vilhelm's Dear Polly, Jo Malone's Earl Grey & Cucumber), Tea Service relies on very little other than its main tea notes (jasmine, oolong and osmanthus). The result is a strong clean tea scent that is prominent and not masked by floral, smoke or other distractions. Whether that's a good thing or not depends on your affinity with astringent green tea. Unfortunately the realism of the tea scent also carries a bit of bitterness which gives it a 'dusty' tea shop vibe. This is improved by the jasmine and peach taking over in the dry down. There's also musk in the background but for once it's truly in a support role. Longevity and sillage are suprisingly good for an indie company.

A limited edition travel set that I managed to track down half way across the globe in my pursuit of the perfect tomato salad scent.

The opening is promising - green, peppery, vegetal. There's almost bitterness and it's very rounded. Unfortunately, this beautiful crispness dissipates after about a minute and it becomes something so faint you have to really hold your nose to it and use your imaginations. It's slightly sweet, slightly floral, and faintly earthy from the vetiver. After an hour all that is left is a generic floral sweetness that has no resemblance to the juicy salad I was promised.

The whole experience is like ordering a fresh Italian salad only to be served with a single salad leaf. It's a tease.