I have found myself longing for the smell of tea lately. And I have found it in a few perfumes, for example Dior Escale à Pondichéry, Hermessence Osmanthe Yunnan.
Where I love the tea note most though is in Oolang Infini, one of the five original releases of Atelier Cologne. As I already mentioned in my reviews of Orange Sanguine, Trefle Pur and Bois Blonds, all of which have been a huge hit with me, the idea of a long-wearing cologne is a really great one and makes this line a great addition to the market.
Oolang Infini is a Cologne Absolue concentrated at 15%. Notes include bergamot, Tunisian neroli, Oolang tea, jasmine, blond leather, tobacco flower, gaiac wood and vetiver.
Oolong Infini manages to be light, fresh AND immensely calming and soothing. It is a light blue-grey scent in my color-translating mind. It is diaphanous, gauzy and a bit dewy, it smells exactly like a cloud in the sky would (and maybe does, who knows?).
I smell a lovely dance of bergamot and tea in the beginning. The tea note stays strong throughout the development and later is supported by vetiver and a hint of softest leather. This is ideal for both genders, it would be beautiful on a man, but I find it especially intriguing on a woman.
Oolang Infini is not sweet at all, it moves from dewy and cool to dry and warm, but keeps its character intact through out the journey thanks to the calming and soft tea note. That tea note is “blue tea”, a kind of tea that combines the freshness of green tea and the smokiness of black tea, according to the founders of Atelier Cologne Sylvie Ganter and Christophe Cervasel.
I find Oolang Infini to be among my favorites from the line (I have five favorites currently, because I haven’t smelled the new release, Vanille Insensée, yet ;)).
The smell of a cloud, an incredible stillness, a muted-ness, a quiet presence nonetheless, an unexpected tenacity, a humbling perfection.
If you plan a walk in the clouds, take this one along.
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Beautiful description! I haven’t found a fragrance by Atelier Cologne that I haven’t liked. I enjoy tea fragrances, and tea, so this one works well for me. I also appreciate that Atelier created colognes with a light concentration, making them so easy to wear any day. I’m sensitive to scent, so I scare easily when it comes to wearing fragrance, but I have no fear with these. They are lovely.
I noticed in your top photo that you have a lot of Frederic Malle fragrances. My current addiction is Bigarade Concentree by Jean-Claude Ellena. Orange and citrus notes are my favorite personal fragrances, so I love that it starts out bright orange. Then it turns to the most luscious rose. Then mellows with cedar. It’s fabulous. I read the book The Perfect Scent by Chandler Burr – all about Jean-Claude Ellena at Hermes – so it’s fun for me to wear a perfume created by the nose I read so much about. Have you tried it?
Hi Susan, thank you for commenting!
I am a huge fan of Frederic Malle too, I have indeed a few perfumes of the line, there are reviews on the blog should you be interested, also of Bigarade Concentree, one of my all time favorites! 🙂
I am an Ellena fan since reading that book by Chandler Burr too, we seem to be on the same page here, I feel most of Ellenas work is exactly my cup of tea. Speaking of which, Oolang Infini could be an Ellena scent, the minimalistic elegance feels very similar. 🙂
I love the pictures they put together for these scents! I don’t love tea, but a soft leather I dig. Is there a scotch note? (noticed the glass in the picture).
I was looking for that too, because of the picture, but I can’t say I smelled one. No matter though, this is a beautiful fragrance in my opinion, if you get the chance, it is well worth taking a sniff, even if it is not exactly your cup of tea. 😉
I love tea scents, too, and you say it isn’t sweet? This sounds ideal for those days when I’m diggin’ a bit of tea but my stand-by, Tea for Two, is just a little too honeyed for my mood. 🙂
It really isn’t sweet at all! I don’t like honey, so this is ideal for me.
I love this line too, esp Orange Sanguine, which is so bright and uplifting. A must for a gray and rainy day like today!
Atelier Cologne is my favorite recent discovery, at the moment I could happily forgo everything else and be monogamous for once with my little roster of their scents. 🙂 (We know that won’t last!)
O.K., I have to sniff it !!! I’ve been on the look for tea scents during the last few years, for the flowery earthiness of a very good quality strong tea (got the Hermessence one). Funnily I smell tea in L’Artisan’s Vetiver Sacre, where everybody else smells pickles…
You really have to! It is so good, I could happily retire from Perfumista-dom with only my Ateliers at my side. (I won’t though!)
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Mutedness sounds so good 🙂
We can use a little mutedness now and then (and maybe a mute button for little people!) 😉
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Oolang Infini is my favourite from the range too, closely followed by Bois Blonds – it is very calming and watery without being aquatic in an Issey Miyake steamy shower cubicle kind of a way. And “muted” may well be my preferred mode for scents in general!
You say it perfectly “watery without Miyake steam shower” feeling. I am going to wear this again today, it is wonderfully calming.
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