BR (2002)
by Banana Republic

Another lesson in not learning from my mistakes when it comes to green tea fragrances. I bought BR against my better judgement after hearing so many raves about its cleanness, lightness, refreshing soapiness and so on. I tried it on in the store and didn't care for it, but convinced myself I'd grow to love it. (The very reasonable price tag made it hard to form a counterpoint, might I add.) I tried wearing it repeatedly, days in a row or one day a week - with the same outcome again and again. No clean soapiness, no light elegance, just a heavy, remotely sourish down note in an otherwise unremarkable and slightly annoying floral composition. Like my other green tea mistakes, which have variously included Route de The and MPG Eau de Camellia Chinois - other allegedly "clean-fresh-light-soapy" scents, the BR made me slightly queasy. I've concluded that it must just be the quality of the tea note itself; some are just heavier, stronger, more full-bodied, tending toward bitter or acrid, etc. than others, and the one in BR has got to be in that heavy category. And it's not as though this type of note is hidden way back in the bottom of the composition; I can generally pick up on it right away, as it tends to dominate the other notes from start to finish. I just don't LISTEN to my instincts is all. Well, as with my other trials and errors in tea scents, I was able to find a loving home for my bottle of BR, which now lives with someone who fully and completely understands its appeal.