Reviews of Spiced Green Tea (2001)
by Elizabeth Arden

Spiced is better than the original Green Tea, being interesting, but not screeching. It starts out as a very spicy scent, but later fades to something soothing. It's actually my favorite scent.
Only problem is that it lasts not long at all; better to re-apply at every hour. It tends to last weeks when sprayed on letters and books, though...maybe even years?
The fragrance is good for all ages--smells complex, not shallow, and familiarly mysterious. I'm fifteen, it is fine for me, though much older women can wear it well.
Actually, it can also be a masculine scent at times.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered this was created by Francis Kurkdijan, the nose behind my (almost HG) beloved Gaultier 2!

Spiced Green Tea is a quintessential fall/winter scent. It is less tea and more spice, and while not sweet, gives off the aroma of mulling wine or mulling cider. There is cinnamon, hearty clove, and black pepper, softened and embraced by the smoothness of the tea (which isn't green in character but more like the smooth spicyness of say, Tea for Two or Bvlgari The Blanc).

As this scent dries down, the piquant spice qualities become softer and softer until the tea note stands on its own. Not the longest lasting scent (it adheres better to clothing than skin), it's nonetheless a pleasure to wear for its uniqueness amongst tea scents (sharpness enveloped and eventually tamed). Its rather linear progression is a plus if you want a little more longevity out of notoriously fleeting tea notes. Available for next to nothing on eBay, it's a nice tea addition at half the price of L'Artisan or Bvlgari.

I think this would be a sleeper hit on a hot summer night where I'd imagine the heat would steep this scent and give it longevity and sillage, just like my other favorite Kurkdijan Gaultier 2, which becomes a lithe sexy beast in the heat.

I'm wearing this today, and enjoying it, but I have to be in a certain mood to wear it. I tend to reach for it when I'm relaxing at home alone, or before I practice yoga. I find it a calming scent. Despite the fact that it's spicy, it still retains a sheer, refreshing quality. I don't think of this as gourmand at all as it's not heady or sweet. This could be worn year round, and it's subtle enough to be appropriate for the office. This is a fragrance for casual activites when you don't want your perfume to overwhelm. I do prefer this over the original Green Tea; it has more character and smells more complex. However, I still think Bvlgari makes the best tea fragrances overall.

On me, this is spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. It's a soft, very slightly sweet, warm spicy concoction, and it does, indeed, remind me very much of spiced tea. I get the best results when wearing in accompaniment with the Spiced Green Tea scented lotion.

It's a shame this has been discontinued. It can still be found at some online stores, so if you like it (or want to try it), grab some now while it's still there.