Zeta by Tauer, 2011

The opening is bright with tart lemon & bergamot, swiftly followed by neroli & honeyed rose. Shortly after though, l get a strange sour note that l can't explain. l did have this sample for a few months before l got around to trying it, but it was kept in a box well away from heat & light, so l see no reason why it should have turned. After a couple of hours, l get a grassy green note, & after seven hours it all fades out without having developed any further. l don't recall ever having smelled linden blossom in nature, & so l cannot comment on this scent's similarity to it. The only other fragrance l've tried that lists it as a note is DelRae's Debut, which has a much brighter, juicy greenness to it, although l found it too tart for me. l have read that linden has a grassy aspect, so l guess that's what l'm getting in the drydown. l have really enjoyed most of the Tauer fragrances that l've tried, but l find this one disappointing, as for me that sour note detracts too much from my enjoyment of it.

This is my favorite Andy Tauer perfume after Maroc Pour Elle. I smelled Zeta the same week that the Linden trees bloomed in my neighborhood, and it was a dead-ringer (meaning exact replica) of that heady blossom. This perfume captures the pollen-y aroma of that sweet, honeyed, green, lime-like flower, albeit being a little more soapy than the real thing. It develops nicely, never leaving its realism behind. In short, Im impressed. My only disappointment is that it doesnt last a long as Id like. Yet, its sudden disappearance is better than if it had meandered toward a base that changed the aroma. Do you know what I mean? It could have wiltedinto a wan vanilla or dried down to a musk base, but no, it held firm, without compromise, linden to the end. And thennothing more. Beautiful.

It's late spring, with summer beginning to creep in, the linden trees are heavy with blossom in the woods, their sweet languid scent lending the air a myriad erotic possibilities. A walk here is no longer an innocent walk. With perfect timing, Andy Tauer's Zeta arrives a perfume that is all heart. The linden is so real, so polleny and laden with unctuousness, it's like being under those trees right in your living room. It drives me to distraction, all my thoughts are of the sap rising. Thus, a little bottled miracle. There are hints of some other honeyed notes the rose most likely and the sandal-vanilla base just melts into the linden, it's there but unobtrusive. Love. Edit: In cold weather the honey note is a little too forward for my liking. Will save this for spring. (Review written soon after Zeta was launched hence the ref to late spring.)

Oooh ... This is delicious. Think honey and roses in warm sunshine, with a touch of orange