Aqua Allegoria Mandarine Basilic (2007)
by Guerlain

I liked it before, but I went totally crazy about it this spring. A scent of grapefruit is my favourite scent to smell, but the tangerine has always been my favourite fruit to eat. I associate their scent with Christmas, childhood and all that's good and joyful. This perfume contains a lovely lovely tangerine, juicy, sweet-ish and soft, with some beautiful basil to add some character. You can feel some tea underneath the aromatic blend of citruses, too. The mandarine/tangerine/orange blend stays for quite long on my skin. A beauty and a joy. This time I left the store with a huge grin on my face and a travel spray in my hands, while silently hissing "my precioussssssssssss".

I don't get mandarin, I don't get basil, I don't get anything pleasant, it's like a really harsh bleach product for cleaning floors.

Herbal, with a flowery "thing" in the middle. Smells like an old-fashioned cologne from the last, turn of the century. Citrusy floral, reminded me of a Crabtree & Evelyn type scent, from years ago...
The tea is a heavily iced, cold tea accord. It also begins to smell like a fragrance from the 1980's as it progresses. I can't put my finger on it, what perfume it reminds me of...

The amber accord is rather dry, faint, and more woodsy than many I've tried. Guerlain needs to concentrate on better releases and not create so many, of this series...

The opening is nice with juicy orange and soft florals. The citrus starts to fade fast in strength, giving way to the more feminine florals and a dry herbal note. Probably the basil.

There’s nothing to dislike here as far as the scent goes. It’s all nice and agreeable but nothing exceptional. Feels casual but the ingredients do smell of good quality. Probably best for summer heat and I will say it leans feminine.

Average projection for 3-4 hours and the skin-scent lasts for 6-7 hours.

Just like the title there is mandarin and basil. The basil is particularly nice in that it smells more like the leafy cooking basil than the dried herb, so it has that sappy quality to it. The tea makes it more feminine, but it's fairly enjoyable. Nothing I'm excited about, but not bad.