Njdeb

Madragore starts out like a cold blast of citrusy eau de cologne. Bergamot is prominent to my nose, and the mint does not detract from the overall citrusy smell, but rather serves to provide the effect of green coolness.

The citruses subside quite quickly, and the fragrance warms as the pepper and herbal notes come into play. Iris provides a soft powderiness that persists throughout the development of the perfume. The scent ultimately settles into a gentle green aromatic, with pepper and ginger providing a bit of a spicy kick.

While the cool initial blast suggested to me that this was strictly a warm weather perfume, that effect is fleeting, and the drydown is warm enough for year round use. I personally would have preferred that the citruses stayed around longer, but that is a minor criticism.

All in all, Madragore is a very lovely, restrained and elegant fragrance. I see it as a perfect office scent. I can't imagine this offending anyone, but it isn't a common scent that everyone wears either.

Projection is medium and longevity medium to good. Absolutely unisex

This starts like a spicy chai tea minus the milk and sweetness. There is a hint of smokiness to the scent, and the emphasis is on the "hot" spices, like ginger and pepper.

The tea note is very realistic and reminds me of a long-steeped, tannin-rich, black tea. After ten minutes or so, the honey note becomes apparent to sweeten the brew up a bit. I really don't pick up much vanilla.

Tea for Two is nothing like most of the popular tea scents on the market today (ie. Bvlgari and Elizabeth Arden). Unlike these lighter, citrusy green tea perfumes, this is definately a cold weather scent.

Honestly, I'm not sure if this is for me. While I do like the dry smoky aspect, the spiciness is a tad heavy-handed for my liking.

Also, surprisingly for a perfume that starts out so strongly, longevity is only so-so

This is certainly different from most of the vanilla perfumes I have tried. So much so that I had to really sample this over a span of time to give it its proper due.

I tend to gravitate towards smokey, dark vanillas and expected something along those lines with this (especially since it is a Serge Lutens). In contrast, Un Bois Vanille is a light, almost marshmallowy, sweet vanilla scent. That initially put me off, I think, simply because I had a preconceived idea of what this perfume would smell like.

Anyway, I put the vial away and decided to try it at a later point with my head cleared of any expectations. Well,today was the day I tried it again, and ....... I still don't like it much. The coconut comes through very strongly and really overpowers whatever anise and sandalwood is in there. Too bad - a heavier dose of sandalwood would have mitigated the candy sweetness of this and given it more depth.