Florecilla

In my (still) small and rather mainstream collection he is certainly an exotic. Like a bird of paradise that stands out among gray sparrows. Except that the fragrance is actually the grey sparrow. Or not again?...

Hard to believe, but the fragrance was among my very first perfume purchases and it wasn't a blind buy. For several days back then, I skulked around the Serge Lutens counter, testing the fragrance, spraying it on my skin over and over again. Everything about the perfume fascinated me - the minimalist elegant bottle, the mysterious green-grey essence inside, the unique name, the irresistible scent that resembled nothing I had ever known before. This spell I could not escape, paid a proud price and since then I guard the perfume like the apple of my eye.

This fragrance surrounds you like an aura - shimmering, bright, warm and is for me not separable into individual parts, ie fragrance notes. It is an impression, like a painting by Claude Monet, capturing a mood with blurred outlines, loose brushstrokes, with light and shadow.

The name of the perfume chosen by the creator - a color name - reinforces this impression, as do the dots of omission, which are meant to fire our imagination. This is about a dreamy vision - of a place, a state, a feeling. It might be a rainy November day for someone, or a summer lavender field, a misty morning in a harbor, or - as for Serge Lutens - the sun-drenched pollen of a deserted or even dead city.

What the fragrance is to me? - A bright warm feeling with a touch of melancholy mixed in. That's what "Gris Clair..." is to me - an impressionistic work of art, a fragrance primarily for the wearer, only then for the outside world.

Bought 10 years ago, fell in love, emptied the bottle, tested again today and fell in love all over again. Still modern, strong and feminine. An ode to the female sex: salty sea foam, from which Aphrodite once emerged and fig, symbol of fertility and sensual love.

The Beat was a blind purchase, in fact probably my very first. When I was not yet a part of the Parfumo community, but just a silent reader, I came across the thread on discontinued perfumes. In one post, The Beat was mentioned as a potential discontinued candidate. In addition, there were some honorable mentions in one of the recent Burberry threads.
On top of that, I was dying to find out what a tea perfume like this might smell like. All this made me totally curious, since I already have a Burberry in my collection that I like a lot. Oh yes, and tea I also like very much:)

Fragrance impression?
Well, I had to realize that The Beat is something completely different than my My Burberry Black:). And I don't mean the difference in fragrance notes. MBB is indeed dark, sweet, heavy and The Beat is not all that. But most importantly, MBB is true to its fragrance character. The Beat, on the other hand, has the most contradictory essence of any perfume I know (though I don't know that many at the moment, admittedly).
The fragrance opening is citrusy, providing effervescence and freshness. The bergamot in the top note actually fits super to the tea theme, after all, exactly this mixture - tart black tea and slightly sweet zirische bergamot oil - makes the world famous and oh so British Earl Grey tea. But I don't really get the tea. I smell this fresh spicy note at the start that seems slightly masculine, then the scent switches to the warm spice and becomes more feminine and slightly sweeter. I can't quite make out floral, creamy, powdery scents. To me, the scent progression represents the constant alternation between cool-spicy and warm-spicy - underpinned with slight sweetness. Is that perhaps the eponymous beat?..

Flacon?
The Flakondesign is unusual and pleases me from the idea really well - intended as a kind of luxury flask with noble smelling essence. The bottle with the discreet in beige Burberry check pattern looks like a noble understatement. The cap made of shiny metal evokes associations with brightly polished family silver. Here the Burberry designer team - it seems to me - has done everything right.

H&S?
The perfume has a good durability - about 8 hours on my skin, on some days even longer. The sillage is also very good.

Conclusion
The Beat is for me an ambivalent fragrance that combines many opposites. I feel him at the same time fresh and spicy-warm, feminine and masculine, light and yet penetrating.
In itself, however, he is quite a wearable dynamic fragrance that can certainly please many and a Cheapie he is on top of it. Whether I'll warm up with him or yet show him the cold shoulder? I'm still undecided... I'll definitely give it a chance in the cooler season. And until then - wait and drink tea:)

Why this fragrance?
This fragrance enjoys an exceptional position in my collection - it is the only eau de toilette and also one of the few fresh fragrances that I own.
How did it come to this? Well, I gave a bottle of this eau de toilette to my mom when she was visiting me and we were shopping together. In her youth, she was very fond of wearing a lily of the valley perfume and wanted to reminisce a bit.
A few months after she left, I stumbled upon a Yves Rocher store while shopping and... picked up a green bottle myself! Somehow, it made me feel closer to my mum.
Fragrance impression?
I agree with most reviewers - the scent is not overly floral, but rather green, although I can clearly perceive lily of the valley. The start is very slightly citrusy (which I personally find good, because I usually do not like citrus, it often seems somehow artificial and pungent) and swings relatively quickly into the green, which I like very much. Green notes and lily of the valley form a magical duet that lingers for a relatively long time. At no point do I feel the scent soapy or pungent.
Flacon?
The flacon I find very appealing: rather minimalist, but still with beautifully rounded edges. The bright emerald green is a fantastic match for the fragrance theme, as is the relief of curved leaves on the front of the bottle.
H&S?
The longevity is quite good for an eau de toilette - it lasts 5-6 hours on me. Sillage is also okay, but rather moderate.
Conclusion
The fragrance is a nice bright green freshness, which can be worn preferably in the spring and summer. No fragrance for great appearances, but a decidedly pleasant companion for casual occasions, which smells not expensive, but just not cheap in any case.