I can’t think of a more perfect Autumn perfume. At least when it is worn by D.
On me, the slightly pungent extract of pu’er leaves, a fermented Chinese tea from Yunnan province, blended with notable cedar, cypress, incense, patchouli and vetiver), comes across a little odd; clammy even, in the perfume’s opening section. On D, though, it smells suitable right away, morphing quickly into a deliciously warm, sandalwood- like skin scent with presence : two small sprays and you are circumscribed with a lovely, natural aura.
He came to rescue me after work one evening a couple of weeks ago when I had stupidly mislocated my wallet and couldn’t get home; as we walked alongside each other down the pink- night lanterned streets of Hiratsuka, I recognized the scent ;the sillage surrounding his person sensual; fine; quietly captivating.
Yesterday I suggested this perfume again (we have a 10 ml sample bottle but it is going down quick) for an event of a friend celebrating the tenth anniversary of the founding of her business at a restaurant down on the Zushi seafront; D was wearing a vintage silk kimono for a piece in which he would be spinning and unravelling (in the dressing room he was wrapped up in bunting and o-mikuji paper) to the Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows.
Long after the party had progressed to the beach and we all sat and watched the sunset, talking for a long while before walking back to Zushi station, the scent, now more founded and quietly saturated, had fused beautifully with his body – more a natural exudation than outer embellishment.
Simple (some will say simplistic), Pu’Er tea is a smooth, linear, woody, tea-accented aromatic with few extraneous elements. It has a glow : subtle, but enwrapping; deep.
The Black Narcissus 
Oh, this sounds lovely. I absolutely adore Pu’er tea. It is one of my favorites, as a matter of fact. I wonder how this scent would smell on me? I adore L’Artisan Parfumeur Tea for Two, which has a strong black tea note in it, so I might really enjoy this.
I liked the osmanthus and jasmine in this line too – definitely worth a sample set just to have them there when you want a tea fix. This smells so good on D – one of those made to measure numbers
I will seek it out. D must have great skin fragrance chemistry.
A deliciously warm sandalwood skin scent sounds just the thing for autumn evenings. I love tea scents, their slightly floral aspects merged with herbaceous woods.
The night blooming jasmine in my garden is in full force tonight. It’s always quite the odd tropical contrast to nippy (and somewhat smoky) Himalayan fall nights.
Lovely, and great photos. I love Pu-Erh tea—the mouldy dank taste, which I can feel cutting right through my fats. I don’t get along well with tea scents, but this has made me want a really nice sandalwood for autumn. I bought a goddess head carved out of real sandalwood somewhere decades ago—Vietnam? China?—which had the most marvellous, sweet scent, one I’ve been trying to find in a perfume ever since, as the head has long since lost its smell. I was in fact in a Space NK at the weekend and sniffed Aqua di Parma’s sandalwood, but although it was nice to start with, it quickly became an airport perfume. I should give tea scents another try; it was Le Labo Thé Noir that put me off, sour and overpowering (granted, it may bear no resemblance to any tea scents).
I don’t think this actually has any sandalwood in it, but the overall vibe is very santalish
The Noir I love on d but I know what you mean.
This brand is from Hong Kong and they have got the tea element down very well
I like the tea, blend it with lapsang, a whiff.
With fascination I read the progress of the perfume on Duncan.
That your sense of smell can go more ways than one. That of your own sensations and the effect of the smell on somebody up close and personal.
Almost like having bespoken perfumes according to your nose, with in effect, two nostrils.
Yes it is interesting just how right or wrong perfumes can be depending on skin