Year: 2016
Notes: Calabrian bergamot, Indian spearmint, Guatemalan cardamom, Indian cumin, Sri Lankan green tea, Ceylon tea, Chinese iris, Indian papyrus, Paraguayan guaiac wood
Comment: Philtre Ceylan is part of the Collection Orient
To mark the opening of their Hong Kong store, as well as an expansion into the Asian market, Atelier Cologne has launched yet another collection of fragrances (as if 2015 wasn't productive enough already). Of course, the press release oozes contrived diplomacy instead: "Collection Orient [is] inspired by the region's natural beauty, people and customs, and particularly the most precious raw materials". Hmmm, whatever...
With five new scents, this time housed in white porcelain bottles with gold caps, one dares not dwell over just how overcrowded Atelier Cologne's portfolio has now become. Thankfully, from this cynical cash grab exercise, doubled as a calculated attempt to further tap into the lucrative Asian market, there's at least one respectable effort in the form of Philtre Ceylan.
Even though the tea aroma is more syrupy sweet than bitterly dark, it's still a delightful spicy and green woody-aromatic. One doesn't get much spearmint or cumin, but there are certainly various green and woody accents interweaving throughout. Reminiscent of a sweet and milky cup of cardamom tea, with an additional serving of spices, the iris accentuates the creamy aspect of the composition. As for the sweetness itself, it's not exactly amber or honey based, but more of a hybrid.
Sharing olfactory similarities with Cartier's Declaration, while smelling far more convincing than Jacques Fath's Yang, Philtre Ceylan is well-blended and relatively pleasant to wear. It also leaves this house's earlier tea-based creation, Oolang Infini, firmly in the shade.
Sillage is moderate, with below average lasting power.
With five new scents, this time housed in white porcelain bottles with gold caps, one dares not dwell over just how overcrowded Atelier Cologne's portfolio has now become. Thankfully, from this cynical cash grab exercise, doubled as a calculated attempt to further tap into the lucrative Asian market, there's at least one respectable effort in the form of Philtre Ceylan.
Even though the tea aroma is more syrupy sweet than bitterly dark, it's still a delightful spicy and green woody-aromatic. One doesn't get much spearmint or cumin, but there are certainly various green and woody accents interweaving throughout. Reminiscent of a sweet and milky cup of cardamom tea, with an additional serving of spices, the iris accentuates the creamy aspect of the composition. As for the sweetness itself, it's not exactly amber or honey based, but more of a hybrid.
Sharing olfactory similarities with Cartier's Declaration, while smelling far more convincing than Jacques Fath's Yang, Philtre Ceylan is well-blended and relatively pleasant to wear. It also leaves this house's earlier tea-based creation, Oolang Infini, firmly in the shade.
Sillage is moderate, with below average lasting power.
