Perfume Review! Earl Grey from Haus of Gloi

By Unknown

Purchased

Do tea perfumes age like fine wine?

It's not a secret that I really love tea. I'm still on a quest to find my holy grail tea perfume (authentic Thai iced tea someone out there please make this happen), but one of my close second favorite teas is probably a classic cup of Earl Grey. When I did my last tea perfume review, I completely overlooked a sample vial I got from Haus of Gloi in June 2013. I love how I can log into my account and see all my orders way back, and this little vial has been sitting in my box as the past two years slip by. I honestly don't even remember how it smelled when it was fresh, so how is it now?

Earl Grey

Sample vial for $3.00USD /Reverie release circa June 2013

 Black tea misted with bergamot

I think my Earl Grey sample vial has been hanging around with too many other vials and they're starting to rub off on it as bad (good?) influences, because the opening notes aren't very tea-like. Perhaps it's exploring other identities as it powers through a midlife crisis. What is the "midlife" age of a perfume oil?

The very first whiff is, "Oh, I suppose this is tea!" then is suddenly twists and turns into, "Why am I drinking tea in a conservatory? Are those lilies? Wait slow down!" I'm not sure if perhaps I'm a terrible judge of character, but this took a turn that was reminiscent of florals.

I think once Earl Grey decides it's all done having fun, I do finally start to pick up the tarter notes of citrusy bergamot, but it's really more of a distorted echo of what a cup of tea smells like. You ever see in art circles where people try to draw things from memory without a reference? This is like if someone tried to "create" what Earl Grey smells like without having actually consumed a cup in a long time.

Duration: Despite being 2+ years old, Haus of Gloi's still got it. I had a pretty decent 5-6 hours of wear, but my favorite moments would have to be that 20-minute window of time after initial application where it thinks it's a floral scent. It's not as strong as some of the others though, and after my shower it's completely gone.

Score: 4/5 
Honestly, I'm really surprised this never made a repeat performance in later releases. Maybe I'll try doing back-to-back wears with my other tea scents. Despite not really smelling like tea, it still smells really nice, despite being a breezy, almost-floral-but-wait-it's-bergamot-I-swear(!) and it's unisex enough that I don't worry about seeming too girly. I'm looking forward to seeing how some of my other older scents have aged!