The Merchant Of Venice
The Merchant Of Venice
110 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The nutmeg strikes first with an almost peppery snap, immediately joined by the tea's herbal-floral character—it's fresh and slightly astringent, reminiscent of steeping something botanically complex. The spiced-floral combination feels almost savoury, refusing to settle into sweetness.
As the composition settles, magnolia and neroli emerge with a creamy texture that softens the opening's sharpness, though the green vetiver keeps the florals from becoming heavy. The rose arrives as a subtle anchor, adding depth without romance, while the spice gradually becomes more integrated rather than prominent.
The base reveals itself as an understated musk and vetiver pairing—earthy and slightly mineral rather than powdery or animalic. What lingers is a softly green, vaguely spiced skin scent that feels more like a memory of the fragrance than its continuation.
The Merchant of Venice's Blue Tea arrives as a deliberate contradiction: a fragrance that treats spice not as warmth but as brightness. The nutmeg opening cuts sharp and slightly bitter—less baking spice, more black pepper's intellectual cousin—whilst the blue tea accord (a clever nod to butterfly pea flower's indigo complexities) introduces a floral-herbaceous base that feels simultaneously delicate and assertive. This is no soft, powdery floral. Instead, magnolia and neroli layer over that spiced foundation with an almost tart quality, their creamy white-flower character kept deliberately restrained by the persistent green thread running throughout.
What emerges is something closer to a botanical tisane than a traditional fragrance: the rose note doesn't bloom sweetly but rather sits alongside the magnolia as a structural element, adding complexity rather than romance. The citrus accords peek through the composition's gaps—present but never dominant, offering brightness rather than zest. There's an intellectual quality here, a sense of deliberate restraint that appeals to those seeking fragrance as conversation rather than statement.
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3.9/5 (87)