Aqua Allegoria

Perfume Chat Room, May 10
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Perfume Chat Room, May 10

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Saturday, May 10, and I’m late posting because we’re on our way to London!

I have a long list of things I want to do, mostly special exhibits or events since I’ve been lucky enough to visit London quite regularly because of my husbands job, which takes him there often.

Tops on my list is the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which I last visited pre-pandemic (I think it was 2019). And of course, I plan to enjoy the usual spectacular displays by the UK’s top rose breeders, which are always so beautiful — and fragrant.

Then there’s a massive exhibit of Cartier jewelry at the V&A Museum, and an installation of the red ceramic memorial poppies at the Tower of London, plus a special exhibit of apparel at Kensington Palace. Whew!

To get in the mood for Chelsea, I’m wearing a sample of Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Rosa Verde. It’s very pretty and fresh, but I’m not sure how I feel about the dry down. It’s almost a bit sour, to my nose.

On the other wrist, I spritzed Cartier’s Baiser Volé, also very pretty but with a progression I find more appealing,

If you know of any more must-dos or must-sniffs, please add suggestions in the comments! And if you were going to a massive flower show, what would you wear as fragrance?

My own roses

Scented Advent, December 20
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Scented Advent, December 20

The scent Advent sent me today is Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria Teazzurra, part of its light, refreshing Aqua Allegoria line. It’s very pretty! I really like its citrusy opening, where the other citruses crowd out the yuzu enough that I can tolerate it (for some odd reason, I don’t react well to yuzu notes in fragrance). The lemon and grapefruit top notes dominate, to my nose, and the bergamot is there to lend some greenness but it doesn’t make this smell like Earl Grey tea. I love Earl Grey tea, but the bergamot here is much more subdued.

The tea accord here is a green tea, so that’s another departure from the classic Earl Grey. Teazzurra was launched in 2015, created by Thierry Wasser. Listed notes are: Lemon, Bergamot, Yuzu and Grapefruit (top); Green Tea, Chamomile and Jasmine (middle); Calone, Vanilla and Musk (base). Right from the start, I smell the green tea and chamomile together with the citrus notes; the opening is fresh and piquant, as if it intends to gently wake up one’s nose with a bright ray of sunlight.

Bottle of Aqua Allegoria Teazzurra eau de toilette
Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Teazzurra; image from brand.

As it develops, it reminds me of Gucci’s Mémoire d’une Odeur, another fragrance that centers on a chamomile accord. Mémoire d’une Odeur is more herbal and woody, more unisex, and it doesn’t have those bright, sunny citrus top notes which make Teazzurra so summery. I really experience this as a scent I’d like to wear in summertime, preferably wearing some kind of floaty white linen on a lovely terrace, set in a garden that I don’t manage. Specifically, in the South of France.

This fragrance evokes for me one of our last pre-pandemic trips abroad, to Nice. It just feels as if it would go perfectly with the Promenade des Anglais and the Belle Epoque architecture along the water. As it develops further, I do pick up a hint of fresh green jasmine, but it’s very light and does not overwhelm the green tea and chamomile. In fact, it’s more like jasmine tea than jasmine flowers, soft and refreshing. The Calone adds a watery facet to Teazzurra, appropriate for a spa town, and in fact this scent also evokes a very upscale, peaceful spa. Whatever musk accord is in the base, it is very clean, white, and soft; there is nothing animalic here at all.

I’m really enjoying Teazzurra; I remember being curious about it when it launched, mostly because of its lovely packaging and its pale blue color. It is truly more of a summer fragrance to my nose, though; so I’ll look forward to trying it again when our weather is hot and humid. Do you have any favorites in the Aqua Allegoria line?