When it comes to fragrances, I always say that my be-all-end-all fragrance would be the Burberry London, which I have been using since my university years. But while the Burberry London is one of those timeless, quintessentially English scents, it does not agree with the weather in the tropics when the days are especially more hot and humid. So when I finally ran out of it, I wanted to try a lighter, fresher scent that would work well in the tropical heat and humidity.
I did not want to veer from the “quintessentially English” aspect of a scent, I walked into the Crabtree & Evelyn store nearest to me. They were promoting a new range of bath and body products under the name Verbena & Lavender de Provence. I’m a sucker for lavender-scented anything, so of course I had to have a sniff at the stuff. I tried out the moisturizer and immediately fell in love with the breezy floral scent; lucky for me, they bottled the scent in fragrance form too. That day, I walked out with the the Crabtree & Evelyn Verbena and Lavender.
Funnily enough, almost as prominent as the soft floral verbena and lavender notes is a distinct citrus scent. It’s very striking without being overwhelming, and just enough to keep the entire bouquet fresh. And this is actually a cologne, which means that the percentage of essential oils to alcohol is much lower than what you would find in eau de toilettes or eau de parfums. Colognes have an essential oil percentage of 5 – 8%, whereas EDPs lie in the 30% range; but don’t be fooled into thinking you won’t get much out of a single spritz, because the scent actually packs quite a punch.
Because its essential oil percentage is not that high, it will not last as long as EDPs — you’ll have to spritz it on several times a day if you want to continually smell like the lavender fields of Provence. And because it’s a cologne, it does contain more alcohol than EDTs and EDPs — so if you are severely allergic to alcohol, I suggest you stick to pure essential oils.
I bought this for IDR 430,000 at the Kemang Village Crabtree & Evelyn store, and you can bet I’ll be making frequent trips to Crabtree & Eveleyn to pick up scents for myself, and for gifts. You can never go wrong giving someone a Crabtree & Evelyn product for a gift, whether it be a fragrance, shower gel, or moisturizer. The packaging is immaculate and the scents are a safe and agreeable bet. If you’re a Crabtree & Evelyn fan too, let me know! Maybe we can meet up and fangirl at a store together 😉
