The indigo shadows of twilight. Calm, quiet, almost magical. The star ingredient of this distinctive fragrance is blue chamomile, famed in botanical circles for its wondrous soothing properties. Green tea, jasmine and a hint of honey round out this otherworldly blend. Tranquil and unique.
A compelling description, no? Almost like a mini-vacation in a rollerball.
It's less hyperbole than you might think, but it is a bit of a trick getting there. When Geisha Blue first hits the skin it opens up with an unusual tang. To me there is definitely some therapeutic essence involved, because as I sniffed at my wrist I noticed that the smell seemed to somehow have 'mouth feel.' It feels rich - almost fatty but not heavy - in the nose and seemed to penetrate into the sinuses. I could feel the fragrance in addition to just smelling it, which was odd but not unpleasant. Geisha Blue is gentle enough that the experience made me take notice but not reel back in horror - had this been a shrill scent, I'm sure it it would have been unpleasant.
The blue chamomile stands out strongly, and does give it a blue feel. Notes listed are blue chamomile, green tea, leafy greens, jasmine, and honey so you might expect this to veer blue-green, or even blue into green after drydown, but you would be wrong. This puppy is BLUE. Energetic but calm blue, like 10 am on a gorgeous July morning sky blue. It is a dry blue, though, not watery or aquatic.
I really wracked my brain trying to figure out if I was getting so much 'blue' feel just from the suggestion given by the name. Forgive me for going on about the color, but it is pretty unusual for a scent to leave that strong of a color impression with me. I'm not a natural synasthete, and I sometimes have to stretch to associate a scent with a color if it isn't fairly obvious - like a 'green' scent that smells of plants. For example, I don't get blue from L'Heure Bleue, but I do from Blue Cedar. And now, Geisha Blue.
Fair warning: Geisha Blue is a perfume oil, so a little dab'll do you. Tonight after applying just the teensiest amount, I had a regret moment when I wasn't sure if it was what I wanted to wear after all, so I washed it off and attempted to switch over to Eau Duelle. Five minutes later? A faint whiff of.....something arm wrestling with Geisha Blue and losing. She's that tenacious.
I gave up, washed again, reapplied Geisha Blue, and relaxed into its insistent embrace. Geisha Blue is definitely herbaceous, but she calms down after about five minutes and becomes slightly but not oppressively powdery. Maybe fifteen minutes in, the the other notes come together and warm the fragrance up a bit more. It never gets terribly sweet on me even with the honey. I'm glad for this, since I can see using Geisha Blue as a mood-lifter or to soothe a slight headache, in addition to enjoying it just as perfume. It reminds me strongly of the drydown from limited edition Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab yule offering Chanukkiyah minus the sweetness, even though they have no notes in common and the closest we get with the BPAL oil is beeswax to Geisha Blue's honey note. The resemblance is strong enough that I went nuts trying to figure out where I had smelled the scent before. There needs to be a term for deja vu of scent.
Verdict: once that sample is gone, it's a fair bet I'm getting a rollerball. She won't get as much regular wear as her sister Blanche, but when I'm having a Blue day I'll be glad I've got her around.
Image from LuckyScent, which is also where I purchased my sample
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