Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca
Guerlain (1999)

Fresh spearmint leaves steeped in iced tea, with the breeze from the herb garden and meadow wildflowers filling the air: this is Herba Fresca in summary.

In further detail, the herb garden has melissa and basil growing, while the green grassiness of the meadow comes in strong and eclipses with the spearmint in the heart. Soapy florals underline the experience as it dries down further.

This leaves a veil on my skin for much longer than I had expected before experiencing it. Summertime, and the livin' is easy...

I have to unfortunately agree with Dane's review here - this is a mint fragrance with a strong synthetic white musk note that's prominent right from the beginning and sustains itself throughout. There are some green notes besides the mint, but it's all about the musk. I like white musk bases, they last on my skin while radiating off it, but this is too sharp and synthetic. I would not have guessed this to be a Guerlain in a blind test. I find Miller Harris' Tea Tonique to be a much more refined fragrance in this vein, with less of the mint. If it's mint you are after, it's worth it to splurge for Menthe Fraiche or even Geranium pour Monsieur.

2/5

TLDR:Good (3.1/5). A great choice for hot days when you want to spend a little time with a cooling mint scent.

The successful non-dental integration of mint into fragrance is, I think, an under-appreciated skill and here, as with some of her other work (Cartier Oud & Menthe and, arguably, Roadster), Mathilde Laurent shows her great craftsmanship with this tricky component.

Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca reminds me of a specific type of Moroccan-style tea shop that can be an oasis on a brutally hot day. There are flowers adding color and their fragrance to the small room. Fresh cut lemons are also contributing their zest to the atmosphere. But the dominant smell is the mint tea that the place is making and serving. That is the impression I get from this scent.

As Knit At Nite notes below, this is a scent for hot days. I appreciate that the citrus here is minimal and that the fragrance is light and refreshing. I often feel like I get stuck in a citrus cologne rut during extended periods of intensely hot, humid weather. This fragrance, along with Shishedo's Zen For Men and F. Malle's Geranium Pour Monsieur are great ways to break the citrus up by adding other smells in such conditions. But unlike the other two mentioned scents, AA Herba Fresca never gets heavy, even on 45°+ (114°+ F) days.

Of course, a consequence of this lightness is poor performance. However, this issue can be addressed with a travel atomizer and reapplications. In extreme heat, you come to the realization that this aspect of these types of very light EdC products is a feature and not a bug--the cooling effects of the evaporation of an alcohol based product on hot skin is a welcome relief on scorching days.

As to ancillary matters,the version of the bee bottle that Guerlain uses for this Aqua Allegoria range is very nice. I like the golden metal honeycomb added in place of the traditional bees.

I have come to the conclusion that many reviewers simply dislike aspects of mint in fragrances. I am not one of these folks. Well integrated mint is, for me, a joy in fragrances and so I like this scent very much. Thumbs up.

Like a lazy walk on a chill late afternoon in an enchanted forest. Leaves under your feet, remants of morning dew drops glistening on the grass while a shy sitting sun is prepping through the rich foliage. An delightful, soft, aromatic, ethereal, refreshing scent that evokes pleasant sensations and thoughts. Juicy citrusy opening. Then cold mint with edgy green tea in the dry down, that can be worn by women and men. The soothing aroma of green tea is truly enchanting and the cool freshness of mint and citrus - invigorating. The mint is true and natural, like a real mint leaf; rather than synthetic and toothoasty. Decent sillage and good longevity.

Had EDT in small bottle, nice fresh open, then fades away quickly, by 2 hours I get nothing, even with strong dose. Too high maintenance for me, and not scented to my nose to try perfume worthwhile.

Gross. Mint over a blindingly-strong soapy musk.

Very beautiful, fresh green scent that paints the picture of sauntering in a lush garden.

This "fresh herb" fragrance is a delightful romp into natural, invigorating green leaf and floral notes touched with lemon in the opening. Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca by Guerlain is minty, breezy, and crisp while it lasts (not too long on my skin, alas :-/ ).

Other than the longevity issue, I am quite moved by this Aqua Allegoria edition.

Starts of lovely and fresh then recedes to damp spa tissue paper with emphasis on damp and tissue. Saved by a hint of clover and mint . It reminds me of a very toned down CDG Hinoki but without the character or hutspa. If you do it do it properly.

Fragrance: 6.5/10
Projection: 7/10
Longevity 7.5/10

I love the minty herbal grassy mix in this EDT especially in extreme heat. It smell so authentically natural and yet refreshes. It is an EDT so I don't expect it to last more than a few hours. At the price point, that's reasonable. It's still a very quality scent from a good house. As always, it's only my opinion and YMMV.

This smells typical of guerlain, the balance and intricate blending of notes are becoming so recognisable to me from this house. The way the spearmint and lemon are blended is as close to perfection as you will ever find in perfumery of those two notes together, the clover leaf and green tea give this a french garden feel or an olfactory memory of playing in fields and woodlands as a child. What more could you ask for from a perfumery, setting out to create a fragrance that gives an olfactory experience for the wearer and achieving it's goal easily. Herba fresca is almost surreal, it's dejavu in a bottle ..you've been there before at some point but you can't quite pin point when. Performance is light and fleeting but has a bit of staying power (3hrs on my skin), it shouldn't be any other way really..the whole experience would be ruined otherwise. Stunning creation!!

Lovely green and aromatic scent - nothing to add to what others have said here in terms of notes. I really enjoy it - it makes me feel instantly refreshed. Unfortunately, despite reasonable sillage (considering it's a fresh EDT), the performance is pretty poor. Over-spraying can get me 30 mins of a relatively full scent, but witin another hour, it's vanished without trace. Despte this, it's a lovely fragrance - easily good enough to warrant a thumbs up - and I'm happy to spritz it with abandon, considering that it can be found as cheap as chips on auction sites.

I usually don't like scents based on green tea, just because I associate its smell with cheap spa products, and I usually don't like minty perfumes either, so it's a minor miracle that I actually like Herba Fresca. It gets the balance just right, with the tea keeping the mint from smelling like toothpaste, while the mint keeps the tea from smelling cheap. Other than that, there's some lemony verbena adding to the tea vibe, as well as some soapy musk.

My only real complaint about Herba Fresca is that it never really goes anywhere, lasting easily all day, but just smelling like mint and lemongrass and soapy tea the whole time. It's a nice smell, but I kind of wish they had built a little more complexity into this. Anyway, still a thumbs up!