Escale à Pondichéry
Christian Dior (2009)

The most gorgeous of the Escales IMO; the notes are among my favourites; Cardamom, Sandalwood, Jasmine and Tea combine beautifully to give a very light, fresh, luminous summer fragrance. On a really hot day it smells fantastic as the sandalwood and cardamom warm up on the skin but the tea note keeps it green. No other fragrance seems as good or as suitable on a summer's day. It is designed to be worn in the summer and has that classic Mediterranean sparkling freshness reminiscent of holidays, heat and the summer breeze. I wouldn't describe it as citrusy; the dry down is light woody and tea-green. It is not a flimsy insubstantial concentration - projection is good and it lasts very well - Dior quality. In a similar vein to O De Lancôme but without the heavy powdery dry down. Definitely unisex. Elegant, classy and delicious. Another impressive fragrance from Francois Demachy.

Graceful, light and sparkling. Black tea with a bergamot top, so it smells like Earl Grey tea in the beginning. After the bergamot dries off, it still stays refreshing and bright, with citrus, sheer sparky spices - cardamom, pepper, and a vague light floral. It dries down to a more predominant tea note with some pale sandalwood and an echo of the citrus. Sometimes tea notes can become kind of gray on my skin, and this one did too at the end. It's not a bad smell, but a little flat, not entirely to my liking. The fragrance itself has a subtle sophistication that's welcome in a transparent breezy summer fragrance. Not much sillage, which is perfect for this type. It becomes a skin scent after three hours but it stays on the skin then, for a long while. Of the three Escalas I tried it's my least favorite..

Genre: Citrus

I like Escale à Pondichéry much more than I thought I would. It's essentially spiced bergamot and Camellia chinensis leaves in a beautiful and dead-accurate impersonation of a cup of Earl Grey tea. The idea is straightforward in its naturalism, but far more original than its comparatively plain eau de Cologne sibling, Escale à Portofino.

Escale à Pondichéry may be simple, but it's also succulent, transparent, bright and refreshing. It may be ephemeral, but it's also well-balanced, with superbly judged sillage and projection. After two to three hours' wear, it dries down to a surprisingly warm and musky soft sandalwood skin scent. Escale à Pondichéry feels like a transcendent Asiatic variation on eau de Cologne, with some of the sweet spice you'd expect in an oriental scent, but none of the weight. This cake-without-the-calories effect recommends Escale à Pondichéry as warm weather alternative for oriental fans of either gender.

To repeat and confirm what other reviews have said, this perfume is a very interesting combination of bitter citrus and tea. The floral/sandalwood drydown is heavenly. Excellent evening warm weather scent. Unisex potential.

I have only recently become a tea drinker, and during this period of change, I've begun to enjoy the scent of tea in fragrances.

Escale a Pondichery, while not as strong as Bvlgari Eau Parfumee au The Rouge, is highlighted and softened by delicious citrus notes and jasmine.

I'm so glad that this fragrance is not harsh. The thought of tea and lemon made me cringe at first, but this blend is nothing to fear. It's so pleasant and refreshing that I could picture myself wearing this. In fact, one of my favourite Summer scents last year was Moschino Funny! which is slightly similar in terms of a tea note blended with citrus and floral notes.

This is a very sophisticated scent, with a suprisingly moderate amount of sillage and great lasting strength. The lady with the sun hat in the advertisement sums up this fragrance perfectly. It's Summery, crisp and classy.

It sparkles with vitality and youthfulness, however this fragrance is not for little girls. It is a pity that this fragrance is becoming harder and harder to find over the last few months.

Looking for a birthday gift for my 12 year old daughter I consulted my 'Tried list' for candidates. The local perfumery dished out 8-10 scents, that were all light enough for a blossoming girl, pleasant, sophisticated, light perhaps even understated. In the end it came down between this and Prada's Infusion d'Iris. I'm glad I went with this one. I love the tea note and in the last 6 months I've come to adore this scent. I think she's kicking off with a masterpiece. Time will tell.

NB! It just so happens that I enjoy 'Green Tea' for what it is. I'll certainly have to look into some masculine tea scents and also Versace's Bright Crystal. Thanks for the suggestion.