Tag-Upon-Avon

[Convallaria]

Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.

Tag! Thou Art ‘t! Playing tag with Lilith on the banks of the Avon before taking her to see Hamlet was such a wonderful experience. She loved the play, and still talks about it to this day.

A distant whiff of clove smoke and pipe tobacco, black tea, and crumbs from tiny cakes.

First few minutes aren't as much "crumbs" as a full-force blast of standard Lab moist vanilla cake. After it settles, it becomes a blend of listed notes. Not what I usually think of as "bittersweet", but it still fits. Sweetness of the cake is on the bottom, tempering the mildly spicy/bitter mix of clove, unsweetened tea and a pinch of tobacco. Later in drydown phase it's mostly clove-spiced tobacco, somewhat smoky but not bitter. Throw is decent at start, but drydown sticks close to skin yet lasts relatively long.

It will take some adjustment - I'm not a big fan of the cake note alone, but that opening moment vanishes soon enough it shouldn't be a problem. It's really interesting and I'm glad I gave it a chance. Edited September 27, 2016 by Convallaria

[mollison]

The tea and clove are combining to make this smell like anise when wet!

 

Drying down: This is cold black tea! Not iced tea, but hot tea that was abandoned in a cold kitchen until cold. There is maybe a hint of clove (more when wet, but it fades), a hint of cookies, but it is staying as cold black tea mainly on me, a little bit of anise. I don't get tobacco, which is a pity because my skin loves the lab's tobacco notes. A very interesting blend, but not something I would probably reach for except maybe once a year. I'll definitely keep my decant!

Edited October 15, 2016 by mollison

[Soupy Twist]

This is just "Tag at the Tobacconist's" on me. Heavy tobacco leaves in the bottle and on application, like the French Tobacco single note (which I did not care for). That's pretty much it. A little smoke, a two-second juicy currant note, but primarily heavy, monotone tobacco leaves.

Maybe I just amp tobacco, or this particular tobacco formulation, to the exclusion of everything else. Thank the gods above and below for decanters.

[Blood onmy hands]

Strange how different this seems to be on everyone. I love tobacco, especially French Tobacco, but I'm not really getting that note here. Tag is mostly a sharp, cold, astringent black tea on me with hints of medicinal, sharp clove and a drydown that has a smokiness sort of like burning leaves. It has a harsh quality on my skin.

[ephemera]

Sorry, guys, but this one did NOT work on me at all. It was a weird sickly combination of astringent, sweet and something undefinable.

[annemathematics]

this was all CAKE CAKE CAKE on me when wet. dried down to a modest CAAAAAAAAAKE with a lil' smokey somethin' wafting gently in the background.

 

foodier than what I wear, it was none the less fun to try.

[Jenjin]

This one reminded me so much of Europa which was an absolute NO for me. I'm not sure what the notes were that didn't work, but immediately after application the astringent quality made me realize that I just cannot wear this one. Off to a better home. Tag! You're it!

Edited October 20, 2016 by Jenjin

[zankoku_zen]

Chewy tobacco, clove, and hints of anise cake. This one is a heavy tobacco-clove blend on me. Good throw and wear length.

 

I sort of like this.

[sarahmarie]

So, my skin amps and does weird things to tea. It gets kind of soapy or something, and sort of sharp. I know this - Dorian fails on me, for example, because of it - but I keep trying. I should maybe stop. This is actually a really great, clove smokey smell on me, with just a hint of the cake. I was so hoping for that, basically, and I got hopeful. But then the tea...the tea blooms into a super strong amped up thing that overpowers everything else. If you are someone who likes these notes and can play well with tea, I think you should try this. It comes so close for me, and I think it's just my chemistry that sinks it.

[freyasfae]

I am wary of clove, but I thought the smoke element might cut through the clove element here, but this is super licorice on me. If you put your nose right up to it, it's not so licorice, but the throw is very licorice and I can't get past it.

[whisperstilled]

I sniffed this one in the bottle and found myself disappointed there wasn't more tea, so I haven't tested it until now.

 

In Bottle: Black tea and something foody with clove. The clove and tobacco are much stronger than I would have hoped, and it's lending the tea a weird pickled quality. Clove cigarettes, tea, and an almost anise-like quality.

 

Wet: There's the cake! Still very much a background note. The waft on this is insanely like black licorice.

 

Dry: So far this reminds me most strongly of Left His Nurse While In A Crowd. That cake+something anisey and dark thing is strong with this one. I imagine if you like clove or sweet tobacco, this will do it for you. I was hoping for something much more focused on the black tea, but I think on someone who likes those two notes more than me, this could be a pretty sexy, masculine scent.

 

Checked the other reviews, and it looks like I'm not the only one who was surprised to find anise in this. Wish it had been in the notes list! I would have probably skipped.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Mmm. Mostly tea and cake on me. Oooh, there's the tobacco. Yum. Getting the faints hints of anise that others have mentioned, but not overpowering. It's so light though! I keep dabbing more on to try to get a proper sniff, but my skin is eating it. It's yummy though. It makes me want tea and cakes. And clove cigarettes.

 

Dry: I like it. It's mostly a sweet tea scent. Hints of tobacco (not as much as I would like, to be honest). Hints of cake and spice. Not getting any of the anise I detected when wet though. It's also not really perceptible as clove either. I think this needs further testing, I do like it, but not sure I LOVE it yet.

[themeaningofV]

So, I also tend to turn the Lab's black tea note into anise, but there's a roundness and depth to this that I haven't found in other similar blends (ex: A Peculiar Spirit). I find the clovey smoke adds a little depth and the cake crumbs add a soft, vanillic note. Going to give this a full-day wear before deciding whether or not to spring for a bottle before Liliths come down.

[milo]

This is the first time a bottle has arrived frozen to me. It didn't take long to thaw, and while it is quite pretty, it smells exactly like Le Pere Foutard to me, which I already own. I know the notes aren't the same, but this is how I read it. I will have to do a side by side to compare, just to be sure, but I bet I'm not too far off. Cake, tobacco, anise. Very nice, but I don't need more and this bottle is going to swaps. I do have to say, the anise is less pronounced in Le Pere, though maybe theres' none present. I'll have to check...

[VetchVesper]

The day is bright and breezy at 65 degrees. There's not a cloud in the sky. Birds and squirrels are enjoying the weather, and my cats are basking in the sun. It's the type of day that inspires frolicking, where a game of tag seems quite apropos - the perfect day for Tag Upon Avon.

 

TUA is playful, breezy, delicate. The tobacco is the main note, but it's light and dry, a waft on the breeze mingling with a hint of foodiness, the cookie on your tea table as you luncheon on the lawn. I think the clove is what gives everything an ever so slight chill, balancing out the tobacco's warmth. I don't get much tea, but it isn't missed.

 

This is not a scent I need a bottle of, but I can appreciate it just the same, and it's lovely.

 

PS. I lied. I might need more.

Edited January 24, 2017 by VetchVesper

[Klepz]

This is mostly tobacco, with a definite anise note that other reviewers have mentioned. I can't tell if it's anise cake, or the tea playing tricks (in some blends, most notably White Rabbit, the tea does a surgical glove thing that smells sort of like licorice). The anise/tea calm down rather quickly and the tobacco takes over.

 

Does anyone else get the tobacco note from Black Lace from this? Because they smell remarkably similar on me.

 

I'll keep my decant, but won't be needing a bottle.

[Allumina]

tea, tobacco and a bit of cake dries down to a beautiful sweet, slightly foody tobacco with a hint of clove. It's like a less heavy Grievous Swarm, or a slightly more masculine Red Lantern- very warm and cozy! I get how the tea note can read as anise, but I love anise, so it works for me. I loved my decant so much I ended up buying a bottle of this, finally, after several mishaps!

[renfair]

I loved the sound of this, so I bought a partial bottle from another member.

First Sniff Impression: Kind of spiced, bitter cake?

Wet in Vial: This isn't super pleasant in the bottle, but it makes more sense when you know what the notes are. The cake is there, but the cloves and smoke make it kind of sour-smelling.

Drying Down on Skin: The clove and the cake smell come out right away and balance each other out nicely. I'm already feeling this would be a difficult fragrance for someone to actually wear, as opposed to experience, because the clove and pipe smoke feel way too masculine for me, but the cake probably wouldn't be very fitting on a man. After about five minutes, both the strong cake note and the strong tobacco smoke note have settled, leaving more of the sweet clove note out in front.

Dry on Skin: Having the cake scent fade fairly quickly helped this morph into more of a unisex or masculine-leaning scent, not so decidedly neither now. This one is also reminding me of my grandparents cottage, like Prince Lír did in a different way, though somehow I'm getting a memory of canoeing. Don't ask me why. Maybe it was the earthy smell of the pond and water lilies. So it's probably the tobacco and clove that are most prominent at this point.

Conclusion: I don't know if I'd buy any more than the partial bottle I have, but I'll keep what I have and give it another test someday.

[Minh Scent]

Cake and tea. Very light whisper of clove and tobacco but those notes disappear quickly. Jealous of those who got a lot of tobacco in this, as on my skin it is a cake dominant tea party.

[achildoftime]

Well, it turned into some undeniable baked goods. I mostly get clove and a cakey note. I was looking forward to the pipe smoke and tea, but I guess it's just not to be. It is a touch smoky, but not enough for me to call it a tobacco scent on me. It does smell like a delicious spice cake, but it's just not something I'd like to smell like.