Les Voyages Olfactifs 03 Paris-Tokyo Guerlain for women

I find this scent addicting and think the other reviewers are pretty spot-on, however I don't know that I could buy such a large and expensive bottle of it because while the lasting power is good, the sillage is really poor.

Toyko is appropriately minimalist with a thoughtfully selected blend of beautiful ingredients.

The scent opens with the finest green tea--a gently infused sweet cup, not oversteeped and without a trace of tannin.

Regal jasmine then makes a most graceful appearance--and the flower is simply exquisite in this composition. If you have ever travelled to Thailand and been captivated by the scent of the double blossoms of jasmine sambac used in garlands for sale lining nearly every street of Bangkok, then you know the jasmine I'm talking about: very luminous, deeply fragrant, more exotic than jasmine grandiflora and just a hint masculine compared to the heady, feminine note of its sister. This is also the same flower that is used to infuse deliciously fragrant jasmine tea.

Violet makes this airy and transparent, while the subtle wood notes ground this scent perfectly and create a stillness that evokes tranquility and meditation.

I'm still deciding whether I like this better than Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea. Maybe there is no comparison as they both play different roles: Tokyo is still and quiet; Green Tea is refreshing and energetic.

In any event, I wish this were less expensive or came in a smaller size bottle. I'd love to buy or swap for a decant--a definite must-have for me.

In my journeys with Guerlain through Les Voyages Olfactifs, I somehow saved the best for last: Tokyo.

Here are the notes, according to neimanmarcus.com:

• Top: Green tea
• Heart: Jasmine, Violet
• Base: Vanilla, Hinoki

This is just a beautiful composition, fresh and clean, yet sensual, fragrant, and warm at the same time. It actually reminds me of Tokyo, which is of course an added bonus in terms of overall concept. In fact, one of the reasons why TOKYO reminds me of the city is because both are totally unique and like nothing else in my experience. I honestly cannot think of a single fragrance that captures this feeling.

TOKYO reminds me of the beauty of Tokyo in all of its various guises. The gardens, the people, the tea, the magnificent and diverse neighborhoods, the food, including freshly steamed rice, which I keep remembering while wearing this scent. I even love the Japanese language and sometimes fantasize about returning there to be surrounded by kanji on all sides. Basically, my Japanese experience was the antithesis of that portrayed by Sofia Coppola in "Lost in Translation," which I found to be a rather japanophobic and anglophilic film. But that's another story.

More to the point: I'll be adding a bottle of TOKYO to my collection, oh yes, I will!