Pefect Present: The Gap Lavender Tea Eau de Toilette

Hello lovelies! Hope you've all been doing splendidly. Now that the ginormous stack of essays to mark is out of my life, I can finally announce the debut of my new and very exciting* series: Perfect Presents! With less than 3 weeks to go before Christmas (yikes!), these posts are designed to help you find that perfect holiday gift for those lucky people in your lives.

Without further ado, I present: Lavender Tea #362 perfume, by The Gap:




Who it's perfect for: Your most stressed out friend.
Why it's perfect: The soothing blend of lavender, green tea, and vanilla is the fragrance equivalent of a chill pill.

Trust The Gap to come out with a scent that's like pulling on a soft, well-worn pair of jeans. At first spray, the lavender is prominent, like nubby velvet with a subtle, slightly powdery vanilla. There's a tiny bit of spicy twigginess to it that keeps it from being boring and all dime-store-bath-salts. The green tea note isn't very obvious -- it's there in its popular aquatic-fresh form, and serves to lift the fragrance a little. I actually wish it were a bit more evident, as it's quite nice when I do get a whiff of it.

Being a person who is not generally fond of vanilla, the drydown could have ruined it all for me. It is indeed very prominent, but instead of a bakery sweet vanilla, it is dry-ish. Just like your favourite pair of jeans, this scent is not extremely feminine -- just clean and soft and cozy. I reach for it when I expect a hectic day at work, or when I want to feel calm and in control. It's oh-so-pleasant to catch lingering traces of it in my scarf when I snuggle into it against the cold winter winds.

I'd say this is definitely a fall/winter scent, but the giant bottle is sure to last into spring! But since it's simple enough to layer, I imagine it'd be brightened up easily with a citrusy perfume. Of course, it's great just the way it is, and its soft comfort may be just the tonic after battling the Christmas shopping crowds.

This new line of Eau de Toilettes include 5 other scents: Coconut Tuberose, Mandarn Jasmine, Velvet Bloom, Washed Cotton, and White Amber. On sale now at The Gap online for $21 USD, down from the regular $28. In Canada, it's currently on sale for $25.50 in stores.



* Well, *I'M* very excited about it anyway.