Perfumes in the friend zone: Liz Earle Botanical Essence No.15

Do you have a beauty regime? Quite a silly expression, I know. But since I have one, I actually feel better in and with my skin and it shows too. I think. Before I came across Liz Earle's skin care products and her hot cloth cleansing method in particular, I was a complete slattern in terms of make up removal. Not that I used much anyway, but the little I did put on stayed on, over night, clogging up pores, giving me panda eyes and blotchy cheeks. Very bad habit. I have actually forgotten how I came across LE, I guess it must have been Sali Hughes writing about it in the Guardian, but since then I have not not washed off my make up in the evening once. Even when drunk. With one of my online orders I got a sample of her fragrances, Liz Earle Botanical Essence No.15. I sort of dismissed it, thinking that if I had never heard of any of the 14 others before, it was probably OK to give this one a miss too. Fast forward a few months and now seriously back into perfume after a long pause, I one day emptied the washing machine and found the very same little perfume sample vial stuck in the rubber sealant around the door. No idea how it had ended up there, but it must have been through at least one circle in the machine, if not more. 

And this time I did try it. 

My visual interpretation of Liz Earle Botanical Essence No.15

It would be in accordance with my little entry story for the perfume to smell soapy and clean, but that's actually not the case. And of course, the No. 15 in the name doesn't stand for the 15th effort in fragrance making either, but describes its 15 main botanical ingredients.

It's a spicy and fresh start, middle and finish. It stays exactly like is is from the very first sniff. Cinnamon, pink pepper, a bit rose, a bit wood, nicely combined and with some good staying power. I am a big fan of spicy roses so I definitely like this one a lot and it ticks all my boxes but it doesn't manage to wow me. May be it's the linear structure, the complete lack of surprise due its unchanging nature,  but the tiny little bit that makes us falling in love with a perfume is missing. It will stay firmly in the friend zone. Sorry, Liz.

How and where to wear:

A good companion for a great night out, which may or may not include some snogging, just don't forget to take off your make up afterwards!