WhatScent

Jon@jbreezyyny

· Edited

Wear

First time trying it!

African Rooibos by Chris CollinsChris CollinsAfrican Rooibos4.446 ratings

As you all know, Matsukita is my favorite fragrance of all time, so I'm a sucker for a smoky tea fragrance. Got this as a free sample with my bottle of Jasper no Kodō III after hearing it hyped up on YouTube. This seems to get one of the few times that the hype is totally justified! Only a few minutes in so far, but I absolutely LOVE this opening!

Excited to see where it goes!

EDIT- So, after a full day of wearing, I'd like to give more thoughts. The opening and initial drydown are probably my favorite parts of the entire wear. Really beautiful, spicy, slightly sweet, slightly earthy, photo-realistic Rooibos. However, I find that I go nose blind to this stuff quite easily. By the time I got to work, I couldn't smell it at all, but got complimented by a coworker who said it was noticeable, but not overpowering. When smelling my skin directly at this point, it was a little bit lackluster, honestly. Kind of a fresh, yet earthy mix of notes that were all kind of muddled.

However, somehow at around 5 hours in, I started to be able to smell it again, and this part was BEAUTIFUL! The sweetness and spices remained, with hints of the tea, and a soft musk. Really excellent skin scent at this stage.

We are now 9 hours in and it's almost gone, but still a faint musky skin scent.

Not sure if this will end up being full-bottle worthy yet, but it's definitely up for consideration! However, my quest to find something to dethrone Matsukita continues!

Wore it on August 25, 2026

  • Work / School
  • All Day
  • Tired
  • Hot

Vibes

  • Calm
  • Confident
  • Fresh
Open in app

Comments14

  1. Cale_Dooper@dyjmerr

    This is on my try list as well! Excited to hear your final thoughts 👂

    1. Jon@jbreezyyny

      Will keep you posted! So far, it's a super realistic rooibos tea, with some bergamot brightness, and the cardamom has an almost cinnamon-like sweet spicy vibe! Really excellent stuff 🤘🏻

    2. Cale_Dooper@dyjmerr

      Replying to @jbreezyyny

      Nice! I’ve heard Lattafa Dynasty is similar. It’s also a realistic Rooibos Tea. Have you tried it? I wonder how they actually compare.

    3. Jon@jbreezyyny

      Replying to @dyjmerr

      I haven't, but it sounds really nice! I need to try some of their stuff- I have no experience with Lattafa at all 😂

  2. StealthECat@stealthecat

    African Rooibos is both hyped and not hyped enough at the same time. If you love smoky teas, have you tried Tea for Two from L'Artisan Parfumeur, Tambae from KST, Private Teahouse from Chasing Scents, or for an indie As Dark Things Are Meant to Be Loved from Alkemia?

    1. Jon@jbreezyyny

      I've been looking for Tea for Two for a while now! Such a shame that it was discontinued 😣 I really appreciate the other recs!!! I'll see if I can find them!

    2. Incense_Cat@incensecat

      Absolutely recommend Private Teahouse (and Bois Datchaï in a similar vein, despite not having a specific fruit note, it is quite bright/fruity from the blackcurrant bud). Tea is a favorite category of mine; I have dozens of all kinds. If you love red teas I'd also recommend: Clive Christian Red Tea & Vetiver (or the surprisingly high-quality dupe Lattafa Dynasty,both are quite woody/traditionally masculine),Carolina Herrera Africa for Her (despite the name it is very unisex) or Lunar Lover 2023 (2025 also has red tea but is more floral and less tea forward), Memo Winter Palace for a bright citrusy rooibos, Bvlgari Thé Rouge is a nutty fig red tea. I have a whole shelf of tea scents🫖

  3. Eduardo@soldierrboy

    Uhhh I love rooibos, might have to try this one, all the notes look great

    1. Jon@jbreezyyny

      · Edited

      Yeah, I'm still only an hour in, but it's fantastic so far! I drink rooibos tea all the time, and this stuff NAILS it!

    2. Eduardo@soldierrboy

      Replying to @jbreezyyny

      Thank you for sharing it, I’ll definitely try it! It’s also so nice that they have a 10ml option

  4. Big Sniff Energy@bigsniffenergy

    This one is so photorealistic. Unfortunately I don’t like rooibos

    1. Jon@jbreezyyny

      It really is! Yeah, if you don't like rooibos, this is a HUGE miss 😂

  5. Incense_Cat@incensecat

    Absolutely recommend Private Teahouse (and Bois Datchaï in a similar vein, despite not having a specific fruit note, it is quite bright/fruity from the blackcurrant bud, but still very unisex). Tea is a favorite category of mine; I have dozens of all kinds. If you love red teas I'd also recommend: Clive Christian Red Tea & Vetiver (or the surprisingly high-quality dupe Lattafa Dynasty,both are quite woody/traditionally masculine),Carolina Herrera Africa for Her (despite the name it is very unisex) or Lunar Lover 2023 (2025 also has red tea but is more floral and less tea forward), Memo Winter Palace for a bright citrusy rooibos, Bvlgari Thé Rouge is a nutty fig red tea. I have a whole shelf of tea scents, reds are special🫖

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