There are perfumes that make me smile immediately. Just like that, one spray, and that inner feel-good spark brightens up my day.
I feel then like hugging that perfume, hugging myself and the whole World – to share that feeling, and make you feel the same. Hugging Menta y Menta feels good!
This happened while I was running like crazy around Esxence Milan on its final day (check out my overview: “Ave Perfumes” here).
I guess that the fear of missing out hit me like a truck: will I miss something important? Where should I go first? I asked a couple of friends if they have any recommendations for me. Strangely enough, a few of them told me the same thing: “Go and try Menta y Menta by Miller et Berteaux if you haven’t yet!”
Some more rushing around, and there I was: what I first noticed were mint plants placed on the center stage of their stand. I was greeted with a kind smile: “Would you like to smell a perfume that features mint, but doesn’t smell like toothpaste or breath freshener?”
Yes! (Please, let it be good…)
It was good: it put that “Mona Lisa smile” on my face. Not that I associate mint with toothpaste: my childhood memories spin around most horrid strawberry-flavored, sickeningly sweet pink mess squeezed on my toothbrush, the one for which I always thought it made more damage than good for my teeth.
Mint or Mentha for me means pitchers of cold lemon water with mint leaves on a hot Summer day after wandering around the island in the Adriatic Sea early in the morning, before sunrise, looking for herbs and picking small leaves of dark green wild mint, to be used later in salads, cold drinks, and cocktails, or dried to take home and brew some strong mint tea.
Another thing my grandma taught me: always keep a mint plant on your dining table if you are eating outside in the evening, rub its leaves every now and then: mint keeps mosquitos and ants away!
There have been quite a few mint-themed perfumes around lately, it’s refreshing and cool notes flirting with Mojito associations, paired with chocolate, citruses, or just spearmint-peppery sharp fresh not-so-demanding compositions. Menta y Menta is different.
It smells…so sophisticated in an unobtrusive way! Its style is minimalistic, both in perfume construction, in presentation, and packaging – yet there is something compelling about it.
Menta y Menta greets you with a cup of freshly brewed mint tea in a simple, delicate porcelain white cup.
As you squeeze just a couple of drops of lemon into it, soon after taking the first sip you forget about the tea itself: the bright greenery made of small mint leaves forms a comfortable shade all around you, feeling just slightly refreshing-peppery.
A single jasmine flower drops in your teacup and swirls around it, white, dainty, and fragile, adding a slight touch of smoothness and delicate warmth, weaving its whiteness through all this greenery in a relaxed rhythm.
It’s a perfect day, and all is well. Simple as that, so I won’t attempt to write an extensively complicated review.
The perfume remains very skin close and airy on my skin, moving with me as I move around, quietly present and unobtrusive.
Contemplative, contemporary, refined minimalistic. Lovely in its seemingly uncomplicated appearance. Classy, with moderate longevity and sillage: nothing ravishing, just joyful!
This line of perfumes carries names of Parisian designers Francis Miller et Patrick Bertaux: partners, fashionistas, travelers, and promoters of wellbeing.
“Fragrances for the body and the soul, dedicated to those who choose the balance of being and appearance.”
Notes: mint, tea leaf, citruses, roasted coffee beans, and jasmine.
(mentha spicata / menthe marocaine feuilles de thé, zests d’agrumes, café torréfié, jasmin évoqué)
Menta y Menta (released in 2019) is available online here, Eau de Parfum 100 ml/99 EUR.
The Plum Girl
Elena Cvjetkovic
Photos: The Plum Girl, Miller et Bertaux
The sample was graciously given to me by Miller et Bertaux at Esxence Milan, opinions of my own.
3 Comments
I love the sound of this fragrance, Elena. Sometimes one just wants something uplifting and uncomplicated.
Very good picture with the drink, chapeau! The fragrance is nice, in the same category as minty compositions by Heeley and Comme des Garcons but perhaps even better. Suggests a good quality skin lotion or cold cream. Reminds me of a Dragoco composition I got sampled in the 1960’s called Loretta, which won’t mean anything to anyone else but leads me to wonder if it is made by Symrise, especially as they are strong on these cool mint ingredients. However, I could be wrong , anyway whoever makes it, it is a worthy addition to the wonderful line up of original fragrances offered by the great firm of Miller and Bertaux.
Thanks! I also thought about Symrise, but whoever it is – it turned out good. Not much talked about though…