The early contender for the longest perfume name of 2010 has to be the new fragrance from Heeley; Orange And Lemons Say The Bells of St. Clement’s. The name is based on a British nursery rhyme which names all of the great bells of Old London. Its last stanza is quite creepy.  I assure you that the fragrance is not !

Oranges and lemons, Say the bells of St. Clement's

You owe me five farthings, Say the bells of St. Martin's

When will you pay me? Say the bells of Old Bailey.

When I grow rich, Say the bells of Shoreditch.

When will that be? Say the bells of Stepney

I do not know, Says the great bell of Bow

Here comes a candle to light you to bed And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!

This is the eleventh fragrance from James Heeley’s fragrance line and many of the previous compositions are among the best in their class; namely the incense fragrance Cardinal and the aquatic Sel Marin. Until now Heeley had not assayed a purely citrus focused scent. In many ways Orange And Lemons Say The Bells Of St. Clement’s carries the same simplicity and structure of the nursery rhyme that gives it it’s name.

 

 

It also ends on what might be considered a quintessentially British accord with a lovely Earl Grey Tea accord. Before that the promised citrus is on display.

 

 

The opening of Orange And Lemons Say The Bells Of St. Clement’s is the promised duo of oranges and lemons. The orange is the more dominant of the two and along with the bergamot, also present, in the top it is an excellent light foreshadowing of the heart and base to come. The heart of Oranges And Lemons Say The Bells Of St. Clement’s is a light orange blossom and as the orange gives way to the slightly indolic white flower it feels very refreshing. The orange blossom lingers for a while and slowly the Earl Grey tea accord appears.

 

 

At first it seems like a flashback to the bergamot in the top but then you get the dark smoky tea accord. Vetiver is chosen as the partner for the Earl Grey accord and it adds an additional smokiness to the ending of this fragrance, which is unlike the macrabre ending of the nursery rhyme.

Orange and Lemons Say The Bells Of St. Clement’s has below average longevity and average sillage. The longevity is not surprising for such a citrus focused fragrance and in many ways it makes this fragrance a better sport fragrance than many others that carry that name on their label.

Orange And Lemons Say The Bells of St. Clement’s is another excellent addition to the stable of Heeley fragrances.

Disclosure: This review was based on a sample purchased from Luckyscent.

-Mark Behnke, Managing Editor