The Hanging Gardens

[Diana]

This perfume is an interpretation of the Hanging Gardens by night, based on further accounts of its fruit and flora: date palm, ebony, fir, pomegranate, plum, two pears, quince, fig, and grapevine with plumeria, three gardenias and dry rose.

Putting this on, it exudes a rush of fragrance of lush, ripe, wet fruits. It's a different fruit smell than either Fruit Moon or Mi-Go. It's mostly pear that I'm picking up on, and a bit of fig.

As this wears on, it stays really lush and wet smelling. The florals start to kick in a bit, but they (the gardenia & plumeria) seem to fill the capacity of wet juicy fruity florals, so they mingle in with the already established fruits. The rose occasionally peaks out, giving it a scent slightly reminiscent to Persephone.

This totally makes me want to sit outside in my parents' back yard, eating juicy, dripping wet figs right off the tree that have been warmed by the sun. Yuummm.

[LushNatty]

In the bottle: fruity deliciousness! Smells like…fruit wine. That’s all I can say—it smells like an extremely juicy fruit but I can’t quite identify which one.

On application: I can definitely smell those juicy pears, and do I detect some peach as well? Fig is there too, definitely, and I can smell some foliage in the background. It develops into figgy pear, and then to luscious (but subtle) flowers and fruit juices, with the slightest hint of wood. I want to eat my hand. Similar effect to Arachne but with a stronger character—better throw. While Arachne is mainly just noticeable to me, this will be wafting behind me as I walk.

Overall: this wins on three points. First, it is just a great smell. Second, it is elegant enough (for a fruit smell) to wear to anything from a weekend outing to a black-tie event, and third, it is extremely evocative of the scene it is supposed to evoke. I can close my eyes and definitely relocate to the Hanging Gardens. I could definitely use this as a perfume, or in a burner, or for guided imagery—all very successfully. I wouldn’t wear it every day but I could if I wanted to. This is, at least, a definite bottle order.

On a scale of 1 to 5: 4, but darn close to 5 when layered with Morocco.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Warm, dark, ripe fruit. Rich and enveloping.

 

Wearing: There’s a sweetness and a spiciness to this very complicated scent. There’s so much going on I really can’t pick it all apart… but it’s warm and lush and dark, walking through the Gardens on a summer night.

[polydactyl]

Now, I don't like fruit and it don't like me. Most fruity scents make me think of gummi bears or jello. But I'm also a classics dork, so I was attracted by the description for The Hanging Gardens and was pleased when I received it as a frimp. As long as it didn't smell like generic fruit punch, it would be fine.

 

The oil is a attractive light coral colour, very pretty. Opening the imp, I get a sweet mix of fruit and florals. The sweetness is also rather dry and woody as well, the way a garden really smells like, with all the scents from different plants combining and clashing. That's a really great beginning.

 

When the oil is on me, the scent reminds me of the concentrated sweetness of dried fruit, the way it's slightly smoky. I get different fruit smells coming out as time goes on; something acetone like pears to start, then a peach-like scent, and lastly something with the hint of grapes at the very end. The roses aren't very apparent in this blend; I never detected them at any time.

 

This is a great oil, light, sweet and complex. Although it's not my kind of scent, I quite like it.

[mayhap]

Preconceived notions: This is the kind of scent whose very description would have barely merited a glance when I first started poking around the BPAL site. All those fruits, flowers, plants ... I couldn't even begin to imagine what that would smell like, and I didn't think I would like it at all.

 

In the imp: At first, this is confirming all my negative suspicions. It smells a little harsh and green, like unripe fruit, with some flowers and stuff.

 

After a wearing it for few minutes, however: Wow. The most beautiful garden in the world is, in fact, blooming on my skin. The fig (I love me some fig, another thing I would never have guessed) and plumeria are the notes that stand out the most on me, I think, but on the whole I would say I'm getting a lovely triptych of sweet flowers, delicious fruits and rich woody goodness, perfectly balanced. I'm in love.

[Fefferbella]

I found a fruity floral I can tolerate... in fact, I love this scent.

I can pick out notes of figs, pomegranates, pears, plums and sweet grapes.

 

But there are also flowers too, plumeria and rose. Normally I can't stand rose, but the rose is very gentle in this scent.

[malanna]

This is going to be a bad review.

 

The Hanging Gardens is very sweet and clean smelling at first. Then, it just smells light and sweet with the same scent for the next few hours (it faded very quickly, though), which I assume is fig. Hmm, I expected fig to be browner and earthier. This is quite weird, because I feel as if it smelled different the last time I tried it. I'll have to have another go at it and see how it is.

[ABrokenAngel]

In the Bottle: Though I was terrified this would be too busy of a scent since I'm finding I prefer the more simple scents, I decided to go for it anyway. If it smells on me ANYTHING like it smells in the bottle it'll be on my next order. I immediately smell pomegranate, plum, fig and the pears with a faint faint faint floral tucked back against the wall of the imp. It was so full when I got it (thank you to Annie!) that it spurted on me. Anything other than this and I might have been miffed, however...this is simply divine. As I'm writing all my ITB reviews first, I keep picking up the bottle of it and smelling it since it got on the label. Oh lord I love this.

 

Wet: Oh my god the fruit notes in this are DIVINE! They are backed up by the beautiful florals. Did Beth just walk into her recipe books and pull out all the best fruits she had, the best florals and toss them in together? Absolutely divine. Another of her masterpieces. This scent right here could start a sensation across the nation! If she mass marketted just this one scent as a gateway scent to the rest of BPAL she would have picked the right one. It's simply fantastic. I keep smelling my arm.....this is never leaving me...ever!

 

Drydown: Pom, plum plumeria and a very very shy rose hiding behind I believe a gardenia. I LOVE it. I was scared the wood notes (ebony, fir and date palm) would take over and kill this in the dry down but it seems my beloved fruits have battled strong and stay true. Straight to the big bottle for me!

[Sheila]

No fair! Everyone but me gets tropical fruit and flowers--in other words, a lush, juicy garden--from this scent. I get florals (mostly jasmine), and not a touch of fruit. It's pretty on me, but not gorgeous. I'll swap it to someone with better skin chemistry.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: this one was a freebie. i expected something lush and floral, but i'm getting lots of woods from this.

on: heady. this is fruity, floral, and woodsy all at once. very interesting and different.

half an hour later: still sweet, but with a soapy bite.

3 hours later: very soft. the soapiness is gone. a bit sweet.

overall: this is nice, but nothing spectacular on me.

[RainyDayGrey]

The Hanging Gardens is gorgeous. I was expecting it to be very fruity or very floral, and was surprised to find that it's neither. It's so well blended that it's just perfect. It's softly sweet, and the floral notes are light and soft. The wood notes balance it all out. It's so well blended that I can't even pick anything out in particular. It's just spectacular. As it wears on the florals asert themselves a bit more, but they never become overwhelming. I don't think I can say enough good things about The Hanging Gardens. It's just wonderful and beautiful, and it's now holding a spot amongst my very favorite BPAL blends.

 

It reminds me alot of my beloved Flower Moon. They both give me the same youthful springy vibe.

[desu]

In the bottle: Delicious. A perfect blend of fruits, flowers, and woods.

 

On my skin: The fig is very prominent here, yet at the same time it's soapy due to the rose. This was a scent I wanted to love, but it doesn't love me.

 

Later on: It's pretty much fig and soapy rose duking it out at this point.

[Katinka]

My nose must be a minimalist. All I can smell is wood, fig, and the teeeeeniest hint of gardenia. I know those other notes are lurking behind the pillars, but they don't want to come out and play.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Fruits! My, so many very ripe fruits... peach and pear seem most prominent. With some flowers in the background. Hmm, tasty.

 

Wet: This turns woody on me immediately, I think this must be the ebony. This stage hardly lasts, though, the fruits start popping up very soon. Peach and pear at the front once more. Then there's the slightly tart scent of plumeria that comes in (uh oh, I have a bad history with it), and I can smell pomegranates and plums and... wow, so many fruits and they all pop out!

 

Drydown: The scent dries down as a very woody scent, a mix of palm, fig and plumeria, I think. There's this hint of vanilla, and the fresh fruits are lurking in the background now, I can still smell the peach, plum and pear alternately. This is really surprising!

 

Overall: This keeps on changing! It's full of complex notes that come and go, trailing sweetness behind them. It's really a tumble through a garden, with lots of different notes poking their head out and disappearing again. This morphs all the time and surprises you constantly with fruits and flowers, even once it's dry. Very multidimensional, I don't know if I'd buy a bottle, but the imp's a keeper.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Rose.

 

In the imp: Rose, gardenia, plum, and I think pear. The rose is most prominent, which does not bode well.

 

On skin, wet: Lovely gardenia and... rose. Rose usually overpowers a scent, but this seems to be playing nice for the moment. Nothing beyond gardenia and rose, though.

 

On skin, dry: Ah, yes; rose. I still catch gardenia -- which, thanks to The Lady of Shalott, I am quite fond of -- but this is mostly rose. A very dry rose indeed.

 

Conclusion: Rose and I have such issues. I remember having tried this scent before (I was sure I had reviewed it!), but I didn't care for gardenia then. The Lab popped an imp into my latest order, and seeing gardenia in the description, I thought I may love it! Sadly, it's not meant to be, thanks to the evils of rose.

[Lit Chick]

I was nervous about this one... fruit tends to be a bad thing. But more and more, I'm finding fruits that love me.

Everthing in this blend loves me, except finiky rose.

Gorgeous, perfection in a bottle. Bright, summery, happy... pure sunshine and butterflies.

And after a few glorious mintues, this turns to soap.

This gives me hope though, and I will stop avoiding the super-fruity blends.

[magdalene]

in the bottle: soft pear.

 

wet on skin: such a light rose takes center stage, quietly ushering the pear back into its seat. Plumeria makes me sneeze, unfortunately, and that comes up behind the rose, with fig in tow.

 

dry: such a ripe scent, bursting at the seams, everything clamouring to get your attention.

[Chrysantza]

In the bottle: Very very very sweet - I smell the quince, the pear and the gardenia all mingled together. Mmmm.

 

On me: Delectably sweet and fruity and gardenia-y. The pear, pomegranate and quince are especially prominent. Makes me want to eat a pear (or dare to eat a peach). The gardenia's sweetness blends beautifully with that of the fruit, making this a lush, rounded blend.

 

Quince is one of my all-time favorite smells and I'm glad it's included in this blend. When I was growing up we had two dwarf flowering quinces in the backyard, and their fruit was not edible but it had the most luscious smell you could ever imagine. I'd sit by the trees and just inhale. And now I was holding my nose to my wrists and just inhaling.

 

It really does give the sense of being in a luxurious palace garden with delicious ripe fruit, fragrant flowers, and splashing fountains everywhere. This blend makes me feel like a glamorous empress wearing beautiful silk robes and precious stone jewelry, attended by some gorgeous Jason Isaacs clones.

 

Verdict: Swooooooon! I want a bottle of this! The only drawback is that it doesn't last as long as I would like - which is about me, not the scent, as I'm a scent eater and only blends with musks or resins last on me. But I think this will be a lovely warm weather perfume (when scents last longer anyway). I might also blend some into body cream. This is one of the most gorgeous BPALs I've worn.

[LittleGreyKitten]

I would have suspected the gardenia. I got HG as a frimp and tested it to see if I could detect any of the notes without knowing in advance.

 

I definitely figured on a heavy white floral like gardenia, and some rosiness, though I would have said violet if I'd had to guess. The fruit, though, was not something I would have guessed was in there without reading the descrip. After knowing it's there, I can focus my nose on it, but without knowing it, it's definitely not what comes to the forefront when it's on me. I've found that my skin can react weirdly with fruit smells- either making them go *poof* or turning them sour and awful. (Makes me wonder what the Mi-Go Brain Canister I'm waiting on will do.)

 

It was a sweet, but not too sweet, floral for me. I did like it, and will probably keep using my imp of it for a while. I'd give it a 3.5, though I may like it better after spending more time with it, as is often the case with BPAL blends I'm fence-sitting about.

[telesilla]

Why I tried it: Mostly because it was a frimp, although it was also on my wish list thanks to the fruitiness of it.

 

In the bottle and wet -- Wow! Fruit! Flowers! Um and...stuff.

 

Drying down and dry -- No thanks, the gardenia is way to floraly rich for me. It doesn't smell bad on me, in fact, it smells pretty good. But it's just not a me scent. *gives to Nancy, who likes it a lot*

 

Also? So, not gender neutral.

[Thaleia]

I received my imp of The Hanging Gardens from a swap with the lovely lorajc. The description sounds so wonderful! When I open the vial, though, it's not really what I expected after reading the description ... it's spicy, resiny, and just a bit fruity, like Cairo or Ravenous. But when it's on, wow, this is so complex and interesting. Ripe fruit and florals combine to give this blend a 'huge garden' feel, worthy of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. I'm picking up pear and plumeria - and I'm surprised that the rose hasn't come out, because it usually does. It ends as a sweet, complex, fruity floral, from which I can't pick out anything specific. Unfortunately, it fades pretty quickly, but leaves a rich scent behind, barely there, but still there.

 

Some wonders never cease. If I want to feel opulent, I'll wear this. 7/10.

 

(N.B. As of this review, I'm doing my ratings out of 10. I'm sick of doing quarter-points, and I'm only confusing myself and probably you by carrying on with them.)

[jewelbug]

Bottle: Apple, Fig and Plumeria. This is a really sweet floral with a deep juiciness. Kinda the same level of juiciness of Titania, but Titania was full of bright, white fruits, and these are a bit redder, more complex.

 

Wet: A bit woodier now, still apple, fig, and plumeria. With a hint of the pomegranates.

 

Drying: Sharp but sweet floral, deep fig, bright pomegranate, and warm woods. Crazy juxtaposition. Mmmm…And while its not listed, I kinda feel like I'm getting a tinge of banana from this.

I can smell rose, but there are so many other glorious things going on that the rose is (for once) and understudy to the other notes. Usually rose takes over, but this one is nice, it simply supports. Dry, this goes woodier--an exotic wood with rich tropical fruits and heavy sweet blooms.

Overall: Ultimately, this settles into a palm wood and fruit blend, with a hint of heady florals. I love that its fruity/woody/floral all at once, without being overwhelmingly any category.

Lasts about 4 hrs. I have a 5mL of this, and I'm glad that I do. I think this will be perfect for spring/summer wear, and I have plans to scent some cremes with it.

 

This reminds me a bit of manila. I'll have to compare.

Edited February 10, 2006 by jewelbug

[Precis]

In the imp and on wet: The Hanging Gardens is lush, wet, juicy, and just gorgeous. The scents blend together well and no single notes pop out at me, although if I had to guess, I'd say the plum, pear, and gardenia stand out the most.

 

Dry: The fruits dominate the scent, but just barely, as the florals are still evident. I don't detect much change as time progresses, which is just fine for me since it smells so great from the start. Also, I don't get much if any rose or fir from this.

 

The Hanging Gardens fades in a few hours, or at least, it would if I gave it the chance-- when I wear it, I reapply constantly. This is my first 10 ml order and my favorite oil (so far!). I barely know how to describe this outside of "perfect," it's so awesome. As silly and hyperbolic as it sounds, it really is powerfully evocative of wonderful green places outdoors. I'd love to visit a garden as gorgeous as the one this creates in my imagination.

[Lizzie]

In The Bottle Cherry and Banana. What is wrong with me today??

 

Wet On I don't know. What IS that smell?? I just don't know. Maybe it's quince, because I don't know what a quince should smell like.

 

Dry I don't know what to say. This scent, for me, is like walking through the Hanging Gardens...drugged. No clue what is going on. It smells good though. I think. But I'm totally confused. The most complex BPAL scent I've tried so far. I think I have to keep this imp. Even if I never wear it, I know I'm going to want to puzzle over this scent again, maybe another day my nose will be less confused.

[ladynoah74]

This was an intriguing scent in the bottle - I can't even pick out one note from this imp. It smells lovely. Once dry, it's a gorgeous mix of fruit and floral, and soft enough that it's like walking through a lovely garden. I'm not sure if it's a 5mL bottle worth, but it's a definite possibility.