Jazz Funeral

[Diana]

... Bittersweet bay rum, bourbon, and a host of funeral flowers with a touch of graveyard dirt, magnolia and Spanish Moss.

 

I had serious trepidation wearing this. I even bought a 5mL, so it must have /something/ I like in it... but I put off actually wearing it for so long.

 

Wet: sweet florals, vague sugary alcohol notes, mossy/earthy basenotes

 

Drydown: the flowers don't go too wild, nor does the alcohol. The alcohol smells less like booze after a while and the floral + sweet + dirt notes smells vagely like the Apothecary or some other more herbally brew, and it definitely has a memory-trigger type of effect. Overall, it doesn't seem to last very long on me, but maybe next time I'll try mixing it with perfumer's alcohol to see if I can get better coverage.

[septima_pica]

Much sweeter than I expected, and much less dirt. It turns out that all the alcohol blends are astonishingly good on me, except those which have other notes that don't work, and this is no exception. However, I don't smell the dirt at all (or hardly at all), which is a bit of a disappointment as it's now my favourite BPAL note. (Along with tonka, of course, and nutmeg.)

 

I wonder what the sweet note is? It reminds me vaguely of the lotus in Black Lotus; maybe it's the magnolia, since I recently found out that what I thought was magnolia is actually "tulip-tree".

 

All in all, though, it's a nice blend though not one of the Lab's most distinctive. I'll probably go through the imp and not buy another -- though after the complete change of heart I had regarding Zombi, I'll have to wait and see what I'm saying about it in a couple of weeks...

[Electra]

I really don't know how to review this.

 

I don't smell dirt, or flowers, or rum, or bourbon, or any one of the notes in particular. I know that this scent is supposed to smell like New Orleans, but it smells EXACTLY like Savannah. I guess that's not terribly surprising. Savannah and New Orleans are both coastal southeastern cities, and magnolia/spanish moss/bourbon/rum are all present in abundance in Savannah. But I wasn't expecting it, and it blew me away.

 

I can't describe the scent. It's a bit earthy, a bit sweet. It's wonderful.

 

I have to have a big bottle. This one is just...amazing.

Edited November 26, 2007 by Electra

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is dirt and sweet flowers, but there's something headier as well. The bourbon, perhaps? It's a quiet scent on me, close to the skin, with a hint of green.

 

As it dries, the earth note strengthens into a richer loam, but the booze tempers it quite a bit. It's a lovely scent, very dignified and sweet.

[Jettcat]

In the bottle: A bourbon soaked floral

 

Wet: A strutting floral with a drunken swagger

 

Dry: It you drink too much, eventually you find yourself hugging the dirt. The drydown is funereal flowers and fresh turned earth. My nose is astonished at the talent of Beth to really pull a figurative rabbit out of her hat.

 

1 hour later: While I wouldn't wear it on a day to day basis, but I'll keep the imp so I can show off how amazing BPAL is.

[sarahmarie]

On my skin, Jazz Funeral is a light, mossy floral with a hint of dirt. In my hair, it was straight up fresh graveyard dirt, like whoa. I don't really like the dirt scent - it kind of freaks me out - but I still like Jazz Funeral. It's a moody, unusual scent, but not a desperately sad one. Perfect for the sentiment it's trying to express, I think.

[themerrybaker]

It's a steamy hot day and good for trying out Jazz Funeral.

 

 

 

At first, there is a smell of Bananas Foster. It dries down to tart-herbal-cinnamon-spicy. This is not a boozy scent on me, it is clean and a little aquatic.

 

 

 

Obviously, after the banana phase I really can't describe this complex blend very well. But I like it a lot.

[dragonryder]

This is a great blend of floral and bay rum. Neither one overpowers the other and I love the magnolia peeking through.

[jarvenpa]

I asked some time back for recommendations for a "scent of experience"--wicked, sweet, hinting at an interesting past and (hopefully) future. Something not so innocent.

 

Amongst the suggestions was Jazz Funeral, so I added it to my imp order.

 

I thought I'd already reviewed it, but no, looking back through this thread, doesn't seem I did. So, great time to put some on and remember my past reactions and see about my present ones.

 

The person who recommended it mentioned booze and flowers, I think.

 

I got--swamp water, with a lot of various flowers, and nostalgia, and, the first few times I wore it, great sorrow (sort of like Desdemona in my emotional response, not in the fragrance, but I should see if maybe they share some note that just tugs at my heartstrings or something).

 

I should add that the fleeting swamp water smell isn't a bad one at all, and does remind me a bit of New Orleans (I spent all of 4 days there a few years ago, but I was impressed).

 

It dries down into something I can only describe as...furry. Like my mom's old mink coat and the scent of her sultry perfume, and nylon stockings with seams down the back.

 

Experience, but maybe not my own. Still a very complex and lovely fragrance.

[filigree_shadow]

At first I can mainly smell the dirt, but it has a very sweet floral overtone. It turns into a sweet floral with a really lush, rich background. It smells humid to me and reminds me of a hothouse. This might be the only GC blend with a dirt note that I would wear. (I specified GC because I sometimes wear Queen of Clubs.)

 

It has good throw for only a couple of hours, but it remains faint several hours later.

[GemmaCat]

As soon as it hits my skin I get sweet, spicy flowers blooming forth in a real cacophony of scents! Very in your face with the florals; rich, potent, and with a little bite.

 

I'm not getting a booze or soil note, but there is a slight dampness to the mix, which makes me think of hot-house flowers after a short rainfall.

[juniperus]

Bottle: florals and my old friend Spanish moss.

Wet: light florals, a bit of dirt, but mainly...yep, da moss.

Dry: mosssssss GAH! and it's getting all...freaky deaky nasty like only Spanish moss can.

Later: no later. now. wash. must. *damndamndamndamndamn*

[Ryvre]

In the imp: Rum and fruit. Berries, maybe?

 

Wet: Oddly clean and boozy at the same time. It's very strong and heavy.

 

Dry: A sharp note comes to the forefront. I'm not sure what it is.

 

Overall, I'm not really thrilled with this one. I like the rum note, but there's something else that I just don't like.

[Eunice]

Jazz Funeral is a surprise! I wasn't sure about the bay rum and bourbon being in this but they both are wonderful mixed with the moss and floral. The earthy dirt smell shows up after soem time on my skin and it is a fab addition. I am very pleased with this one!!

[silver_dollar]

In the imp: I smell the moss and flowers. It's a lot more perfume-y than I thought it was going to be, but I like it.

 

On my skin: The dirt's coming out now, and the moss is getting stronger, making this a little sharper and more complex. Right now I'm getting a very strong moss note that's definitely somber. I really like this. I was worried the rum would swallow up everything else like it usually does, but I can't even smell it, which is good.

 

Now I'm getting a stronger floral note, all mixed together with the moss and dirt. I'm sitting here sniffing my wrist as I type this and it really does seem to shift and change a lot. So far, I'm absolutely in love. It does make me think of hot days and funerals. Gorgeous. I've never been to New Orleans, but I second what Electra said about this smelling like Savannah. That's what it reminds me of, Savannah and all its cemeteries.

 

I'm in love.

[edenssixthday]

Jazz Funeral – if you’ve never had the privilege of seeing a second-lining jazz funeral for yourself (or participating in one), you are really missing out. This scent perfectly captures the sorrow and joy that is a New Orleans jazz funeral. I’m pleasantly surprised that in this blend, the magnolia isn’t too heady and strong for me. Rather, the florals are light and pretty and perfectly balanced with the other scents. The boozey scent doesn’t smell like someone went on a drinking binge, but it is soft and subtle, like when I was a kid and Grandpa would come to kiss me goodnight when I went to bed, and I could smell the slightest trace of liquor on his breath from his after-dinner cocktail. I am hard-pressed to believe that there is no lemon or other citrus scents in this particular blend, as well, as there is something really fresh and juicy like a thin wedge of lemon tossed in a glass of ice tea. There is definitely a touch of graveyard dirt, which I find strangely odd considering that New Orleans and the surrounding region is the area where jazz funerals are held, and there’s nary a dirt-graveyard to be found down there. All of the graveyards are full of above-ground tombs. This is a gorgeous scent, too light for winter, but perfect for spring/summer months.

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the bottle: Mostly moss and magnolia

 

First on: Magnolia, moss, a bit of rose and lilly.

 

After a bit: This is a beautiful floral composition, very light and fresh, with a tropical sweetness and earthy tones.

 

A bit more: The rum and bourbon add a bit of twang now, slicing through the sultry floral bouquet.

 

This reminds me so much of the garden district surrounding Magazine's 4000 blocks, florals, booze and dampness.

 

God, how I long to be back there. I love this scent, but boy, does it ever make me sad.

[Supervixon]

This was a freebie imp from the Lab. It smelled kind of grape-fruity in the bottle.

 

Unfortunately, on me, it turned old lady perfume. Ah well, them's the breaks.

[Nekomata]

Wet it smells like bubble gum. ;_; My nose must be broken. The dry down is alllll moss, yummy green moss. But why does it smell like bubble gum? *sigh*

[sarada]

I've wanted to try this since it first came out, because I love dirt and moss scents, but I'm not so sure about the boozy or floral notes.

 

I'm glad that I did though because this is lovely -- a bit cloying at first, with the floral notes really at the forefront, as thick and sweet as if they were filling the air on an oppressively humid day.

 

But the slightly sour wine notes (it's not boozy so much as winey on me), combined with the loamy soil and fragrant moss, really remind me a lot of Nosferatu. It's not as sour as Nosferatu and the moss is somewhat eclipsed by the sweet, almost fruity floral blooms, but my skin insists on making this morph into a Nosferatu-like scent.

 

It still stays a little bit too perfumey for me to want to wear this all the the time, but it's a surprising variation on the dirt/moss theme that I love so much. I've never been to New Orleans and have only driven through Louisiana once so I can't say that this conjures up any memories for me, but a humid, sticky warm summer day in a New Jersey cemetery doesn't smell too far off from this if I use my imagination. And on a humid, rainy day like today it really cuts through the thick, murky air with the sharp, white incisive bite of gardenia and almost rose-like Spanish moss...but stays grounded in sweet, soft, gritty earth doused with wine.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Mmmm...evocative. (I also think my nose is getting better.) These are flowers in newly turned dirt that got poured on (by one of those characteristic here/not here Southern thunderstorms) and are now sitting in the sun.

 

Wet: Yee haw, moss and magnolias!

 

Drydown and wear: I'm kinda surprised by this--it's all floral. There is a bourbon edge to things, but this remains quite floral. I like this...not as much as I love love love New Orleans, but it goes in that same category of "down home blends."

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Smells a lot like Zombi, but completely different. The mossy/dirty smell is the most prominent in the imp, with a hint of sweeter things underneath.

 

On the wrist, wet: Zombi, but sweeter. Heavy dirt notes. Awesome. I love dirt notes!

 

On the wrist, dry: Nooo! Sweet heavy floral beginning to overwhelm my dirt smell! Oh bugger, it's magnolia, it's doomed.

 

Final Analysis: My skin amps magnolia like nothing else and then turns it into a very aggressive powdery scent. So I used this for a while as a vacuum cleaner scent and now I am putting the 1/3 full imp into freebies box.

[sofiaviolet]

I'm really digging the bay rum and bourbon. I'd expected the magnolia to be more prominent but I guess not. This is an awesome New Orleans scent. It's the French Quarter (whereas the New Orleans scent is the Columns hotel on Saint Charles). Pretty darn masculine, but I'm pulling it off nicely.

[Dymphna]

In the imp: Heavy, damp flowers and something sharp (the bay rum and/or bourbon?). Smells a bit masculine, despite the flowers.

 

Wet: Fresh, like a garden after the rain, but heavy, like that garden is in New Orleans, I guess. The spicy scents of the bay rum and bourbon are definitely present.

 

Dry: Very spicy and somehow mysterious. Makes me think of a dark man with dark eyes on a dark night. He's standing on a terrace (excuse me, a verandah), beckoning you to join him on a walk through the shadowy garden. Who could possibly resist such a tempting invitation? I do think this is a more masculine scent than I can wear. I'll have to try it on my husband.

[yellowrose]

This imp is traveling as part of the General Catalogue swap.

 

This particular batch of imps -- Ava Maria Gratia Plena, Hymn to Propserine, Jazz Funeral, Jolly Roger, Juke Joint – consists almost exclusively of notes that give me trouble. These include booze, apple and jasmine.

 

Because I’m way, way behind and want to get the imps circulating, I’m sending it on its way having sniffed it in the bottle and determining that, well, for all the BPAL scents I love, I just don’t want to risk not loving it. Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans? Le sigh.

 

Safe travels little imp!