Jazz Funeral

[Browneyes]

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

Imp: Some booze, some flowers, some dirt and something citrusy?
Wet: Uh-oh... the dirt. Death and decay are not good on me. But this isn't so bad (i.e. "bad" on me = Zombi ) In fact it seems to be fading somewhat
Dry: Quite nice! I recognize the rum from Port-au-Prince I think. And the florals are not too cloying, and the dirt is now a grounding (how appropriate ) note and not in-my-face-death-like. Not exciting me, but it is a very good blend, gender neutral, and not too strong. Edited September 12, 2007 by quantum spice

[jainabee]

(My very first review for my very first all-time-favorite!)

 

Swoony from the start, the scent led me along from the bordello to the church to the graveyard and then let loose with a party that shook the heavens.

 

I've never smelled anything that mutated so frequently, and with such variation. While this seems to be the way of the BPAL, Jazz Funeral has been the most pleasing to me so far.

 

Another tendency seems to be the flitting nature of the scents. This fades too fast. Ah! But how poignant is that? Can I dole out my imp to last until the bottle arrives?

[Carmencita]

in the vial: cinnamon and hot flowers

 

on me later: cinnamon and booze

 

Does not inspire me.

[girl_android]

Hmmm... another imp in my pile of imps to test ...

 

In the imp, it's a blast of ... fruity flowers? It's certainly not what I expected to get from the listed notes ... ? There's a touch of dirt in there too.

 

Wet on skin, I don't get any boozy sort of quality, fruity flowers, a touch of citrus (google tells me spanish moss might be considered lemony?), and some dirt.

 

Once dry, the dirt is still there ... it's a kind of clean dirt, if that makes any sense at all, the florals are not all sharp and spiky ... I'm not too big on dirt notes, but it kind of works here.

Edited June 2, 2007 by Girl Android

[Phaedra]

Wet this is mossy, wet florals like a swampy version of Zombi. When first on this is a crisp citrus like men's aftershave, with a hint of coolness almost like menthol. It's completely different than the wet stage. After a few minutes the dirt note comes out. After about half an hour it becomes really soft and floral. This fades after only a couple of hours. This is an interesting blend but not one I need to keep.

[LadyCrow]

In the imp: What the hell? This smells like honeydew melon.

 

Wet: Hello magnolia! -- and all of its floral friends. And then wet, wet grass. And dirt!

 

Drydown: After a brief reign of glory for the famous dirt and a very aquatic feel to the whole blend, a citrus note takes over. That having gone, we're back to the very humid and fascinating dirt and decay. I get pretty much nothing in the way of booze (and please, watch me resisting the urge to cite a famous movie line here) -- just the combination of damp flowers and swamp water. Amazing throw -- a sharpness almost like that of ylang ylang, although it's not one of the listed notes.

 

Verdict: An evocative morpher; I don't need to dive for a bottle immediately (bottle, heh), but I see this being a fantastic writing trigger.

[harmonyfb]

How funny - I've avoided this scent because of the notes. I figured that rum, bourbon, and graveyard dirt would add up to the anti-harmonyfb scent.

 

But...in the imp, this was a clean, clear scent, and that continued when I applied it. It was like cold rain, light and refreshing. Dry, it smells faintly of leather and rain. Wow. Very evocative of southern cities after a good thunderstorm.

 

Conclusion: Don't be afraid of trying scents with notes you don't like.

[StrawberryIce]

I thought this was going to be my favorite, but it wasn't anything like I expected. On me, it's just a very heavy, overpowering floral. I can't detect the booze or dirt at all.

[hushmesilent]

Yay! This is my first review. I got my order today and the Lab threw in Jazz Funeral and Love Lies Bleeding as freebies.. I'm so excited because out of my entire order, Jazz Funeral is my favorite!

 

In the Bottle: Those little red heart candies called red hots, with a very dark floral background.

 

Wet: A little boozy, but not overwhelmingly so. It smells like SWEET booze,

 

Dry: The dirt comes out! The flowers start to blossom.. It's an absolutely beautiful scent!

 

I can understand why this might not work on a lot of people.. but it worked amazingly for me. It's a very fun, different scent. On me it lasted for the whole day, and each time I smelled something a little different.

 

I absolutely LOVE Jazz Funeral. It's very evocative and different, but still lovely and very wearable! I give it a 5/5

[River]

Wet / In Scent Locket: Warm, spiced rum with a little bit of cinnamon and a heady backdrop of flowers.

 

Dry / On Me: Much the same, but the flowers come out to play a bit more - I seem to amp most flowers at least a little bit. I can kind of smell the moss, too, and maybe the dirt.

 

Jazz Funeral was the second scent I ever tried (the first being Siren), and I adore it. It takes almost three hours to fade from the back of my hand (this while I'm working, so it'd probably last longer in a non-work environment), but even so, I was able to enjoy it all day in my scent locket.

[walkingcaviar]

Got this as a frimp with the order I got on Saturday. Yay! I'd been hoping to get this one!

 

In the imp: REALLY sweet -- fruity. Like cherries, or... pomegranate? But dirty, too. It's very nice, but seems like it's going to be the kind of thing I can't stand and my sister loves. (She loves really sweet things like Drink Me & Eat Me, whereas they make me feel a bit sick.)

 

On: Oh, this is so good. It's a cup of lemony tea, outside somewhere farther south where it's so humid on a summer morning and the dirt on the ground smells so sweet. I've been hoping to find a scent that smelled JUST LIKE THIS, but I wasn't expecting Jazz Funeral to be it!

 

DEFINITELY buying bottles of this. I think I love it more than Snake Oil.

[Ceasg]

This scent has some emotional meaning for me, between coming from the Deep South and suffering several losses in my family recently. To sum it up concisely, it is a light and tenebrous scent, like shadows at dusk.

 

In the vial: it gives the impression of being stiflingly floral. It starts out sickly sweet, almost making me throw-up. Probably an apt beginning for a perfume named for the processes of death.

 

On me, wet and dry: The unnamed florals immediately (thankfully) tone down and let the earth, Spanish moss, bourbon, and the barest hint of magnolia and vegetation take the forefront. It actually reminds me of the end of September, when the heat starts to dwindle and there's the faintest chill after the sun goes down.

 

I really wanted to love this scent and I do. It won't be every day, but it will be frequent..especially in the fall.

[mspixieears]

This is very earthy with floral undertones. I don’t exactly know what a jazz funeral is supposed to smell like but something about it reminds me of the tropics or rainforest area. It’s a nice fragrance but not quite to my taste. There’s one perfumey note that is slightly too strong for me. I do think this could be good on a man, it has a very gentlemanly cologne feel to it.

[funkmoppet]

This is nothing at all like I expected.

 

No dirt. No booze. Just cloyingly sweet! What on earth is doing that? Amping magnolia is in there, but there's this sugary, fruity sweet note that's just completely dominating this.

 

It manages to fade on the dry down, and finally I get the spanish moss and a touch of the bourbon. This stage is nice enough, but UGH, the wet phase is really too much for me.

 

Sadly, not for me.

[underline2]

Imp:

Dirt, bourbon and something that makes it slightly foody.

 

Wet:

Spanish moss and dirt. Perhaps a hint of spilled liquor.

 

Dry:

A bit of the magnolia comes out and mingles with the alcohol.

 

After 15 minutes:

Hot and humid Spanish moss, which is nice, but I hope it continues onto the wild drunken revelry soon.

 

Overall:

Alas and alack, the funeral party left without me. Oh well. Off to the swaps.

[porcelina]

smells like bourbon and magnolia. as it dries it is less alcoholic but retains this spicy sweet rumminess with a hint of florals. it's nice!

[aquazoo]

Hmm, it's got something medicinal. maybe that's the bourbon. This seems to be several conflicting scents. Not working for me.

[Dinerdulcinea]

I like it better in the bottle than on me (which happens a fair amount).

 

Magnolia. Earth. Carnation...

 

On my skin turns to kind of white strung-out floral and dirt. Meh.

 

I will keep my imp for every-now-and-then wearing, but trade my bottle for something I like better.

[Gwydion]

Peculiar, but in an interesting way. I like the muddy, mossy scent, which is the strongest when it first goes on. The floral notes are not intrusive. The effect is of being outside somewhere wet and shady. Very nice.

[jolarocknrolla]

Citrusy, green, and the floral par is all magnolia (though overwhelmed by the citrusy part i think). There is a touch of the booze that you get in roadhouse but with less green and bitterness, the floral here makes it sweeter. It's strong and citrusy at first, but gets sweeter and more floral as it dries down. there is also a hint of something that is almost cinnamony-spicy, and i think it's the bay rum

[GoldenRubee]

In the imp this was not very impressive at all-it smells of dirt and florals. I do like Beths dirt blends and my daughter raves about Jazz Funeral, so I decided that you can't judge the imp by the smell alone! I put some on and still really couldn't smell much so added some more and waited for the "miracle" that my daughter told me was coming. OMGosh, I didn't have to wait long! All of a sudden, this cinnamon spiciness started to float up from my arm, mixed with sweet floral. It is perfect for me and not overwhelming at all! It is soft and alluring and perfect for day or evening. A big bottle must have!

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

Oh Yay! My FAVORITE!!! I love this scent. Love, love, love, let me count the ways...

 

In the imp: Bay leaves, spice, moss, rum!

 

On the skin: Oh smoky, spicy, boozy Heaven! I had never tried a scent with tobacco or booze before this one and was a tad apprehensive about it, but this scent made me LOVE the smell of both. Thisi s delectable, delicious, it is evocative of the exact concept of its namesake. This smells exactly like I imagine a Jazz Funeral would!! The tobacco, the booze, the smells of New Orleans, and dare I say, the captured essence of the fragrance of Jazz music itself! I never want to wash my arm, ever!!!! As this mellows, the sweet spice, the smoke, the booziness all amplifies...I can't get enough of this smell. It reminds me of the scent machine Maude creates in the movie Harold and Maude - it is that realistic and true to it's intention! I could wear this anywhere, and will. I can NEVER run out of this now!! It has become vital to my very existence. Thank you, Beth! You are a genius!!!!

 

 

ETA: My father's side of the family are all from New Orleans, and LA in general, and this takes me back there. This scent just feels like - home! <3

Edited October 18, 2007 by TheOneTheyCallLuna

[iceburn]

Jazz Funeral has been and probably always will be my absolute favorite.

 

I never expected to like it. I mean, dirt? booze? on purpose?

 

But HELL YES dirt and booze on purpose! Really though, there is so much more to it than that.

Someone previously mentioned that the scent evoked Savannah as well as New Orleans and I completely agree. Anyone who has ever read or seen the movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" will know what I mean.

 

This is the saddest, most tragic, most dignified and most elegant scent. The burial of someone important with a brass band trailing behind the procession.

 

I love this so much I want to live the way it smells.

[feralstrumpet]

I'm a bit of a BPAL n00b. My friend gave me a bunch of imps that didn't work for her and I've been making my way through the stash one scent at a time, and just recently put in my first order from the lab.

 

Jazz Funeral was intimidatingly real in the vial. It was just like sticking your nose in some mossy, mouldy, newly dug grave, complete with silk flowers clotted in the mud, their artificial perfume almost subsumed by decay. I put off trying to wear it because every time I smelled it I thought of New Orleans before the floods, and how I had once tried to convince my husband to move there-- I was so desperate to leave Los Angeles, and I loved the distended glamour of the place, how it seems rife with Temporary Autonomous Zones and people inventing themselves with humor and verve. When I smell Jazz Funeral this comes back to me in a bittersweet way.

 

Today I actually put it on me. Big mistake. On, the only thing that persisted was the mould and fake flowers. It took me back not to New Orleans but a damp flat where I used to live in West London. I wore it for an hour, until it waned to a hint of Vick's vap-o-rub.

 

I'm beginning to see how this BPAL thing is a bit like a Proustian safari-- even if some turn out not to be wearable in the trad perfume sense, it's a fascinating journey. Body chemistry is strange. I think when I was younger and could wear sharper things, this would have dried down interestingly. But it seems like now things that work on me are warm and round, thick scents-- as my chemistry seems to turn even those brighter.

[Indefatigable]

Um... I opened the vial and suddenly got drowned in syrupy cherries and booze. It's like one of those ads for candy where someone eats the product and then gets splashed with 'flavour' out of nowhere.

 

I could not get past this. I tried putting it on my wrist and I got the same thing, maybe with some spices or wood in the background somewhere, but the boozy notes were just way too intense for me.