Bayou

[Rusalka]

A lazy, warm deep green scent with a thick aquatic undertone: Spanish moss, evergreen and cypress with watery blue-green notes and an eddy of hothouse flowers and swamp blooms.

In the bottle: warm florals, and a hint of something sharper that I can't quite identify. Evergreen? I can't make it out, but it certainly makes for a complex scent.

Wet: That sharp tang is gone; this seems to be one of those scents that my body just devours. The florals, on the other hand, are overwhelming: it's like stepping lethargically into a summer hothouse, surrounded by blooms; my mind pictures magnolias, even though that's not the right scent -- but their petals used to litter the streets I grew up on, come summer, and that's what this feels like: summery and filled with petals.

Drydown: It mutes finally into a very subdued floral, although it doesn't actually lose any of its warmth. The subtlety is exquisite, and lasts for quite some time.

Conclusion: This is summer in a bottle. When I first tried it in January, I actively despised it; it felt too sweet, too cloying, too overwhelming. But now that summer's here in full force, this is the perfect scent for deep-blue-sky days. I could bathe in it, I could fill the house with it, and I'm absolutely buying a 5ml of the lovely stuff.

[quinctia]

Well, Bayou has changed my mind. My skin doesn't eat all BPAL florals, because it AMPED all the ones in this scent.

 

I smelled some flowers in the imp, not much else, but this one smells of really strong floral from the moment I put it on, through drying, and now it's sitting on my wrists, going "OOOOH FLOWERS."

 

I'm really picky about my florals, so this isn't quite to my tastes. If your skin treats it like mine and you love flowers, it'd be great, though!

[elphaba]

Bayou seemed like a hot summer night sort of scent, so I intentionally tried it on just such a lazy night. I was expecting a lazy aquatic with wet moss and the scent of flowers hanging in the air. If you've ever been on Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland, imagine the first, languid part of the boat ride, with the creak of a rocker and the light of fireflies flickering in the air.

 

What I got instead was all flowers, from wet right through to the final drydown.

 

I'm impressed, as always, by the purity of this oil. You definitely get a sense with Bayou that there's no element in this bottle that isn't somehow contributing to the overall feel of the fragrance. No filler, just scent. Heavy, floral scent.

 

I think I might smell jasmine. If not, it's something that has a similar "perfumey" feel on me. The moss never really came out. Neither did anything wet or humid, really. It's actually a very nice floral, though, just not for me.

 

Edited to add: An hour in, I finally smelled a flash of evergreen. Too little, too late. I'm jealous of everyone who got moss from the get-go.

Edited June 23, 2005 by elphaba

[Keristai]

Imp:

strong and somewhat astringent. Someone mentioned evergreen and thats just about the only way i could describe it.

 

Wet:

Think its going on lemon. But its not bitter citrus that i asscociate to lemons or citrus at all. Moss is barely in there so far.

 

Dry Down:

Sweet sweet heady moss. Deffinatly not a candy/sugar sweet (tytytytytytytyty). Rubbing my wrists together does the trick to get the moss to really shine.

 

One half-hour after application:

Floral and moss with a bit of citrus kicker -maybe-. It might just be another aspect of moss. I've never persoanly smelled the stuff.

 

Summery:

Fragrant heat. You step outside on a hot day and your front yard is a cocophony of tropical flowers and it's just rained the night before. That, i think, is bayou.

 

Lastnight i ordered a 5 ml of this. At first when i got my order and i got this as a gifted one (i think). In fact i hated it and wouldn't even try it. Now my imp is gone and i'm mourning its loss. But isn't that hte way it usualy is?

[OdetteOdile]

Bayou

Opens with a sour citrus, like some exotic hybrid fruit. Under that is something heavy and a bit sweaty - I'm just a touch anxious about having it on at work.

Eventually the heavy flowers dominated - notes that smell like jasmine and gardenia to me.

I don't smell dominant aquatic notes - although there is water in it, but it's not overpowering.

A few hours later I had a wonderful, dark, lush, jasmine-dominated scent - sensual and a tiny bit threateneing, like shadows behind hanging vines of heavy, thick-growing blooms.

(For any Buffy fans out there, this would be a great one for Drusilla!)

[sarahj]

Bayou

 

freebie from the Lab...thank you!

 

in vial: sickly sweet floral

 

wet: the super-sweet scent quickly fades to unveil a great combination of unidentified florals (maybe magnolia??) and moss

 

dry: a very balanced, soft, aquatic, mossy floral; lasts about 6 hours

 

verdict: this goes on my big bottle list...thanks to the lab for exposing me to yet another scent I might never have ordered on my own

[sookster]

very florally and green on me....slightly swampy but in a very interesting way

almost like a hot and humid summer evening around a body of water....

quite unique and lovely with my chemistry...will continue sampling my frimp to see if this is a "big bottle" order

[Caltha]

Bayou

 

I feel Bayou as an intense sweetness floating in the air, not a sugary sweetness but rather a sweetness of honey or nectar. It has a sort of soapy undertone that makes my nose itch, (I guess it's the aquatics I can't stand, they sound lovely but Szepazssony did this to me too, and much worse) but not too bad, I still enjoy the sweetness of it. It does remind me a bit of a traditional flowery, sweet, warm and moist "ladies perfume", makes me think of voluptuous middle-aged women, but in quite a nice way. It's tropical, or perhaps not quite tropical but an almost tropical hot and humid climate. As usual, I can't pick out any notes, I feel it as "flowery" rather than actually smell it. I think it resembles the smell of the nectar in tropical flowers though.

 

Edited to add that I don't get the soapiness anymore (seems I can suddenly carry off aquatics) and that Bayou has really grown on me. I love the cloud of warm sweetness it gives off, it's sort of a secound skin-scent on me. I reread the description and I'm surprised all of the green and woody notes in it turn into something so honey-sweet and flowery. It's definitely humid though, hothouse or rainforest flowers.

Edited September 6, 2005 by Caltha

[Essay 28]

In the bottle: clean herbal scent, with a hint of evergreen.

 

On skin initially: The evergreen amps up and nearly knocks me off my feet. I'm really hoping this fades, because I'm feeling like I'm lost in a Christmas tree farm at the moment.

 

After an hour: Finally, the evergreen tapers off, allowing a darker earthy note to surface (the moss?) and a very herbal floral. Interesting, but not something I'd want to wear regularly. Swap pile for this one.

[dcmo]

Green aquatic florals, reminds me a little of New Orleans. Strong and good lasting power. Nice but not a favorite

[gingersnapp]

I had tried this quite some time ago, but didn't see that I had made a proper review in here, so here goes.

 

This starts out light and aquatic, with a great green floral smell. But it got heavier and heavier as the day wore on and gave me a serious headache with the sweetness and thickness of the flowers.

[oceandreamer001]

I got this scent with a bunch of imps, and gravitated towards it immediately.

 

First impression: Very aquatic, definitely blue.

 

Second impression: Quieting down, becoming mossy, and masculine.

 

Final impression: I smell the cypress and a little soap.

 

This is a keeper for me. It smells masculine on me, but I like that. I never got any flowers from it, which is okay, because I'm not huge on floral scents. This is great.

[Sea Opal]

In the bottle: Heavy florals, with a tang of citrus.

 

On me: At first it starts out very floral with a musty undernote, but soon the floral dies down and mixes with the green and water notes. It is a perfect balance of floral and green, each one playing off the other to make a rich, captivating sent.

 

It is very strong, so only a dab will do ya. I am very happy to find a green scent that does not turn into Irish Spring on me.

 

I am so going to get a big bottle of this. I truly love it.

[Mythos]

This was sent to me in a package of imps from the lovely Elphaba. Many thanks, m'lady!

 

Just a note. Both the skin review (Skin Flick? ) and the paper review, in the case of Bayou, were exactly the same. Saves me writing this twice.

 

***

 

I will normally post two different reviews. One for the scent, which I will put on a bit of paper towel so that no personal chemistry gets in the way of the scent. The other review will be on me.

 

Skin Flick

The Wearing Review

 

Paper Chase

The Paper Review

 

In the Imp;

Intensely floral. Very strong, almost overpowering. There's a slight cloying sweetness immediately underneath the floral, but it could be easily overlooked.

 

Immediately on the skin - wet;

There's an astringency that comes out. Still very strong floral. Jasmine? Gardenia? Something southern. The smell doesn't come to me though. The flowers wrap around my head. The immersion of being on a swing at sunset, flowers growing in the trellises above and around you.

 

Immediately on the skin - dry;

The astringency goes away. Still strong floral, but there's something underneath. Strong, dark and deep, but hidden. Like the gator that just pokes his eyes out at the unsuspecting egret.

 

1/2 an hour dry;

Still floral. Still strong. Not much change, though the gator's come a tad bit closer. The florals have taken on a hint of sweetness that I think is nice.

 

1 hour dry;

Florals still there? Yup. Very steady. It's certainly an all-night scent and even after a good hand washing, the scent comes through nice and clear.

 

2 hours dry;

As the two hours comes nigh, the florals finally fade and the moss and cypress begin to come out. Fireflies that begin to sparkle in the night, the stars brought to Earth, listening to the crickets below them.

 

Thoughts;

My first thoughts were that it was way too floral, but the undercurrent was what kept me sniffing. As the florals faded, which took quite a long time, I enjoyed the deep running notes of moss and cypress. The evergreen was hinted at, but not really made public. I think the florals masked it a tad too much. On me, the florals faded a tad quicker than on the paper. That is to be expected, but the moss and cypress did not come out any quicker because of it. I enjoyed the longevity and the strength of the scent, even if florals are not my 'thing'. I would, however, most certainly recommend this for women, for the lightness of the florals that blend downward to a heady wrap of flowers. Though not immediately, the word that eventually comes to mind is 'sensual'.

 

Final count is that it's not for me, but I wouldn't object to having it on my lady friends.

[TrinitySydney]

Well, this isn't one I would've ordered on my own. I normally despise the floral aquatics---they smell like every actor/rockstar perfume that's come out lately. Nothing special and flimsy. I normally go for spicy, woodsy, headshop or heavy floral. But this was a freebie imp from one of my friends and, loving it so much, I've now acquired a bottle.

 

What's funny is that with this one I cannot pick out individual notes at all. I can definitely tell there are florals and aquatics, but that's it. And the smell is amazing! A little sweet, a lot heavy. Very strong, you'd only need a bit. Somehow this scent relaxes me. It's also fabulous on a hot, humid day to put a drop on your hands and run it through your hair....mmmm...fabulous whiffs all day.

 

Bottom line, I'm very pleased and when this bottle is gone, I'll be getting more.

[imaginepageant]

In the vial: It's very, very wet... wildflowers floating on still water. It's tangy but also the slightest bit sweet. I have no idea what Spanish moss or cypress smell like, but I'm definitely—thankfully—not getting any evergreen in this.

 

Wet: The pure wetness fades a bit as the scent becomes musty on my skin. I'm picking out a bit of rose, which is already smelling soapy, so I hope that doesn't last.

 

Dry: Strangely, it smells even more soapy now, but not in a rose way. It's small shell-shaped floral soaps that you find in porcelain bowls in a fancy guest bathroom. It also reminds me strongly of shampoo, though I can't think of which brand. The must has pretty much gone away and the freshness is back, though it's nowhere near that watery scent it was in the imp.

 

An hour later: Where did it go? It's very faint now, but from what I can smell, still running along the same line.

 

Overall: It's nice. I'll keep this in my stash unless someone desperately wants to buy or swap for it.

[Kittyflop]

Strong, cool, murky floral. Blue-green floral. The throw is strong, and it has good staying power - a little goes a long way.

 

This might be an acceptable replacement when my beloved Dunwich runs out!

[Monster]

I just can't to aquatic scents ><

 

Out of the bottle this one smells like a nursing home to me. It's an elderly smelling perfume mixed with dirty hospital sheets.

 

On my skin, this actually softens up and get a little more pleasant. It's very heavy with flowers and has the same plasticy smell some BPAL florals have. I just can't do many florals :/ The aquatic note turns musky on my skin, which is good, I really love musk.

However, this scent just isn't for me.

Off to swaps, I'm sure it'll find a better home.

[slugbait]

An imp from Essay 28. Thank you!

 

In the imp this smells herbal and sharp. On my skin it starts out very green, but as it dries, it turns floral. Very aggresive white floral. It gives me the feeling of humidity on a hot summer night. Dry, this takes on a douche fragrance, and it smells too strong on me. I don't think I will wear this.

[Nachtwulf]

Bottle: I dunno about any of those other notes in here; What I smell is jasmine, honeysuckle, wisteria, and magnolias. It's a summer evening on the bayou, all right, minus the reek of bog water.

 

Wet: All of the florals mingle together into what seems like one sweet note with an aquatic underpinning. This isn't a super-'clean' scent like Water of Notre Dame, this is crushed flowers floating on the surface of a spring. It's also got a shadow of 'watermelon', though that might be my imagination and hopeful wishing.

 

Dry: Still clean, sweet, lightweight. Still aquatic. It becomes /more/ aquatic, as it dries, though the florals are still a big part of the scent.

 

Final: MUST HAVE BOTTLE. MUST HAVE BOTTLE. I could /bathe/ in this. Seriously, if there was a soap with this in it, I would buy it. I'm not even a floral fan, and I love this. Not a hint of soap or powder, sweet and clear and pretty from start to finish. I need to get a 10ml and dump it into one of my nice new roller bottles.

[Medici]

Bayou is and has been one of my ranking favourites since the start of the summer, so I am a little biased when it comes to this scent.

 

(I'm actually a little surprised... didn't I review this? Well, guess not. Anyway - on with the show)

 

If you've ever been on a swamp tour in New Orleans, this isn't exactly spot-on realism since you don't get the pure dirtiness of swamp water. You do, however, get a very strong aquatic base laced with overhanging Spanish moss, balanced by a watery cypress and the nice, sweet little white flowers that peek out from the shadowy depths of the swamp.

 

Is it atmospheric? Oh yes. Watered-down woods with just a bit of floral to lighten the "mood".

 

I particularly love breaking out Bayou on the rainy days, while it's predominantly green and blue, it still gives a bit of perk when it's wet outside.

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Wet, airy jasmine and flowers, with a gorgeous green but not herbal background. It reminds me a lot of Moon Rose.

 

Dry: Oooh!!! As it dries a whiff of smoke and dark plantlife comes out. The flowers are background but still very much there. The drier it gets the smokier, and it starts getting to be a very heavy scent. This is a heady floral background with a really great smell of smoky, sun heated wood, and a watery background. (There's those dryer sheets! Will I never get that comparison out of my head?)

 

This definitely smells like being outdoors somewhere hot and languid. An emotion distilled into a scent.

[cupide430]

Bayou

 

Heavy, wet grapefruit. This definitely has a hot and humid feel. It smells most strongly of grapefruit rind with a touch of floral. This seems quite potent. As it dries the floral gets stronger and the bitter grapefruit begins to fade out. There's still a bit of an off note to the floral that reminds me of some of the rose blends that don't work on me. Now the strange rose note is gone and it is all ozone-y lily. This seems to be Danube's deeper darker sister.

I don't think I could wear this regularly, but it was nice to try.

Edited September 20, 2005 by cupide430

[Ajila]

In the bottle - lush wet flowers.

Wet on me - much the same but sweeter and with something harsh in the background

Dry on me - it's very green and dry, herbal almost, but always with that slightly rotting wet bloom scent in the background. Definitely more my mother than me.

[Scarlettfish]

I adore this. On me, this is lush, wet and steamy - a humid scent. I can smell flowers and possibly grapefruit, as there is definitely an aquaticness to this scent. I can't pick out any individual flowers, it is blended so well, but there is definitely a mossy smell to it. It smells exactly how I imagine a bayou would smell. I can't stop sniffing my wrist, this is just gorgeous. Definitely a big bottle purchase.