Bayou

[Faerykin]

Bayou

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.

 

Swiped across wrists and along collarbone … and a little in the cleavage.

 

Initial Wet (8-8:30am): I am surrounded by the scent of a garden in full bloom. The sun warming the blossoms after a quick bout of rain. Very sweet … very warm.

 

Initial Dry (8:30-10am): This doesn’t really change much from initial wet to initial dry. It is still a warm, sweet floral – mayhaps a bit more subdued.

 

Throughout the Day (10am-4pm): Warm, lazy, humid, sweet, blue-green aquatic, yeah – this is it. Definitely a summer scent. I’m not familiar with the swamps of the South – but from all I can gather from movies and books; this is what it smells like. I Love It!

 

I feel a slight headache forming at the back of my head. I hope Bayou isn’t the culprit, as I love the calming, serene affect it has on me.

 

This slowly weakened throughout the afternoon and almost turned a bit powdery. By 4pm, I catch faint whiffs of it now and then. It has lost its water undertone, so all that is left is sweet flowers. Definitely keeping the imp!

[Astarte]

This is initially on me very heavey soapy, to describe this scent in colours it would be green/brown. Very sharp at first but settles into a little sweeter and more distinct flowery accord.

 

This is exactly as I imagined this one but it is not compatable with my body chemistry unfortunately.

[miss apple]

Bayou, in the vial, is very green in a lush jungle plant kind of way. It put me off a bit at first because it was so green.

 

After drydown, the green plant smell is a bit more subdued and a creamy floral note becomes more noticable. This does smell like hothouse flowers, humid and tropical. My nose also detects something faint and lemony but it's very subtle. THis is an interesting blend, much more complex than I thought it would be. I may decide on a bigger bottle in the future.

[Ina Garten Davita]

This was a generous toss-in from the Lab lovelies.

 

First Impression: Bayou is green, most assuredly.

 

Second Impression: Green, damp, mossy, watery...the description suits the fragrance full on.

 

Final Analysis: The long drydown reminds me of the original Clairol Herbal Essences shampoo of old, which surprises and delights me. It's not a "me" scent, but I might just give this one another go.

[Splendid Molerat]

I want more of this.

 

On me Bayou was luscious, green and watery. There's a good balance between the moss, woods and florals, that kept the fragrance from going too sweet or too dark.

 

The image I get is of milky sunlight through green and black trees, flies and pollen barely moving in the half-light, and still murky water. There are alligators somewhere, but you're too spent to care.

 

I ran a few drops through my hair, and got the occasional wave of heat throughout the day.

[malanna]

At first, there was something to Bayou that I didn't really like. Ginger, perhaps? That component mellows out and the green comes through. It's not that woodsy, nor is it astringent green. It makes me think, not of a bayou, but of a part of a forest that is by a small marsh. It's pleasant, but, for me, there was nothing to it that really made it stand out. I expected more oomph, but then again, it's hard to be very oomph-y if it's suppose to be a watery smell. After several hours, it gets a bit of a soapy quality.

[tempete]

Bayou ends up being a very watery floral on me. While I don't dislike it, there's unfortunately not much for me to love. I couldn't detect the Spanish moss, evergreen or cypress notes, which is a shame because I think that they would've added some backbone to the fragrance.

[cannibella]

Bayou fits the scent description EXACTLY, in the best way possible! I couldn't stop sniffing my wrists, I felt beautiful and elegant wearing it and it lasts! The only thing that wasn't so nice about bayou was that on the 2 hour drive back to my boyfriend's house, it made him sneeze. A lot. I guess he'll just have to live with it!

[Penance]

I had to try this because, I'll admit it, I'm obsessed with Louisiana and New Orleans in particular. I tend to be a little fanatical about things...

 

First sniff:

 

This is really interesting. It's aquatic and mossy and floral all at the same time. I smell salty water and moss mostly, but there's some flowers hiding behind the greens and water. This is quite nice, although I expected it to smell more like moss and, say, cypress or some such thing. I can tell right now that this is going to be one of those scents that I love and most people are going to either hate or dislike. I tend to pick scents like that.

 

Wet on skin:

 

The flowers have died down and been replaced by mossy water again. It's a nice scent, very peaceful, I can almost hear the bullfrogs. The flowers aren't a big loss in my book since I'm not a floral person. This actually reminds me of Machu Picchu only less tropical. I like it.

 

Dry down:

 

The flowers have made a reappearance, but they're not intrusive and they aren't making my head hurt, which is a very good thing. Other than the flowers' unexpected reappearance, this is a very linear scent on me and one that I find very soothing. I can see myself wearing this in the summer when I'm cursing the midwest and aching to be down south. I love it.

 

The bottom line:

 

A great summer scent. Not too floral, not too aquatic and not too "swampy" (that's mainly for other people's benefits, since I like swampy.

[Ishtar]

Do you remember this really fun thread we had a while ago where everyone described what would be the absolute worst note combination on them? What I described back then as "Ishtarbane" was dangerously close to Bayou: green, aquatic notes, cypress, moss... only the lotus is missing.

 

Well, the next order I got had Bayou as a freebie. And it was a freebie with a mission: to teach me that I should never say never

Turned out that Bayou was actually quite nice, much better than I would have expected! It is a little too green for my taste, but I actually liked the initial aquatic stage. It is only after drydown, when the cypress and moss come through, that it doesn't quite work for me. It is nevertheless a very nice and evocative blend.

 

I have learnt my lesson but now I am wondering if I should not try ALL the oils in the BPAL catalogue, just in case...

Edited November 8, 2004 by Ishtar

[surf-tormented]

Nice floral that smells great on. Very fresh and sultry. I like the undertones of moss and evergreen, though they fade away too quickly. Smells like night flowers by a watersource after a rain. Or maybe that is humidity.

 

As it progresses it does smell a lot like AIRS' White Lace, which I already have a couple bottles of. But if I didn't have those, I would consider this one...maybe as a sub once my other bottles are gone because AIRS doesn't make White Lace anymore.

 

Good show!

Edited November 13, 2004 by Madame Nyx

[ismene]

Bayou is very strong, with a heady sweetness that's like standing next to a honeysuckle bush or a bowl of jasmine blooms on a hot day. I can only pick up a hint of moss and other greenness. It doesn't really smell like the bayou to me; there's just not that sense of murkiness and mud there. It's more like sitting on the porch of a plantation that was carved out of the middle of the swamp.

 

It's very pretty (and I'm not much for florals), but gets overwhelming after a while and gives me a bit of a headache. Going into the swap pile.

[evil_laugher]

I can't add anything new besides I LOVE IT.

 

Edit much later: This is the sexiest of the sexy. And by that I mean I like it. Fresh, wet, swampy florals that bring the outdoors in.

Edited June 3, 2005 by evil_laugher

[orangepoppy]

From the vial: Sweet aquatic floral with a tiny bit of spice underneath.

 

Wet on skin (wrists and dec.): A dash soapy for about a nanosecond, then.....oh yes, this is misty and languid, like a real bayou. I can smell gardenia or maybe honeysuckle. I can almost hear bees buzzing. Early spring down in Louisiana, very nice blend this is. Reminds me of the porch at Twelve Oaks.

 

Bayou is drying down now and whatever lent it the spiciness is now fading but not completely. Oh my and the cypress is there in the background. Something in this blend makes me want to "almost salivate" ~ odd. I love the freshness in this and the woody notes keep it all balanced and grounded. This is incredibly comforting to me. I hope this lasts on me, because if it does, a big bottle may be forthcoming. Will update!

 

Almost Final Thoughts: Bayou is an aquatic, langorous green floral with cypress and moss dancing in the background as if on a faint sonorous breeze. Just beautiful. Luscious. Smells very expensive and southern and la-tee-dah. This is going in my top ten list even if it doesn't last.

 

Edited November 26, 2004 by orangepoppy

[magikfanfic]

In the bottle: Moss and water. A very Louisana scent with the humidity in the air and the green dragonflys buzzing around your head while you fish at the edge of the Mississippi River. Slight hint of a floral, perhaps honeysuckle in there as well. Whatever it is provides a nice sweet edge to the moss and water scents.

 

Wet: Honeysuckle in the middle of the night. Very strong with the moss providing a base under it. And another floral as well, something stronger...maybe magnolia. It reminds me of playing hide and go seek on a night in December when it still wasn't cold enough for me to have to wear a jacket.

 

Dry down: I think the moss starts to take over as it dries down. I seem to have an aversion to either the moss or the other florals in this as once it dries down it smells less appealing.

 

Dry: Moss scented soap with that slight bite of the other floral that I don't like quite as much as the honeysuckle. It doesn't smell bad. It just isn't what I want to smell like. also the water smell seems to become stronger. I'm not terribly allergic to it the way I ended up being with Dublin, I just don't really care for it. I'm thinking that the water/moss scents will smell good on the boy, though, and so I'm hoping that he likes it.

[Ice]

Bayou sounded interesting, but I don't think it's for me. It goes on strong, with a smell that immediately made me think "swamp". It's hard to describe, but it's sort of a cloying semi-sweet, semi-bitter vegetation and stagnant water smell. I gave it about a half hour to calm down, but it stayed strong on me. Eventually I wiped it off; it doesn't agree with my nose so much.

 

Maybe if I'd left it on longer the flowers would have bloomed and the swampy smell would have left, but I didn't want to keep it on that long. I *am* impressed that it smells like I'd imagine a bayou to smell, and I'm glad to read from other reviews that other people have better luck with it.

[shelldoo]

Hmmmm the first notes taht hit me are some kind of spice, reminds me a bit of spanish rice. but as it dried it went very very heavy florals possibly strong orchid? or something similar. It has a definite aquatic undertone and that is a lethal combo w/ my skin- florals & aquatics sso do not wotk on me. *sigh* off to swaps

[lunalight7]

First of all, thanx to the Lab for sending this as a freebie!

 

I LOVE Bayou....Beth's description captures it perfectly...very aquatic...that's the word that keeps coming to mind....I have on three other scents and this is the only one that throws itself up at me, forcing me to enjoy it. I like strong scents so Bayou is great for me. I can imagine that this would also smell nice and clean on a man. It is definitely a blue-green and even white scent....white frothy foam on the edges of waves on a beach....brilliant....I can't wait to try this as a room scent too! It reminds me of this potpourri that I love.

 

Thanx again Lab!

[VelvetSky]

I'm usually really into green, murky, herbal scents and that's actually how I'd describe Bayou, but there is something in this blend that my chemistry wants to reject when I first apply it. The topnote has an almost sour quality on my skin and I really don't want to smell it on myself until it has a chance to warm up. I think it's the pine. Damn my sinuses, I just know that's the culprit.

 

The drydown is wonderful; sweet, powdery yet aquatic at the same time. The moss and cypress blend perfectly with the floral notes.

 

I think I'm really going to enjoy wearing this in the summer!

[Falathwen]

This was a gift imp from the lab. I actually like humidity and spent a little time in the Louisiana, so I was very curious about this one.

When wet, this was intensely floral (possibly including gardenia) with a hint of aquatic notes and mossy greeness. The moss in this was especially lovely and lasted throughout the drydown. Overall, this blend was very strong, complex, and heavy on me. I did not pick up any of the woods notes which I think would given me the hint of brown I was craving in a swamp blend.

As good fortune would have it, I tried this on for the first time in the company of a friend. She loved the concept of Bayou and enjoyed the scent as well because she loves mossy notes, so I gave it to her.

[allelujiah]

This scent is much nicer than I expected. I was thinking it would be herby and smell green on me. It doesn't at all.

 

This was a very strong smell at first, I usually have to slather on the oils to smell them on my skin for very long, but this one is still very strong six hours after application (even though it has calmed down a bit).

 

It smells to me like very strong Southern flowers. I can't identify exactly which flowers, but to me it smells like hibiscus and a blend of others (maybe some sort of orchid in there). This perfume is very grown up, but I think I might end up falling in love with it. The aquatic note is there as well. The salty wetness is subtle under all those dripping blooms, but it is there.

 

This perfume doesn't back down. I usually like my floral perfumes to be delicate, and this one isn't at all, but I haven't found it cloying (as I'm wont to do). It reminds me of being outside at night.

 

I'm not sure if I would get a 5mL of this only because there are so many great scents to try and I'm not yet in love. I would wear it again, especially to a dinner party or a night at the theater or some such.

[diabolique]

this is one of the few aquatics that doesn't hurt my stomach. i was surprised to find that the oil wasn't a murky color, because it smells SO green. i rather like this one, though; it isn't an herbal, grassy green. i didn't get anything particularly dark and murky like a real bayou, it actually smells very light and fresh to me. if i were to have to choose a favorite aquatic blend, which is difficult for me to do, as i hate them, it would be bayou.

[inbigtrouble]

This is a really strong, green floral on me. I can definitely smell the moss and aquatic tones, but more than that, there is a sharp, floral overtone. A coolness is there in the background, but it is a heavy floral on me.

 

A little bit of this one lasts quite a long time on me. This is nice, but it may be a bit too overpowering for me to wear very often.

[klowey]

In the vial it was watery and sharp.

 

On drydown it was a lovely aquatic floral.

 

Unfortunately, when it's wet or when it's gotten onto my scarf and clothing, it's a very, very sharp floral which somehow reminds me of insect repellant. Which ties in nicely with the idea of a bayou, but not necessarily how I want to smell.

[JazzieCazzie]

Received as a frimp, I know I tried this awhile back and swapped it away but had not reviewd it at the time so I couldn't recall exactly what my reaction was ...

 

In the bottle, it's a lovely floral with the hothouse flowers predominant, but it has just enough of that hint of evil aquatic to make me hesitant and sparing in my application ... just a dab on each wrist.

 

WET: The first hit, again, is yummy floral ... but within a few minutes it becomes more and more perfumey on me until, after about 15 minutes, I feel like I've been chased down by one of those overly-madeup women at the department store counters who want to spray you with cheap perfume.

 

I washed it off so I can't report on drydown except to say that traces of Bayou mixed with anti-bacterial soap is still too perfumey for my tastes ...