Shanghai

[somacat]

The crisp, clean scent of green tea touched with lemon verbena and honeysuckle.

 

In the imp--the same crisp notes I love i White tea and Sage HG and Kumiho

 

Wet--This is so beautiful. A perfect green tea and lemon. Verbena tends to be too strong on me, and lemon can go cleanser, but this is extremely fresh, bright, and natural smelling.

 

Dry--I wish this was stronger, but after slathering this is a light could of beautiful, gentle, very feminine light honeydew colored waves of scent staying close to the body.

 

This is so friggin' good. Going into the regular rotation and slathering hard. I've noticed that some of my favorite BPALs are extremely light, so I've become more bold in my application recently.

[Veronica]

Clean, fresh tea scent with a hint of lemon verbena floral in the background. A fresh laundry and sunlight kind of clean!

[freyasfae]

Wow, my first honeysuckle that doesn't instantly become a death note! I think that is due to the fact that this scent is largely dominated by the citrus and green tea. When you first apply it, it is all citrus, but the tea comes in very quickly. Unsurprisingly, it fades quite dramatically, but this where the honeysuckle comes in and holds it in - making this a citrus tea scent with a bit more strength and throw than a lot of others I have tried. This scent screams summer!

[roseus]

This is so crisp and refreshing. It's stays the same on me the whole way through: bright citrus-y green tea and a hint of floral. To me this smells EXACTLY like one of my favorite summer perfumes Thé Vert by Roger & Gallet. This will be the perfect replacement once I run out!

[joopjoop]

Well apparently I amp the lab's tea notes - all of the BPALs I've tried so far with any variety of tea listed as a note have quickly become ALL TEA ALL THE TIME on me .

 

That being said, Shanghai is a lovely lemony green tea with just the tiniest touch of honeysuckle, and it is my favorite of the tea notes I've encountered so far in my (barely begun) BPAL journey. It is very refreshing and I think it would be really nice in the summer, although I'm not sure how often I'll reach for it. I like tea as a scent but it is just too dominant on my skin.

 

I may save it and use it in a burner as a room scent, though, it is very uplifting.

[LizziesLuck]

I'll be honest, none of these notes appeal to me, other than the honeysuckle, however I am so enamored of the whole Wanderlust collection that I feel compelled to try them all!

 

 

Wet: Green tea. Which always smells kind of artificial, once it's on my skin - it just doesn't mesh well with my chemistry, unfortunately. Not really picking up on the other notes. Just very sweet green tea.

 

 

Dry: This is REALLY strong, and the throw is really good too. It's almost green tea single note on me, with just a hint of lemon and some sweetness. It's not my type of scent at all, but if you like green tea scents, I imagine this would be perfect! It's very clean, and due to it's strength, throw, and lasting power, I bet it would be amazing on a summer day.

[Kay Torres]

For a really, really long time, I wore Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea Honeysuckle. I didn't particularly like it, but I got a bottle free in one of those promo things. I don't particularly like this either because it smells EXACTLY the same on me. So now I know that if green tea is in the mix, it's going to beat every other note into submission. That's why I never got any other notes in GTH, and why I'm not getting any other notes here. It's just single note green tea. I'd imagine that it would smell beautiful on someone else, because the imp smells like a spring in a bottle.

[Casablanca]

Lemon verbena likes to take over, and is the clear first impression on the wand, alongside a very clean green note of tea and bamboo. The combined notes make me think of lemongrass. The honeysuckle seems subtle to me, not an oozy-honeyed floral smell, but somehow also clean.

 

Shanghai is the same on my skin, just as light and clean with the same balance of notes, though I think when a friend tried it on months ago, it turned right to Lemon Pledge on her. Skin chemistry differences are always fascinating to experience firsthand. I'm a little curious if these differences signify anything else about us. But at the least, they're another way scent is personal.

 

When I first tried Shanghai, I loved its light, beautiful, clean simplicity. I still like it, but it competes with the other green tea choices I now have, and I don't enjoy a standout lemon note as much except in high contrast against something like vetiver or black tea (as in Qandisa and Dorian). For the mood I get from Shanghai, I'd probably sooner turn to Shamisen or On the Porch in the Rain.

 

But I still like it, and so does my skin.

[Soupy Twist]

A light, spicy, delicious lemony tea. Actually hangs around rather than being vaporized! This might be bottle-worthy.

[theora]

This is my go-to scent, the one that's the most "me". Sweet green tea with a hint of lemon. I don't really get honeysuckle as such, I think it's just lending the sweetness. Green, sweet without being cloying, fresh without being soapy. Lasts a while on me and makes me happy the whole time .

[Lucchesa]

Shanghai on me is pleasant but not a standout. For some reason the green tea just disappears on my skin, taking the verbena with it soon thereafter, and I'm just left with the faint sweetness of honeysuckle, which does not last long either. I seem to obliterate this scent within minutes. Shanghai, I have defeated you! So I won't be buying more.

[sarandipitee]

Absolutely stunning when wet - all three notes are perfectly balanced. Dry loses me a little as I think the honeysuckle goes a touch sour.

 

This would be amazing as a hair gloss though. This is so bright and fresh and simple.

 

I do enjoy this but I will pass on the imp as I'm unlikely to reach for it. Would buy this in a heartbeat in HG form though.

[gloame]

Green lemons and tea. It does remind me of another BPAL scent, but I can't think of what it is.

 

Where I'd wear this: Taking tea in the solar, windows open

[Juliamon]

Short & sweet review for this one.

 

This is horribly sour in the imp, but on my skin it's Embalming Fluid 2.0--new and improved, now with less cleaning product smell! Lasts a teeny bit longer too, maybe due to the honeysuckle. A bottle of this may be in my future!

[monocainsheresy]

Dusty green tea leaves, lemon (not cleaning supply lemon, god bless), and sweet floral.

[Aveya]

Sniff: Dryer sheets, distilled in cleaning solution.

Skin: Sort of faint and wispy. Clean, wet, bright. Floral edging.

 

Dry: A very faint scent. For a moment there it blooms up honeysuckle (I assume, a strong floral-honey that I thought would overtake, then quickly tainted down).

 

I've recently been dabbling in "tea" scents, and it's weird to me. It's a scent I struggle to smell - it's just nothing. maybe a little water and herbs? I guess that is tea. But in blends, it comes across to me as a gap in the scent. And I've found "tea" tends to dilute or drown out other notes. I don't think this is an exception. Honeysuckle I'm unfamiliar with, but it had that early billow like it was going to amp then vanished. Lemon verbena is a LOVE note of mine that usually is strong and bold - and here it's... maybe there. Behind the tea adding a little cleaning-ness to it?

Overall vibe is faint, wet, pretty, clean. Slightly floral but more just a clean green must. It's a close-to-skin scent as well, really low throw.

 

Verdict: Gentle, beautiful spring rain on fresh blooming flowers.

[FebruaryOwen]

Received this imp in a swap

In bottle: citrus-y and sweet.

On skin: gentle, almost a hint of vanilla, but not in a bad way (I usually dislike vanilla).  

After a few hours: it's vanished, unfortunately.

I probably won't keep this one, as it seems to not really last on me.  Oh well!

[Rane.]

Received as an imp. Super clean smelling green tea, with lemon verbena, & the lovely honeysuckle as a final impression. A unisex scent I think I would wear during the Summer.

[Poenari]

Received a frimp in my latest order, and when putting it away into my imp stash, I realized that I have never reviewed it!

 

Without looking up the notes, upon application I could smell tea - green tea with a hint of lemon. As soon as it dried down, woah--- super sweet honeysuckle!! After an hour there is no tea present and it's all single note honeysuckle. Nice for a hot summer evening.

[skyturtles]

Shanghai is very clean, almost soapy. I could see it doing well as a shower gel. I've used both honeysuckle and lemon verbena dish soap in the past year, so that me be an influencing factor. This isn't something I would normally pick out for myself, but I received it as a frimp about 7 months ago. I'm normally a huge fan of lemon verbena, but perhaps I'm learning that I prefer it as a standalone. I could see other people choosing this as a Spring or maybe Summer scent. It doesn't last terribly long once on my wrists, in my opinion.

Edited July 20, 2021 by skyturtles

[Something_Diabolical]

This is a summery spa scent like some of the previous reviewers said. Based on the notes I expected it to be weaker and not so long lasting but it stays on really well. The tea is not harsh or bitter, the lemon just adds a little freshness without coming across cleaner-like. I guess the honeysuckle is what's making it sweet and soft. Overall a well blended scent. I don't think I need a bottle at this point but I'll keep my imp. 

[Cali]

Ohhh really nice. Indeed fresh lemony laundry and green tea. In the imp i get all the notes clearly, but on my skin the honeysuckle takes a backseat (usually amps on me, so interesting...) and it gets and even more "clean cotton" feel to it. 

It kinda stays there as it's dried up, it's a little more soapy than at the start. Still very nice!

[crystaltongue]

Shanghai is best described as expensive hotel soap (complementary). The green tea and lemon verbena give a fresh clean loveliness both in the bottle and on the skin. The soapiness is definitely a strong element, but pleasantly so. It isn't going to be what I reach for often, but when I do, it is bound to please.

[ShadowEtienne]

This is far and away predominately green tea on my skin. There are hints of lemon verbena (lemony and a touch mint adjacent) and just bloomed honeysuckle from outside the window, but the cup of freshly brewed green tea is right under my nose.

 

This is exactly what I'm looking for when I need something that smells like home to my brain, it's simple and elegant and just so much delicious green tea (it specifically smells like a pan fried Chinese green tea such as Long Jing Cha / Dragonwell). 

[theseagrows]

i've been wearing BPAL for nearly 20 years and somehow i've never tried shanghai. i recently got this as a frimp from the lab and am so happy i did. this is a gorgeous hot weather scent. the temp went up the last 2 days and it's perfect for trying this one. i mostly get a green tea with a hint of sweetness from honeysuckle. it reminds me of elizabeth arden's green tea perfume. the verbena is there but very soft, not overpowering as it can sometimes be. really pretty, cooling scent with a hint of floral. 

Edited May 9 by theseagrows