Shanghai

[wickedgoddess]

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

Wet - green tea with lemon.

Dry - the same, but fainter. After half an hour I can barely smell this. Pretty, bu much too light for me.

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2

[imaginepageant]

In the vial: The description is right on: this certainly is a crisp, clean scent, and it's most definitely green tea and lemon, and probably honeysuckle but I'm not sure what that smells like so I can't look for it. There's a strong note of greenery lying underneath it all, like dewy grass. This is the scent of a fresh summer morning.

 

Wet: The lemon demands all the attention, completely shutting out everything else.

 

Dry: After a very quick drying, the lemon quiets down and decides to share the spotlight with the other notes once again. The tea makes a dazzling comeback, smelling sweeter and warmer now. There's a definite sweetness to this that is reminding me of Dorian... almost like the faintest vanila, but not at all foody. Is that the honeysuckle?

 

An hour later: Still very much the same. Thank god it didn't become dishsoap!

 

Overall: This is the perfectly bright lemon and tea scent I've been praying to find! And the strange thing is, it's reminiscent of so many other scents: it's like Dorian without the vanilla, like Embalming Fluid but warmer and not at all soapy, like The Dormouse without the flowers. And yet Shanghai is it's very own scent. It's brilliant, I love it!

[Rock Goddess]

I really wanted to like Shanghai. I've tried it 3 times, hoping to get a different result. And everytime, the dominant scent I get is....Lemon Pledge. The lemon is more of a house-cleaner lemon when it meets my freaky chemistry. After while, the green tea and honeysuckle start to come out and the lemon tones down, but by that time, it's almost faded completely. Pity, because I imagine Shanghai would be really lovely, if my skin didn't amp up the lemon.

[carolinachiquita]

Wow - This is another "me" scent - I think that I adore anything with green tea and lemon verbena. It is similar to embalming fluid on me except it is sharper and not as mellow. I wish I had tried this before I made my order on Sunday as I would have bought a bottle - It is a crisp and clean, fresh scent. Loverly

[urraca]

I see why so many people talk about bathing in this scent. The green tea, lemon verbena, and the sweet honeysuckle are all present and are beautifully well balanced. It is a very light but tenavious fragrance on me. It is the perfect scent to wearwhen you want to smell ovely but don't want to offend anyone with your perfume --- a job interview, at the gym, etc. I also think it woul be a great one to wear if you were feeling ill.

[puck_nc]

I love honeysuckle, so I really wanted to try this.

 

Origin: Fortuitous frimp from the Lab.

 

In the Bottle: Hmm...definitely lemon tea. Light and sunny but thin.

 

Wet: Whew! Lemon Pledge!

 

Drydown: The Pledge calms down and it becomes light, lemony tea again. But the honeysuckle never shows its face.

 

Verdict: Into the swap pile.

[angharad]

In the imp, I get a whiff of a very bitter green tea. On my skin, all I can smell is the tea with maybe a hint of lemon. It's very strong on me, and it would be wonderful if I were drinking it...but I was hoping for the honeysuckle to sweeten this up, and it never came.

[Shollin]

First sniff: OH yeah. Tea scents, almost without exception, make me very very happy, and this one is a gorgeous fresh lemony tea.

 

Wearing: Just beautiful. It might be a little crisp for today – better in warmer weather, I think. But still beautiful.

[Ankhet]

In the bottle: Ohgod! Clean, and the tiniest hint of lemon verbana and tea! I hope this smells as yummy on me! (Though my finances don't)

Wet: YES it still smells like the verbana with the tiniest hint of tea!

Drydown: Still on the verbana bandwagon... do be do, Courtney is happy! (except with the fact that it's fading fast)

Conclusion: Keep imp

[Em-]

Citrus tea, with a flash of floral. This is a sophisticatd scent that draws lines and distinctions between the wearer and her surroundings, as opposed to one that draws you in.

 

I like this, but this is definitely a blend for a power suit kind of day for me.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Green tea, with a wedge of lemon floating in it.

Wet on me - More sweetly lemon, but with the tea still in the background.

Dry on me - It faded very quickly leaving just a sense of cleaness, although my mum said I smelled of washing powder. This is the only tea blend that I've tried so far that has worked in anyway shape or form, it's very pretty when it's there I just wish it lasted a little longer.

[BlackDahlia]

Very nice.

I can first smell the tea with a light lemon-y fragrance added.

Very clean, light and uplifting fragrance.

 

I might make up a fragrance for my oldest son with this.

He is now interested in fragrances and this might be just the thing he would like.

The next time I see him I will have to see if he likes the fragrance ~

I think I might make him an after shave for Christmas, maybe.

 

[Musamea]

In the bottle: sweet green tea and lemon

Wet: Like many above, I can't seem to find much difference between this scent and Embalming Fluid. I get the same lemony green-tea scent initially, then it fades back to mostly tea. After putting Embalming Fluid on my other wrist and comparing the two, I'd say Shanghai is like a slightly warmer version of the Embalming Fluid (might be the honeysuckle?)

Dry: This scent disappeared almost immediately. I had to bring my wrist right up to my nose to catch even a whiff of it after ten minutes, and now, about 45 minutes after application, it's all gone. This one's going into the swap pile.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: the lab included this as an extra, and i can't believe i haven't tried it before. it's really light and fresh.

on: lovely. very light, fresh, and crisp. i can smell the green tea, honeysuckle, and lemon verbena, in that order.

1.5 hours later: the honeysuckle and verbena are strongest now. there's just a hint of green tea inthe background. still very yellow and green. this is going to be great for the spring / summer.

2.5 hours later: powdery and light. the notes are very well-blended.

3.5 hours later: almost effervescent. lovely.

overall: while i think i might have to reapply this one during the day, it's really lovely. i'm glad the lab included an imp of it, and i'll definitely be using it on humid days.

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Tea leaf and a fresh lemon wedge.

 

Dry: The barest breath of flowers, over a tea leaf. This is intriguing, but the throw is minimal, it's easy on the nose though, as I like the smell of tea leaves.

[hangingfire]

In the imp: Strong, sweet citrus fruit and honeysuckle.

 

On, wet: Green tea, with a touch of honeysuckle and a gloss of lemon over all.

 

Drydown: A nice balance of the three main notes.

 

A beautifully light, refreshing scent. It's a slightly more tart version of a grapefruit-honeysuckle perfume I use in the summer. I think I might like Shanghai better, though...

Edited December 12, 2005 by hangingfire

[LiberAmoris]

Shanghai was a gift from a lovely forumite who saw it on my wish list...thank you!

 

I'm always so curious about the tea blends because they have a tendency to be spectacularly awful or wonderful on me with very little middle ground. Shanghai has just the right proportions of the floral, herbal and tea notes to do right by my skin chemistry.

 

I get a fresh and refreshing lemon tea taken outside with honeysuckle being carried on the breeze. It's so pretty. This is another blend that just seems right for warmer weather. I think it would also be a great choice in a more conservative workplace.

 

I'm so happy to find another tea blend that stays true on my skin. This might be a bottle purchase eventually.

[Chantarelle]

I have such a hard time with lemony scents -- I love fresh lemon, but they always end up smelling like floor cleaner on me. Shanghai, sadly, was no exception. However it was a more consistent scent, and one with more depth, than most of the others I've tried, so I'll probably give it a chance. I just wish the tea had been more prominent.

[melange]

Imp: soft/sweet.

 

Wet: sweet and mild, blended.

 

Drydown: a hint of lemon cleanser, which the honeysuckle doesn't help.

 

Worn: it blends back up for the most part, though one note will emerge and then another. The honeysuckle clouds the clearer notes of the green tea and lemon verbena on my skin, making the scent soft and nondescriptly floral, good for guest soaps.

 

Conclusion: right now it isn't something I would wear, but after reading the other reviews, I'll definitely save the frimp to try in summertime. In the meantime, I'll have to check out Embalming Fluid.

[PeshaRocha]

In bottle: Light, clean, sparkly

 

On me: Somehow that wonderful lemon verbena (one of my favorite scents) morphs into laundry detergent on me, and not in a pleasant way. I can barely smell the tea, unfortunately, and the honeysuckle is making me sneeze. I was so looking forward to this, as I would love to have a scent that was true tea-and-lemon scented. Wet, this was perfect. Dry, it's a disaster on me.

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: green tea, lemon and floral.

 

Wet: green tea and floral lusciousness with just a subtle hint of lemon

 

Dry: Green tea and floral. The honeysuckle makes this girlier than many green tea blends. Must order a big bottle

[mandragora]

In the vial: Cold, sharp citrus, lemony but sharp. Almost like lime even.

 

Wet on me: Green tea and lemon.

 

Drydown: It sweetens a bit, maybe that's the honeysuckle coming out. But it is beaten down by the lemon.

 

Verdict: Has the same notes and feel like Embalming Liquid but sharper not as sweet. Doesn't have the same Lemon Pledge characteristic though (which is good). But, just like Embalming Liquid, it's just not me.

[Rhowan]

I had a really hard time catching any real smell from this. My skin just soaked it up. What very little I can smell is a very clean, lemon and tea. Very nice! but not strong enough. I would probably use a half of imp just for one application. If this was stronger, I would be buying a bottle of it!

[PurringPulsar]

Shanghai

 

In the imp: green tea-slightly lemony green tea, thanks to the verbena.

Wet on skin: fresh lemony green tea.

Dry on skin: this is very nice-it's a tangy, refreshing, tart green tea with lemon. A very oriental scent, I think, it's like sniffing a cup of fresh green tea in a traditional Chinese tea house-and the honeysuckle is in the background, adding it's gentle, clean floral touch-but it's a very barely there note.

After a while: it still smells like green tea…I think the verbena enhances the lemon-like scent but it's pretty much all green tea now.

It remains pure green tea for the duration of the scent, but doesn't last long on the skin.

Verdict: this is a nice scent-a light, fresh, tangy green tea enhanced by verbena which makes it a little bit more citrus-like in scent. The honeysuckle in this is very subtle but I can just make it out in the tea. This is an uncomplicated blend, a bright and refreshing scent, green and tart. It's a great blend for the warmer months and good for everyday. However, I have many other tea scents I prefer to this, like Spirits of the Dead and Holiday Moon, but I do like it. I may swap it off though.

[theling]

Rating: 7/10

 

In the bottle:

I wore this yesterday in honor of Chinese New Year. It's a very crisp, clean, and bright scent. Perfect for clear thoughts for the new year . I get a lot of the lemon and tea with no hint of honeysuckle.

 

Initial Scent (on skin):

A very watery clean lemon scent with undertone of tea. I still don't get any kind of floral.

 

Staying Power:

This def. does not have a lot of staying power on me, usually fading within an hour or so. When it has dried down a bit and the lemon has settled I can detect a tiny tiny hint of floral but not a lot.