New Orleans

[magdalene]

Reminiscent of hothouse blooms on a humid night, ripe, but touched with decay. Sweet honeysuckle and jasmine with a hint of lemon and spice.

in the bottle: this is the first scent I've ever had that said it smelled like honeysuckle and *actually* smelled like it!

wet on skin: honeysuckles and spice, with a slight hint of jasmine for an added sweetness. A few years ago, I travelled to New Orleans with some friends. And we went on a sojurn to the West Gate museum. It was the dead of August and the worst heat I've ever felt, but I passed by a blooming vine of honeysuckle and it instantly made me forget how uncomfortable I was. This is the scent of that very moment. Standing on a street corner, nicking flowers out of someone's garden and sucking the nectar out of them.

dry: not much throw, but it dries down into a very happy blend of the honeysuckle and jasmine.

[oceangirl]

In the imp: Quite floral. Strong, but not overpowering.

 

Wet: Honeysuckle is everywhere. I feel like I'm standing in the middle of a explosion of honeysuckle vines right after a rain. Not much else is coming out.

 

Dry: It dried into a softer floral, but still mostly honeysuckle. A soft soapyness came out, but it's not unpleasant. It reminds me of a very posh perfume store in New Orleans, actually.

 

If you like floral scents, this one is for you. I like it, but I don't love it. The SO says it's too strong for him, so this one will go into swap/sell.

[imaginepageant]

In the vial: Exactly what the description says: decayed flowers with lemon and spice. It's musty but humind all at once. I've never been to New Orleans, but through all the prose I've read describing it, I could easily imagine this is what the air smells like in the Garden District on a warm spring morning.

 

Wet: It immediately warms up and sweetens on my skin, which makes it smell even better. The floral comes out with a vengeance for a brief flash before laying back down. This dries extremely fast...

 

Dry: Everything is so subtle, it's hard to pick out certain notes! The flowers, lemon, and spice are perfectly balanced, creating a single smell instead of a mixture. It's gorgeous and feminine, not something I would have expected to like, but I do.

 

An hour later: If this smelled like morning at first, it's now deepend into afternoon. Very warm, dry, and musty, and it reminds me a lot of the heat of the sun in the middle of summer.

 

Overall: Gorgeous, and definitely a keeper! Possibly even a bottle someday!

[spark]

The search for a wearable jasmine continues...

 

New Orleans goes on and stays on as a heavy, heavy jasmine. (Jasmine tends to do this on my skin.) There is a touch of "decay" underneath it, so as best as I can tell with my chemisty, this is very well done. Sadly, though, my chemistry ruins it.

[Scarlettfish]

I found wearing this quite affecting at this time.

 

I absolutely love this scent. Jasmine is one of my very favourite notes, and this is just a gorgeous jasmine. The honeysuckle gives it a beautiful lushness, whilst the lemon and spices give it a bit of a spicy kick. It is very evocative of the city. It has good throw and has lasted well over 12 hours for me. I love this, and will definitely get a bottle.

[blueroses]

I ordered this imp for my sister and received it on August 29. Timely.

 

This is all jasmine on me at first, and something musty, in a good way. It reminds me of a soap I once used, not a generic soap smell, but a specific, luxury soap that I can't remember the name of. After about half an hour I get honeysuckle.

 

It's very pretty, but in the end too . . . sophisticated for me, I guess. I get the image of an aging Southern belle, which is so not me.

[rainyseason]

I wanted to love this one. I love honeysuckle, or at least I thought I did but no blends with honeysuckle from the lab have worked for me. I think I'm finding out that I'm much less of a floral person than I once believed.

 

This one went into the sale/swap pile and I hope someone else will fully appreciate it.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Jasmine & lemon are strongest, but there is definitely something murky there as well.

 

After 30 minutes: Ooh, the florals have dampened and the lemon is gone. It's a dark musty, damp flroal blend with some spice. I'm not too fond of florals, but I really like this.

 

After 60 minutes: The lemon and spice are more prevailant, and I get whiffs of jasmine here & there. It's a cross between a floral and a swampy scent, one I'm definitely keeping.

[QueenFae]

Unfortunately, instead of being just touched with decay, New Orleans turns a little rotten on me. I can smell the loveliness of the honeysuckle trying to come through, but it just can't get past the icky earthen type smell. The spices are also trying to help, but they are just not strong enough to overpower the evil. I'll find my imp a better home.

[Pixelpixie]

I'm in love with this. I normally avoid florals because I think they're too feminine for me but this is beautiful.

 

In the bottle I could just smell the jasmine, but when I put it on I got mostly honesuckle. It's a heavey, humid scent. It reminds me of hot summers days when I was younger. I could swear I also smealt frangipani in here, even though I know it's not there, which just added to the heavy tropical feel of it for me.

 

The only problem was that the 'decay' element was so subdued that I could only ever get hints of it after dry down.

 

It's still a beautifly scent though. I think I'm going to invest in a bottle of this one.

Edited September 23, 2005 by Pixelpixie

[LiberAmoris]

New Orleans is such a sultry blend, I only have one imp that I occasionally dip into, and that's probably all I'll ever need. But there is something gorgeously decadent about it that requires that when I wear it, I go out. For some reason, I never want to just wear this around the house.

 

On me it's honeysuckle, the smell of a lemon tree, and the smell of the Gulf.

[PixieSkull]

In the imp: Humid, lemon, honeysuckle

Wet: Humid floral scent throws really well already!

Dry: Soft florals mingle together like a lemon-based mixed drink

Overall: All I get is Honeysuckle and jasmine. While this is lovely, it's not something I would wear... I think I may be allergic to jasmine but it's allergy season so I'm not sure if it's that or not. Probably not going to keep it.

[~AmusedMuse~]

My Impression:

This is lovely jasmine & Honeysuckle. Truely this is awesome. I don't get the slight decay note as described. (Not complaining) To me this is almost over the top.

My scale of 1-5.... 5

[Monster]

Gah! White flowers and jasmine *hiss*

Jasmine smells like plastic to me and most white flowers smell like diapers or scented maxi pads.

 

I'm having bad luck with florals lately.

 

This one is definilty not me.

[tinyvulture]

Sweet honeysuckle, slightly soapy jasmine, and a little spice. I gotta say -- the lab’s jasmine makes me like jasmine more and more. I used to hate it, so that’s saying a lot. I was worried about the lemon since my skin doesn't like citrus, but I can’t even detect it. I don’t smell anything that makes me think of decay – just a lush flower garden on a humid summer evening.

[Fleurdelys]

I really really really wanted to like this scent, and make it a staple. I love honeysuckle. Alas, it was not meant to be.

 

In the bottle: Mmmm honeysuckle and lemon.

 

Wet: Whoa, honeysuckle...if it had stayed like this, I'd have been very happy.

 

Drydown: The honeysuckle faded, I got a bit of the lemon, and then bang..there's this cold undertone of ...licorice? I know it sounds weird, but maybe anise is one of the spices mentioned in the description. All I know is that anise and I are mortal enemies. This stage killed it for me.

The anise fades a bit after an hour, but I can still smell it. Even the slightest whiff just makes me cringe. I was hoping for a round, warm, smooth frangrance like Black Dahlia, and instead, I get licorice. ::whimper::

 

Definitely more C'est la vie, instead of Lassiaz les bons temps roulez!

Off to the swaps.

Edited November 4, 2005 by Fleurdelys

[harmonyfb]

In the bottle: Honeysuckle.

 

Wet: Honeysuckle!

 

Dry: Yet more...honeysuckle.

 

And in conclusion: Honeysuckle. Off to swap.

[bodegaselkie]

New Orleans was thrown in with my order (which included an imp of Jazz Funeral). I was surprised I hadn't thought to try it before.

 

I liked the scent of New Orleans at first, though I didn't get any of the decay/spice. On me it was all honeysuckle and jasmine. At first I liked it a lot, and it reminded me a lot of Has No Hanna, but after several hours it had turned sharper and was making my head ache. Nice, but not as nice as HNH on me.

[SeaMonkey]

this is all jasmine and honeysuckle. I didn't get any of the decay or spices. Its very similar to Eos in the way the honeysuckle and the jasmine blend. I think I would have enjoyed this more if the honeysuckle was stronger and I got more of the spices and decay. I went ahead and swapped this one.

[BlackDahlia]

So far, tonight, out of four new Imps ~ I am 3 for 3 in loving them...

 

I enjoy the scent of Jasmine and Honeysuckle.

I don't pick up a spice scent or the scent of decay... *chuckles*

This smells quite like the after-effects of having had a LUSH bath with the Youki-Hi bath bomb. The lovely scent of Jasmine in bloom with humidity hanging in the air.

 

Absolutely lovely.

This would be wonderful in a lotion.

I think I will be making some up with this imp.

 

ADDED Dec. 30:

 

In the Imp ~ Jasmine and Honeysuckle... and a lot of it.

 

Wet ~ Florals still with humidity added... this is a very heavy, lush fragrance.

 

On the drydown ~ I could swear I smell moss mixed with the night-blooming flowers. This fragrance is very "southern" to me. I love it!!

 

6 hours after application the scent was still going strong ~ and this fragrance also has a fairly decent throw.

 

I adore Jasmine ~ this is a loverly blend.

[niter]

Imp

Ew. I am hesitant to put this on it smells like masking BO with flowers. It is very humid.

 

Wet

I dunno about this one. I keep sniffing it and disliking it. But I keep sniffing it like you keep checking yourself when you think you stink.

 

Then that tingle on my skin started up...my skin is rejecting this imp and it is starting to set on fire. Time to wash it off.

 

The funny part is that it really was a good humid, summer scent. I am just not a humid person!

[PurringPulsar]

New Orleans

 

In the imp: lightly spiced lemon and light flowers.

Wet on skin: mmm, I love the spicy lemon vibe this has, with jasmine adding it’s characteristic floral sweetness.

Dry: this is lovely! Gorgeous nocturnal blooms, spices and lemon. This does evoke the feel and fragrance of a warm summer night, when the scent of jasmine and honeysuckle fills the air. I love it-it’s not to heavy and I love the citrus tang, the spice adds delicious warmth. The lemon-spice mix also reminds me of lemon iced tea, one of my favourite summer drinks.

After a while: oh no-it’s faded…that wonderful lemon spice has gone, and I’m left with a still pleasant, though a bit dry and faint, floral scent. I wanted my full on lemony spicy floral though, not a faded whisper of a scent…

Verdict: when this was just dry, for about an hour or two, this was a truly wonderful scent. I like jasmine, so that doesn’t spoil the scent for me-it is strong here but there’s a delightful lemon-spice aspect to the scent which is what does it for me. That with the jasmine and honeysuckle make this scent so pleasant, like a chilled out, balmy summer evening when the air is fragrant with flowers and you’re sipping on lemon ice tea. Unfortunately this doesn’t last and before long, the scent fades to almost nothingness, leaving just a hint of dry jasmine/honeysuckle behind. Such a shame, because I adore the just-dry stage of this scent. I’ll definitely keep the imp of this, but I’m not sure about a bottle.

[Honor]

In the bottle:

Honeysuckle prevailing, with the jasmine underneath and the lemon yearning to come out...absolutely no spice....

 

yet

 

Wet:

Sweet and complex, warm spice. No lemon, and no jasmine at all now, the honeysuckle has taken over. It overwhelms my nose a bit, but I'm thinking I like this scent on me...

 

until

 

 

Drydown:

It still smells nice...but it's gained more of a strange sweet smell and the spice, which was warm when wet, smells artificial now. In all honesty...it makes me smell like an "autumn" scented candle. It's not a bad smell, I quite like the smell itself...but it's not something *I* want to smell like... would be nice for a house/room scent to put in an oil burner... but not right for me. Plus, my nose burns something terrible.

 

*le sigh*

 

Just got this one in, and I think it's going right back out.

 

Its a shame... complex scents don't do well on me, but last longer... light, fresh scents always smell fabulous on me, but my skin just "Eats" them up...

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Hm. I dunno what this is, but it almost smells like it's rancid.

 

Just On: Pretty strong ick scent going here..

 

An hour or two later: The rotting type smell is apparently in full bloom because of my skin, and this is really not working.

 

Around 6 hours: It's faded a lot, but it's still all yuck on me.

 

12 hours: Okay it left now.

 

Overall: Wow, I've never had such a strong reaction of ick to something before. It smells like something that's gone spoiled. But not quite. It's not like opening your frig and finding something spoiled, more like wandering through a crypt and getting a whiff of *something* not good. Maybe a person who hasn't bathed in far too long. Now, mind you, this is probably a perfect scent for New Orleans right now, as I'm pretty sure it smells a lot like this with the flooding and death. I do wish it had worked for me, the name would have made me buy more of it.

 

After reading other reviews: Good gods, I didn't get any of the pretty flowers. Why oh why do my sniffer and skin have to be so godawful? I may need to sit on this one for a while and try it again, perhaps there was something else causing the problem?

[northatlantic]

In the vial: Rich and sweet. Can't smell the lemon or jasmine at all, just honeysuckle and spice.

 

Wet: WOW. just, wow. It clings to my skin and breathes this complex sweet tartness, all the notes just blending into one. I don't get decay from this at all, it smells...warm, but still clear and bright, like a cup of jasmine tea with lemon and honey. As a matter of fact, that is EXACTLY what it smells like to me. It has killed the headache La Belle Dame Sans Merci gave me. Fabulous!

 

Drydown: As the honeysuckle fades, the scent as a whole gets a little sharper and stronger, the lemon and jasmine not quite so perfectly balanced any more. Because of that, New Orleans doesn't quite manage to climb into my Top 5 but it's still beautiful and I'm glad I tried it. I have the feeling this is one of the scents that may achieve its fullest potential on me scenting lotion or bath stuff, something to extend the life of the top note and keep that wonderful period when everything's balanced going a little farther.