Oleander Honey

[angelicruin]

Oleander honey.

Wet on my skin, this is strong oleander. I can barely smell the honey when first applied. Several minutes after application, the oleander softens and the honey note begins to emerge. Fully dry this is fairly good balance of both oleander and honey. A very nice floral honey blend.

[Iceblink]

I get very little honey from this--it's almost all a strong, slightly green floral. It has a cool, shady feel to it. A good one of these honey blends to try if honey tends to be overpowering on you, since it's so faint.

[edenssixthday]

Oleander Honey – I think this is my favorite of the new Rappaccini’s Apiary honey blends. It’s a gorgeous floral-honey scent. The oleander is gorgeous and strong. It’s very sweet, but has the slightest bit of an almost herbal-like bitterness that hovers just below the sweetness of the floral. It’s so pretty I can’t stop sniffing my wrist. I am so glad my skin chemistry changed over the years and that I can now wear and enjoy most honey scents because this is such a lovely scent that I’d be sad to have to pass on it.

[thekittenkat]

In the imp: The oleander is most prominent, kept from being too sharp by the honey.

 

Wet: The honey immediately begins to soften and smooth the sharpness of the oleander, though it's a slow process.

 

The dry-down: In the end, this is a nice floral-scented but faint honey, almost a skin scent.

[Venneh]

In the bottle, I'm getting mostly what I assume is oleander smoothed out a bit by the honey. On my skin, it's a sharp floral honey. Hrm. Not really for me.

Edited May 21, 2010 by Venneh

[hkhm]

imp: whoa oleander. i can barely smell the honey, this is strong.

 

wet: this goes somewhat soapy on my skin with very little added sweetness.

 

dry: well, it's gone full soap on me, i didn't realize that oleander turned this sharp on my skin.

[kjirstiben]

Wow--this was almost scarily high-pitched floral for a few moments after putting it on. Thankfully it mellowed out over time.

 

Oleander Honey is a sharper, and as one reviewer mentioned, more bitter herbal floral mixed with the honey of this blend. When the oleander initially takes over (during its wet phase) it's a little overwhelming, but when it calms down this is a very sweet honey-floral scent, with a hint of lurking bitterness in the background.

 

Not sure if it's a winner for me--I can definitely see where we're getting the soap connection, though it would have to be an expensive floral soap.

[Little Bird]

On me, Oleander Honey smells like someone dipped lotus in some sweet, golden, floral-y honey. Lotus smells soft, creamy, and a little like bubblegum on my skin, and so does this blend. Creamy, warm, sunny floral, a drizzle of honey, and a hint of pink bubblegum. It gets slightly more perfumey-floral and clean smelling in the drydown, but it still smells nice and sweet. The perfumey/musky-floral sharpness actually helps to keep this from going too sweet on my skin.

I don't usually like honey scents (honey is often either too sweet or the note goes oddly metallic & bitter on me), but I really like Oleander Honey and Yellow Jessamine Honey. I can see myself wearing this a lot over the summer.

 

ETA: Re-testing from a 2016 frimp from the lab. Thick, creamy, super-sweet honey. The creamy part makes me think of a generic white lotion smell and natural beeswax. I don't get the floral or much of that bubblegum feel anymore. Lotion and beeswax scented with a very sugary, thick honey. Cloying. Something sharp and fruity reminding me of maraschino cherries as well, but just a hint of that.
Heavy, strong, cloying, sugar overdose of sweetness and creamy lotion and beeswax.

Edited June 28, 2016 by Little Bird

[INFJ4w3]

I'm not so sure I like oleander - at least on my skin. It must be that bitter, sharp, almost medicinal note I'm smelling.

A while later, I'm getting a pollen scent - more pollen than honey. Shocked that I'm not sneezing. OK...here comes the sweetness of honey, finally.

This is a soft, subtle scent. I like the "sweet honey" stage, but it doesn't last long.

Unfortunately, the oleander returns at increased strength. Now, my arm smells like heavy-duty industrial disinfectant soap with a bit of insecticide and good old urinal cake.

Takes me back to my nights as a janitor, but not the best idea for a perfume. 2 stars out of 5.

 

[Schmoozy]

Thick golden honey and oleander. It's slighty sweet, green and very floral.

[Dharklady]

In bottle: Herbal, (maybe a touch of florals?) and honey

Wet: Sharp sweet floral and honey

Dry: Almost cloyingly sweet floral with just a touch of honey.

Notes: It reminds me a lot of Jezebel. If you are a fan of the floral + honey combos, give this one a shot!

 

[starfish327]

i don't think that this one likes me much...it's a very sharp green floral. i get very little honey out of this one at all, and i think that more honey would probably have saved this blend for me.

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: cloying floral honey

 

Wet on Skin: better than in the imp

 

While Drying: almost smells like lilies

 

After a Little While: hardly any honey; mainly floral - not my style

 

Later: Better as a faint scent, but still not my style.

 

Oleander Honey earns a 2/5 on my skin.

[Reedsong]

Holy toledo. This is liquid white flower honey syrupy whoaness, and it's strong and overpoweringly sweet. I feel like I've just been hit over the head with a two-ton brick of honeycomb wrapped in wet oleander petals.

 

As it dries, a green stem sort of note starts to emerge and gives the scent a little more depth. I like the leafy green sappy quality, but the oleander is becoming a little plastic-y. The notes are fighting all out war, trying to settle someplace comfortably on my skin.

 

I...think I like this? but will probably need a few more tests to figure it out.

[zankoku_zen]

Oleander + Honey. The oleander is strong, floral and I'll have to say that oleander smells to me what magnolia should smell like (except magnolia and I have ISSUES). It's a creamy, white heady floral. In a way, the vibe is along the lines of Black Butterfly Moon or Black Dahlia (obviously less complex) + honey. It's got that heavy floral, slightly darker feel to it.

[aquazoo]

Oh, yum, that's a nice floral addition to honey! It's a good blend, the two notes support each other nicely.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Pretty much as described. The oleander is strong, sharp, and sweet. The honey gives the floral a richness and depth it wouldn’t otherwise have. Wet: Less balanced, and somehow, the oleander is now making me think of cat litter. I think it’s my natural musk joining forces with the honey to take on the oleander which has gone shrill on my skin. I am convinced this is my skin chemistry refusing to play nice, so likely YMMV. Dry: Honey with a sharpness and a soft flaral edge. I think the oleander breaks down rather in the warmth of skin.

[Upstart Crow]

I loathe honey as a note (I may well be the only person who doesn't like O, for example!) and so I was loathe to try any of the Rappaccini's Apiary scents, and probably wouldn't have, had my bottle of Sundew not come with a frimp of this scent. I get a very, very strong floral that smells like something in the lily family with just a hint of honey that makes it sweet. What little honey I can smell as it dries down isn't treachley or foody at all.

 

I need a bottle. Maybe multiples. WOW.

[filigree_shadow]

Very nice. I can't remember if I've ever smelled oleander before, and I think it reminds me of magnolia more than anything else. A bit heady, very floral. I don't normally like floral notes that I'd describe as "heady," but I like this one, perhaps because I like the combination with honey. It smells lush but smooth at the same time.

 

This seems like a rather mature, elegant scent to me.

[Pika]

Very nice. I can't remember if I've ever smelled oleander before, and I think it reminds me of magnolia more than anything else.

 

I was just popping in to say this reminds me a lot of magnolia. And that wet, it's a no-go for me, but as it dries, it gets better. Very faint, floral, with very little honey, but a lot of "sweet". Whoever said "pollen" above, I'd buy that too, at certain stages.

[tls81]

Wet: I get a very sweet floral and some honey but mostly floral.

 

As it dries down: It gets a little soapy

 

Dry: the honey comes back and it's a light floral. It doesn't last too long though after one application.

 

I like it a lot! May need a bottle of this one. Luckily honey works very well on my skin.

[grrrlennyl]

Oleander Honey

 

On: Honey with a sweet floral background. Very pretty.

1 hour in: So floral. Still a bit sweet, but a bit soapy, too.

5 hours in: A floral honey scent. Sweeter.

6 hours in: More of a honey scent now with a hint of flowers.

Overall: This is a really, really pretty honey scent. Not overwhelming or sticky. If I didn't already have Doll's Eye Infused Honey, I'd be tempted by this one.

[kirsten]

I have no idea what oleander is supposed to smell like, but this is deliciously sharp and green and just a little bit sweet on me. One of my favorites so far.

[LiberAmoris]

Oleander Honey smells like white oleander blossoms and honey. Like the other Rappaccini's Garden honey blends I've tried, it's sweet, but with an edge. For those who love honey and white florals, this is a dream pairing.

[becca_s]

This is pure soap on my skin! It started out much sweeter, I could actually smell the honey, but after about 10 minutes it turned into soap. It's doesn't smell bad at all. Just very clean

Edited March 6, 2012 by becca_s