The Hanging Gardens

[KassiK]

The Hanging Gardens

This perfume is an interpretation of the Hanging Gardens by night, based on further accounts of its fruit and flora: date palm, ebony, fir, pomegranate, plum, two pears, quince, fig, and grapevine with plumeria, three gardenias and dry rose.

 

in the imp: very sweet, more fruity than floral, though the floral notes are definitely in there.

wet: The same as in the imp only the florals are coming out more. They're still very sweet.

dry: UGH! My body just doesn't work with rose. This scent has totally morphed from the imp to skin. After about 15 minutes, I feel a headache coming on so I'm probably going to wash it off really soon. The fruit notes aren't even detectable anymore and all I'm smelling is a powdery rose mixed with florals. It reminds me a lot of melted candlewax, rose, and playdough.

 

I will probably either pass this on to someone else who will appreciate it more or try it again once more before I do. This was a no-go for me.

[chrisann]

I don't know what's happening to my skin. Based on the notes, I should be able to pull this one off beautifully, but it smells like finger nail polish remover on me Ugh! I've had it on for 15 minutes and it's geting WORSE! Even if after an hour this were to transform into something amazing, I cannot bear the initial application. MUST.COME.OFF.NOW!

 

On a happier note, I do love The PERFUMED Gardens

[luckybuzz]

Frankly, I'm completely amazed by this. I really dislike floral scents in general, but this came to me as a very generous frimp in a forum purchase , and today was the first day that really felt like spring, and it just seemed like my usual dark and spicy scents weren't quite right...so I gave it a shot.

 

And wow. How can something that's so floral (by definition, even) have none of that nasty floral smell? This smells like fresh flowers, and fruit, and growing things....Oh! It smells like those summer afternoons I spent hanging out in the Botanical Gardens! Mmmmm.

 

So yeah. A floral for the floral-haters.

[phedre]

In vial: Sweet fruits, lots of pear, pomegranate, and fig. A touch of plumeria.

 

Wet: Even sweeter, tons of ripe pear in this.

 

Drydown: Sickly sweet. It smells like one of those scented children's dolls. Not good.

[astarinel]

In the imp: extremely well-blended! Wow. I can't pick out individual notes, but I'm getting a sweet ripe fruity-floral.

 

On, wet, it gets lighter and a bit more ethereal, like I'm walking by the garden instead of standing right in the middle of it. The most prominent scent wavers a bit -- sometimes I'm smelling more dark fruits, sometimes more florals, and it doesn't have too much throw on me.

 

As it dries, it gets much much woodier on me. Woods seem to cling to my skin and just last, and that's what I'm left with after the fruits and flowers have faded away. I actually really like this. The wood is almost a little spicy -- maybe that's the fir? In any case, I don't think I'd want a big bottle of this since my fruit-floral niche is generally taken up by Kitsune-Tsuki, but I'm keeping the imp for those days when I just want to smell like a beautiful garden/orchard.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: A large mesh of fruit & plant, but I can pick out the pear and the fir.

 

First on: All pear with a blend of undiscernable notes in the background. It's very light & happy.

 

Drydown: Can't smell much of anything as it's faded, but what I do get is a light fruity blend.

 

Overall: Will use the imp, but it's not a bottle scent for me.

[girlygirl]

This one turned sickly sweet on my skin, which really bummed me out because I wanted to love it.

[maribouquet]

The Hanging Gardens smells so sweet to me in the imp that I immediately thought there must be lotus in it...but not so! Maybe it is the pear and plumeria that makes me think that.

 

Wet on my skin it smells spicy somehow. The rose comes out a bit after a few minutes, and that is nice. It's quickly followed by shifting notes of what I think is palm and gardenia.

 

Sadly, though, the drydown is spicy in a sort of waxy, palmy candle shop way -- it's not good on me.

[Schnax]

This starts out very sweet on me, with a floral undertone. I can't really pick out any individual note. In about 15 minutes it fades into a very soft, slightly spicy sweetness, if that makes any sense at all. Very faint, though--I need to put my nose right up to my wrist to get anything at all.

[CiCi]

This smells very nice in the imp-I was excited to try it.

 

Once applied-whoa! Very thick, heavy, fruit and floral.

 

After a half hour or so, it dried down into a lovely floral, spicy fragrance. It still seems heavy but that just may mean that a little more time needs to pass. I smell more lilies than gardenias and nice spicy undertones. This is an exotic scent that just keeps getting better and better.

 

Would I purchase a bottle? At first I thought this was a winter blend, then I changed my mind to a summer blend. Now, I've decided that this is a very versatile scent that will change as often as I change my clothes. I would definitely purchase a bottle!

[Browneyes]

Imp: PEAR! A really nice type of fresh pear

Wet: More sweet fruits emerge, both fresh and dried. That distinct pear is more or less gone now, and the general impression is of a mixed fruit scent. The gardenias are popping out now too, and they are a bit spicy reminding me of Sacred Whore of Babylon!

Dry: This reminds me alot of Sacred Whore with fruits. I would have thought there was apple and some kind of light musk in here too. I unfortunately can't distinguish every single note (there are so many too!) but this is quite lovely on me. And I don't usually go for fruity, so I'm glad to have tried this, and once again have broadened my mind

Edited May 13, 2007 by Browneyes

[Naamah_Darling]

Hmm! In order: pomegranate, pear, sticky fruit, some sweet flower, and rose. Wet in the bottle, it's interesting, but maybe a bit perfume-y.

 

Oh my, though, once it goes on, it's quite light. Pear dominates, and a sweet, round wood scent with a lick of green from the fir. The florals are quiet in the background, as though closed for the night.

 

The edge of greenness gives this a cool depth that saves it from being overwhelming. This is a refreshing, feminine perfume with quite a bit of charm, and even though floral/fruit medleys don't do it for me, this is quite delightful.

[cvelis]

In the vial:

Pears and sweet, sugary fruits!

 

On me:

Very flowery and sort of like potpourri packet. I smell the pears and carnations but not much else.

 

Final verdict:

This is not a bad scent just not for me. I'm looking for the spicy, sexy plum of Blood Countess. Off to the swap pile and back to the hunt.

[modernsaints]

Somehow, the rose calmed down nicely in this one; I was impressed and hopeful with it, and thought it was delicious and lovely and fruit-floral for about... twenty minutes?

 

Then, either the plumeria or the pear went extremely plasticky and terrible. (Whatever it is, it's also in Thalia.) I kept getting whiffs of pomegranate, and being excited, and then OH NO WAIT. Plastic. Aww.

[funkmoppet]

Frimp from the lab.

 

Yep, this one is complex. Fruity tang from the imp with the wood warming up beautifully on my skin. Definitely like drifting through the gardens - it's dense and layered. The florals are nicely in the background. I love this stage, and was ready to add it to my wishlist...

 

However, the fabulous woods go away after a while, leaving over-ripe fruit and little else (I suspect the pomegranate).

 

Damn.

 

Might try letting the imp age.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: This is too busy for me to pick out any one note, but I'm getting something spicy. Wth?

 

On the wrist: Wow, this is so hard to pick notes out of... it's just a jumble of scents all tumbled together....

 

Drydown: There's that spicy note really pulling through big time and then powder. Really spicy powder. Does this have cinnamon in it?

 

Overall: This didn't work for me at all, from imp to drydown this never once appealed. Damn, I was really hoping I would love this one.

[Nimthiriel]

I got this one from a swap with Miseraya. How appropriate that I post my review after hers!

 

Here we go:

 

Initial impression:

It's nearly all roses in the vial, with some hint of fruit in the background. I have high hopes for the fruityness of this one!

 

First on:

It's all green at first (I expected as much) but with a tiny hint of spicyness in the background.

 

Dry:

After about 10 mins, it has warmed up and the green isn't overpowering anymore. I can sense some fig and possibly wood in there, and there's only a very light floral to this one.

 

20-30 mins after application, it's a very ”woody” scent, with some fig and sweetness thrown in. I'm glad the florals are staying light and in the background. If I think really hard about the ingredients, I can pick most of them out – fir, pomegranate, plum, pear, plumeria – but they're not very obvious at all.

 

Finally:

I'm delighted that this was a fruity floral that worked fine on my skin. It wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be (based on the really great ingredients), but still a lovely scent. I'll keep it, at least for now.

[LadyBug]

The pears are the most prominent to me...and they blend well with the fir. I reminds me of Christmas time...don't know why. I really really like this. It's not super flowery either! Nothing like a grandma scent and more like a sophisticated young woman. I will definately be buying a bottle of this!

[sedona]

I purchased a 5ml of this after falling in love with the imp

 

In the imp I got mainly plum with a definite floral and spice. The bottle seems to differ in that the plum is not such a forward note, in fact the complexity of the blend is very evident. The abundant flora and fruit vy for attention, I can smell fig and a grounding of wood which I'm assuming is the date palm. The floral is heavy and intoxicating exactly like it would be if you strolled through these gardens in the dark sultry heat of the night.

 

This is a definite 'huffer' of wrist as you try to distinguish the notes. Beautifully crafted!

[aquazoo]

Mixed berries. Sweet berries with flowers coming through. I didn’t know they grew berries in Babylon! It’s consistent, only getting a bit sweeter with time. It’s really quite pleasant.

[Catmint]

IMP: luscious, juicy fruit and strong powdery florals

 

WET: hmmm, the gardenia and rose are VERY strong and are stomping all over the fruit, which quickly disappears

 

DRY: smells like hotel soap or too-strong potpourri. It's all gardenia and dried roses and it smells awful on me. Damn.

[filigree_shadow]

Hunh. Strange. I'm testing this oil right now, and it smells kind of like Queen of Spades. That same plummy-spicy-floral scent.

 

OH NO!!! I just got out my Queen of Spades vial to test it side-by-side and I spilled it all over my hand! And drops on my pants! I'm such a butterfingers. OK, no, forget it, Hanging Gardens doesn't smell much like Queen of Spades. It smells like what I thought I remembered QoS smelling like, but it has none of the richness or haziness. Trust me. I'm smelling a whole lot of QoS right now.

 

Oh the horror! Spilled Queen of Spades all for the sake of a review! Dammit.

 

Anyway, The Hanging Gardens is a pretty fruity floral. I'm too upset right now to write anything else.

[lookingglass]

I procured an imp of the Hanging Gardens because my son is learning about the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World. I was sure I had tried it before, on my search for the perfect pomegranate, but I do not see my review, so I must be mistaken...

 

My son, who is 5, reviews it as this: "Pomegranates! Flowers! Fruit! This IS the Hanging Gardens, Mommie!".

 

It is suprisingly not as sweet as I imagined. There is an inital red fruitiness, but then it really reminds me of Ouija with the dry, wispy floral. It dries out delicate and creamy. I really love it!

[starwild]

Bottle: Grape, plum, fig...very fruity.

 

Wet: The same, but...what's this, some kind of spiciness coming through?

 

Drydown: Spicy-fruity wood. I don't get a lot of floral from it, just a breath of gardenia sweetness.

 

Mmm, nice. This is one BPAL that makes me wanna lick my wrist! It smells just like a little curio shop I remember going to once. I can understand the potpourri connection, but it's not off-putting on me.

[Lethran]

They aren't kidding about the fruit and flower accents here. Again, likely pleasant on someone significantly younger and more femme than me, though not as pleasant as the Melpomene.