New Orleans

[skepticism]

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

Wow, this is going in my favorites list. Slightly sour jasmine that's slithery and sensual with increased body heat and a little bit of sweat. This is a scent that lingers around lazily while you're in bed while the shoddy electric fan noisily sucks in the hothouse New Orleans humidity from the bedroom window. Sensuous, sophisticated, and lazy all in one.

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp - At first the scent is overwhelming. The honeysuckle and jasmine combine to smell like a commercial soap. Continued exposure yields more of the spices and lemon.

 

Wet on skin - Honeysuckle very strong, a little jasmine. This smells very commercial to me.

 

Dry on skin - Pure honeysuckle. Pretty, but I already have a honeysuckle scented cologne.

[annerqm]

In Imp: Straight-forward jasmine and honeysuckle...although I swear I smell magnolia, too. It's very nice, but I wish the jas were a bit more "dirty" and not so well-behaved and sweet.

 

Wet on Skin: A bit more sultry, but I'd still like a more of the spice and decay mentioned in the description to come through. The city of New Orleans does have a very prevalent smell of decaying vegetation, and it's hard for me to embrace a New Orleans oil without more of that slightly sickish-sweet smell.

 

Dry on Skin: Very much the same. On me, this oil does not go through a lot of change. It is lovely, sweet and it was nice after a shower with Lush Flying Fox shower gel and Godiva solid shampoo (although I do wish New Orleans had a bit more of that "dirty" jasmine smell I get from FF and Godiva).

 

Overall, this was very nice, but didn't have enough of the sultry, decaying undertone to really remind me of New Orleans.

 

I will try it again though, and see if I get more of the spice and decay...maybe next time I won't put it on squeaky-clean, just showered skin.

[Mckerr]

Oh wow!

 

I was searching for something to wear for a romantic evening with the hubby, but he tends to wrinkle his nose at some of the notes I'm most fond of, so I wanted to be careful. I fished through my unruly pile of imps and came up with New Orleans, which I knew nothing about, as it had been an add-in to an order. After a quick whiff, I said "This'll do," but that was *such* an understatement. Five minutes later, I swirling in clouds of jasmine, which just happens to be one of his very favorite scents. I could pick out the honeysuckle too, but on me, the jasmine was very strong. I'll be picking up a bottle asap and renaming it my "Happy Hubby Blend."

[kamikat]

In the bottle: this is a nice nice floral scent. I couldn't pick out any single note. I was hoping for a stronger honeysuckle.

wet: OMG! this smelled like little old lady perfume. The jasmine overpowered everything else. Within 10 minutes, I washed it off. It gave me a serious headache. I can't wait to get rid of this one.

[Shadowdawn]

hmmm an interesting, light one.

In the bottle: Kind of powerful, sharp and crisp while still maintaining a humid floral timber.

Wet: very strong florals, hot scented. (definitely hot house material)

Dry: faded into suble soapy smells and drifted off quickly. Reminds me of Ivory soap, or something glycerine based.. a little commercial, but calming.

Definitely not on my shun list . ^^ But i think the imp is enough for me.

Update:

Upon being worn for 12 hours, it becomes heavy, humid, and almost nausiatingly sweet. :S The sweetness becomes overwhelming without the sharpness of the "soap" smell.....

Edited January 5, 2009 by Phox

[ouch!]

Oh dear

 

This smells like plasticine and insect repellent..yuk. I can tolerate Jasmine it sweeter blends but to me this is really really not nice at all.

 

This will a be in the swaps pile soon. It's not working on me in the slightest!

 

Shame.

 

[suki]

in the imp: strong indian jasmine- the rich, dark kind, not the pale essential oil kind.

 

wet on skin: same.

 

dry down: same.

 

in all: consistent, average throw. a solid, steady jasmine. i get nothing more from this oil. but if jasmine is your favorite, get a few bottles of this- you won't be disappointed.

 

 

[magikalbrownies]

smells just like jasmine on me...LOADS OF IT...like i ran around in a thick of it and came out.

 

not my favorite...may work on others but overpowering jasmine gives me a headache.

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: Strong, almost overripe jasmine, backed by a lighter breath of honeysuckle, a squeeze of lemon and a suggestion of something green. This is most definitely a humid scent, and I get the faint air of decay, maybe even mildew and damp.

On, wet: The jasmine is still there, sweet and almost about to rot, but the lemon and honeysuckle come out much more on the skin, making this a bit fresher. It smells like a sister to Eos, but it's more sensual, tarter and tartier. Where Eos is clean and hopeful, New Orleans is heavier and sweeter, with a sharper, more insistent jasmine.

On, dry: Sweet jasmine gilded with honeysuckle, but right underneath it, there's a definite and strong undertone of rot and/or mildew. I realize that this sounds gross, but it's actually very atmospheric. Very hot, heavy and still, and very sweet, in the way that things are when they're just on the edge of going bad.

Later: Basically the same: jasmine, honeysuckle vine, old house and decaying garden, in that order. The decay is a bit less strong now, and it's a drier scent, but it's essentially unchanged.

Overall: New Orleans is incredibly atmospheric, and it's right on for the inspiration. This might not be exactly like the real thing, but it is exactly the literary New Orleans that you find in so many stories, novels and movies, and it conjures up thoughts of genteelly crumbling, once-grand garden district mansions, covered in flowering vines and concealing dark family secrets. Somehow, I think all Tennessee Williams plays must smell like this.

 

As I said above, it has enough in common to be a sister scent to Eos, but I have to admit that I'd rather wear Eos. That air of decay is what makes New Orleans so atmospheric, but it's not necessarily something I want on my skin, you know?

 

 

[liquidtrance]

In bottle smells like my moms' perfume (Is it the jasmine here that always confuses me?!).

On skin… The lemon is a little strange. Is it the honeysuckle that's trouncing to the topnote? There's a strange, nose-curling after-scent when you take a whiff. The spices? Seems to wander back to smelling similar to Mom's perfume. But with a confused creaminess around the edges. Really out of wack. Now... Powdery plastic lemon flower. Wah wah...

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, I'm hit with jasmine immediately.

 

Wet on skin, still mostly jasmine and now honeysuckle. I can smell a bit of lemon too. Going very soapy on my skin.

 

Dry it smells like soap on my skin.

[Leopard403]

Euchh, bad! The lemon goes to Pledge, the spices go to dirty curry, the jasmine gave me a headache, and I can't even tell there's honeysuckle in there. Fail.

[jupster75]

On me, this smells like a cross of insect repellent and bad air freshener. I haven't had it on for five minutes and it has already given me a headache. Of course, this doesn't smell like the New Orleans I have been to. If it did, I would never go back.

[wheresyourshoe]

This is the first BPAL perfume oil that has been very standardly perfumey on me. I had my mom put it on first, and it smelled nice on her, if underwhelming, but on me it was just awful. I was so shocked, because I love New Orleans the city so much and the way the jasmine is so soft and lush, and in this perfume it is harsh and unnatural! This is depressing for me. I had high hopes for the oil, maybe that was the problem.

[lizzyshoe]

In the bottle: All jasmine tempered with honeysuckle

 

Wet: I'm getting a really strong jasmine, almost too flowery. It might cause headaches in people prone to them.

 

Dry: Powdery jasmine, sharp.

 

This one also wears off after <5 hours.

[librophilia]

 

In the bottle: Dark -- burgundy is the colour that comes to mind as I sniff this. I can smell the jasmine. And there's something sweeter underneath it, something I can't quite make out but I think I like it. It's not food-sweet, but more like...hmmm...maybe it's a bit of that decay mentioned in the description?

 

Just on: Cinnamon. WOW cinnamon. I smell like Hot Tamales candy. I do not like this, as I hate cinnamon-flavoured candies. :/ I am worried, I'm not gonna lie. I bought a real-sized bottle of this without Imp-ing it up first, because I love jasmine and honeysuckle and I thought it would smell amazing. I hope it changes!

As it dries: Still mad fake cinnamon smell. It's toning down, though, thank goodness. I'm starting to smell the florals a lot more -- the honeysuckle is wafting through as the weird cinnamon-y scent fades. It's faint, but it's there, and it is giving me hope!

Completely dry: WOW. This scent has changed so much from the dry-down. It's all jasmine on me now, which I lovelovelove. And it's not bright, sharp jasmine (which I like but obviously wouldn't expect from a scent like this). It's a deep, dark jasmine, mingling with other night-time scents as you walk down the street. It's definitely a warm scent.

 

I am so glad I ended up loving this scent so much. If the Hot Tamales scent hadn't gone away, I probably would have cried or something. It does wear off faster than some other I've tried, though. After about 4 hours, I had to sniff my wrist directly to smell it, and within two hours after that it was totally gone. I guess it's a good thing I ended up getting the bigger bottle!

[hkhm]

imp: honeysuckle and jasmine. ironically, this is exactly how i would envision an old new orleans brothel to smell.

 

wet: insane jasmine.

 

dry: the jasmine has thankfully faded, this is much more a honeysuckle blend, which suits me well. i can't pick out either lemon or spice but there is something bright and clean in the background. nicer than i would have expected.

[theandorran]

In the bottle: Wow. I don't know how Beth does it, but somehow this scent manages to perfectly touch on my scent memory of New Orleans. Lots of jasmine, and other things that I can't quite place... Just a hint of citrusy tang, maybe the honeysuckle coming through, but there are lots of other things just under the surface, mingling together and creating that wonderful scent that isn't any placeable thing, it just is New Orleans.

 

Wet: It turns sharp just as it hits my skin, and I'm getting a bit of the insect repellent vibe. Far too sharp to my nose, I had to turn my head away while waiting for it to dry.

 

Dry: It's better once it dries, the bug spray vibe dies away, but instead all I get is the jasmine. Slightly decaying, mossy jasmine, but jasmine none the less. It's VERY strong at first, almost too much so, and I still can't decide if I love it or hate it. As I keep sniffing, there's almost a kind of aftershavey scent to it. I love it in the bottle, but I don't think this is a scent I can really wear. I've worn this twice now and I keep sniffing myself, trying to decide if I love it or hate it on, but it's died before I made up my mind both times!

[skylarkza]

In the imp: HONEYSUCKLE and moss.

 

Wet: JASMINE and a water sprinkler.

 

Dry: The jasmine and honeysuckle are playing together now. And have taken over.

 

A while later: This has died dawn to a sweet scent, like fallen jasmine and honeysuckle blossoms that have been trodden on. Slightly "moist" smelling. Almost tropical, almost.

[Invidiana]

This is another dark floral along the lines of Midnight, with all manner of tings that don't bloom until the moon comes up. I wanted to love it so badly, especially since New Orleans is the birthplace of Anne Rice and the setting for many of her novels. Like all of Beth's blends, I can tell it's extremely well crafted, but unfortunately something--and it's probably the combination of two or more notes in this, because none of the ones listed react like this on my skin in other blends or individually--turns into a cat pee undertone with my body chemistry. *sigh* At least I have my Midnight.

Edited November 18, 2009 by Invidiana

[devilot]

New Orleans

Whoaaaaa jasmine. Just sniffing this sucker, I don't care to skin-test. Ick. I amp the lab's jasmine notes and I don't like it, either.

 

Verdict: I'm gonna pass this imp on w/out even testing it. *shudder*

[smgudan]

in bottle: holy jasmine!

 

wet on skin: holy jasmine!

 

Dry on skin: holy jasmine!

 

i like jasmine, but as a note with other scents. unfortunately this one wasn't for me.

[SophieCedar]

In Imp: honeysuckle for sure with a jasmine back.

 

Wet: Jasmine and honeysuckle share ground. This is pretty potent. Use wisely!

 

Drydown: Lives up to the description. Lemon and spice undertones and definitely reminds me of wandering around eating honeysuckle on a humid warm night. I love it.

 

Think it would be good for layering with a softer note like an amber.

[FathomBelow]

This is very strong lavender on me. Pure lavender. Was my imp mislabeled, I wonder? Because this could be a twin of Somnus.

 

Overall, this was a big disappointment. I don't have anything against lavender, but I was hoping for honeysuckle and jasmine. If this really is New Orleans, I guess the lavender could be from the "spice" in the description, dominating the scent.