New Orleans

[alexismichelle]

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

 

This scent is very complex on me, but it definitely does smell "humid" like one of the other posters said.

 

I've never been to New Orleans, so I cannot attest to it's accuracy. It does however remind me very much of my family's farm in rural Georgia. The evenings smelled like all sorts of night blooming flowers plus a little bit of general organic materials (freshly turned dirt, compost, harvested vegetables, etc).

 

I like this scent a lot... it deepened a lot on the skin, though I wouldn't say that any particular note overtook any other... they all just got more intense.

 

It did get kind of "musky" for lack of a better word on me. Most scents do on me though, so I don't think it's anything particular to this formula.

 

I give it 4 out of 5... nope 4.5 out of 5

Edited May 3, 2007 by lexygirl

[gwynethr]

I have been very ambivalent about jasmine so far -- sometimes I get rashes, sometimes I just don't like how it smells with other notes, and sometimes I love it.

 

I was a bit hesitant about this one because of that, but I adore it. Though the jasmine predominates and I don't like it nearly as much as honeysuckle, it's still very nicely blended with the honeysuckle, and this is really how I've always thought New Orleans and environs might smell.

 

It's definitely one of my favorites for the rare times I want a floral and want to make a change from Lady of Shalott, which has been my go-to floral. This one and Muse both have this deep, intense, humid floral feeling to me that make them stand out from other blends.

 

Good thing I like it, too, because I keep getting frimps from the lab and in swaps/purchases!

[rien]

Disclaimer: most of my family is from Louisiana, I'm an Anne Rice junkie, and generally overly protective of attempts to capture the essence of one of my favourite places on earth. Also, I HATE to cry, and fight the urge whenever possible. That said...

 

In imp: could smell this through the bottle, and that faint whiff alone screamed Crescent City already. The honeysuckle is blatant, which I was wanting. Deeper whiff and the lemon comes out quite strong, but overall a nice floral, sticky, southern scent.

 

Wet, on skin: this is so nostalgic of every moment ever spent in Louisiana that I want to CRY. CRY.

 

Drydown: holds onto the initial and blatant honeysuckle topnote, with the jasmine and lemon working against and complementing each other wonderfully. The spice is my grandparents' backyard and sleeping with the windows open in your haunted orphanage hotel in Vieux Carre. I kid you not, am on the verge of tears. It's spiced honeysuckle with a bit of jasmine. I'm sitting in a courtyard, waiting for the Vampire Lestat to come sweep me away...

 

Dry: I'm driving home to Texas with the feeling of Louisiana in every fibre of my being. This is so many of my formative years in a teensy vial, I couldn't begin to tell you...

 

(ETA: I wish I'd had this for my grandfather's funeral back in March, it would have been the perfect homage to my roarin' Cajun granddaddy.)

Edited May 8, 2007 by rien

[purplemoonshoes]

Gorgeous! The flowers are rounded out nicely by the spice, and it invokes New Orleans beautifully. Plus I like humid summer evenings (it gets pretty humid here in MD, but nothing like LA), and I feel like it hits that nail on the head. But wait...it's changing....no, it turns to soap within two minutes on my skin! Sad that I can't wear such a beautiful floral scent.

[captainoats]

In the imp: Lightly citrus, almost like a very light cleaning product of some kind, with the faintest whiff of florals.

 

Wet: Oh, there are the jasmine and honeysuckle. I'm suprised that the lemon is practically missing now. Oh...wait...spices. Hmm, I dont know how I feel about the combination of the spices with these florals. There's something almost rotten about it - I guess that's the decay?

 

Drying: Yeah, weirdly rotting flowers and something spicy. No lemon to be seen.

 

Final verdict: This is so not something I would wear - it's just a strange combo to me. Definitely a swapper.

[radishbaby]

imp : a very nice floral perfume, nothing more nothing less.

 

wet : this smells exactly the way I thought perfume should smell like when I was a little girl - flowery without being overly sweet. If I close my eyes I can see all of my mother's perfume bottles lined up on the bathroom counter. Pure jasmine and a bit of the verbina.

 

dry : something strange has started to come out - it smells like a strange mix of greenery and almost decay, I guess this is the honeysuckle. And talk about throw! I can't smell a drop of it but my friends said that they could smell me as the approached my car today when we met up in the parking lot.

 

over all : I was initially charmed by New Orleans because I wanted something that would smell a bit like something Claudia from Anne Rice's novels might wear. However there's nothing dark in this at all - this is a very nice old timey scent that genuinely smells like being inside a hot house with the sunlight streaming through the glass. This would be a perfect summer scent for those especially humid and sticky days.

[La Soldier]

this smells nothing like new orleans.

 

anyway, it came out as all jasmine on me. I was a little disappointed. new orleans flowers smells sweet and light, not heady and overpowering like this was.

 

if anything, new orleans is honeysuckle, sweet olive, wet dirt, leaves, black tea, blackberries, and butter rum. I want something like that!

[LadyCrow]

I've been listening to amazing streaming jazz and blues radio from WWOZ.org all day, so today really had to be the day I finally tested New Orleans!

 

In the imp: Almost pure honeysuckle.

 

On skin: Very true to the scent description, with the jasmine dominating. I could be mistaken, but to my nose, this smells more like jasmine sambac (the jasmine you'd drink) than posher, chillier versions in other, more traditionally perfumey Lab florals. Fantastic throw, and the dampness, or hint of decay, is all the more reminder that flowers are ephemeral in the first place:

 

The seeds that were silent

all burst into bloom

and decay

 

-- The Grateful Dead, "Eyes of the World"

 

I can see New Orleans really lifting my spirit in the dead (!) of winter, when I need to be reminded of lushness and growing things. I love this.

[camaro199183]

Wonderful scent. New Orleans' garden district......reminds me Anne Rice's Mayfair Witch books.

[Feisty247]

This was a free imp from the lab.

 

In bottle: sweet, sweet, very floral sweet.

 

On - something sharp hits me along with the intense sweetness. Vaguely reminiscent of some sort of plasticy scent, along with the sweetness. The sweetness in this scent is too overwhelming for me

 

I like to put on the scent sniff it, and look at the other reviews of the scent as I write mind. Which had an unwanted coincidence - just as I was reading the other reviews, and a few mentioned rash. My arms were getting itchy. I looked down and had a rash myself. Off to the sink to wash it off. My body chemistry definitely did not like this one.

Edited July 15, 2007 by Feisty247

[squintywitch]

I got a rash the first time I tried this.

 

I tried it a second time, just in case... and somehow I seem to have got away with it this time. It's a gorgeous scent, mostly jasmine on me (oh well!), thick, sweet and heady, and far less of a sense of decay than it seemed to have in the bottle.

 

Not really a work smell for me (too heavy), or an evening smell (too floral), but nonetheless a keeper - maybe to scent letters, bath-water, silk dressing gowns, that sort of thing.

 

(EDIT: Put some in the bath, lovely. Put some on my skin, bingo, instant rash again, burny, ow. Made the cat sneeze. Out! Out!)

Edited July 18, 2007 by Squintywitch

[Iceblink]

Now THAT is some strong jasmine. Hoooo boy! Nothing but jasmine and it's taking over my whole arm!

If you like jasmine, you'll LOVE this. If you don't, stay out of New Orleans!

[Babylon]

Wet - Lemon-scented Pledge furniture polish.

Dry - Jasmine and lemon Pledge. Not for me.

[puddingirl]

Another first buy, recommended as a nice jasmine scent. At first sniff it smells like alcohol, slightly gin and tonic like (not necessarily a bad thing!) Once on I can smell the jasmine, and a slight ginger smell. It's warm and spicy. The jasmine comes out more as it dries, as does the honeysuckle. Leaving me with a slight sweet and spicy smell that I can't tell whether I love or not! Definately an interesting mix.

[hushmesilent]

Ahhh, New Orleans! I was soo excited to get this one because I LOVEED jazz funeral so much. I LOVE NEW ORLEANS!

 

It smells like a slightly watery version of a floral bouquet. I smell something earthy in it, maybe the decay. Overall it does remind me of New Orleans, and it brings up a vision of a deserted alleyway at dusk with the sound of music in the background.

 

Mike's been to NO and he said that it definitely reminds him of the city. Genius!!

 

If I run out of Jazz Funeral, or wanted something a lot simpler and more girly, I'd reach for New Orleans.

[CrazyPretzel]

This is an aged imp that I got in a swap (has one of the old-school labels on it.)

 

In the imp: hm! Really quite spicy and cinnamon-y. I wonder if the spiciness gets stronger with age.

 

Wet on me: Reminds me a LOT of some of the Voodoo oils, Chuparosa and Follow Me Boy: hot spice laid over strong flowers. Given that New Orleans is the city of voodoo, perhaps that's not surprising. I'm surprised that at this stage the lemon seems to be overpowering the jasmine/honeysuckle. Not too keen on it at this point but I'll wait for the drydown.

 

Drydown: After 5 minutes the spice is getting stronger until it smells like cinnamon redhots. Not cool. ...Another minute or two and the flowers peek out; they're still pretty flattened by the spiciness. Slightly potpourri-ish; the jasmine going a little soapy. Not really unpleasant now, but smells sort of synthetic on me. Not what I was expecting.

 

Overall this has sort of an old-fashioned feel to it, while at the same time being sexy in a rather trashy way. (Is that appropriate to New Orleans? I suppose in many ways it is!) It's nice enough but I'm really not sure how often I'll wear it.

 

ETA: Wow! Now it's doing something very nice indeed! The lemon and spice have finally settled into each other and make a good sultry pair, while the jasmine and honeysuckle sort of lurk underneath and keep the lemon/spice from being too sharp. This is definitely worth waiting through the drydown for.

Edited August 22, 2007 by Baitu

[Footnotegirl]

This has become my favorite summer scent this year (alternated with Thalia and Belladonna depending on what shower gel I used that morning). I only have one frimp of it, and unfortunately it has taken to leaking (it's hard to find a way to store an imp upright, let me tell you!)

 

But here, after many wearings, is what I get from it:

 

Application: Flowers. Not girly flowers, but the kind of waxy petalled flowers that hang heavily from vines after a rain. Also, sweet, heady and sweet.

 

Shortly thereafter: Goes through about five-ten minutes of smelling like icky old lady flower soap. Thankfully that clears up and leaves me with.

 

Until fade: Glimpses of night flowers on a dark breeze, each and every one of them dipped in sticky sugar syrup that would probably make a Hurricane with enough rum added.

 

Lurve. Lurve so much.

[JenM]

In the imp: apparently honeysuckle and jasmine combine to form rose. Coz I smell roses. Sweet tea roses.

 

On the wrist: well, initially there’s a hell of a throw. On the right wrist, it’s all spices. On the left wrist, the lemon starts to come through, with a hint of what smells like nutmeg. On drydown, the honeysuckle really starts to come out on the left wrist.

 

An hour and a bit: very similar to Nyx and Euphrosyne . The honeysuckle and jasmine blend to an indistinguishable whole. On the left wrist, the spices have faded. On the right, they still dominate.

 

Conclusion: Nice, but not distinct enough from other scents to warrant keeping.

[Alaizabel]

I got my first ever BPAL order today... yay! and New Orleans was the first scent I tried. So thought I'd post my first review. (As a newbie, I'm afraid I can't be as eloquent as most yet!)

 

As a lover of jasmine, I wanted to love New Orleans. From my first whif out of the bottle, I definitely got an overwhelming jasmine scent, but mixed with a very strong hint of the honeysuckly-esque "decay" as described, which threw me a bit.

 

The jasmine was quite strong when I applied it, but now after about 4 hours, it has dried down to an almost powdery/musky scent, and I'm still getting the decay smell, which reminds me of rotting flowers. I'm still intrigued, and keep sniffing my wrist, but this isn't quite the "clean, fresh" jasmine I'm looking for. Interestingly, though, my husband, who usually dislikes my taste in perfume, loves this one! He says it reminds him of incense, which I don't get at all... but there you go!

 

Overall, I like it, but I'm not in love... don't know if I'll wear it very often. Can't wait to try my second scent tomorrow! (I'm thinking it'll be Baobhan Sith for something different.)

[grashopper8]

I am biased here, because Jasmine is pretty much one of my favorite fragrances.

 

Disclaimer in place, I will now commence rave.

 

New Orleans is so lovely! I don't get any sourness, rot, or anything remotely unpleasant.

 

It truly is humid! I feel like my hair is still wet and fragrant from the shower. (Well, if I showered in a tropical waterfall, maybe.) Jasmine and Honeysuckle? I mean, can this possibly be anything but perfect?

 

It lasts a good 4 hours, and still remains faintly after that. (Many of the more pleasant jasmine scents I've tried are gone within an hour or so, as my skin amps it right off in a fit of joy.) So, the throw and lasting power truly are pretty good. (The only jasmine that's lasted longer on me is Bruno Acampora's Jasmin concentrated oil. And that s*** burns my skin, like red rash it's so concentrated. And it's nice, but not as humid as New Orleans.)

 

I will reach for this on days when I want to feel fresh and young and dewy.

 

And it has a certain *wink* swirling around in there, too....something a little flirty and sexy and not quite so innocent....

 

If you like Child by Susan Owens or other soft jasmine scents, this is a must-imp for you! I can't wait till I can afford my next lab order, New Orleans will be a 5mL on the list!!

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

Oh WOW! This one is DELISH! A gorgeous heady floral, which totally captures the description: ripe and touched with decay. These hothouse flowers are in full bloom, so heavy they are about to drop from the branch, and the honeysuckle in this one is just delectable. This is one of my favorites! In fact, I'm wearing it today. There's a windstorm outside and we haven't had power in 50% of the city all day. I took my dog for a long walk and the breeze kept wafting this exquisite fragrance up to my nose, and I felt totally content and happy! I love this! Big bottle please!

 

PS - I've been wearing this for 6 hours already and it is still going really nice and strong!

 

I rate this a 5 out of 5!

[starwild]

...I waited a loooooong time to try this one.

 

 

See, New Orleans (the city, not the perfume) and I have a history. I visited the city when I was 19 and fell head over heels in LOVE. I decided right then and there I was going to move there. 17 months later, I did. I lived in the French Quarter on Chartres street for the happiest year of my life...I look back on those days as if they were a beautiful, purple-sky dream.

 

And then Katrina happened, just three days after my 22nd birthday, and I had a meltdown. I spent four months living with my mother in another state, trying to get my life back together. I was heartbroken. I loved NOLA so much, had gone through so much to get there, only to have her, my beloved city, swept out from under me. I went back in October to check things out, and it was like walking through a war zone. Even though the city was rebuilding, I was so heartsick, I knew the city would never be the same, and neither would I. I decided to pack up and leave. It was one of the toughest decisions of my life. Sometimes, I'll get a whiff of a certain scent, and will be reminded of my apartment, of what it was like to walk through the Quarter early in the morning or late at night, passing the crowds of people, the ghost tours, the mule-driven carriages. I remember the streetcars, the river...sometimes I miss her so much it hurts.

 

Now, I look back on that time, and though on one hand, I feel horrified at everything that happened, and feel cheated that I only got a year in my beloved city before she was forever and irrevocably changed; on the other hand, I feel incredibly blessed to have had the chance to spend the last year of the city's pre-Katrina existence living out my dream. It was as if I was gifted with that one year, so that I could be one of the lucky people to know her before it all changed. For that much, I will be forever grateful.

 

 

...you see why I waited so long to try this perfume?

 

 

Imp: Floral like whoa.

 

Wet: Pale yellow and white honeysuckle.

 

Drydown: Soft flowers, lemon, and something dark that MIGHT be...wood? This reminds me of a whiff of a woman's perfume at a restaurant in the Garden District. It reminds me a bit of the St. Louis Cathedral, too.

 

Very, very nice, but honestly...Port Royal is more evocative of NOLA for me, because of the boozy notes and the aquatic floral. Not because New Orleans doesn't smell like the city, but because Port Royal hits more of the things that I personally associate with her. This scent is...sort of like the Sunday morning New Orleans, rather than the Friday night New Orleans I'm more familiar with. It's the upperclass Garden District NOLA, not the more raunchy, eclectic, wonderfully bizarre downtown that I fell in love with.

 

Not a bottle, but I'll definitely keep the imp.

Edited October 21, 2007 by starwild

[rhiannonsanchez]

Im a nut about anything New Orleans, so I was so happy when I got it as an imp in my last order. I was so excited when I opened the bottle.... and then I was disappointed. Its almost New Orleans to me but doesnt make it. And for some reason, Im getting a smoky tobacco smell from it that doesnt go well with the floral. Poo.

[porcelina]

new orleans would be nicer without the generic "spice." heady florals over something that smells terribly bitter- very unpleasant.

[Torrain]

Lemony jasmine/honeysuckle.

 

On my wrist, it's pure honeysuckle, with possibly the faintest trace of lemon drowning under there somewhere.

 

15 min: honeysuckle's fading a bit; the jasmine is getting somewhat noticeable.

 

25 min: jasmine and honeysuckle. Not getting anything else.

 

It stays purely the same through the next hour, with the only change being that it fades to something nearly indiscernable. I guess my skin just never gave it anything to hang onto.

 

Love and coffee,

Frances