Halloween: New Orleans

[Lethran]

HALLOWEEN: NEW ORLEANS
I’ve spent many, many Halloweens in New Orleans. To me, it is the most beautiful, most imperfectly perfect city in the world. My strongest memory is of sitting on the banks of the Mississippi in the arms of my someday husband, the sounds of revelry in the distance, enveloped by the scent of water, moss, and sweet olive.

The distinctive scent of the Mississippi at night mingling with sweet olive and Spanish moss.

It's not the humid decay of the overgrown Bayou - this is the manicured city itself. The moss is light and sweet olive tree almost floral, giving this a bright, lemony kind of vibe. Because the scent is based on a happy memory, it doesn't surprise me that her scent memory is glorious, clear, bright and fresh. It's a memory of a quiet, unpeopled space save for the lovers looking past the trees into the water. I love it.

In bottle: The moss is sharp, rising over gentle olive and a thick dark vaguely ozoney aquatic. I can’t decide if I like it, but I’m fascinated never the less. Wet: Warmer and spicier. I know there is no citrus listed, but it feels the way lemon smells, only dirty. The citrus effect is strong enough to overwhelm most of the rest of it, though I can still pick out moss and olive. Dry: Dry moss and olive with wet, dark swirling aquatic. The aquatic is dominant, modified by the plants. It’s a bit unsettling.

[AliBabble]

ooh, this smells so nice and inviting from the bottle...i really can't pinpoint what i'm smelling, but what it reminds me most of, is tea for some reason - tea leaves, w/ a bit of lemon. it feels very watery, and plant-y - very relaxing actually, which makes sense for new orleans...on my skin, i would have to agree that it is a bit astringent and lemony - not unpleasant at all, quite the contrary - but not the heavy mossiness i was expecting. i really dig it actually, even though it's a very different experience than i thought it would be - i'm guessing the lemony-ness is the olive, and it works really well, whatever is going on here. very uplifting.

[Fefferbella]

Not at all what I was expecting from a New Orleans blend. I guess I was hoping for more earthy blend based on the notes listed... more like walking along the levee on a dark night. Instead this blend is a bright floral with crisp sweet olive as the top note, quickly drying down to a subtle white floral scent with very little staying power. None of the deep moss I was hoping for.

 

Within 30 minutes this was almost impossible to smell on my wrist. Still a very pretty blend, but not reminiscent of New Orleans nights on the river.

[Tracelina]

This is really lovely wet in the bottle, and leads me to think that the accompanying TP spray would be gorgeous!

 

On my skin, though, the blend sadly loses much of its complexity. I'm apparently amping the olive blossom to high heaven, because most of what I get is citrusy when it's wet. There was a brief moment during which I could smell the moss deepening the blend a bit, but then I lost it again. Dry, this is now a dead ringer for Twinings' Lady Grey tea. I'll leave it on for a few hours and see if it morphs. It's a nice unisex scent, and could be a really good option for folks who love citrus blends but can't find one where the top notes stick around.

 

This is a lovely blend, but I'm not sure it's a "me" skin scent--that said, I'm thinking I'll need to pick up the atmo spray!

[DeltaCat]

I was hoping for a more muddy water scent, but alas it wasn't so. Wet this smells straight up lemon Pledge. On drydown the green of the spanish moss/olive comes out really well. Reminds me of Spain. Doesn't really smell "fallish", more of a clean crisp scent. Still it is a keeper for the smell on drydown.

[claudia6913]

In the bottle: This is a sweet aquatic, which seems odd, but smells pretty good.

 

Wet on skin: Still a sweet aquatic. The olive pops out a little bit, as does the moss, but it's mostly just a sweet aquatic.

 

Drydown: You can sort of smell a little of the decaying vegetation around the water, but it's not as gross as it sounds. Of course, I like the smell of compost piles, so I may be a bit weird. Now, I lived in South Carolina, and there was Spanish moss everywhere on every tree and I don't remember it really smelling "pine-ish", but this Spanish moss seems to. Not a lot, but a little. Perhaps New Orleans Spanish moss smells different.

 

Dry: Nice sweet aquatic. For as few notes as are listed, this smells much more in depth.

 

Overall: A nice aquatic, but not sure how often I will be reaching for it, but I'll probably keep it around. After letting this sit overnight, it's still a sweet aquatic - a little too sweet for me.

Edited January 9, 2011 by Shollin
Removed Lab description

[hhg]

Pretty, bright and clean scent -- I get mostly sweet olive which I love. But having lived in New Orleans to me this is so much more the scent of spring nights in the city than Halloween, because the sweet olive flowers bloom in very early spring. That said, barring any unexpected aging issues, I'll keep and enjoy my bottle.

[izile]

Another very surprising one to me. In this one, I expected watery aquatic notes. But all I get is lemon pledge.

 

It went on wet as WOW LEMON!

 

it is now dry as slightly dusty lemon pledge.

 

I love New Orleans and used to spend a lot of time there as a sophomore in college, and this is too bright and clean and not at all watery and way all too lemony for the New Orleans I remember.

[strahlend]

This scent reminds me so much of a clay facial mask I once had that I just can't think of anything else. It has a sort of mineral earthy feeling with a high pitched floral tang to it. I've tested this three or four times now and I still can't decide how I feel about it.

[reynardine]

Decant. I’m getting a soft and pretty aquatic with this. Mainly olive with a touch of moss. I really like it, but it isn’t something I would wear.

[talula_fairie]

I don't get lemon or aquatic from this. It smells like peach to me. It almost reminds me of something you'd put in a shower gel or bubble bath. It's not bad, though. Very sweet and light. I wouldn't buy a bottle of this but I will enjoy my decant. I think I'll like it a bit more in spring than autumn, though.

Edited September 17, 2010 by talula_fairie

[vividdreamer]

I knew when I ordered this that it wasn't something I'd wear frequently, but having been a Louisiana native all my life (and yet never spending a Halloween in New Orleans, wah!) I had to get it, even if I was scared by "the distinctive scent of the Mississippi." I'm normally not one who likes aquatics, and the Mississippi...well, it doesn't smell all that great (to me).

 

Sniffing the bottle, I was a little scared. I braved through and put it on my skin, and as it passes through its stages: first REALLY aquatic, then lemony, then a bit of the earthy mossiness, and finally back to this beautiful, almost lemony sweet scent that I've smelled all my life, I called my best friend.

 

Me: "What does Sweet Olive smell like?"

 

Him: "It...it smells like, you know, sweet olive. It's all over the place there. It's got these..."

 

Me: "Teeny little white flowers?"

 

Him: "Yeah. Why?"

 

Me: "'Cause I just got a perfume called 'Halloween in New Orleans,' and that's one of the notes, and it's pretty much all I smell. It's really cool."

*sniffs arm again, noticing how everything has melded together*

"It smells like being out by the lake with Sweet Olive growing everywhere. It's supposed to smell like Spanish Moss, the river, and Sweet Olive...and it really kinda does."

 

Him: "Does it smell like Halloween?"

 

Me: "No, not at all. But I like it. It smells like home."

 

Him: "I want a bottle!"

 

So...yeah. That's my review of this one. Totally nostalgic and definitely staying with me, even though it doesn't smell a damn thing like Halloween.

[whisperstilled]

In decant: A splash of aquatics and ozone and some STRONG violet. This immediately reminds me of Iron Parasol V1. It's so close that the relationship is uncanny - that same strange, sweet aquatic violet. All it's missing is the backing metallic note to be exactly the same. I also get some fruit in this somewhere, pear maybe?

 

Wet: I'm getting a tiny bit of olive now and some moss, but the strong florals still sit on top of everything else and obscure it almost completely. Sweet and strong, with only a little of the mossy earthiness to ground it.

 

Dry: Not really sure what to make of this one. It's a strong floral with good throw and a very distinct scent, but I'm not a huge violet fan. I'll probably keep this one around and test it again when my nose is not quite so plugged up. For now, good, but not really my style. 3/5

[angelicruin]

I'm getting a soft aquatic note, moss, and peach. While peach is not listed as a note for this blend, the scent is unmistakable on my skin. I'm definitely going to purchase a bottle of this. It was a surprise win for me.

[MCS4096]

ummmm... this was toothachingly sweet lemon drop candy from start to finish on my skin. No Mississippi, no moss.. just candy candy candy. Most unfortunate

[Blood onmy hands]

Somehow this smells like peach & sweet lemon to me at first. Juicy, tangy peach (not candied or canned, but the actual fruit), a hint of sweet lemon, and slightly sour, slightly aquatic, bright green Spanish moss.

 

On my skin, the scent warms up over time, turns perfumey, and starts to give me a headache. It's like sweet peachy something with perfumey white floral or aquatic and a sour edge from the moss.

 

Sweet fruity-floral with a cheap, sharp edge that I'm not enjoying. New Orleans is headed to my swap pile...

[msbcozad]

Halloween: New Orleans

 

This is straight-up lemon pledge. Not my beloved river nor the beautiful city I spent way too much time in during my college years. I'm so disappointed.

[jewelbug]

This goes on with a definitely lemon edge. Lemon over some sweet florals, slightly green, and quite fresh.

 

Once it dries down, it reminds me very strongly of the clean sweet scent that the Queen's Croquet Ground leaves in my living room. Am I crazy? Perhaps, but that's what I smell! Not really aquatic (but I rarely buy those, so maybe I wouldn't recognize that?), not really mossy, just sweet, clean, pretty, and very much like the BPTP roomspray TQCG.

 

Verdict: I like it, and I admit that I bought this just for the name, thinking the notes didn't sound like me at all. But its very different from my normal picks, and really fresh, sweet and pretty.

[Voleuse]

Ah, this is pretty. It's sweeter and more sharply flowering than I expected from the description--not flowery, really, but things growing lushly in the evening time. It smells greener over time, with a hint of lemony sharpness and tea. Very bright and clean, in the end.

[edenssixthday]

Halloween: New Orleans - When I first got my Weenies, I decided this may be my favorite of the bunch. It definitely reminds me of fall in NOLA, and the time I spent playing in the parks and running around on the levees and drinking at the Fly after school. God, this smells just like fall in New Orleans - fresh but humid air, tons of that heavy, gorgeous Spanish moss, and something sweet just below the surface. And then... oh no... it turns to plastic on me. Something in this blend hates my skin, and it depresses the hell out of me because it was such a perfect scent before it turned. Okay, I'm still not sending it off to swaps; it's going to get a run in the scent locket first to see how that works out for me.

[zankoku_zen]

Oh man, this is prettier than I expected. It's a sweet aquatic, and I definitely get lemons on wet, and peaches as it dries. Hints of mossiness and white florals underneath, but yes, there is definitely a peach note in it. Perhaps a splash of honeysuckle?

 

This smells to me like a nice summer night in the South.

 

Light, southern, refreshing.

Edited September 26, 2010 by zankoku_zen

[Katherynne]

I'm in the lemon pledge club. I'm not washing it off because I want to give it a chance, but if this scent stays it's heading towards migraine territory, and it will have to come on. Distinctly disappointing.

 

eta: one hour later it began to smell strongly of rose. it also somehow later began to remind me of ouija.

two hours later on, it's lightened up into a still-very-lemony rose and herb scent, and I'm definitely getting the olive now.

 

may keep decant, but most likely not.

Edited September 27, 2010 by zombi

[desertwaya]

My first order of Halloweenies & you just had to put a southern smell into the mix! I adore the south & got my first visit to New Orleans just a few wks ago. And to be honest this is the scent that pushed me into an order

 

This doesn't smell like New Orleans to me but thats a good thing because when we went it smelled of horse droppings & alcohol. This reminds me of sitting in a field of flowers on a beautiful spring morning.

On me wet & dry its very lemony floral, which strikes me as odd considerng the notes given in the listing. Maybe its the olive doing it? I am a bit dissapointed it didn't smell more "earthy" but i really like this & am glad i bought it. When i wear this it perks me right up & puts a smile on my face

[ami226]

On the skin:

 

Quite a sweet, green scent! Is that lily I smell? To me it seems like a green floral. Quite well behaved and refreshing! It smells like a lovely bouquet of fresh cut flowers. Not an overwhelming, nose hurting floral at all! Very lovely!

[patina]

A large part of my brain screams "PLEDGE!" I bet the cleaning product is scented with sweet olive too.

 

Other than that, this is a civilized floral, with a tiny bit of oakmoss. Not for me, but nice enough.

 

EDIT: Also, HOLY COW the throw is strong with this one.

Edited September 30, 2010 by patina