Shanghai

[galahad]

The crisp, clean scent of green tea touched with lemon verbena and honeysuckle.

In The Bottle
Honeysuckle and green tea

On Application
Fresh and floral

Dry Down
Thankfully I don't get much of the lemon verbena initially. Linear drydown. Too white floral for me.

Rating (0-5)
2

Edit: After further testing (and some aging) I absolutely love theis scent. Fresh and tea-like. A bottle for sure. Edited July 14, 2008 by galahad

[alicia_stardust]

I thought that the lemon verbena would dominate but really, this is a pure and light green tea. It is refreshing and smooth and oh-so tea-like. The lemon verbena and honeysuckle only add a nuanced brightness and sweetness but do not in any way seem to take center stage. For a clean tea scent, this is really beautiful, and it definitely surprised me in a good way.

[TeaLeaf]

I love this one so very very much. On me it smells like Green Tea and honeysuckle not so much the lemon.

[isisonearth]

In the imp it is a wonderful green iced tea sweetened with honey.

 

Once applied I get mostly the verbena with just a touch of the green tea. The honeysuckle is there too lending sweetness but it isn't the heady note it usually is for me

 

Verdict...fresh and sweet...nice for summer

[iiinterstate]

in the imp this smelled exactly like Elmer's glue, which was a little...alarming.

 

Thankfully, on my skin it becomes an expertly blended combination of verbena and honeysuckle, with just a hint of tea. Very fresh and lovely for summer. I'll probably pick up a bottle

[Heeroluva]

This definitely didn't turn out like I expected. In the bottle I barely got anything, but it was almost like a sea breeze, very salty with barely a hint of the green tea. Wet on me the green tea explodes. When it dries it smells almost like baby wipes mixed with green tea. Not altogether unpleasant but definitely odd.

[AthenaRose]

On me, Shanghai is green tea with lemon, and a touch of sweetness from the honeysuckle. This is a clean and refreshing blend. Actually, this reminds me of those Nestlé Pure Life Green Tea Refreshers that i used to drink, until i got sick of Splenda and found them too sickeningly sweet.

 

3/5

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp - Definitely get the green tea and lemon verbena, honeysuckle is very faint but still there.

 

Wet on skin - very similar to in the bottle.

 

Dry on skin - Mellowed a little, the green tea is not as sharp and is blending better with the honeysuckle and lemon verbena. I love it, but I have a very similar existing cologne, so I will hang on to this imp and maybe get a bottle down the line.

[milo]

I'm not sure why I don't like this, I love green tea and lemon so it must be the honeysuckle that is ruining it for me. This is a very clean scent, to me it is almost like Dirty, but a little bit sweeter. I'll probably use this imp in a burner or my non-scented cleaning products, as it is a good home scent for me, just not on me. It does fade quite quickly.

[Salsa Shark]

This scent pretty much encapsulates being sat out on a sunny porch full of white flowers with a pot of green tea and lemon slices. It's a clean, fresh blend - crisp tea, wih a citrus edge softened by the honey suckle. A perfect fresh summer scent.

[blacklacestatic]

In the imp: Mostly lemon. Yikes!

 

Wet on skin: At first, I'm unsure about this. I'm not a big citrus fan, but there is something there that makes me keep sniffing my wrist. It might be the green tea because I don't know if I've ever tried a blend with green tea before. It's kind of mellow and sweet for a citrus, not lemon cleaning stuff smacking me in the face.

 

Drydown: Very clean, light and bright. It got a lot prettier as the notes settled. This would make a good summer scent on a hot sticky day when perfume seems like it would be too much. This wouldn't.

 

Overall: Typically not a scent I would love, but it's nice. Just the right amount of fresh and sweet.

[stefrand]

ITI: Smells lovely! Like a sweeter L'Occitane Green Tea.

 

Wet: Smells a little sharp and soapy at first. Not really getting much of the honeysuckle or green tea at the moment...just verbena.

 

Dry: Smells a lot lot lot like the green tea soap my Mom uses all the time. It's a nice smell, but not something I want to smell like unless I use the soap. The soap might smell a little better...there is a tinny note in this that I don't like. It smells so much different ITI.

 

Drydown: It didn't change much, and faded very quickly. Green tea soap. Oh well.

Final Thoughts: I really wanted to like this one! Waahh. It smells good, but I think this combo is just too much like the green tea soap. I am passing this on to my Mom...I bet she'll love it!

[greenranger]

Lemon verbena and a little tea. I'm not getting any honeysuckle yet.

 

Light, clean, refreshing, and very simple. For someone looking for a simple scent, this might work well.

[djsiberia]

wet: smells clean and crisp. also getting a green scent from it and lemony fresh. the honeysuckle is very light at this moment.

dry: still green, crisp, and lemony fresh.

 

i'm actually thinking this would work well with my friend and i think i prefer dragon moon 2006 to this.

[thewondersmith]

In the imp: Woah, that’s kinda strong. Sharp lemon-lime and thick honey. Kind of nice, but I’m hoping it softens a little once on.

 

Wet: Mmm, iced lemon tea. Luckily the floral notes aren’t really all that prominent, as my skin chemistry amps floral like you would not believe. It’s a delicious scent- both light and invigorating, yet somehow syrupy. Brings back memories of my childhood summers in Hong Kong, when my friends and I would hang around the beachside noodlebars and have huge glasses of iced tea with thick lemon slices and pots of honey.

 

Dry: Wah, come back! It’s still delicious, and quickly becoming one of my favourites, but I really, really wish it lasted longer. This would be a perfect scent for summer; sweet, clean and just zesty enough to be a mood lifter during hot, humid days. I am definitely buying a bottle of this.

[awesomeoverlord]

Really really nice. The lemon verbena and honeysuckle definitely lead this one, with the green tea serving as a nice base.

 

I wish the tea was more prominent, but if I don't get stuck on wanting it to be a straightforward green tea, I really love this one.

 

It stays very fresh and zesty - just the right amount of citrusy herb and soft floral. It does disappear rather quickly on me, which is unfortunate as I'm very fond of it.

[Usagi]

In the imp: smells like a sophisticated men's cologne-- light and citrusy.

 

On: Green tea and lemon verbena( the plant; there's something woody, slightly peppery and warm, in it). It's a light fresh scent, with a surprising sour-salty twist. I agree with the people saying this is a summery scent. It would be great for summer, or for when you miss balmy mornings in the herb garden.

 

Not a particularly strong scent-- at least, on me, but I like that-- and nice staying power. Lovely.

[Prism]

In the Imp - pretty floral that reminds me of the asian kind of scents I like. Probably the green tea as it's not really an "oriental" scent at all. The notes all mix and play equally here.

Wet - the lemon scent comes out a little too strongly initially.

Drydown- the lemon scent fades down and the scents balance each other perfectly on me.

Later - the green tea is probably the first note here, but the other two are still very noticable.

 

Rating 1-10

10

[CynicalPink]

This will probably be awesome if the dreaded verbena can contain itself

 

Imp: Nice fresh green tea

 

Wet: Aw geez, here we go with the verbena...

 

Drydown: It backed down! The verbena actually let some other notes through! It's a very light, crisp scent that I think has a drinkable counterpart from Lipton.

 

Overall: It's very nice and light. A clean cool tea scent. While I do like it, I have a bottle of The Dormouse for my tea scented needs.

[rarepineapple]

In the bottle: Lemon verbana with a touch of honeysuckle. No green tea.

 

Wet: Lemon! Honeysuckle! Honeysuckle is coming on stronger now.

 

Dry: Oh god, I'm going to start sneezing now. Strong! And still no green tea.

 

Verdict: Man, I wanted to love this one so much, but it is just not working out. I do love the scent--it is very clean and sharp, and I love both lemon verbana and honeysuckle, but it just too strong for me. I might try this scent again when it is not such a bad allergy day for me.

[Kimbernunk]

This was a psychic frimp from the lab - I'd been dying to try it for a while and just hadn't had the chance.

 

Wet, this is very sharp and bright lemon verbena and green tea. I don't notice the honeysuckle at all. I was worried for a while that it was going to be too sharp altogether, but then after about 10-15 minutes the honeysuckle shows up very slightly as a sweet top note. At this point the blend goes from being sharp to just being bright and cheerful and lovely and wonderful.

Green tea is one of my favorite notes and that's the predominant thing in this blend (on my skin anyway) - the combination of the lemon verbena and honeysuckle make it slightly sweet and lemony, but in an herbal rather than a foody way.

 

I'm in love - this will have to be a bottle!

5/5 (and great enabling, labbies!!)

[FeatherQwill]

Wet: Deep with bright undertones. Different. Makes me think of summertime.

 

Drydown: Subtle, but nice. Not extraordinary, but good for variety.

 

 

Overall: I'll keep the imp but I probably won't get a bottle.

[scrappy]

In the imp: Sharp lemon with a little honeysuckle to sweeten it up.

 

On the skin: Ahhh, here comes the green tea. Dry it's green tea with a slice of lemon, with a bit of a floral undertone. Very pretty!

[Siberia]

Smells like lemons and honey. I have never noticed that green tea has any particular scent, and I guess I'm not getting one here, either. It's a nice, fresh, summery scent. I would recommend this to anyone who loves lemon.

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: Clean, crisp green tea, with a pale squirt of lemon to make it fresher. Compared to Embalming Fluid, this is MUCH less lemony, so the green tea note is delicate and more apparent. A second sniff brings out the honeysuckle behind, light but a nicely sweet contrast. It's like a little of drizzle of honey stirred into my iced green tea.

On, wet: More lemon, but it's nice, soft, herbal verbena and not harsh—it’s a very bright, clear smell, like I just crushed the verbena in my fingers. I still smell the clean, slightly grassy green tea beneath. The honeysuckle is very unassuming and just softens the verbena a bit. This is so gorgeous, cool and perfect for hot weather.

On, dry: A clean, pale green floral mix of green tea and honeysuckle, with a light veil of verbena to add a little tart, herbal accent. Beautiful, subtle and delicate, and more tart and fresh than sweet.

Later: Mostly soft honeysuckle with a whisper of green tea.

Overall: This is it! This is the hot-weather blend of my dreams. It's so light, pretty and subtle, simple yet graceful, and it's probably the most perfect green tea note I've found so far. It's a very soothing, cool, watery green blend, with just enough herbal and floral to add interest and complexity. It's also to be commended for the restrained honeysuckle. (I love honeysuckle, but I'm not blind to the way it usually takes over a blend. It doesn't do that here.) Best of all, for a light fragrance, it lasts and lasts and lasts, even when the weather is hot and sweaty. I know this because I tested Shanghai today on the hottest, muggiest day of the year, and while everybody around me was crabby and smelled like sweat, I was very zen, just chilling while I smelled like light, clean refreshment. Win! This is going to be a big bottle for summer.