Description
A sweet floral fougere-type scent reminiscent of a hot, humid day in a southern tobacco town. The nose behind the fragrance is Ellen Covey. Carolina is available as a parfum extrait or EdP and features notes of longleaf pine, hay, tobacco, lavender, green grass, magnolia, kudzu flower, honeysuckle, star jasmine, and tonka. Released 2010.
“A dreamy scent of the American South that takes you from a
day spent among sun-warmed longleaf pines, grassy fields, magnolias, and kudzu
flowers through a warm, humid night sweetened with the scent of honeysuckle and star
jasmine, always with an undercurrent of tonka-rich tobacco curing in the wooden barns
and historic red brick factories.”
denuan – :
Carolina captures the “vibe” of the south, without being a hyper-realistic nature scent. On my skin, it’s primarily a unique take on tobacco. At first, I get the harsh, jangly top notes found in a lot of Olympic Orchid’s scents, but luckily it dries into a sweet southern twang. Carolina smells of strong wet tobacco (sweet, with a little fruitiness), minty herbal lavender, honey (not honeysuckle imho), indolic jasmine, pine needles and sweet tea with a little whiskey. It’s a weird smell, especially when the sharp green pine and herbal notes are strong. I find I prefer the mid-to-drydown of the scent, which is a tobacco/lavender/sweet tea/indole.
I tend to like really dry tobacco scents as wet tobacco notes often turn “cough syrup-y” on me, but I’m digging the rich tobacco here. I was a bit disappointed to not get any honeysuckle. Overall it’s strange but enjoyable, and worth trying, especially if you grew up in the South like I did. Mild like.
obtailmtutt – :
Gosh, I wish I got Essence of Petting Zoo, or pine, or hay, or fougere, or tobacco or lavender, but I just got a very intense sickly sweet sort of cotton candy cloud that hovered over me for what seemed like forever while I waited for a Fougere or something earthy to surface. No such luck, it must be a body chemistry thing ….. now it’s just a pale version of that lollipop opening blast …. 5 hrs later. I was eager to try this line, darn!
heoesqbqam – :
I also get essence of petting zoo. Too much for me to get past.
Semen777 – :
One of the flowers here I suspect kudzu smells bitter and smelly a little, but in that organic way that isn’t totally offputting. Just like a natural plant / flower that smells a little off.
Sexy Man – :
Carolina – inhale the essence of southern romance. I grew up in the south. Carolina conjures the feeling of being wrapped in southern hospitality and comfort in a place I love. Memories of . . . sultry air, perfumed with the exhale of countless indolic flowers . . .a country dirt lane lined with antediluvian magnolias, blooms as big as dinner plates . . . a wide veranda for relaxation and waving at all passers-by . . . swaying on a porch swing cushioned by grandma’s quilt. . . waving a church fan to cool hot skin. . . sweet tea sweating in etched crystal goblets. . . the screen door banging as barefoot kids come out to catch lightning bugs on the front lawn . . thousands of jasmine blooms, like twilight stars, forming a constellation around cement angels in the garden. . . wild animal eyes luminous in the tobacco fields . . . the music of cicadas deafening as night falls.
For me, simple memories, rich with tactile recollections. A beautiful experience. Carolina exquisitely captures the smell and I am transported back to a wonderful time in my life.
DUBINA79 – :
I bought this for honeysuckle, but I don’t really smell it. It turns quite sweet on me. There is a grapey jasmine and the tobacco smells sort of cherry-like. So it’s fruity, in an abstract way, plus there’s dry hay and green grass so in the end, this smells like summer camp. Otter pops and straw.
Lex161 – :
I am astonished by Carolina, as it smells like a favorite place in the Ozark Mountains. I did not expect to smell this anywhere else, let alone in a fragrance – perhaps it’s the kudzu? The perfumer has done a brilliant job of capturing a sense of place, namely the South. I’m very impressed. I definitely smell the magnolia, jasmine and the honeysuckle is the major player, but beyond that, the blend is so very nice and evocative. I can’t state objectively what I’d think of this fragrance if it didn’t smell like a very particular and much-loved spot, but as it is, I love this fragrance.
StepVer – :
If I have not seen the notes, I would swear that I am smelling cherry jam, especially in the drydown. Yes, some florals in the beginning but no pine, hay or tobacco for me. It is like I got a completely different perfume but it says Carolina on my sample. I am puzzled with this one. Anyway, it is quite pleasant but not a love. Superb longevity.
SCORPION0013 – :
This is more honeysuckle than pine on me, with no hay or tobacco. it’s a nice enough scent but honeysuckle is not a note that intrigues me, instead it rather makes me think about soap… A little more hay, pine or tobacco and it might have been a really exciting scent!
Edit: Second wear. This has actually grown on me a bit. The honeysuckle is so lovely and there is a certain depth to this scent. It is rich, full and beautiful. Ultra feminine, and a bit too feminine for me to be comfortable with but warm and deep and gorgeus!
Alex-boss99 – :
Carolina is a challenge.
The lavender-honey(suckle) accord is sharp. The magnolia/tonka is sweet and indolic. The greens are sharp and, although I love a sharp green, discordant with the other notes. Carolina smells too sweet, too bitter, and too sour all at the same time.
Unfortunately I also get a synthetic experience, possibly from the hay, which can (sadly) do that to my nose/brain, or possibly from the kudzu, since I have no reference point for that note.
It dries down surprisingly fruity. And still later, surprisingly warm and something like massoia/coconut/vanilla. It is still, unfortunately, synthetic.
This is too many things at once.
nigolap – :
Carolina – brilliant idea, terrible execution. What they should have done: drop the hay, drop the lavender, drop the kitschy kudzu. They should have pumped up the magnolia, pumped up the jasmine, reduced/done a better job of the tobacco note. There should have been an additional wood, namely, cypress. Also, either peach and/or peach blossom. Maybe some sea water elements.
What this succeeded at was second to the last day of the State Fair at about 4 PM, about 10 feet from the petting zoo, toddler’s abandoned sippee cup with about 1/4 inch of apple juice from about 11 AM same day, with some convenience store chew tobacco thrown in for authenticity.
Have they ever been where they were trying to recreate or did they just read about it in a book?
I was really looking forward to this.
morixodka – :
Very realistic. Pine and hay softened with light floral notes. It smells like walking through a field in the sunshine. Dries down to a sweet grassy scent. Beautiful.
speaspdwemist – :
oh man oh man, I finally broke down and ordered some samples from Ellen, why have I waited so long?!!!! Carolina is trip through a damp and humid meadow with fresh cut hay and wildflowers, with some herbs thrown in. It also has a prominent tobacco and pine note, which lends the scenery more depth and interest. It’s… so real. So delicious. this is me. woods, meadow flower, with some kick! Oh, I NEED a FB of this. It blossoms so stunningly on me. Everyone needs to try this perfume. If only just to say you have. I can’t think I’ve ever smelt anything like it, and as a bonus, no allergic reaction for me! Oh yes, I think I just may have found my signature perfume. And to think this is only my first sample!
Edit: oh and be for warned, don’t over spray this! a tiny squirt is all you need, because this is more of an oil based scent. a drop or two really.
zaxar56 – :
Jeca hit the nail right on the head with this perfume, tobacca/hay, some light pine, followed later by heavy honeysuckle and mild magnolia.
The opening is definitely hay, and a sweet grassy, but not dry, scent, accompanied by wet tobacco. We had tobacco trees on the property I grew up on, and the smell of fresh, wet tobacco leaves is memorable, and if you crush them rather intense. In this fragrance its gently sweet, unobtrusive, and coupled with the sweet grassy and hay notes is really very pretty. Some light pine accords overlay the opening of this perfume but fade later to become unnoticeable. Light florals begin to emerge, later settling into a heavy honeysuckle accord, like damp night air laden with bloom, the honeysuckle, jasmin and magnolia make the real heart of this fragrance the standout. The jasmin develops rather slowly in this, and later honeysuckle and jasmin dominate the floral notes. Light tonka in the base, its really heart heavy and if you love florals then you will love this.
Sillage is nice, longevity like most of the others is just a few hours.
Like some of the other perfumes by Ellen Covey this isn’t immediate love, while I was enchanted, my husband loathes it. The opening is interesting ~ fragrance lovers that enjoy something different should certainly appreciate it. But once that floral heart opens you can’t help but love it.
levan – :
Carolina has a beating heart. It’s one of the scents that represents a place but it has an initial human breath. It’s like a casual backyard with grass , plants but also junk, things that are put here and there, not a well tented backyard if you know what i mean. It has a homey feeling , but not the tideness of a well-manicured lawn. I’ts mainly pine and tobacco but i can’t say it smells manly. If you like it earthy,green, sweet and warm with a touch of Southern Americana, Carolina is just the place for you!
ioninaSpomoma – :
My first strong impression of this fragrance is the honeysuckle and the magnolia. Then the hay appears with the pine. I lived in the south for a number of years and visited the carolinas often. This scent is more South Carolina than North. While I don’t recall the smell of Kudzu flowers (we were always trying to get rid of the vines…in vain) I do remember the piney woods and smell of the jasmine in the evenings. This is another of the Scents of Place that describes a landscape with scent. I like this fragrance but don’t imagine I would wear it very often. The pine and hay are a little too much for me and my pionus parrot, my final arbiter of taste, sneezed when I first sampled the fragrance. I don’t want to base my reviews on a bird’s brain, but, while not the canary in the cage, he is a sensitive critic.
Plainnyjamjem – :
What an interesting tobacco-hay and flowers twist ;o)