Carolina

I asked on the Fragrantica boards for a scent that smelled like driving past the RJR factory on a day when they were making the good stuff. This is it. Deep and naturally (not sugary) sweet and rich. Definitely tobacco. Maybe hay. Some natural scents than include flowers but I'd never call it floral. Pine like "uggg there's yellow pollen all over my car", not pine like pinesol. This is from the scents of place collection, and Olympic Orchids has nailed it. One sniff and I'm in North Carolina and trying to beat curfew, hanging out on a friend's porch, or in a line for an all ages show. I'll give a nod to everyone who's getting romantic country drive vibes out of this, but the only drive that comes to my mind is driving down the highway on the way back from Chapel Hill with the windows down and my feet up on the dash laughing delightedly as the lights turn to all yellow flashers at this time of night. It's a place in a bottle no matter what your experience was in that place. Edit: After spending a full 12 hours with the scent I think I can provide some insight on the petting zoo comments. It's the random whiffs of photorealistic hay that hit throughout the afternoon after the tobacco had faded or I'd gone noseblind to it. This isn't fresh cut romantic drive impression of hay. It's straight hay. A petting zoo is often covered in it. True farm scented hay is wetter with more decomp in it. I found nothing dirty, poo like or animalic in the scent. It's cut the twine and shake out the dry bale scented. But yeah, the only time in my now city based life that I'm likely to encounter it is a petting zoo or on a weekend outing to a pumpkin patch or orchard (that likely also includes a petting zoo.)

Carolina opens with...freshly cut apple? And turpentine-y pine, and a sort of fresh juicy citrus-adjacent vibe that feels like sunshine in a bottle. Then it expands into a warm, lush, ambered hay/tobacco. Seriously this might be the richest, realest tobacco ever. Not heavy or sticky, not piled on with distracting accents, just dense bright-brown tobacco leaf, with a touch of realistic chewy bitterness. Then it gets softer, with dreamy honeyed florals. Here it’s a little like Naja, another hazy, summery floral tobacco. But I think Carolina is even sweeter and gentler, with honeysuckle instead of linden. When the tobacco comes back, it’s better than ever. Golden brown, warm and deep yet never too heavy. Utterly mellow and smooth. Carolina might be up there with Naja as my favorite tobacco scents ever. (Chergui is also spectacular but to me it smells more like cloves than tobacco.) Carolina isn’t the kind of perfunctory “tobacco” that’s just an excuse for crowding in as much sticky syrup as possible; it really smells like toasted tobacco leaves.

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.

A romantic drive through the countryside. There's a lot to love here. Fresh and green lavender, earthy tobacco, vegetal sweetness from the honeysuckle (it's almost like honey), some piney freshness (but it's very sharp! Almost anise-like)... It's beautiful!!! This somehow stays dirty and natural while having a very freshy clean feeling with sweetness that's not *too* sweet. I love it. It's very comforting to my nose. I almost feel like I'm hugging a loved-one when I smell this! I don't really see where the petting Zoo comments come from... To my nose this leans feminine and I'd love to smell this on someone. This would smell incredible in Summer and I consider this my 2nd favorite from this house (right behind Golden Cattleya). Hearty recommendation!

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!

Ooooo this is magical. I'm not even from the south but this makes me feel like I'm in a rural town in the dead of summer. Cicadas humming so loud you can't hear yourself think. Listening to Patsy cline on your front porch sipping sweet tea. Opening is very hay-forward but it dries down to a super romantic honeysuckle and tobacco scent. I will definitely be purchasing a full bottle.

Pine and spicy green and sweet, there’s also a musty grassy barnyard-ish touch in the background. Very complex but blended well. It calms down into a delicious caramel-like scent, with just a bit of soft floral. Reminds me of a warm evening in a late summer countryside.

Gorgeous scent. It’s so fully realized, decadent and rich, it almost has a mouthfeel like a wine. The honeysuckle is the star, followed by a tobacco heart. This is a standout for this brand, and absolutely worth a full bottle.

I can't improve on some of the in-depth reviews. On my skin it's a sweet honeyed hay floral.Interesting and complex, yet easy to wear. As always, YMMV.

Firstly, I just want to say that Carolina is like nothing else Ive smelled before or since. Opening with sweet-tart, licorice-like herbaceousness, I smell plummy hay wrapped up in a tea-like florality that dries down into honeyed tobacco. This frag's intricate complexity combining with it's seamless blending to absolutely fascinate me! Unfortunately, every one else I've had smell this thinks it smells like a gas station bathroom :( This is because, and I really don't mean to be pretentious here, this fragrance does really require a certain taste level to be truly appreciated. The medicinal sourness of the honeysuckle accord and hay absolue can really put people off if they haven't developed a taste for natural perfumery or potent smells. Carolina is also an intensely green fragrance, which is not an especially popular scent profile right now. Despite being decidedly niche, there is a lot to like here. For one, your nose definitely won't get bored with this one. Carolina gives off this dense, realistic lushness reminiscent of it's namesake that's extremely captivating. Characteristic of the house of Olympic Orchids, Longevity and projection is no slouch, even being robust enough for all season wear. All in all, This is not really a crowd pleaser and is very much for who it is for, but I'm still really happy I got to try it because the creativity displayed with this scent is rare these days.

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.

This is an intriguing one! There's a balance of some definitely natural notes with curiously used synthetic ones. I smell the raisin-like, sweet, herbal scent of true hay absolute all throughout. It lends its bittersweet, honeyed aroma from top to base. Maybe it's the hay, but there is also conjured the scent of black sweet tea for me. The floral aspect seems more synthetically recreated, with a salty-salicylate honeysuckle note. There's a fruity aspect as well--a peach lactone vibe that smells like gamma undelactone and similar compounds that especially lingers into the musky, hay drydown. I'm not 100% sure where I stand on this, but hay/tobacco is used so beautifully here (when those absolutes could muddy a composition for sure) that it keeps me going back and smelling my scent strip or wrist.

On my skin this one is pure honeysuckle mixed with some fresh hay. It's more sweet than green on me, but this is flower sweet, not sugary (if that makes sense) And I smell no "barn" here, just fresh herbs. It's even slightly spicy and I don't know where that comes from (pine, tobacco?). Not sure this is easy to wear, or even something I'd wear often, but this is interesting enough (and affordable) so I got small bottle. It's really the scent of a place and mood. This smells like an hot Summer, late August.

out of the three ive tried so far this one has taken the cake so far. the opening i didnt really like as it smelled like a cheap perfumee but as it dried it really started to grow on me. the sweetness of the floral and green notes paired with the tobacco-woodiness parts we very pleasant to smell. Super clean/out of shower scent with the green & floral notes and a mature masculine scent with the tobacco and wood honestly the definition of a unisex fragrance also a good price for a indie perfume!! 8.7

The only fragrance I know that I would describe as bucolic Americana. Though an incredibly green and outdoorsy scent, Carolina manages to capture a porch-like domesticity. Abandoned farmhouse roofs succumb to kudzu vine. The solemnity is present but not discomforting- in fact, I see this as a wonderful unisex fragrance for road tripping and adventure.

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.

Definitely not a mainstream perfume! Can a scent be plush? For me, the first spray is spicy, almost like licorice. Then it transforms into a fuzzy magnolia. Now, 2 hours later, I’m living in a cherry jam tobacco cloud. I personally wish I got more hay and grass notes, but I’m really enjoying the scent as it is.

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.

on me, very pine and green spice. i dont pick up the hay as much but can definitely take note of the kudzu and jasmine. the tobacco is a far lower note that blends out the spice into the floral, but it isn't as reminiscent of tall grass and sassafras as i was expecting.

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.

What an interesting tobacco-hay and flowers twist ;o)

this is only something I would consider wearing in the spring, however I don't really like to wear it. I keep it on my shelf because it reminds me of a fall craft festival I would go to every year (I live in Georgia) and I have good memories of the festival. with that being said, it specifically reminds me of the porta-potties that are there.

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.

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.

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.

i'm really trying to give this one a chance, because i grew up in north carolina and i've been nostalgic for it recently, but wow that opening is not doing it any favors. my first impression was of portable toilets and unfortunately that hasn't really gone away after a couple of hours. it was much worse on my skin, but it's still not great on clothes.

Didn't know what to expect with this one, but unfortunately this is a little to Advent Garde and with the Jasmine, vanilla, and florals it just leans to Feminine for me.

I also get essence of petting zoo. Too much for me to get past.

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.

wowowow. this fragrance absolutely transports you to a warm summer evening spent in the countryside. i get a definite burst of spice on the initial application, almost like sweet cinnamon, but mixed with a green note. it does feel a bit heavy on my skin, but is somehow not suffocating even though it's hot and humid outside right now. i was initially a little worried that this might not be that wearable but it softens beautifully. i definitely understand where the impression of "banana bread" comes from as the base notes emerge it almost becomes lactonic, while still retaining an edge, but i also understand the "cherry jam" comments in the reviews. it's odd for sure but quite pleasant!!

This fragrance is very light and atmospheric on me. I am using a sample vial, so maybe it's bigger when you spritz, but it's very sheer on me. But interesting for such a sheer scent to be so complex and so clearly conjure a sense of place. It feels like the scent of a real place that sticks to your skin. It is absolutely a warm, humid night with wet dried grass and hay and distant but persistent tobacco and sweet natural florals. I also definitely get the sweet tea and banana bread that are in the website description but not the notes. This is quite unisex, but as a hetero woman, I think it would be a very intriguing and comforting scent on a man.

Don't really get nostalgic for where I was born but I had a full body reaction to this anyway-this instantly transported me back to being a small child on the Outer Banks, sitting outside the family car and being surrounded by that demonic kudzu vine while my father pumped gas. Very earthy and green, with honeysuckle as the main note that pulled on me throughout the day. I can't say this is something I would buy a full bottle of, but this is one of the perfumes I'm most glad to have gotten to try if that makes sense. It's emblematic of the power of scent memory, where the right fragrance can just transport you back to a specific time and place.

The first time I wore this I was kinda disappointed bc it was just a swisher sweet to my nose and nothing more. Tried it again and immediately had so much going on? Crazy intense camphor on impact that felt almost sizzling I loved that I wish that lasted longer but it dims down a bit over time. It’s still noticeable though and as it sits I get a nuttiness and a fresh air with pollen thing going on. It makes me feel like I’m at a baseball game with people eating peanuts . Don’t really know if I’d buy this but it’s fun and really interesting in how she evoked the smells of the south east

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.

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!

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!

Ordered several samples from Olympic Orchids and as a (South) Carolinian, I must admit Covey absolutely captures a spring-time drive through tobacco fields in the South. There's something reminiscent of an antique shop, though I wouldn't describe the fragrance as 'old.' It smells earthy, welcoming and homey. On the 'sweet spectrum' this scent is quite neutral. It also kind of reminds me of my own skin, but elevated to a concept.

Sweet and unsweet tea by the river. Which river, I won't say, but the one who joins my two worlds. More than the Carolinas, this smells like Georgia to me. This would wear very well with plaid, red plaid. I wish this hung on for longer. Makes me feel like running away. This is at once heavy of spirit and light with glee.

This is a beautiful fragrance. Sweet but not overly so, and even tho the notes don’t mention it, I do sense an animalic note, maybe civet. I think I found something special and feel excited to explore this house further.

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.

Very sweet on me. Smells like pink bubblegum or maybe rootbeer? Not for me