I have been lustfully looking at the Hove site. I came upon the Jasmine and Gardenia drams via swaps some years ago and fell in love with these exquisite florals. What is your personal favorite (or favorites) and why? Amber Antique? Imperatrice? Radiance? Any of their scents at all. Please tell me of your Hove.

Oooo. Oooo. Oooo. Raises hand like over-achieving third-grader. Rue Royale!

I'm frustrated I can't relate any official notes, so I'll have to dance around its description. The most accurate thing I can say is that if you know Molinard de Molinard, it's like a non-green MdM. A discreet blend of florals and musk, there's something anchoring it down into an "alto" range. Okay, now I'm feeling useless. I've literally just returned from the mailbox where I sent samples of RR to two of my most clever nose-friends so I can ascertain a better description. Hove's Heliotrope is pleasant, too, like a combo of immortelle flower (sweet everlasting) and amber.

Yes to Rue Royale! also Spring Fiesta, and Vetivert

Another vote for Vetivert, which is the truest vetiver out there. Smells exactly like the roots. (They sell those, too.) I love to layer it with No. 5. I also vaguely remember liking their Rue Royale, too -- need to sniff this one again.

I love their Creole Days, which is a very old-fashioned carnation scent. I really want to use it as a room fragrance, though. Wish it came in that format.

I got their Nicholas I from another POL'er and am looking forward to giving it a decent test drive this summer. It's a green citrus, very refreshing.

I Lurrrrrvvvvvv Molinard de Molinard. Gotta have some Rue Royale. And I was sorely tempted by the Heliotrope and now it's a must. Oh and the Spring Fiesta in the Hove discription reminded me of Fleurissimo so I may need some of this also. And the Ventivert discription swept me to crisp Victorian linen dresses on a warm varanda in summer.
I am completely susceptable to enablement today. My Hove order will be legend.

I don't know how you feel about powder -- Hove's powder is not talc-based -- the Vetivert powder is my favorite version of their Vetivert fragrance. I have the lotion, edt, and perfume, and I like the powder best.

I have some tapioca and corn starch powders that I like a lot. Ventivet powder sounds like a winner in July, August around here. I am adding it to my order. Merci!

Interesting. I hadn't thought of trying that one in powder. I love Bourbon French's version, of course. I'm off to go hunt down the Hove one now, too. (I MUST stop reading your posts.)

OK, I just checked out Hove's powders ... and they're twice as expensive as Bourbon French's, for half the amount. Are they really just 1.8 ounces? (For $20+?) That seems minuscule. (BF's are 3 ounces, and those are small cannisters.) FTR, how do the two vetivers compare to your nose?

I love the Heliotrope. Spanish Moss is a wonderful green scent. I tell ya what, their candles are fabulous.

Someone (was it Amjack??) sent me a sample of Louis XIV which I intend to buy on my trip to New Orleans later this year. I have Rue Royale and like it a lot. I also bought their coconut scent last year. I think it's called Plage (I'm too lazy to check). It's nice, but there are cheaper ones l like just as well.

I enjoy fragrances from both BF and Hove. They're reminiscent, in both style and quality, of older fragrances that have disappeared from the market. But BF's are less expensive and they sell them in those nifty 1/2 oz travel sizes, so I tend to gravitate toward their site more often.

From the addresses, it looks to me like Hove and BF are close to each other and pretty much in the middle of all the action. Is that correct?

They're very close to each other (a block or so apart), smack in the middle of the French Quarter. Very different atmosphere in each, though. BF is laid back, small, smells strongly of a sort of "Bourbon French" accord that I find in many of their fragrances. I felt comfortable spending very long stretches of time in there, yacking with Laurie, sniffing everything, etc.

Hove is a beautiful store, larger, with a very old South feel. It's more formal. The staff are ... not aloof exactly; they're not snobby, but they're not warm, either. You sniff things on paper unless you ask for help, as I recall. Odd that for such a beautiful store, they have such ugly packaging. It all looks like 1950s magazine ads.

Thanks, Twitch. I look forward to visiting both. Are there any other easily accessible New Orleans perf sites not to be missed? I will not have a lot of free time nor easy transportation, but I'd like to hit as much as I can.

I enjoyed visiting the Fragrance Shop, which is in the mall on the waterfront (Riverwalk Marketplace). Easily walkable from the French Quarter. They do perfume oils, hundreds of them. Many are dupes of existing scents (and discontinued scents), but they also have their own fragrances, some of which are quite nice. They'll custom-mix fragrances for you, too. I think they also have a store in Miami Beach.

http://www.thefragranceshop.com/Home2.asp

Thanks again for the info. I can pass on the Fragrance Shop since I've ordered samples from them twice and was not impressed. This is a good thing since it gives me more time (and money) to spend at the two I know I like.

Lots of still pix here of Hove and Bourbon French.

Video here of Hove..

My dear husband was at Hove just last week, and he found the people talkative, which was unlike my experience. Who knows?

I love almost all Hove fragrances. They are 'clean' in a way unlike today's air freshener like synthetic scents. They do use mostly naturals. Also Hove doesn't put together odd sweet fruity ozonic combos. You won't find any Calvin Klein type frags amongst their scents.

I like:

Imperatrice: an easy to wear elegant Oriental, not as 'old smelling' or heavy as Shalimar. It's ambery, and not as sweet as Must de Cartier.

Pirate's gold: Captivating, unisex, summery and indeed golden.

Spanish Moss: Green/violet/light musk. It's an original Creole fragrance revived from Hove's archives by the late perfumer, Ms. Suzy.

The Louis Quatorze is so dry, but rich and elegant. If you like Aqua d'Parma you'll love Louis Quatorze.

IMatch, if you've never tried Hove, the six half dram sampler of perfumes might be a good start.

When you want to order bigger sizes the colognes are fine, since they were increased in strength a few years ago.