Holiday Moon, 12/15/05 Options

[wickedgoddess]

Before my bed
There is bright-lit moonlight
So that it seems
Like frost on the ground:

Lifting my head
I watch the bright moon
Lowering my head
I dream that I'm home.

When the moon is full, mankind is one. Bamboo pulp and oude with green and white tea.

Wet - very, very green. Just when I think it is way too green a scent for me, something else peaks through, something rich. Is that the oude?

Dry - the tea comes out once this dries down. It smells like drinking green tea in a Japanese tea house surrounded by bamboo. It reminds me specifically of the Japanese tea house at Descanso Gardens, it's very evocative. It's relatively long-lasting too; I can still sniff some on my wrist a good 6 to 8 hours after I first applied it.

I am not sure about this. I like it but I don't love it, but it is such a unique scent that I think I will hang on to it.

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 4.

This post has been edited by Shollin: Nov 28 2007, 04:45 AM

[brownbear]

This isn't the type of scent I usually gravitate towards, but I really like it. It is light and green. It is very fresh smelling. I can pick out the tea, but I'm not familiar with oude. I've worn this one a couple times already and I like it for a nice, light, green scent with something more, something a teeny bit deeper. This is one of my favorites of the moons that I've tried.

[sookster]

upon application this has a slightly fruity, green leafy note to it..... (IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/magtongue.gif)
very, very nice.....after about 10 to 15 minutes something floral amps
up and gets very strong...i think this might be something i would
like to wear in the springtime....pretty (IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/wub2.gif)
i also think this needs to age a bit to see how it will turn out....

[astrid]

I *JUST* got this. Holy Holiday Moon, this is awesome!! I've only had this on for a few minutes, so it I won't be able to say much for the aging process, but this is gorgeous! It's crisp, fresh and bright! Yet, at the same time, it has a smoothness to it. It's green, but also sparkling with a citrus-like quality to it. Has similarities to Embalming Fluid (the tea part), of course. I am totally enamoured by this and considering it is also my bday moon, I am so thrilled! I wish I had gotten a 2nd bottle, eventhough I've been trying to be realistic about how much I really go through, since I think this may just be added to my list of absolute favorites.

So beautiful! Thank you so much, Beth, for being inspired to make this!!

Oh and the label is adorable! FU DOG! (IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/icon_biggrin.gif)

[ancilla]

This is an awesome scent. I'm usually horrible with tea notes (because they smell like lemon on me and lemon and I don't smell good together. at least not to me)

it is so sweet, and god, there is something in there that makes my mouth water. It is floral! I can't figure out what it smells like! oh (duh) maybe its the bamboo?

I'm so glad I like this. I got it on a whim full knowing that it contained notes that I never agree with.

[quantum spice]

it's a very green scent - all bamboo and tea when wet. like most teas, the tea starts disappearing when it dries, and it ends up being a yummy green/woody scent. it's perfect work scent.

[Lycanthrope]

I bought two of these, and I'm very glad that I did. I do like tea scents, my favorite pre-BPAL fragrance being BBW's White Tea and Ginger, and have always appreciated fresher, more ozonic blends.

Holiday Moon is bright, zesty, and tea-like without being overly citrussy. I tried Spirits of the Dead and appreciate it for its much brighter, potent tea punch, whereas Holiday Moon has more of an herbal, astringent plant-like quality to it. It reminds me of the smell of my grandmother washing clothes in Tainan, Taiwan, during one visit many years back, and reminds me of hot springs, verdant mountains covered in bamboo, rocky paths and aged, wind-worn dry wood.

On me, it starts of very much a TEA scent, with a hint of whatever makes Whippoorwill and Silk Road have that 'wet, mossy' quality that I adore. It pulls back fairly quickly into a subtle yet fresh tea scent, with a very soft yet present sandalwood-like base.

It's quite good, and I think I can wear this in clinic no problem.

This post has been edited by Lycanthrope: Jan 19 2006, 07:23 PM

[laochodia]

Zesty is definitely an appropriate word for this. Bright, cheerful, and celebrational (if that isn't a word, too bad. It is now.).
I get green tea and something slightly citrusy cheerful- I'm guessing the oude? It calms down after about 30 seconds, letting the bamboo and white tea play together. This is a wonderful scent to have in midwinter, for those who long for summer- bright but not warm, and cheerful. I feel like I stepped out of the hustle-and-bustle of the city and into a tiny backyard, complete with tea ceremony and pond.

[sarada]

Holiday Moon is just what I've been wanting, for early spring days: a crisp, cheery, clean green scent.

Tea scents are often very light and lemony but this has the extra snap of a crisp green stem that has been broken or sliced open, and the oude -- though I don't know what it smells like on its own -- seems to anchor the otherwise fleeting smells into place and help them to last.

It's different from Spirits of the Dead, in that it has much more of a fresh garden scent about it in the bottle. Not overly sweet, just very leafy and natural. It's interesting to think that this is a January moon scent since it is so very "springy."

It also brings to mind this little store I used to go to that specialized in Asian products, which stocked many kinds of green tea, light incenses and fresh potted bamboo plants. Walking into the store smelled a little like this, but this much more recalls actually walking into a little bamboo hut where someone is brewing tea, just after a rainfall, than anything else. Not that I've ever done that, but, well, I can imagine it. (IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/icon_wink.gif)

The crispness fades on my skin and it becomes a faint green scent that is still pleasant -- if I get a scent locket this would be another great candidate to put in it, to help it last longer in that "fresh" stage.

A keeper, for sure!

[Red_Hot_Mama]

Picture this: woman watches from upstairs window as mailman stuffs items into her mailbox. She sees a tell tale USPS Priorty shipping box & races from the house. Grabs the box, rips it open & pops the bubble wrapper covering Holiday Moon.

When the bottle is first opened, Holiday Moon smells exactly like a fine florists shop. Very clean & very "green". There's a little bit of the one-eye-squint, "WHOA, this is strong!" reaction but that doesn't last long.

This is a not-so-subtle fresh, green bamboo & tea blend. A very refreshing blend and a delightful surprise for the holidays.

This is a true story.

This post has been edited by Red_Hot_Mama: Jan 19 2006, 07:38 PM

[L-z_Empress]

I purchased this scent because tea notes are my favourite and because I have yet to purchase a lunacy blend that I did not love. Unfortunately, when I first put on Holiday Moon, I said aloud, "what the hell?!?!" LOL. Upon application it is a very strong citrus/floral and just not my cup of tea, I was actually about to go wash it off and put my two bottles up for swap. But then after about 10 minutes something happened, the scent dried down and I got this light, green, tea-ish, and slightly floral scent that is wonderful. This is more along the lines of what I was hoping for. It smells clean and proper with a teeny hint of something slightly spicy. For me it instantly brings up feelings of serenity. It's a keeper.

[MsBraz]

Very fresh, clean and green. I get a citrusy feel. It smells very bright and happy. This makes me want to clean my house. (IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/icon_eek.gif)

[nineveh]

When I tried Spirits of the Dead (which was a creamy, lightly lemon tea on me), I thought, "This is my favorite tea scent." But Holiday Moon beats it.

This is fresh green tea without anything lemony. I don't know what bamboo smells like, but there's a cool, mild, plant-like note in here which may be it. There's also an extremely subtle darker, softly spicy note, which I assume is the oude.

This is just what I had hoped it would be. I'll save it for warmer weather.

[fiddlehead]

Fresh, clean bamboo, followed by lovely tea notes grounded by what I suppose is the Oude. What a great scent! I'm really glad I took a chance on this one because it's pretty much perfect for me. Everyone else has said it better than I could, but if you like the notes listed you should try this out. It's going to be perfect for Spring and Summer
(IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/wub2.gif)


ETA: I wore this again for the first time since January and it is indeed perfect for this time of year. Not only that, but I put it on at 7:00 this morning and it's now 7:00 in the evening and it's still wafting around. Really lovely!

This post has been edited by fiddlehead: Jun 11 2006, 02:00 AM

[Pesha Rocha]

This is an insanely energtic and sparkling scent! (IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/00001734.gif)

To me, it embodies a fresh spring day when flowers are budding, birds are singing madly, and the tiniest baby bunnies are nibbling new grass shoots. (IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/00001750.gif)

Green, bright, fresh, young, clean, breezy!

That said, it's not a scent I want to wear right now. I suppose I should welcome the burst of early spring before its time, but somehow the contrast between this scent and the grey winter day just confuzzles my poor little brain. I tend to be spacey enough without being split in two between different seasons!

I can hardly wait to try it in spring and summer. (I think it would be a good beach day scent.) This reminds me in its effect of Tempest, one of my faves. So I'll probably be alternating between them come warmer, sunnier weather.

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle
Wow, really pretty like melon and cucumber...and mint?
On
Oh wow , it has an incredible amount of throw. (IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/icon_eek.gif)
It reminds me of Blue Moon in a way. Not as "icey" but it's sort of along the same lines. This is more spring like though, this smells of spring blossoms, light tea, green melon and cucumber, something herby and minty.
Sheesh, this is good, finally a Lunacy blend that I like as much as Blue Moon.
30 minutes
Doesn't morph but it does lessen in scent unfortuantely. It's so pretty this only means it's is a slathering blend then.
Throw:
An incredible amount, the throw period is when it's wet though, it does continue a wee bit into it's dry but no where near as much. It's just heavenly to me.
Scent category:
Green/Aqua/Fruity/Herbal
Summary
This is bright, lovely, airy and spring-like. It reminds me of blossoms budding and a cool stream nearby and some melon or cucumbery smelling plants. It's not a sweet blend at all, only the light sweetness of air, outdoors, green plants and water...vaguely sweet I guess is how it smells. It doesnt' stay as long as I'd like that's the only thing that makes me not want to give this a "5" rating, but I can't help it I'm going to anyway.
Purchase again?
God yes. Why didn't I get more than one bottle!?
1-5 rating (5 being best)
5

[wichapi]

Oude, as always, fastens down the scents of both the bamboo and the teas. It creates that sensual undertone for the sharp green and white top notes (like honeysuckle or paper whites?) Someone mentioned citrus as well, albeit more mandarin flesh than pulp.

Maybe its the oude that reminds me of the addictiveness (nose-to-wrist penchant) of Blue Moon? And while I love Blue Moon, Holiday Moon is far more complex and appealing, imho.

Happy Year of the Dog! GREAT Foo Dog art work!

[Rhowan]

*~* HOLIDAY MOON *~*

Rocking my world from the second I smelled it!

In the bottle:First wiff - tea! Yummy strong green tea with a hint of ZING!

Wet:The green tea is definitely there but the ZING! is there right in front with the green tea it smells kind of lemony but not really.

Dry Down:This is beautiful! I am finally putting my finger on the citrusy part - someone mentioned a bamboo stalk freshly cut and that is a perfect description. This is a fresh, green almost citrusy scent. It makes me want to dance and be happy!
OK throw, ok wear but I definitely want to reapply - but I think that is more for myself than anyone next to me. It is definitley one of those "nose glued to wrist" scents! I will be looking for an extra bottle of this off the forums.

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!! (IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/00001734.gif)

[Little Bird]

I was so excited when I read the description for Holiday Moon, because BPAL really does glorious things with tea scents. I loved the green tea fragrance of Spirits of the Dead, Shanghai, and Embalming Fluid, so I had high hopes for Holiday Moon.

Sadly, this one isn't so great with my skin chemistry. First on it reminded me quite a bit of Whippoorwill (which I love), green and wet and slightly mossy. This differs from Whippoorwill though, because it is going soapy on me (IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/icon_sad.gif) . There is also something sharply citrus in the background.

5 minutes later. This is... floral? It smells like floral fabric softener sheets on me, and it's making me sneeze.

After a half hour this one has given me a headache. I was expecting something smooth, cool, green, and slightly sweet (like Spirits of the Dead, I suppose)... but this has just gone horribly awry on me. It really does smell like floral dryer sheets. It is sharp, soapy, and perfumey.

I usually do well with tea blends, so I'm shocked that this one went so badly on my skin. Oh well, I'm glad that I have a bottle of this one anyhow, just because the label art is so beautiful.

This post has been edited by Blood onmy hands: Jan 19 2006, 10:50 PM

[aedes]

I'm so happy I took the chance with Holiday Moon. This is rather different than other scents I like, but I'm loving it!

At first I get a very clear sense of the tea, I can smell it right there as tea, which is surprising because no tea scent has done that for me before. There's also a bold, distinctive spiciness there as well. I don't get the bright, happy smell everyone else seems to get. Mine smells sharp and dark, well, a combination of light and dark, it's really a whole panorama, along with a mossy, woodsy feel. Especially when wet, this smells like a marvelously unique man's cologne. It even smells a little soapy on me.

But it dries down wonderfully, as well, leaving a scent that's both rich and refreshing and not nearly so masculine. I don't know if I want a second bottle of this, but I'm really enjoying it. Thank you, lab!

[zenvodunista]

is that oude? that intoxicating smell?

i recognize tea, dry and light, and bamboo pulp all green and bright. but that smell... that etheareal smell that isn't quite floral, and isn't quite wood.

it's neither soapy nor powdery, and yet contains elements of both.

it's warm but not hot, cool but not cold, neither is it lukewarm or tepid, but body heat -- yet not fevered.

it's not musk, for certain it isn't.

it's the smell of warm sunlight through a green gap in the canopy.

it's a cool starry night, so bright you can see the ground all covered in broken twigs and bent grass from where the dryads have been dancing.

it's flowers from Faerie, gracing your hair, twinging about you to make a dress.

is this oude? this mysterious scent that envelops me, not like a blanket but rather like the bits of fabric that drape Botticelli's Venus? that rises up like a Capricorn Moon, on a cold January night?

is this it?

n.

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Tea and fresh fruits and flowers (rose?) and sugar.

Dry: Tea, and fruit, lemon? If so a kind gentle not sour lemon. It rests on a sweet light bed of sugary flowers but the tea, green scent, and citrus-ish smell are definitely in the forefront, strongly. It's a bright, energetic lovely scent.

[LiberAmoris]

Holiday Moon is exactly what I was hoping for to usher in the springtime months after a gloomy (and ongoing) winter. It's green, green, green---green tea and then the crushed smell of the interior of white wood (must be the bamboo). It reminds me of when I'd break and twist a fallen branch as a child (evidence of my scintillating childhood, yes, I played with sticks). There's that powerful smell released from the core, where there's a thin green lifeline running through the center like a green wick.

Then I get a blast of ozone-rimmed citrus, lemony-bright and sparkling. I also get a green melon note, almost like honeydew, but very subdued and smooth. Lastly I smell the lunar oils, that minty, waxy almost-lily edge that I recognize. The drydown is a hazy green tea with a hint of melon and an undercurrent of that gorgeous oude base note.

Holiday Moon does have similarities to both Embalming Fluid and Spirits of the Dead, as others have mentioned. But the oude and lunar oils make this one glimmer and smolder in a way that is quite unique.

I only wish this one lasted longer on my skin. Oh well, just another excuse to buy one of the Lab's upcoming scent lockets.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: green and fresh, with a bit of a citrussy bite.
on: lovely! i can really smell the bamboo pulp and the tea. i'm assuming the lemony note i'm getting is coming from the oude.
half an hour later: still a bit citrussy and very green. lovely and fresh.
1 hour later: powdery, a bit sweet, and a little sharp. lovely.
1.5 hours later: fresh and green.
overall: i am soooo glad i got a bottle of this. is gorgeous.

[jewelbug]

(IMG:http://www.potatohed.com/bpal/holidaymoon.jpg)
Bottle: Fruity (mandarin?) juicy tea. I don't know why this seems fruity to me, but it does...

Wet: Instantly an overload of lemon tea. This lemon is super strong and verging on lemon-cleaner. I hope this fades and lets the other notes through. I have NO idea what smells like lemon, since that's not one of the notes.

Drying: Lemon-ness does decrease, and this gets greener. The tea is still there. This is a sweet, green, citrus tea.

Dry: the lemon has faded quite nicely. I'm left with a very green tea scent. There is a slight woodsiness to it (oude, I'm guessing), and a very sweet grassy smell with just a hint of tartness. The late drydown goes to a sweeter floral, but a clean green floral.

Overall: As far as tea scents go, this is better than others I've tried (dormouse, phantasm, aizen-myoo, apothecary, severin, white rabbit), though I still have spirits of the dead to get to.
This has great throw for a tea scent (usually my skin eats tea alive), but i've passed the infamous 1 hr mark, and its still going strong (this lasted 4+ hrs before bed--that's a record for a tea scent!)! Lovely blend--thank you lab!!

ETA: Its been a bit more than 1.5 years, and this has aged nicely. Its still citrusy, but less overwhelming lemon to start with. I get citrus and hay-;ike tea. Its very bright and clean--fresh, but not at all soapy. There is a roundess and depth that I wasn't expecting from a bamboo/tea blend...must be oude, which has aged really well. Still lasts 4-5 hrs on me.

This post has been edited by jewelbug: Aug 18 2007, 11:09 PM