Black Butterfly Moon: Black Orchid and Crushed Berries Hair Gloss

[doomsday_disco]

Black Orchid and Crushed Berries.

[VioletChaos]

Initial reaction: Oh my stars and garters! 

Of all the goodies that I procured from the Black Butterfly Moon update, this hair gloss was the one I was least sure about, but wanted to take a chance on, given how compelling all the other scents were in the lineup.

I am VERY glad I did.

For what, at first glance, is a two-note fragrance, I'll tell you right now: don't be fooled- because if you let it, this combination will take you on a very multi-faceted ride. It's a real morpher. 

When I first sniffed it in my hands, and then applied it to my hair, I got the candy-like quality of the berries right away. The black orchid was right behind, and it was reminding me is something....specific. Then it hit me: this was the combination of scents I encountered in every punky-gothy hybrid shop that existed in the 90s. Some magic combination of musky incense displays, spooooooky roll-on scents with names like "Night Queen" or "Eternally Yours", pancake makeup from the OG indie makeup brands and remnants of hairspray and clove smoke.

But then it shifted again! After it had been in my hair about an hour, it settled into a sweetly deep woodsy scent (?!?!) and a few hours later, I found it had pivoted yet again! This time into a balsamic/tonka with hints of oudh echoing throughout.

I've not yet paired it with any of its Butterfly partners yet, but I'm excited to see what this dynamic duo can do when it has more playmates to hang around with!

[Rane.]

Divine!! I can't get enough of it, & you can only use so much. Lol It's sweet, & very berry. When I first opened the bottle I smelled sweet black orchid & dry wine berries. It was not for me. But I used some & the scent is completely different. The dry wine resemblance goes away & you're left with a heady, kind of heavy & musk-like scent. Overall it's sweet, & juicy, with a crystalline musk, even incense-like. Throw is far, length is long too.

[Leopard403]

 It reminds me of my beloved (and discontinued!) Blood Countess.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2025 by Leopard403

[Assimbya]

I had been wary of this one, since BPAL's red fruit notes do not tend to do well on my skin and the type of berries aren't specified here! But my partner wanted a decant and I'm very glad that we ended up with it - while I suspect this one probably wouldn't work as a perfume on me due to my skin chemistry, it's truly beautiful as a hair gloss.

 

I can't manage to pick out what type of berries these might be after all, but they are complex and beautiful - there's a sharp, dry quality which melds with the orchid into a sort of dark richness, almost creamy without being at all lactonic. At the same time, it has a vividly atmospheric quality, with an edge that makes me think of a forest floor, some kind of quality of woodiness and greenness behind the berries. I definitely agree with @VioletChaos that this far more complex than its two notes makes it sound.

 

I've been wearing this all day alongside the main Black Butterly Moon perfume oil, and they complement one another beautifully; while Black Butterfly Moon on its own will always feel like goth girl to me, with the hair gloss its suddenly a dark forest nymph or fairy, powerful and ever so slightly ominous. It doesn't match with most of my usual perfumes, so I feel reluctantly okay with just having my decant, but it's beautiful and special and I'm glad to have it for the right moments.