Blood Moon 2005

[Cleolinda]

BLOOD MOON

 

... The feral scent of the heat of the chase, deep woods, undulating musks, brushed by forest herbs, crushed grains, and touched by blood-dimmed lunar oils.

 

Wow, this is really nice--I was expecting dragon's blood, and I'm still not sure that I don't smell it in there somewhere. But yeah, "cinnamon soda" is a good way to put it. It's a rich scent, but it goes on very light--almost faint, despite touching it up three times, which I think is actually good. It would be so easy to over-apply this if it were too strong, and cinnamon tends to irritate a lot of people's skin, so "light and rich" is a really interesting way to go with this. I think I'll wear it to the midnight Harry Potter screening tonight and see what people think--but it's light enough that I won't be that Reeky Perfume Woman you hate when you go to the movies.

Edited November 28, 2007 by Shollin

[Imbrium]

Clearly I've got to stop underestimating lunacies. It seems as though the ones I think will not work on me are the ones that smell the best.

 

Blood Moon, despite what I would have though, given the name, the description, and the speculations of the presence of dragon's blood, is absolutely perfect for me.

 

In the bottle, and initially on, it smell strongly of dry cinnamon, with a background that, for lack of a better term, seems herbally. It's not the red-hots sort of cinnamon that I get out of fresh Three Witches, but rather a "stick your nose in the spice cabinet" sort of cinnamon - toned down with some other sort of autumnal spice, perhaps, but true to the actual spice.

 

As Blood Moon dries, the musk starts to come out, along with something rather strange, which I can't identify. I smell something vanillic, which might be a facet of whatever musk this is, they tend to go sweet on me. Occasionally I catch a whiff of something that might be dragon's blood. Dragon's Blood and my skin tend not to get along, but if this is indeed in the mix, it's playing nicely. However, in the mid-to-dry stage, there's some scent that I just can't place. It's dark, and smoke-like without being smoky.

 

By the final dry stage, this is predominately musk (delicious, sweet but dark - it smells darker than the "thuggish musk" in Devil's Night), with a hint of spice lurking underneath. It stays very close to the skin, making it warm and oddly comforting, despite being a very sexy scent.

I am so very, very glad I have more of this on the way.

 

Oh, and the bottle art is fantastic. Macha rocks!

 

Edited to add: This is, however, the first Bpal oil to ever turn my skin red. If you're a senstive sort like I am, this is a thick skinned areas only scent - the back of my hands can take it, but the inside of my arms sure can't, and I shudder to think what would have happened elsewhere..

Edited November 20, 2005 by Imbrium

[hangingfire]

In the bottle: Spicy, nutty, sweet. There's also a slightly herbal note as well, a kind of grace note to the thicker, heavier scents that form the base of this perfume.

 

On, wet: Stays pretty true to the bottle, actually. The creamy, nutty aspect is a bit stronger. After a while, a sandalwood note becomes noticeable -- probably the red sandalwood that Macha described.

 

Drydown: It goes through stages of being cinnamony, musky, and sandalwood-y, and in the end leaves traces of musk and what is either dragon's blood or sandalwood.

 

Totally delicious. I adore it, and many thanks to the forumite who gave me the chance!

[QueenFae]

My first impression: A cinnamony, spicy, red, feral.... But that's all the further I got because it started burning my neck! My husband looked at me and said, "Oh my god your neck is turning red" And I had to run in the bathroom and rinse it off! Ouch, that was the worst BPAL burn I've had yet. The good news is the hubbie loves it and has already claimed the bottle.

[iriedanym]

I bought an imp of this because I wasn't sure I would want a full bottle of this. Don't get me wrong, it is a wonderful scent and once again the Labbies do a great job of producing a Lunacy. The red sandalwood is most prominent, almost like walking through the Californian Redwood Forest. The grain notes are there, and it adds to the overall effect of spicy. Not an icky Old Spice type of spicy. I mean feral, running through the woods with the branches snapping under your feet type of spicy. Definately a sexy scent.

[Finny]

Love, love, love this blend.

 

A touch of dragons blood, vanilla, and a spicy woodsy note, maybe sandalwood? it is creamy and delicious smelling. It dries down to a soft musk, with a hint of spicy sweetness.

 

And for those of you getting the soda? It smells to me a lot like the holiday Pepsi they had out last year? Pepsi Spice.

Edited November 29, 2005 by Finny

[crazyredhead17]

This is my first Lunancy oil, so I had no idea what to expect.

 

In the bottle, Blood Moon smells like a walk in some woods on a cold fall day, with a spicy fire in the distance. Wet, it's was so spicy it made my eyes tear up (which, considering I've got dry allergy eyes, is a nice thing). Its dried into a spicy, musky, creamyness that I'm just adoring. It's still very strong, and very sexy smelling.

 

It's not an every day scent.. but when I do wear it, watch out world.

 

I had to come back and edit this.

 

Last night, after I'd been wearing this scent for a few hours, it just made me relax all over. I had the best sleep I've had in months (and I slept right through my alarm, although thankfully I didn't have anything I needed to be up for). I'll also be wearing this when I greet my fiance at the airport.. it makes me want to tie him down and do naughty things to him.

Edited November 19, 2005 by crazyredhead17

[monet]

Cinnamon red hots (candy) mixed with smell of Christmas. I loved it first on.

 

Then it dried to a milder spice melded with dried eucalptus.

 

Several hours later - the smell that hits you when you walk into a flower shop and the scent of dried flowers.

 

Not sure what I think. I think I may need to try this one again before making a decision.

[Em-]

Um..wow. Blood Moon is, hands down, one of the most indescribably beautiful blends I have tried. It is deep, feral and bloody, sharp and musky, yet, it is crisp and almost light with a herby edge.

 

The day I received this I put some on before bed and was immediately taken with how unique and just wonderful it smelled. I slept restlessly because I had to be up earlier than usual and was afraid I would sleep through my alarm, and every time I woke, I could smell the metallic scent of blood on my wrists. It was a warm, almost comforting scent...which sounds strange when I read it in stark black and white, but really, it was...

 

Wearing it during the day, I had whifs of the same blood-like notes, along with what I am sure is a hint of Dragon's Blood, some woody notes, musks and the herbal grains. I don not get the spicy cinnamon that others are getting, but that's okay. My Blood Moon is perfect just the way it is. It is not a scent that I will wear every day, but I will cherish every drop for those days when it is the perfect scent.

[sookster]

wickedly sharp and herby with what seems to be some dragon's blood in the mix.....

normally, i can wear scents like this but this does not work....not in the least.....it

never strays beyond sharpness with my chemistry and fades within 30 minutes.....

[Duck Mountain]

I'm not experienced enough to know which note it is that's giving me an overall impression of 'bitterness', but that's basically what Blood Moon is from start to finish. Hints of the herbs and grains come through (maybe), but it remains consistently gritty and flatly bitter. It's a shame, as I enjoy wood/grain notes, but perhaps I'll keep this one for now and see if it changes with age.

[LiberAmoris]

Gah, Blood Moon is so gorgeous! I smell sandalwood, a creamy musk like the one in Devil's Night, the spices from Bengal, a tiny bit of dragon's blood and a drop of leather. On my skin, it really does have a metallic tang---it's one of those smells that I really enjoy after having my nose lovingly re-calibrated by BPAL but struck most of my coworkers as 'unusual' and 'weird.' That's okay, it's their loss.

 

I'm so glad that I decided to get a bottle. This only reinforces my belief that I should try every moon.

 

And the label design is so beautiful. Nicely done, Macha!

[zenvodunista]

Sadly for me, there is something in this that just smells wrong on my skin. Perhaps its' the spicy-cinnamon that others have found, but there is a fake-cinnamon that's going on here and isn't working on my skin. It's sad because what I smell in the vial is really quite lovely and mysterious. this bottle will make someone, somewhere, happy.

 

n.

[kakiphony]

Blood Moon was in my mailbox waiting for me when I got back from my weekend in Holland. I tried it last night, but J had my computer, so the review got typed this morning,

 

In the imp: Cinnamon was the dominant note, but was a high, thin, slightly alcoholic cinnamon, and not a rich, thick one. (To be completely abstract in my description, it was more of a feral cinnamon than a foody one.) I think that it was a thin note because I was smelling the lunar oils in the background; they just weren't strong enough, and my nose isn't sensitive enough, to register them as additional notes.

 

Wet: I was a bit apprehensive that this might sting since it was so very cinnamon, but there was only a slight tingle on my wrists. It's a very subtle scent when first applied. I actually had to slather on a second coat of oil to get much scent from it at all. The dominant note was still cinnamon, but a bit fuller than what I got from the bottle. There was something high and sweet underneath it which I couldn't quite place. It wasn't vanilla, honey or sugar, which are the notes I usually sense as sweet backgrounds, but something lighter and less rich. I suspect it may be a very subtle lunar floral, but I don't know which one.

 

Early dry down: After about a half an hour, I was still getting cinnamon. There was a little more waft to it, and the sweetness had faded. This was turning quite spicy on me, which I liked. It seemed like the spicier, gutsier older sister to Block Buster.

 

Late dry down: As this mellowed on my skin, the high sweet notes all but disappeared and a musk developed to mingle with the cinnamon. It was a subtle spicy musk, which is good. (Some musks turn vaguely ferret-like on me, but this one seemed to avoid that pit-fall.) It had a lot more waft that I was expecting given how it disappeared into my skin at first. Obviously, there was something in it that needed time to react with my chemistry before making its appearance.

 

The combination of the musk and the cinnamon smelled good to me, but also struck me as quite masculine. It's a powerful scent, and one that I think would be excellent for divorce negotiations that require more anger and stubbornness than finesse. I'm not entirely sure whether this is one I'll actually wear, or if it's just one I admire. I meant to put more on this morning and get the boy's reaction to help me decide, but I forgot and walked out of the house with no scent on at all. (Horror!) I'll have to put some on at lunch and edit this post later to add in J's two cents.

 

ETA: J says it's nice. His exact quote, "It's nice. But it doesn't make my knees weak like that other one." (The other one was Queen of Sheba. And yes, I ordered a big bottle!) I wore this one for Thanksgiving yesterday, and while no one gave me weak in the knee comments, I think it made me feel more confident before going to J's family. I will be keeping this one, and maybe decanting out one or two imps worth for my best friend and my sister. I don't think I'll use the whole bottle, but I'll come close.

Edited November 25, 2005 by kakiphony

[sideviewhotel]

WTF? CARDBOARD??! No, wait.. Cut wood planks? Damnit, damnit, damnit! No musks, no herbs.. just.. ew.

 

Blood Moon, you've broken my heart!

[summer]

Ooh wow. Dry, dry cinnamon. So dry I can almost hear it crackle. And smoke. Dry, deep woods, smoke, and yes, definitely a little bit animalistic. But there's that gorgeous cinnamon. And there's something else -- something creamy, and a little bit sweet.

 

This is a deep, evocative blend. I am again amazed at how well Beth is able to capture concepts in scent.

 

I am surprised at how much I like this. Normally "deep woods" and "feral" would be enough to make me run screaming. But this is so very warm, and so very dry and sharp -- like a cold winter night that is warmed by the body heat generated by running over the dead leaves.

 

Beautiful.

 

ETA: During my period, this blend comes alive and positively hums on my skin. Ohhhhhh wow. It smells so warm and cozy and sweet. This is becoming one of my favorite blends. So very ideal for cold and dreary weather.

Edited December 3, 2005 by summer

[Fefferbella]

I'm kicking myself for not ordering a dozen bottles of this blend!

 

I love Blood Moon. It's spicey, rich and complex. The cinnamon scared me a little, but it quickly dries down and behaves itself among the other notes.

 

This scent reminds me of bonfires in the woods, camping on a crisp fall night with close friends, and dewey, misty mornings in a deep pine forrest.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - oh yeah, scentgasm! The most delicious combination of cinnamon and red musk. I have to restrain myself from drinking the bottle.

Dry - I am probably crazy, but I get a bit of an aquatic note when this dries. It seems a bit watery and red….an absolute perfect avatar for blood! I can also smell a bit of the forest herbs, though nothing I can name outright. This is an absolutely beautiful blend and I am so glad I got a chance to grab a bottle of this.

 

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

[amberdulen]

I loved it in the bottle...and then it hit my skin. In half an hour it was nothing but skin musk, that nasty note that made Umbra so horrible on me. It started out a fruity/spicy/woody thing and ended up just...unwashed. Tragic. But if you can wear Umbra or Scherezade or the like, I highly recommend it.

 

ETA: It also gave me a red rash when I tried it after a bath, like Tintagel. Sigh.

Edited November 26, 2005 by amberdulen

[cindyrella]

I really love this one.

 

Bottle: This reminds me of blood sausage baked with apple, with some added spices. Although it reminds me of this, it doesn't smell really foody. and I really like this.

 

On me: It's a really delicate scent, and the blood sausage is gone now. On me it smells very vaguely of spices with something extra. That could be the musk, I adore musk.

It's not heavy at all, very comforting and cosy. My mom said it reminds her of a scent of her youth, and she wished she'd ordered one herself.

 

Overall: Lovely, could be a everyday scent because although it's spicy, it's very light. It's comforting and I love it.

 

On a scale of 1 - 5 I rate this a 4

Edited November 27, 2005 by cindyrella

[Galena]

more like a cinnamon stick.

 

only that would be cinnamon bark.

 

and my skin isn't raised and red.

 

 

 

this has an old pine scent. not strong, but faded like long dropped needles.

 

leafmold.

 

and blood.

 

actual, metallic blood. a little dried.

 

and....... that soft, sweet, but very light butteriness of Black Opal. what the..?

 

and then as it warms on the skin, it goes from the spilt blood of sacrifice to the warm blood racing beneath the skin, with a hint of spice and skin. it's reborn.

 

if this were earthier, and more animal, this would be my Herne scent.

it's captured a lot of how I see him.

 

I'll try layering it with Burial......

[maewitch]

This one was an object lesson - when testing, it's always best to test more than once, and on different days of your cycle. When I first tried this I was on my period and it had the most bitter herbal note to it that I could barely stand to keep it on. All I could smell was that biting green note, and the dry woody undertone. Very unpleasant.

 

A week later, it smells like beautifully spicy sandalwood, with just a touch of that herby scent beneath it, if I inhale deeply enough (it's that forest greens note that's in Hex as well). It's exotic and deep and utterly gorgeous, sexy and just a little feral. I get the cinnamon stick, and the deep red musk, and that intoxicating dry yet sweet wood. I don't smell dragon's blood as such, but I suppose it could be in here, lending a certain almost-floral sweetness to the mix.

 

From wanting to vigorously wash my arm, I am now almost regretting only getting one bottle of this.

Edited November 28, 2005 by maewitch

[Voleuse]

This is what I had hoped Snake Oil would smell like. Musk, spices, with a strong vanilla note. I did not expect this, given the description, but it fits. It's a gorgeous, dark scent.

 

Over time, the tinge of cinammon becomes stronger, but overall I don't find it to be a foody scent. The sandalwood in the blend balances out the cinammon and vanilla nicely. And over time, it gets smoky and dry.

 

It's sharp and warm and sweet and woodsy, and incredibly seductive. A rich sheen of burgundy red that lurks in the corner of my mind. Gorgeous.

[CLFilm]

I love Blood Moon. I get a loooooooot of cinnamon (to me, it's a wet cinnamon stick, not a candy smell) both from the bottle and when it's first applied. After a while, this amazing creamy musk scent comes out to play with the more subdued cinnamon. I guess I would also say there is something a bit feral in the background, but I'm not very good yet at identifying notes.

 

This is also my first lunacy, so I can't say how it compares to others, or even what the lunar notes might be.

 

Unlike what a lot of others have said, this is a strong scent on me. Not overpowering, but lasting, definitely. Again I say, I love it. So warm and comforting, with just a hint of naughtiness!

[PurringPulsar]

Blood Moon

 

In the bottle: yes, it has that same cinnamon scent as Bengal, but instead of honey, it has something else…a mysterious-is it a musk, or a woody note? It may even be blood…possibly of the dragon's kind? I cannot tell but it's got me intrigued.

Wet on skin: oooh, now I think the musk notes are coming out, rich, red musk…and I also get more woods and forest smells, and also the grain note.

Dry on skin: wow. Just wow. This is amazing. A light hint of cinnamon bark and possibly other spices coupled with a delightful musk note (actually, it's more than one musk-there's definitely the red variety here, and I think there's also the smooth, creamy Buck Moon musk as well. I also get smoke, woods, coniferous scents like pine or fir, crushed green grains and herbs, and indeed, I get blood here-both metallic (which isn't as bad as I expected) and dragon's blood. This is a fabulous mix of scents, it's warm, autumnal, and yes, it is feral, but in a very good way. It's so unusual and I love it…and I think it is Buck Moon's darker twin, it has that same herb-musk combination, but darkened and enhanced by woods, spice and 'blood'.

After a while: the cinnamon has faded a bit but lingers, warming the scent without making it blatantly spicy. The musk notes in here are lovely, both smooth and velvety white, and rich and deep red. Possibly also a clean, slightly tangy skin musk. I'm also surprised that I actually really like the blood note in here-it's scary how real it smells, like metal, like the taste of iron in your mouth after licking a cut…but in here, it works. I think there's also dragon's blood here-there's something red and resinous, and also a sweet note here, and I also get the herbs from Buck Moon, grains, and woody scents, some of them even smoky, like a hint of a bonfire of fragrant woods in a forest.

The later drydown is along the same lines as Devil's Night...a smoky autumnal musk with a bit of spice.

Verdict: this is one of the most incredible lunar oils! Multifaceted and complex, this scent incorporates spice, musk, wood, herbs, grains, and even an eerily realistic blood note-and pulls it off fantastically. This is feral, wild, and mysterious in the best way possible…this is such an autumnal scent, deep, dark, with vibrant red tones, warm cinnamon, earthy scents and smooth, rich musks. It's like Buck Moon's autumnal twin. I'm impressed…this is one scent that will turn heads, because it's so different from the norm. It's also very evocative of the concept and description, but in the most attractive way possible…I am so glad I bought a bottle from a swapper, because it's wonderful stuff. Bravo Beth!

Edited December 2, 2005 by yeahbutnobut