Lotus Moon 2006

[LiberAmoris]

Soporose and lenitive: opium-laced golden lotus with rich amber, pine resin, and rose otto.

I am no fan of lotus, but when I saw the other notes in Lotus Moon, I had to take a chance and I'm so glad I did. The lotus is strong at first on me, but it quickly mellows and the rose/amber/pine resin come forward to balance it perfectly. The result is a blend that feels golden on me, with no one note sticking out. It's very pretty, and also very relaxing and centering.

This doesn't last very long on me, but it's ok. Some BPAL blends inspire activities that last about as long as the scent---this one will be perfect for a yoga session.

[themerrybaker]

Thank you fellow forumite who enabled this purchase by reminding me that my beloved Bastet contains golden lotus.

 

Lotus Moon smells nasty in the bottle, and there was an iffy moment where it seemed to be channeling hyssop, but LM eventually dries down to a perfumey blend with serious throw and an untertone of vanilla (my nose must be fooling around). This moon is sweet and aromatic and reminds me a bit of Stardust/Pink Phoenix/Beatrice. So glad I got a bottle.

 

 

 

After wearing this off and on for a month I particularly enjoy the very last of the dry-down when the slightly bitter opium is apparent.

Edited August 10, 2006 by themerrybaker

[nineveh]

A few months ago, I was sure that Lotus Moon would be a lunar oil that I skipped based solely upon its name. Lotus is one of the worst notes for me. With my chemistry, it takes over blends and turns them into a miasma of rotting bubblegum. The golden lotus in Bastet was somewhat better, but still made that blend too sweet for me. I decided to take a chance on Lotus Moon since everything else in it sounded so good.

 

In the bottle, pure bubblegum.

 

Wet on my skin, where's the lotus? This is Opium Moon, smoky, spicy/herbal, slightly metallic.

 

Drying, it becomes sweeter and creamier while still being nicely smoky. Maybe this is the lotus.

 

Once it's completely dry, the smokiness fades somewhat and I think I can detect the rose. The blend also acquires a thickness like Haunted, so that must be the amber finally making itself known. The pine never shows up on me.

 

After being dry for a while, this becomes a sexy and subtle perfume that feels like it should be saved for special occasions. I'm glad that I got a bottle.

[abejita]

I ordered this at the same time as Litha, so the two are linked in my head. Lotus Moon is a really interesting counterpoint to the Midsummer blend. While Litha is bright greenish gold and has a sense of rising to it, Lotus Moon is dark, amber gold, and feels very steady to me. It's sweet, I get a little of the bubblegummy character of the lotus, but that's something I like. I was afraid of the pine resin, but it's not prominent, more like just another note amongst the other resins. The rose, I think, will please both rose-lovers and people who aren't fond of roses. It's there, but not the defining note. Someone mentioned that they thought this would age really well, and I have to agree, so long as the pine behaves itself.

[euterpe414]

I am definetely not a Lotus hater, although it is not one of my favorite notes, so I didn't really have any reservations about this. But WOW it is nothing like I expected!

 

On my skin, it starts out wet smelling of lotus and roses, with some slight resin in the background. As it dries, it smells like Sleepy Moon + Lotus. This is mostly how the scent stays on my skin, until it fades. I don't know how long this scent lasts yet because I wore it to bed last night and it certainly relaxed me to sleep.

 

I am defintely happy with this blend, it is very relaxing and sweet. I think that it will do perfectly for me as a blend to use before sleep, or whenever else I need to feel calm and very feminine.

[QueenFae]

Ahhh, gorgeous. A heady, sexy woman's perfume. What's not to love? A beautiful combination of strong lotus, amber and opium. Slightly resiny but also sweet and floral. Very pretty, makes me feel boozy and slightly drunken.

[zenvodunista]

This is reminiscent of Bastet to me. The lotus is strong in the bottle, but on my skin it dies back quick and mellows to a rounded sweet richness that is not reminiscent of bubblegum in the slightest!

 

Right now I am not sure if I will wear it. We'll find out

 

ETA: For a couple of hours, the lotus goes to bad plastic on me. So sad! Later on, the lotus dies down and the rose comes forward but not in a "rosy" way -- not a typical rose way. It's really lovely now, but I don't know if I can handle the long dry down. I'll give it a few weeks and try it again. Sometimes with a little aging scents change.

 

n.

Edited July 12, 2006 by zenvodunista

[LittleGreyKitten]

This one is very faint on my skin initially, light and smokey. While wet, it's almost pure opium. I don't smell lotus at all, not even a Bastet-like whiff of it, which is kind of too bad, since I do get along with lotus pretty well, and Bastet particularly well. Opium can be very hit-or-miss with me; mostly miss, actually.

 

As it dries out it gets stronger, better throw. A wee hint of Bastet-like lotus, which I'm enjoying, but primarily still opium. No rosiness. No pineyness. That's fine with me; I was rather hoping those would be background notes and not terribly strong. It's funny, I still can't smell it very strongly with my nose plastered up against my arm, but I do catch whiffs of it as I move- so the throw is decent though it still is not a strong aroma on me.

 

I like it, it's fairly unique; light and a little bit smokey and unusual. It smells like I wish Sleepy Moon would have (and didn't). A good one to sleep in I suspect.

 

Right now I'm calling it a 3.5 out of 5, though it might grow on me.

[PurringPulsar]

Lotus Moon

 

In the bottle: soft, sweet, light, slightly creamy lotus, with just a bare hint of opium smoke.

Wet on skin: still a soft, faint lotus, but I think it's getting stronger…

Dry on skin: now I can smell the pine! This is a gorgeous pine-it's not a Christmas tree/disinfectant smell, this is like crushing pine needles in your hands under the shade of the tree they came from. it's a very green pine, to me. The lotus still lingers sweetly, with that rich opium surrounding it nicely like a darker veil (this is a scent where the opium is gorgeous) and I can just about make out the rose, rich and red, under it all. This scent is very pretty and light right now.

After a while: now the lotus is slightly drier, soft and almost creamy in feel, with the rose at the back and still a hint of opium. This is not bubblegum-sweet lotus in the slightest. The scent is now dusty, wispy, almost dreamlike, but with a hint of something deeper thanks to the pine (which now does smell like resin) and a soft rosy base with some amber. In fact, yes, now I do think that the amber and lotus are interacting in the same way as they did in Bastet, because I get a very slight similarity to it now.

The lotus gains more sweetness after 1-3 hours. This is really nice, and there's a feel of powder to it (which is a good thing here) which forms a soft undertone for the sweet, crisp lotus scent. I can't smell as much pine now, it's predominantly floral and amber now.

Then after a few hours…yup, that's Bastet alright, that lovely merging of amber and golden lotus, only without the deep spices and musk, but this retains a delicious warmth and I love this phase of the scent. I smell a bit of rose (it also has merged with the lotus) but not as much pine and opium.

Verdict: this is a very pretty, light, dreamy scent. It is, at times, almost like single note lotus, enhanced and lifted by other notes, and at other times, I can smell the other note components clearly. This is a sophisticated, clean, dry lotus note, not a trace of bubblegum here-I think the rose grounds it. It's not the slightly moist, sweet lotus I'm used to but this is very nice-I love the way the blend shapeshifts and each note merges with the lotus and then moves out again-it's very ethereal and dreamlike. The pine was strong at the beginning and then at the end the amber comes out to play. A gorgeous scent-I really like this and though it's not the true love I was hoping for, I have a feeling it might really grow on me.

Emoticon rating:

[ChupaChup]

Lotus is usually my nemesis but the golden lotus in Bastet was lovely and it's lovely in Lotus Moon as well. I really don't get very much of it, a tiny whiff when wet, but pretty much the rose otto and amber take center stage. The pine resin isn't piney at all on me, it just adds some depth but I wouldn't be able to tell you what that note was if I didn't already know, it's just resinous. This dries down to something very familiar to me, like another GC scent. I think it might even be Black Phoenix, after the almond burns off. It's a lovely ambery rose with a background of light spices. Unfortunately, Beth's ambers usually make scents disappear on me far too quickly and that's what happens with Lotus Moon so I've swapped it away. But it really is a lovely scent.

[SultryWolf]

Lucked into a bottle of this.

I’m so glad I held off for a second wearing to review! Apparently, the first time I tried it, I must have had something else left on my arm (though I had alcoholed it), probably Dragon’s Blood, because I got a wonderful Chinese antique shop aroma.

But this time, there’s none of that camphor-like undercurrent. I’ll have to try layering to see if I can recapture it!

 

Bottle: syrupy sweet with a wisp of spice

 

On: starts off sweet, settling rapidly into spicy with sweet florals floating after. Heady, but without a lot of throw.

[m13]

I bought this because the moon was in scorpio when the lunacy went live and since I have a half dozen planets in Scorpio I felt like I wanted to make that evening even more special. It was also my very first lunacy.

 

All that said, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to want to wear Lotus Moon -- almost all florals amp up to insane extremes on me and amber tends to go to powder within minutes of application.

 

But Lotus Moon isn't your average amber-laced floral. On my skin it smells like taking a walk on a summer night, a soft whift of night blooming flowers, a green-scented breeze, perhaps a hint of rain in the air, and something steady, glowing and wonderfully rich and fertile underneath it all.

 

I started off liking this, then applied it again the next day and loved it, and today I find myself craving the scent. Yeah, literally craving it. So much nicer than I expected -- the lotus and rose are subtle and well behaved, the amber isn't morphing to powder, and the little bit of pine that peeks out occasionally keeps everything fresh and grounded. I'm so pleased that this one turned out to like my skin as much as it does.

[lushiejane]

I wanted to wear this one several times before reviewing.

 

In the Bottle: Lotus, green, herbal, slightly sweet.

 

Wet on Skin: Still smell the lotus, but a little more sweetness in it. Not bubblegum to my nose.

 

On the Drydown: Only slightly sweet on my skin. It dries to a feminine sexy scent. I detect a bit of lovely spice. Maybe some amber. Not a lot of throw, not overpowering. It seems just perfect to me.

 

I love this scent. It is a grown-up scent, but not "old lady" like at all. I will need more of this!

LushieJane

[Elrianra]

In the bottle, sharp pine sap with a touch of amber. On, deep rich rose otto with a light heady lotus layered over hardened amber and sticky sweet pine resin. Overly sticky, pretty but too heady, too sharp. Not at all the whimsical, soft lunar oil I expected. As it dries, this goes straight into soapy-floral, which I was afraid of as soon as I smelled the pine... very medicinal floral soap. *sigh* What a let down. After the soap starts to fade, this gets dry and dusty, bitter actually... like rancid perfume.

[miss apple]

In the bottle all I can really smell is the lotus. It's light, more like a faded version than the robust note in Blood Lotus. Transparent is the word that comes to mind. Once on it stays the same, airy, paper-thin lotus. A slight touch of rose comes out a bit later but by then Lotus Moon has all but disappeared. No amber or pine or spices for me, sadly.

[luxuria]

On me this is aquatic instead of bubblegummy lotus with herbs that have a slightly metallic smelling edge. This is very understated, not sweet, and generally not much like I expected. It's quite clean.

[Kittyflop]

On wet: sharp ‘n tangy. A very familiar scent that I can’t put my finger on. Something similar to…. Tenochtitlan? In a very faint way.

 

Drydown: some woodsiness coming through. I’m not familiar with rose otto, maybe a bit of that? Luckily for me the pine resin is very subtle. This is turning absolutely gorgeous. Sadly, though, it has zero throw – once it dries down, I have to put nose to wrist to sniff it.

[gingersnapp]

Wow, I have no idea what happened with this but it smells awful on me. I get none of the notes listed at all, even remotely. Sadness.

[perclexed]

Right out of the bottle and on my skin it smells exactly like original Big League Chew bubblegum. That pink shredded stuff? After about 45 min though, the scent morphs and ends up a spicy, thrilling amber-based scent with something mysterious and seductive wafting from it. I love Lotus Moon!

[oedipa]

My first Lunacy!

 

Wet on skin - Oh-ho, so this is the bubblegum that everyone keeps talking about! I haven't encountered any lotus notes before so I was hoping, fingers crossed, that I'd be one of those who avoided this particular horror. Looks like it isn't to be.

 

10 minutes - Hello musky smell, my arch-nemesis. It must be the amber. Amber LOVES me, coming right up to the forefront and refusing to go away even after I've nicely complimented its shoes. Stupid, needy amber!

 

30 minutes - Some pine coming forth, a very nice green smell that's quickly beaten back by the twin hammers of Bubblegum and Musk. Then they do a little dance on its corpse.

 

2 hours + - On drydown the musk/bubblegum smell gets a little less heady and I can smell what I think are hints of rose, but by then it's almost gone.

 

Final verdict: a swapper, unfortunately. I just don't think I can wear anything with amber, bless her little musky heart.

[Shannihilation]

I knew that I would be getting a bottle of Lotus Moon today (gotta love tracking info!) So, when I got out of the shower I didn't put any BPAL on. An that was good because when I came downstairs, my Lotus Moon was in my mailbox along with two frimps (Ode On Melancholy which I love just sniffing, and Rome which I'm not so sure about). This was an Ebay purchase by the way since I missed Lotus Moon when the Lab had it up. And OMG I am so glad that I got this. It's sweet but not cloying at all. The amber and opium ground the Lotus so that it doesn't smell like a big hunk of Bazooka bubble gum. I was worried about the pine, but so far, I can't smell it at all. The rose either for that matter. This scent is gorgeous. It's a very "golden" scent. In the forums everyone said what a great summer blend it was, but to me it seems more of a warm fall or winter scent. Or a nighttime one. I do love it though. It's beautiful.

[sofiaviolet]

I mostly smell the lotus and opium. It's really warm and, well, golden. I was very worried about the amber because most scents with that note vanish the second they touch my skin.

 

Unfortunately, a few minutes after I wrote the above, I sniffed my hand and Lotus Moon was gone. Foiled again!

[Em-]

This is lovely...the lotus is soft and sophistocated (not bubblegum), and the result is a sweet, but rich sophisticated blend that is just perfect for summer. This may well be the first opium blend that I've ever been able to wear. My only complaint is that this fades fast on me...I'm not sure if I just need to slather like a mofo, or my skin is drinking this up...shall have to test some more.

[arabella]

First Impression: A light, pine-y floral with a hint of tea.

 

Dries down to: The lotus emerges, very slowly, and adds a very light sweetness to the blend.

 

Additional Comments: Fortunately, I don't have the "bubble gum" problem with lotus that a lot of people do and surprisingly, I'm not picking up on the rose otto. It must be the pine and opium that's really keeping it in check. Also, the amber is smothering the pine somewhat; so, it's not too overwhelming. This is quite an interesting combination. I didn't think I'd like this at first, but the dry down is simply stunning. I can see it being the perfect oil to wear on a humid summer evening - sultry but not cloying.

 

Lasted: 2-3 hours

 

Rating: 4 out of 5

[Eros]

In the imp: Sweet, but not bubble gum sweet. I'm one of the fortunate ones, I don't have that problem with lotus =)

 

Upon application: Immediately goes spicy opium perfume and then within one to two minutes settles down to a GORGEOUS, rich, musky amber and lotus with a touch of spice. The pine resin...Not getting pine so much as just a lovely resin that adds depth. The opium lays low in the background but doesn't disappear. The scent, in general, tries to go light on me, to almost nothing, then comes back as if it's taken a deep breath and exhaled gently.

Hypnotic, dreamy, a womanly scent. A woman tangled up in satin sheets, completely satiated, with hair clinging to her still damp skin. I'm going to have to hunt down a bottle of this, no question.

This is...absolutely beautiful.