Falling Leaf Moon

[MamaMoth]

FALLING LEAF MOON
My sorrow, when she's here with me, thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be; she loves the bare, the withered tree; she walks the sodden pasture lane.

The first autumn rains dripping onto fallen leaves against a backdrop of opoponax, labdanum, patchouli, agarwood, and oakmoss.

Falling Leaf Moon is everything I wanted it to be. This was the first Lunacy oil I ever bought, and I couldn't be happier.

It's slightly spicy, slightly sweet resins, and wood, with just the lightest overlay of aquatic. I can definitely smell the labdanum, (that's the spiciness) and the agarwood and oakmoss give it a lovely woodiness without the cedar-like dryness that some woods can have. I can smell the patchouli, but it's not overwhelming... it sings in perfect harmony. (Someone who hated patchouli might think otherwise, however.) I'm not overly familiar with opoponax, but I'm pretty sure that's what is giving it a slightly sweet, incensy resin vibe.

As it dries down, it sweetens up just a little bit. I'm primarily smelling the woods and the opoponax, with the labdanum and patchouli weaving together to give it a subtly earthy, spicy backdrop. The aquatic element just kind of overlays it all to give it a cool, watery smoothness.

I haven't smelled enough BPAL to compare it to another oil, but it is almost the perfect resin/wood/aquatic blend for my nose. Not too harsh, just smooth and lovely.

Throw is moderate. It's not a knock-you-down overwhelming scent. Edited September 22, 2009 by Shollin

[Iceblink]

I was a little worried about the possible aquatic factor here, what with the rains, and there is a brief watery note when this is wet (Heh--how appropriate)...but it doesn't last...the thing I smell above all the other notes here is oakmoss. The longer this dries the more complex it becomes, though, with the patchouli and resins and wood blending in. Wonderfully autumnal. This is going to smell even better by this time next fall, too.

[kattharia]

This perfectly invokes the spirit of autumn! In the bottle and first on my skin I get a vision of damp trampled leaves, and in the distance almost a bit of maple. It sweetens up a bit as it sits on my skin, but I still think it would work for guys as well. I love this and I will wear it alot this fall! This may be the one I take with me to Virginia in OCT!

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Autumn leaves, sweet resins, rain water.

 

Wet: I'm getting some vetiver, as in a smokey note, as if someone had been burning autumn leaves in the distance, but the rain has now put the fire out. According to the wiki entry on agarwood, lightly infected wood, sometimes cultivated, produces an (allegedly) inferior oil with a vetiver, sandalwood, and patchouli character, so I think that's where the faint smoke note may be coming from. Otherwise, very resinous from the opoponax and also very sweet from among the opoponax, the labdanum, and the oakmoss. There's woods and leaves and water throughout the blend.

 

The dry-down: The resinous smell of the opoponax and the sweetness of the oakmoss are the dominant top notes, but the water note and the leaves are still present down in the blend. Overall, I would say that so far, this is a lovely oil that stays mostly the same throughout, only changing a little. At least on me it's "what you smell is what you get". At no point, do I get a rush of patchouli, which is just fine with me. Of the leaves' notes, I'm picking up a sweet gum note, very nice. This will be a wonderful autumnal scent: a little sweet, a little spicy, a little resinous, with autumn leaves and rain and wood.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: This is really unusual. The patchouli is giving an impression of cinnamon. The agarwood is unfamiliar, but I’m guessing that’s the lovely wood note doing cool things with the oakmoss. I am not sure how I feel about the opoponax, labdanum, as is often the case, since I tend to read them as vaguely medicinal. The rain here is not the “rain” scent popular in other products, but rather an impression of the scent of early evening on a rainy day. The leafs are understated. The whole thing is delicately blended and does give a scent Impression of a rainy day in September. Wet: I may be in love with the agarwood/leaves combination. I’m still rather dubious about the opoponax/labdanum combination, but it’s softer on my skin. This is so delicate and impressionistic and yet fascinating that I keep sniffing it. I keep imaging the garden of Pumpkin Patch three after everything has been harvested, the leaves from a nearby tree and plant remains from the garden all turning slowly to mulch is September rain. It manages at the same time to create an oddly sexy feminine perfume at the same time. Dry: I’m less sure about this now. The agarwood, oponax, and patchouli are now dominant and without the more subtle elements it’s just not that exciting.

[caseys]

Falling Leaf Moon 2009

 

Snap Judgements: It seems like every time I only order a decant of the lunacy, it ends up being amazing (lookin' at you Strawberry Moon ). I think I've decided that I should go ahead and get the bottle every month just to be safe, knowing full well that this will probably fail on me. Aquatics just never seem to work, although I like opononax and oakmoss.

 

In the Bottle: Very interesting. I can definitely smell leaves and ozone. There is a spicy component way off in the background that I’m tempted to attribute to cinnamon. However, I agree with Gwydion that it’s probably patchouli in bizarre combination with the ozone.

 

Wet: Not much morph during the wet phase. The sourness of that labdanum emerges a little, but it’s not unpleasant. The distinct leaf smell does fade into the background quite a bit toward the end of the drydown.

 

Dry: The ozone has mostly burned off, and the labdanum really starts to shine. Together with the agarwood, it gives a smoky, distant campfire feel to the blend. There is still a spicy, earthy undertone from the patchouli. I can’t detect the oakmoss specifically, but I think it’s also contributing to the earthiness.

 

Final Thoughts: Falling Leaf Moon is actually much nicer than I expected, and is an intriguingly complex scent. It feels very feminine and sexy, whereas most aquatic/ozone blends always go “sporty masculine” on me. This scent is ALL fall, and in my opinion, very evocative of October specifically. In the end I don’t get a lot of rain imagery from it, but it definitely makes me think of a crisp fall night in the woods, with some distant smoke carried on the wind. I'm so glad I ordered a bottle!

 

[Siberia]

In the bottle, this is all rain on fallen wet leaves - my first thought was, "Ooh, it really doessmell like autumn!"

 

The rain/ozone fades fairly quickly on me and I'm left with something that smells softly of cinnamon and apples and something else that just smells like...fall. I can also smell the sweet aloeswood, but it's all mixed up with other scents. I don't know why I think I smell cinnamon and apples since these are not notes, so I'll leave it to more experienced noses.

 

Okay, so after a few hours, the apple-ish scent fades, and there is a lingering sweet scent tinged with smoke. This is probably my favorite lunacy so far!

 

It seems like the lunacies are just more complex than most of the other blends I've tried, and I've really enjoyed them - this one is no exception - I think this will get a lot of use this fall.

Edited September 26, 2009 by Siberia

[Tramp]

this is like the best of Samhain and my beloved Harvest Moon 05 combined. It has that atmospheric smokiness that is so hard for me to describe. It smells like a cool, crisp fall night. Wonderful. It stays very close to the skin and doesn't amp up but just stays a soft evocative blend.

[annanwater]

The Lunacies just keep getting better and better for me. This is a beautiful fall scent--warm, dried leaves with something sweet that I can't quite put my finger on...something lingering and soft that balances the scent nicely. I can tell already that this will get a lot of wear this fall.

[greenranger]

I tried this at Will Call and had doubts. The rain note was not really behaving on me.

 

However, I had already ordered a bottle unsniffed, and this week it arrived. I don't smell as much rain in it, and I like it so very much more.

 

This is all leaves and resins, this time. The leaves could be maple and apple tree leaves, because a close sniff gives me the impression of cider, though apples and cider are not listed. It smells a bit like a huge pile of clean leaves, the sort of clean leaves you'd have no trouble jumping into a huge pile of just for fun. Then you go inside, still smelling of leaves, and make cider as a reward for the work of raking up the yard.

 

It lasts and lasts and lasts on me. Plus, it just gets better, as the resin and leaves that I like best in it, are apparently also what like my skin the best. I put this on yesterday early morning before work, and I can still smell it on my skin now, the next morning.

[Finny]

Gorgeous.

 

A walk through the woods, deep, damp, and dark, leaves rustling underfoot. It is what I wanted Black Forest to smell like. It is similar to Samhain without the fruit and spice.

 

I just got back from a walk. It is definitely autumn in NY, and as I was walking I realized this blend captured the smell and feel perfectly. It is the scent of autumn in New England.

[opticnerd]

Simply put, this is everything I wish Samhain would be. Wet woods, falling leaves and the slightest touches of spicy roasted apples and whisps of smoke in cold autumn air. Samhain however, turns to burning rubber on my skin. Not Falling Leaf, though! It really captures the scent of autumn with a slightly lighter touch.

 

I do not get any aquatic note in this blend, but I do however get the feeling of drying leaves and wood that are wet with fresh rain and a little chilling from the wind. The woods are sweetened with just a touch of what could be roasted apple in the air and a touch of chimney smoke.

 

Its very evocative without being harsh or *too* outdoorsy. This is a great blend for a day like today where it is a little cool, gray and rainy and I want to savor the autumn gloom just a little.

[Ohmaude]

So, so beautiful, and throw like whoa. This is a more effervescent Samhain. The scents are almost so similar, but falling Leaf Moon has less spice and apple/pumpking and a more prominent wood and raking fallen leaves vibe, which yeah makes sense. It lives up to it's name. I love, love, love this and I can't wait to see how it ages.

[surf-tormented]

It's a really nice blend. It smells perfumey in a sophisticated way. In the bottle, I can smell the myrrh like component, which usually amps up on my skin, killing off all other notes, but this myrrh blends well like the other notes. You get a bit of rain, damp dead leaves, a tiny bit of fruitlike sweetness and a hint of spiciness without any of them out doing the other.

 

This is great as soon as it is put on, at least for me. I have to usually wait for the perfume to die down to smell the individual notes, but with this one, it's like autumn in a bottle, like if you were at an outside Halloween party, the leaves are falling, rain is in the air with a faint chill, seasonal spices cooking somewhere in the distance, even the occasional whiff of apple.

 

I am happy I bought this. I almost didn't because of the sweet myrrh (opoponax) component, but it doesn't get all sugary on me like other myrrhs do. I would recommend it to people who like perfumes that are deeper and more heady than your usual fruit and flower perfume.

Edited September 28, 2009 by Madame Nyx

[Prism]

This one just isn't my thing.

 

It's too masculine and woodsy wet on me. with a smell that reminds me of coconut but isn't (I dont know which note it is), it's a little mossy while wet.

Dry though, it's just...whatever reminds me of coconut and it's kind of a dirt like wood on me that really isn't pleasant.

 

This is nothing like Samhain on me or anything else that's been previously compared to in this thread.

 

3/10 on the rating scale. Love the artwork, not the scent.

 

 

[GhillieDhu]

Wow! ITA with those who said this smells like the best part of Samhain! The "rain" note is lovely and un-soapy, but unfortunately disappears within five minutes of hitting my skin. After that it's all smoky crisp leaf-pile (yes, apple and maple leaves!) shifting aside to reveal sweet, spicy resins. A neat midpoint between Beth's "perfumey" blends and her ultra-realistic nature scents. The resin/wood combination in this reminds me very much of Schwarzer Mond '08 without the sexified musk, and the rainy burning leaves note is what I hoped to get from October.

 

Final word: OM NOM. One bottle might be enough... but then again, it might not be.

[biocarolyn]

I don't know what in the world I was thinking when I bought this! I haven't loved resins, and most of the notes in here I would guess would be too heavy for me. I keep thinking I like aquatic scents, trying them, and not liking them. So I guess I got caught up in the "lunacy" (heh) and thought, ooooh, fall, my favorite season.

 

So this came, and I put it aside. It took me a day or two to try it...For me, this blend keeps creeping up on me. I tested sparingly, just a tiny dab on my wrist, expecting to not like it. Shock- it's really nice. I kept smelling it, every half hour or so, and it keeps getting nicer. I can't pick out the notes, although the previous reviews seem to hit on some things I noticed- very light, almost ghost of a smoky scent, more intense rain type note when wet and during early dry down. A hint of something that is almost cinnamon was there too, along with crisp fall leaves.

 

For those who compared it to Samhain- I haven't smelled Samhain yet. But I ordered Knock-a-Dolly, which is supposed to be "Samhain plus sugar." Sprayed some in the living room Sunday morning, and in the early evening, it was chilly and had been raining most of the afternoon. We had the windows open, and I was sitting on the couch, looking out the window. At first I thought I had gotten a whiff of myself, but as I said, I had put on very little and it was early AM when I applied. Then I realized- it was the damp, crisp, fall air combining with the lingering Knock-a-Dolly in the room. But my first thought was that it smelled just like Falling Leaf Moon.

 

This is a really interesting blend, and I'm going to hang onto it and enjoy for fall. Thanks to Beth, for creating something that really drew me in and is a great experience. This is what I love about BPAL- I don't just smell nice. The blends are really interesting and make you examine your scent memory for associations and are just generally a wonderful experience. That can't be easy to create time & time again. Excellent!!!!

 

ETA: Samhain 2009 arrived. I like it a lot, and I think it splits the difference between Falling Leaf Moon & Lambs-Wool, if that makes sense. So if there is a continuum, this is on one end- Samhain without the apple and sweets, and make the woods wet.

Edited October 7, 2009 by biocarolyn

[Little Bird]

I never think that bpal's dry leaf blends really smell like dry leaves, but this one really does. Falling Leaf Moon has that spicy, slightly sweet, dry, true autumn leaves smell. Amazing. It makes me smell like I've rolled through a pile of colorful fallen leaves and have them stuck in my hair. I can practically hear them crunching underneath my feet. As it dries down, this blend starts to remind me of Samhainophobia, but with lots of fall leaves added in.

 

This is just gorgeous, and the label is so beautiful. I think that this is my favorite lunacy blend ever, and is going to be one of my top ten bpal scents. I wish that I could get this same scent in a room spray too, because I'd love for my whole house to smell like this.

 

:love!:

[topazphoenix]

To me Falling Leaf Moon is a less pungent Samhain. More leaves and a more watery vibe as compared to Samhain. There's a note in here I recognize the feel of but have no idea what the name is...but regardless, that note is kind of turning this weird spicy menthol on my skin. I want to make the rain/leaf themed scents work but they keep failing on my skin. Oh well. More for everyone else I suppose.

[Kimbernunk]

This really does remind me of Samhain, minus some of the fruitiness. I do wonder if these are maple leaves - there's a distinct sweetness that I wasn't quite expecting. The woods are less strong than I was expecting as well. Mostly this is leaves - lots of them, fallen on the ground in huge colorful piles of red and orange and brown - and a sort of misty rain topnote. The fruit is almost like someone has baked an apple pie and left it on a windowsill to cool - it's not strong; it's rather like it's wafting in from the distance.

 

Lovely lovely oil. I prefer this to Samhain, I think.

[Amaranthus]

This starts off as a rain note that is just like Demeter Fragrance's Rain.

 

It turns into a crisp resinous perfume with a touch of patchouli. I can still smell rain in the background. The combination of the rain note with resins is unusual, but pretty.

 

Falling Leaf Moon has a sparkly olfactory texture (?!) similar to Fae, which must be due to their common note of oakmoss.

 

Although I can't bring to mind the smell of fallen leaves to compare this to, this perfume does remind me of the golden brown color and crispness of autumn leaves.

 

I like that this scent omits the (lovely) scents that I usually associate with fall (clove, ginger, cinnamon etc.) while still capturing the essence of the season.

Edited October 2, 2009 by Amaranthus

[cuervosueno]

I didn't buy this during the update because I was worried that it would be too aquatic, or that it would be like Death of Autumn or some of the other autumn scents that haven't worked for me.

 

But I was curious. And when people started saying it smelled like Samhain, my interest was really piqued. Samhain has been an all time favorite of mine, but I have not been able to wear it for several years (a change in meds seemed to change my skin chemistry enough to make some beloved perfumes not work). Samhain had taken on an odd sharp note that was not pleasant when I wore it.

 

So I tracked down a bottle of this instead, and it is perfect! Just what I wanted! In the bottle it smells slightly aquatic--the rain?--and that initially worried me, but on? Absolutely like Samhain used to smell on me, except it is missing a bit of the fruitiness I got out of Samhain in the early stages. This is all resin and wood without smelling like a resin blend. It's not so much that it smells like dry leaves (though it does have a bit of that sweet spice) but that it evokes the memory of leaves, but in this case wet leaves. It is a perfect cool autumn evening, after a rain.

 

I was trying to explain to my boyfriend what the notes were, so I pulled out some natural incense I have (ie. raw resins and wood). I let him smell the agarwood, and we both noted it is very distinct in this blend. The opoponox, a note I love, is not as bright as some opoponox is, but it still very lovely, and adds a sweet slightly spicey, slightly piney note to it. And the oakmoss is not noticeable to me, thankfully, but it probably is adding to the dark feel overall.

 

I'm really happy to have this to replace Samhain.

[Mathenia]

Well, it's a cool, rainy early fall evening, so at least this is appropriate!

 

I wasn't sure about this 'cause I don't like Patchouli, but I like all the other notes so thought I'd go ahead with it. As it happens, I like this a lot. Fortunately.

 

Lesson #1: don't go opening bottles of scented oils when I get home from work on Friday. The hands are stiff and a bit numb from a week at work, and the bottle spilled. There's plenty left, but the house has smelled like Falling Leaf Moon for a week now. You'd think it wouldn't last quite so long. And I'm lucky to have missed the keyboard!

 

So, I've just tried it on myself for the first time tonight, and the patchouli is stronger than I thought. I really like the rain-on-dried-leaves scent. How much of what I'm sniffing is me or is leftover from the spill...

[cyberpuff]

So, for the record, I have had a lifelong hate of patchouli (thanks, hippie parents!). Every BPAL that I've sniffed with patchouli as a note has rocketed to the top of my favorite list, and now I have to re-think that grudge.

 

Falling Leaf Moon was a purchase I made after reading people's will call impressions.

 

In the bottle: rain soaked leaves and trees.

 

Wet: Sweet, wet smokiness. All three of those are so well balanced, and the sweet is definitely apple. I worry that it might start smelling like a fall potpourri.

 

Dried down: The wet water has faded to the background, and a spicyness comes up to balance the sweet. I think that on me the sweet is the patchouli, and what's making it less hippie/more sophisticated on me is the oakmoss. Not sure if the spicyness is the agarwood or the other two notes.

 

Later: This scent behaves beautifully on me, and it's one that given the description I would have passed on it. I'm glad that the early reviews of this prompted me to purchase a bottle.

[Hestia]

Just a quick and dirty review- hasn't even been on me very long, I'll edit if it's vastly different later

 

in the vial-almost overly perfumy and woodsy. um.

 

wet- I can pick up the leafy/mossy/wood in the background, but the other notes are going all medicinal on me. I go between thinking "menthol!" "eucalyptus" "peppermint" and "cinnamon!!!"

 

drying- ok, that chilled out, thank god. had my daughter sniff my arm (she has the most uncanny sense for picking out notes!) and said what does this smell like? her answer "hm. Fall. and leaves. and some dead grass, very fall, mom." I sniffed and lo and behold, not one single not stood out but it screamed "walking through the wet dead leaves on the ground in the fall!" yay! getting the aquatic note here as well. swoon. It IS the best part of Samhain. Sahmain was way to apple-y. I preferred Lambs' Wool to Samhain, but THIS is what I wanted Samhain to be.

 

10 minutes later- aw. it's gone meh on me. The sweet medicine smell came back, and the sharp drying leaves and wood is totally scared off.

 

Verdict- 2/5 but I am going to give a proper slather on of these days instead of a teeny sample and see what happens as I go about my day. (dd now says she smells some cider)

 

This may end up in the swap pile, we'll see.

 

ETA- Suck! Off to swap- the medicine is worse and getting sour. Damn. There for 10 minutes it was gorgeous and just what it's meant to evoke. Anyone want a very full decant? lol

Edited October 5, 2009 by Hestia