LunarAwe

This is me finally adoring Black Butterfly Moon! When it first arrived it was so light, and the smell was so faint, that I knew aging had to be a part of the process. So I waited. OK, yes I tested every so often but today I am wearing this lunacy and it is fast becoming a favorite! In the Bottle: Deep florals, not in the cloying sense but in the night blooming flowers sense. Wet, spicy, enticing, fertile. Wet on skin: Everything that the bottle promised but more complex. The mosses are starting to make their presence known here, and the florals are blending quite well. I cannot separate an individual floral note but the layering is still quite evident. Gorgeous. Drydown: It just gets better and better. Where Black Butterfly Moon used to be light and quickly fading it now has a fabulous sillage and lasting power. This scent is dark, slightly musky, night blooming flowery, and peppery. The ambergris and mosses make fabulous foundational notes and the complexity just WORKS. LOVE THIS SCENT!

Heather, gorse, and fumitory seem to be the main notes that I pick up out of this one but sadly over time it dwindles down on my skin to a single, sharp, brittle green note like something pungent that has withered in the sun. And the scent just lasts and lasts and lasts. Sigh. Another 'Weenie given away to a loved one. I think my skin may not really like BPAL at end of summer / start of autumn. The sadness of it all!

I was so hopeful when I ordered pumpkin III. I adore Planting Moon and wanted an autumnal version. Sadly for me this year's pumpkin note turns my stomach. It does not smell anything like pumpkin to me, more plastic like and toxic almost. I am really glad this is working for other folks, but on me this was an immediate pass. I tried again a couple weeks later. Still made my stomach turn over. I have given this to a friend.

I hope this is the right thread for this question. I sent an imp of Arkham to a friend (trying to rack up the recruitment points) because the scent really reminded me of scents he wears. He loves it. Today he told me that he wished it also had a rose note that didnt overpower the rest. I know he can layer, but I am wondering if rose fans out there have any suggestions for a BPAL scent that is like Arkham but with a hint of rose? thanks so much!

Another frimp from the lab. Thank you, wonderful labbies! In the imp: it must be the leather and plum. This smells like plum if plum were a mammal and not a fruit. I am not getting herbs, greenness, or lilac at first sniff. Dark, animal fruit. Wet on skin: Wow the leather amps when wet! At least on me it does. The plum is much quieter when first applied on me. Still nothing on the lilac, herbal front. Dry on skin: There's the lilac. Delicate... definitely in the background which is not how I usually experience florals. The plum and leather are a bit more balanced though I was really hoping for a strong herbal note since those have been working really well for me. Later: This is really a lovely scent! It has balanced enough now that it is harder to separate the notes. Not one that I would have tried on my own, but lushly complex once it settles in a bit. I think this one might be worth aging a bit more. Will definitely come back to this imp after some months have passed.

I got this as a giftie from the lab. Thanks! In the imp: Wow fruit! I am getting mango and fig, and honestly candy versions of the two more than anything else. Wet on skin: upon application it is the same as in the imp. Then it slowly starts to get eaten by my skin. Strange. Still no patchouli for me, but maybe the tanginess I am smelling is the tea? This is really just too fruity for my skin. We don't tend to get along. But I can see how this would be nice one someone else. Dry on Skin: Much more subtle, but still sticky sweet. Later: Still waaay too fruity for me but now with an undertone of coconut? Must be my nose. I have to say overall that I wish this mango was closer to mango... this is lacking the earthy sultriness of mango that underlies the sweet to me, and also that slipperiness.

Litha 2009 oh how I love you! So much that I had to order a second bottle. I was drawn to this because all things connected to copal are a high draw for me. I was worried about some of the sweeter notes but once I opened the bottle I knew that the incredibly skilled balance of this complex blend was just right. Wet in the bottle - In the bottle I am first struck by frankincense, gardenia, honey, and moss. No herbal presence at all... a sharpness swaddled in florals and sweet. But... not sticky, if that makes any sense. So many people wrote about smoke... there was absolutely nothing smoky or soapy to me in this. Wet on skin - I just can't stop sniffing! The frankincense starts to fade, the honey mellows out and other notes come to the fore. Chamomile, parsley, and yarrow add complexity and green scents to the honeyed florals that are still very much in the mix. Here I am getting more moss and a strong copal, which is exactly what I was looking for. Dry - Wonderful throw, and perfect balance. Not terribly different from wet on the skin, but more blended somehow. The green notes keep the honey fresh and summery, and overall Litha 2009 makes my skin smell like a sacred summer offering. Delightful. Hours later - Still balanced and delicious. Predominant notes of honey, yarrow, parsley, and copal. Heavenly.

Spikenard! So helpful it is to reread the the original descriptions of scents. I have been wondering what the note was that I couldn't quite put my finger on. And actually that helps Season of the Inundation make a lot more sense. There is definitely a strong silt note to this LE... a wet, sliding earth more than just earthiness or soil. Wet the spikenard is a very strong presence for me. I think my skin amps it. As it dries the cedar and astringent herb notes of hyssop make their presence more known. This has a lasting, lingering potent smell on me... like incense buried under wetness, the silty bottom of the Nile expanding into the floodplains. I quite like this one, but my housemate cannot bear the sweet notes... that would be me amping the Spikenard again. So to a beloved friend it goes!

This is my first review! When Smoky moon arrived in the mail I was not entirely sure that I would like this scent. After distancing myself for a week and returning I am really enjoying the complexity of this one. In the Bottle: In the bottle I get a light scent, mainly floral but with complexity and depth. There is a slight dry / powdery / citrus scent underneath the florals. Wet on Skin Wow a big change when it first hits my skin. This changes to a much earthier, smokier, heavier scent out of the bottle. At first contact I get a bit of soapiness which quickly fades into florals with an earthy / smoky undertone. Soon after a shift into a strong orris note plus woody and musk emerging as well. I don't quite amp the sandalwood like others have mentioned, but it is clearly impacting the musks in this blend. Dry Smoky Moon is gorgeous and complex. I get a strong presence of nicotiana (which is a bonus because that is what drew me to it) with clear musks and a soft floral top note (but the florals are heavy, humid almost, not light flowery at all). I love that deep, hot, potent summer nights were captured in Smoky Moon. Those deep summer nights when you can really feel the humidity in every breath, when the scent of flowers hangs in thick night air begging for a breeze. Let me be clear, there is nothing cloying here... more potency and expectation.