Buck Moon

[Trish]

This Full Moon marks the time of the year when the new antlers of buck deer emerge from their foreheads, coated in soft velvet. This is a time of masculine vigor, thunder, balmy nights, glorious sunlight and hot winds. Buck Moon is an animalistic, deep scent: an amplification of one's natural musk coupled with forest herbs, a hint of clear, warm evening air and a crystalline spark of lunar oil.

I got a sniffie of this from Funkmoppet, and there was just enough to test it.

In the imp: My initial rection was "Dorian"! There is a resemblance to my nose, with the light musk and there's a lemon scent in there too. But there's also herbs as well, so it's not quite a Dorian clone. Actually it smells like a cross between Dorian and Osun (but minus the tea of the former and the honey of the latter).

Wet: Uhhhhhhhh..... Sweet lemony musky dried herbs and grasses. It's light and fresh and cool and gorgeous. I don't normally like cool scents (excepting mint) but this is freaking beautiful.

Drydown: The lemon is fading away rather quickly, leaving soft light musk with dried herbs and grasses. It's still gorgeous. It has a little bit of light throw.

Dry: Yep, the lemon has gone. Otherwise it is the same. Light and soft, and the word pure springs to mind.

Ths is much lighter and cooler (and purer!) than what I normally go for, but I have fallen instantly for this. It wasn't even on my wishlist! But now it has gone straight to the top of my must track down a bottle list. I need it asap - preferrably yesterday.


{Edited to add Lab description} Edited September 24, 2007 by Shollin

[bombus]

I have one (thankfully full) l decant of this, how I wish it were more. There is an animalistic feel to this like warm clean fur on a cool evening. I really smell the evening air, I wasn’t expecting that. I wish I didn’t love this as much as I do, or that I was buying bpal when this came out.

 

also I should note that I spent way too much for this (don't ebay while drunk ) but I don't care anymore because I love it soooo much.

[Browneyes]

(thank you so much delicate_fangs!)

 

Short review: warm, pure and beautiful

 

In depth: this is quite incredible. I really do understand the hype. It's clean and pure but at the same time warm and softly sexual. It's not really herbal or foresty or floral, but it smells like nature. It's airy and ethereal yet also earthy and substantial. It's neither feminine nor masculine.

 

Just gorgeous.

 

How I regret not having gotten into BPAL sooner... I'm so happy to have a decant of this though!!

[angharad]

I'm utterly amazed at the generosity of certain people on this forum. Without it, I wouldn't have ever sniffed this wonderful scent. Based on the description, I would never have bought it. Animalistic? Herbs? Masculine? Not for me. Based on many of the reviews, I wouldn't have bought it. Lemon? Ugh, no. But after one sniff of the actual product, I was in love. This is the scent of a woman dancing naked in the woods on a summer night, reveling in her own personal freedom.* It's skin, heated by movement, sweetened ever so slightly by the brush of sweet forest herbs and flowers. It's pure night air, untouched by cities' pollution. It's utterly gorgeous.

 

This is definitely a scent to stay close to the skin. I cannot smell it unless I have my wrist pressed to my nose, but it's totally worth the strange looks from people as I walk around in public. As subtle as it is, it lasts forever. I put some on before leaving the house this morning, and it's still just as beautiful now, 9 hours later, as it was upon initial application.

 

*Yeah, for some reason that image comes to mind every single time I sniff this scent. I know it doesn't line up even close to what the scent's supposed to honor, but I can't help it. Buck Moon = naked dancing forest nymph in my head.

[khiseer]

This is amazing The musk in this is so sweet and soft. I swear i can smell the same black coconut note i love so much in snake charmer.. It is very close to the skin and has hardly any throw It does start off with a hint of lemon but that dies on my skin so quickly that i forget its there. The musk is very prominent when its wet but isn't like any other musks i have smelled.. It has an almost civet like bite of sexiness but without the languid thickness of civet. I don't get much in the way of herbals in this one but i can smell some slight 'green-ness" to it.. I can't stop smelling this it is so gorgeous.

 

So So sad i dont' have a bottle of this...

[Lethran]

Sounds kind of like blood moon, doesn't it? Doesn't really smell like it though. In the bottle: this is light and gentle, the herb and musk mingling beautifully. It's a good start. wet: Much the same as in the bottle. I am betting this is the same musk they use in O, as it's got a similar feel to it. I am not sure what they use to make "clear, warm, evening air," but it's in there. It's pleasant and subtle and uplifting. I'm really liking it. Dry; slightly powdery, but not unpleasantly so. Alas, it's gone fast.

[ravenfeathers]

my first BPAL love, real love, i mean, was hunter moon '07, which was also my first bottle and my first LE. so when i was reading reviews for it back then and saw so many references to buck moon, i figured i'd have to track some down someday. for the first time ever, i was quick enough on a sale to get the rare LE before five other people had claimed it! and i was prepared to have hunter moon '07 and his saucy little brother, ivanushka, blown completely out of the water. well.

 

in the bottle cucumbers and fuzzy musk. it's greenish aquatic, like the liquid light in a forest.

wet on skin cucumbers and fuzzy musk... hm.

dry on skin cucumbers and fu- well, yeah, you get the idea. it's like the missing link progenitor of squirting cucumber and ivanushka. i don't smell much similarity to hunter moon at all, except in the same animalistic furriness and a general cologne-y feel. to be frank, i prefer both hunter moon and ivanushka to poor buck moon.

Edited February 28, 2008 by ravenfeathers

[Mamacat]

Wet: I get a really lovely winter fir, a touch of berry, herbs and something else. This one really hits me.

On: WOW. I get all of the wet notes and some fuzzy musk starts to appear.

Dry: More fuzzy musk and less of the wet notes but . . . This blend is truly amazing.

 

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Really fresh and almost aquatic. Cucumber and crushed new leaves. I see green. Rain in a springtime forest.

 

Wet: Less sharply green, though still very plant-y. It dries super slowly, but is not that strong an oil on my skin, though it was in the bottle. There is more warmth to it now, though I still can't smell the musk.

 

Dry: Woodsy, almost smoky - dark and deep. The musk finally emerged. Now it's like a summer forest at night.

 

Summary: Dark, earthy, musk. I don't usually go for dark, but this is quite nice - sexy. Would be awesome on a man.

 

If you like this, try: Robin Goodfellow

[moonstonemama]

in the decant: cool musky goodness

 

wet: aquatic cool musk

 

dry: still cool aquatic musk, but theres a streak of something else in there I can't quite place. it blends in very well. green/aquatic scents usually go to soap on me, but this is still very pleasant. I love the musk. I love the coolness this blend has. This is a wonderful summer scent.

[Indigo78]

I finagled a decant of this in a swap, after wanting to test it - badly - it for a good little while. A cool and soft feel domiantes Buck Moon. I'm catching a memory of Twisted Oak Tree, but much more subdued. The lemon that's listed is barely there unless I'm arm-huffing. It's a pale blue-green scent to my nose, and my skin turns the musk very sweet -but not cuddly or "furry" at all. It's a lot lighter than my typical choices, but very pretty. Delicate and flight-footed, like it's namesake.

 

Fades quickly, zero throw. A skin scent, not for the benefit of others... which is the essence of what scent should be. (idealist much? )

 

Glad I finally got to try it

 

 

[zankoku_zen]

This one is definitely a soft skin musk blend. On me, when it was wet it sort of smelled like a soft vanilla musk, and oddly enough made me think of does, all pretty and delicate. As it has dried, it has gotten to be powdery. So I smell like soft vanilla powder.

[heathercaley]

Such a beautiful soft and fuzzy blend. Its so delicate, like fuzz on the antlers and you perceive an airy feminine musk thats herby but calm. Though it seems fragile, this puppy packs a good throw! It lasts and lasts sending wafts of soft feathery down and calm airy natural skin touched with herbs.

 

This is one of my top 10 bpals ever.

[Ravenclaw79]

Patience on this one, patience and you will be rewarded ...

 

When I first put it on, it was dishsoap, nothing but straight Palmolive. Ech. But I decided to wait it out, 'cause surely, something that was loved this much can't be that bad, right? Unless it went off due to age, of course...

 

But after a bit, as it dried down, something else started to come out ... now, it was something soft and powdery, but still soapy.

 

Give it a half-hour, though, and it's AMAZING. The soap has faded off, and what's left is a beautiful, soft musky scent. Darnit, I really didn't need to fall for such a rare blend, but this one's awesome. It actually reminds me a little bit of a perfume I used to wear a long time ago, Victoria Secret's Body By Victoria, except not quite. I so want a bottle, though I know I'll never find one.

[Andrea912]

Imp: hmmm...clean...grainy...been aged five years, so...

 

Wet: still clean, but not like soap; definitely wheaty or grainy or, bucky, I guess

 

Drydown: kind of sweet and creamy grain...hmmm..kind of like it

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: very musky, but not too deep or dark; some herbs, oh yes, and overall the clear air.

 

 

Wet: the herbs are the top note, a very light musk for the bottom note, and the air swirling between them, starting the blending.

 

 

The dry-down: if I huff my arm, I get the musk, but while I'm typing, and the arm is a bit further away, I get more of the air and the lunar oil--it's very pretty, waffing away from my arm like that.

 

 

Later: this has become a lovely and light blend--is this a skin musk, then? Whatever the musk might be, it's a wonderful oil, much lighter than I was expecting, and something that I plan to wear some this summer-time.

[crebbsgirl]

This is a warm musky blend, very reminiscent of Ivanushka. It wears VERY close to the skin, and I can only just barely get a hint of scent as I move my arms around. Very innocuous and pleasant, with a slight herbal overtone. I like it, but it's not spectacular on me.

[Aldercy]

I'm almost terrified to try this (but feel Halloween deserves something rare). A wonderful forumite (whom I hereby recommend for sainthood) frimped me a full decant, and I'm worried I'll love it....

 

Oh, not what I was expecting. Buck Moon has a hint of an aquatic note and is slightly floral... it keeps warming and warming and warming, though, until it's a golden, musky, slightly spiced aquatic floral. A little like Ivanushka and a little like Falling Leaf Moon, but more ethereal than either. It's a feral, forest scent but filtered through a glassy, starlit lens that makes it feel far away and fairy-like. It's not at all masculine to me.

 

I see why people love this, and if I could get my hands on a bottle I would, but thankfully I'm not tearing my hair out over it.

[devilot]

Buck Moon

In the Bottle: Very faint-- barely musky with a hint of pleasant grasses. Dry, not super duper green and wet to my nose.

 

Wet: Mm, gloriously soft and downy musk. Similar to Ivanushka and Creature Feature's musk, but much muuuuch subtler. Maybe a hint of that same dry grassy/ herbal tinge. But really, this on my skin is all gorgeous, soft, hushed, musk.

 

Drydown: Not much has changed at all. Could it be due to aging? I'm not sure, but whatever the reason, it's still that same, gentle musk.

 

Verdict: I see why this has been such a coveted blend. It really is lovely. However, my skin is just too "thirsty" and gobbles up most oils leaving little to no scent behind. Because of this, I figured this lovely cobalt bottle should find a new home, which it has. Gorgeous, though, if only it stuck around longer on me. Glad I can fall back on more robust blends (Ivanushka, Creature Feature, etc.).

[cfrancesca]

This reminds me of a softer, warmer, not as "woodsy" Ivanushka. I do find Buck Moon to be more wearable than Ivanushka.

Edited April 12, 2010 by cfrancesca

[Veronica]

Buck moon is like taking a deep breath of cool, nighttime air that's clean and refreshing, with an undernote of warm vanilla musk. A really gorgeous scent! It's a bit too cool for me, but that underlying warmth is soooo good I just might try to hunt down a bottle.

 

EDIT: A retest of this, aged, umpfh it is so good. This is a super soft skin musk--what I wish all musks would smell like, with a light, herbal and aqualline note, nothing overpowering. The listed notes all appear for me, but the description is not at all the vibe I get from this scent, it is all soft, deep, and slightly magical--something Morgan le Fay would wear, if I had to make some kind of imagery. As it dries, the aqualline notes disappear, turning it into a soft, slightly powdery musk that smells almost velvety soft with a delicate floral/forest-y background. After a few minutes, it becomes a warm, delicate skin musk scent. Very sweet without being foody, with the herbal notes fading into a slightly spicey, pine-y background that is more masculine than anything else I get from this scent--still beautiful.I don't even know how to encapsulate this scent--I've read all the reviews and find myself nodding along to each one, but none of them capture the sense of Buck Moon completely for me!

Edited February 12, 2015 by delighted

[tarotgirl99]

Buck Moon is not a scent I should like--I am not a musk fan and words like thunder, herbs, and animalistic make me cringe separately, let alone together.

 

But this has been one of my favorite scents for a long time.

 

It is skin-close and reminds me of soft doe skin and a crystalline (that word I like!) night with a full moon. I usually like more feminine scents but this isn't masculine at all to me. It's not sexual at all, and yet it is primal and mysterious, too. I noticed a lot of people had trouble describing Buck Moon--it is ineffable and ineffably beautiful.

[ow1goddess]

In the bottle and when first applied, this is a beautiful, quiet scent, and perfectly matches the description- it really smells like a balmy spring night, green and musky and dewy moist. I loved it. Then my skin chemistry got it...and turned something sour so it sort of smelled like I needed a shower. Oh well, it's on to a happy and loving home now.

[Verios]

I am so, so glad that I was fortunate enough to swap for a partial bottle of this! I had some doubts as to how much I'd like this after sniffing the bottle, since it smelled very...subtle, almost to the point where I was afraid it would disappear completely on application. However, not to fear! While it's not a scent with a ton of throw, so far so good, as it's not one that vanishes right away, either.

 

It sounded gorgeous, but even I couldn't have predicted just how gorgeous this would smell. This isn't an overtly sexual scent, but at the same time it's so sexy. The musk is soft and sits close to the skin, tempting me to huff discreetly (or probably not-so-much) at my own wrists, and melds into what smells like a clear night in the forest. This is one of those rare ones where everything is present, but nothing is overwhelming, and the overall result is that it's even better than I thought it would be. Instant favorite.

[angelamaria]

In tester: this is a little confusing to my nose. It's somewhat fleeting, a sort of light musky floral that is not a floral. It's fresh, slightly herbal, but slightly sweet.

 

Wet on skin: rich, but light musk. Definitely gender neutral, the florals are not that discernible, and I'd say this is more light greens and woods now. Very smooth! There's a faint powderiness as it dries, but it adds texture and is not the sort of powdery that says something has gone wrong. It does feel like "an amplification of one's natural musk", as it feels very natural and not at all like I've got something on.

 

Dry: very, very nice. Musk, herbs, faintly woodsy, with a touch of sweetness to it. Definitely a skin scent, and it really does feel like the description. Very natural-smelling, subtly sexy and low-key, kind of like a scent to wear if you don't want someone to think you're wearing any perfume, that you just really smell this delicious.

 

Verdict: this was actually a keeper for me for a while. It's rare, but I managed to track down a full bottle...but I find I don't really use it much! It's very unique, and I feel it's worth to keep for its very interesting properties, but right now it's not seeing any use in my collection