Budding Moon

[Thaleia]

Budding Moon shines as Spring moves with its first breath, and this scent expresses that burst of life-affirming joy through an olfactory interpretation of Huang Quan's flower-and-bird paintings. Plum blossom, peony, lotus root, Chinese musk and a hint of white ginger.

No, I am not amused that IE decided to eat my review instead of post it.

However, I do love this scent. I am so relieved that this is lotus root instead of lotus flower. Plum blossom (well, plum really) and peony are the first things I smell out of the bottle. This is a softer, less sinister Blood Countess, and evokes feelings of innocence and hope rather than Blood Countess' feeling of being jaded. This is a scent that calls to mind 'Easter Sunday'.

Once on, Budding Moon is a fruity floral! Plum, peony, and spring flowers with a teeny touch of musk. Beth said, I think, that lotus root smells more like orris, and it kinda does ... but there's still a bit of pesky lotus sweetness lurking around somewhere, but I can definitely get past that. No ginger, just a lavender-pink floral. Throw is pretty good, so not much is needed to produce desired 'dancing in a field of flowers' effect. Lovely spring floral, not too girly or innocent, but not too heavy-floral either.

This may very well become a favourite. 9/10. Edited September 13, 2007 by Shollin

[Tramp]

As with Holiday Moon there seems to be a return to the more traditional lunar oils scent with Budding Moon. In the bottle it has that lunar oil tang to it followed closely by a cool floral scent. On it is much sweeter - a light springtime bouquet. I can't say that I can pick out the Lotus root - my nose just isn't trained that well. One of the first scents that did hit me was a peach blossom scent.

 

Will post more as this is on longer.

 

ETA: I see that it is Plum blossom in the mix not Peach but both are in the same genus Prunus so it makes sense

 

Edit*2 - After wearing this for a few hours it has an almost tea sweetness to it that is extreamly appealing. A lot of throw too. Very yummy.

Edited January 30, 2006 by Tramp

[Belladonnastrap]

First Sniff: Blue Moon x Kingsport + Lotus/Plum.

 

 

Wet: This reminds me a lot of Fee. That floral semi fruity mixture it has going on. The plum seems to be overpowering the lotus (actually it overpowers everything but that's me...I amp plum) and whatever whacked out oceanic scent I orginially got.

 

 

Drydown: A little of this goes a LONG way on me. The drydown settles into this soft scent evocative of the first spring. It's actually quite lovely.

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

Plum blossom, peony, lotus root, Chinese musk and a hint of white ginger

Sheesh, this is great too. I smell plum blossom, peony and lotus root primarily.

Initially just a hint of green with a fresh background.

On

I still smell plum blossom, peony and lotus root primarily.

The musk and ginger are present but not as much as the other three ingredients.

30 minutes

The chinese musk is now more present and is kind of carrying the lightly sweet florals. A real fresh smelling blend.

Throw:

a bit

Scent category:

floral/herbal/animalistic

Summary

I love peony and I've never smelled plum blossom but it's gorgeous. If you liek fresh florals or green/florals you will like this quite a bit.

Purchase again?

Yes.

1-5 rating (5 being best)

4

[aedes]

I think I did a disservice to this scent for trying on the same night (different arm) from the floral Lupercalia scents, which are big, bold, bright, and lush.

 

Budding Moon is a different kind of scent than that. It smells pallid in comparison, but perhaps that's kind of the point. I definitely get the ghostly white lunar top note, with graceful, light floral notes lying on a soft bed of musk. I was unimpressed with it at first, smelling a bit too green and underdone. But it's blossoming on my arm as I type to be a mysterious, ghostly, but full floral scent. Don't scrub this one off! Let it have its say.

 

This reminds me of a geisha in a pale kimono standing in the snow under a plum tree on a moonlit night, practically the essence of Yin. I think I'm going to keep this one around.

Edited January 31, 2006 by aedes

[LiberAmoris]

Budding Moon is like springtime in a bottle! It's so fresh and pretty, another green-ish moon blend. I primarily smell the Chinese Musk, the peony, and the plum blossom. The roots (lotus and ginger) seem to ground the blend and give it a feeling of things growing (and budding) as they do in the spring. The lotus root does smell a bit like orris, only maybe a little subtler.

 

Like a traditional Chinese brush painting of a plum blossom branch. So glad that I got a bottle.

[gingersnapp]

This is a delicate fruity floral. I can't tell what is what, but it is just soft and pretty and very appropriate for springtime.

[lysithea]

Truly springtime in a bottle.

 

The lunar oils in this are pale and luminous. They ground a bevy of pale exotic blossoms that burst out into bloom on the skin. There's nothing haughty or overstated here. This is light, clean pink & green florals. This is feminine and gentle. I love the plum blossom paired with the Chinese musk. A breathtaking pairing.

 

The first two lunacy blends of 2006 have both been hits in my book. I can't wait to see what other lovely treasures Beth has in store for us this year.

[ABrokenAngel]

In the Bottle: Sweet and fruit, floral and enchanting. When I received this I was in a bit of a ho hum and not at all happy I was more stoic than anything else. When I opened this bottle it felt like carbination shot through my body. Does that make any sense? I felt bubbly and fizzy and giggly. I wanted to romp around and tickle the chins of bunnies while dusting everyone with fairy dust. The plum blossom, peony and white musk were the first things that I could smell and I'm glad for it!

 

Wet: I put this on before I went to work hoping the happiness I'd felt when I opened the bottle would carry over through to help me at another grinding day of tedious work. It was immediately peony and plum blossom with a gentle nudge from the ginger.

 

Dry: The florals were still on top reminding me of once of those new bouquets with high end flowers and fruit to anchor the flowers. I skipped into work feeling like a trillian bucks. I had the pleasure of getting outside sniffers too. Out of all the BPAL I've tested this one had the most compliments. I converted three people from this scent including my manager at work who is a die hard anti-perfume type. It's feminine yet not fru fru, strong yet not sharp. I felt like the happiest woman in the world with a spine too. My manager along with others said the throw on this smells like flowers sprinkled with a few dashes of ginger and a bowl made of gentle lapping musk.

 

 

I love this. I'm so happy that my husband bought 3 more bottles of this. I'll need every last drop of it.

 

As per the "green" scent of this I didn't find it so at all. I found it a soft pink scent. I might be off my rocker though. The ginger had enough kick in it to make it spicey enough not to be considered green.

 

Throw? People three cubicles over smelled me. However the girl sitting next to me wasn't over powered. It seemed to have that low vibratory scent that carried very far however wasn't so intense up close as to over power people.

 

I put this on at 11am and it's now 10pmish and I can still smell it. Although all that is left is the edlectable scent of the soft loving musk.

Edited February 1, 2006 by ABrokenAngel

[paradoxicaljlb]

Initially, Budding Moon is a dewey plum floral without being heady/perfumey. No funky sharp biting notes to report; I don't get the "green" thing at all. As it dries down the musks and other unidentifiables soften the blend further, adding a powdery, clean quality. The ginger warms everything up. Zen gardenesque.

 

It's a beautiful scent. I'm not sure about throw; my skin drinks this stuff.

[Vicious Mistress]

Budding Moon smells very similar to Dirty in my opinion. It's fresh, light, clean, and makes me think of warm weather. Imagine a slightly more floral Dirty, and you've got Budding Moon.

 

Very pretty. Very appropriate.

[blaqpearl]

I love the way this smells in the bottle. It was the first bottle I tested from my order. A beautiful light floral with something extra.

 

This smelled awesome and then it completey left my skin, after about four hours.

 

I do like the fact that it is a softer floral. Its not loud and in your face, but I did wish it would have lingered a little more.

[sookster]

omG...budding moon is one of my fav lunacy blends ever!!!!!

this one is positively gorgeous....a beautiful, light floral with musk....

i get a sense of something slightly fruity and a touch peppery or

zingy...

what i love most about this one is that it is so light and refreshing

for springtime, yet the staying power is phenomenal....

amazing!!!!

[Blood onmy hands]

I agree that Budding Moon does smell rather similar to Dirty, especially for the first half hour that it is on. It's almost a softer, sweeter version of Dirty on me. Less soapy, but still a clean floral scent. Sweet, delicate, and pretty. It gets sweeter in the drydown.

 

I don't know if Budding Moon is really me, it's not the sort of fragrance that I usually wear. It's a lovely subtle floral though.

[blueroses]

 

I loves teh fr00t. And Budding Moon is not disappointing me.

 

In the bottle and freshly applied, Budding Moon smells like sweet plum blossoms and peony. I can smell a bit of ginger. After a while, this dries to a musky fruity floral. (And as for the "color" of this blend: it's a pale lavender in my opinion).

 

It's a nice sparkling floral for people that are overwhelmed by pure florals. And definitely a different kind of fruity from the other BPAL fruity blends I've tried - it's sweet and soft cold.

[aidenraine]

A really lovely pale scent when it's fresh out of the bottle. It definitely seems to capture the idea of "lunar". I can smell the white ginger and the plum blossom pretty strongly, and it reminds me of a plum tea I have (and love).

 

There is definitely something tea-like about this.

 

It actually reminds me a bit of Harvest Moon '05- the way you could smell the plum/fruitiness in that, but it was musky too.

 

As this dries it becomes more deeply gorgeous. I started off thinking this was going to get swapped (I am not big on light/floral/fruity so much as I am spicy/incensey/musky.) I am finding that I love it.

 

The drydown really is amazing . This truly is the most wondrous spring scent I have ever tried. (Can I babble anymore? I just love it when I am surprised.)

 

My husband said it smelled like "bathroom air freshner". Hmph. He's definitely wrong, and possibly could have just said that to see my reaction.

 

I could see wearing this in the autumn as well. Or drinking it

[bibliophile]

Oh, this is so delicious on me. The plum blossom and peony are dominant, and the ginger is staying quiet -- and since ginger run amok tends to ruin most ginger blends for me, I am very pleased about this! I am not getting any green here -- it's all peachy-pink on me. In general, the sweeter lunar blends tend to work best on my skin, and this is no exception. I am really loving the Asian-themed lunacy blends so far... and after trying this one, I can't wait for Peony Moon!

[slave1]

In Bottle: Floral ginger

 

On Skin: Whew! At first it is super strong and sour. An extreme bright white/yellow scent. This is a floral scent to an extreme. I’m not really into florals so I’m a bit scared off by this Lunacy but I’m going to wait and see how it develops. The notes in this scent I don’t know individually very well, so I can’t really pick out what is dominating other than a floral note. I don’t smell plum, but plum blossom is quite different than the fruit I’m sure. After about 10 minutes, the musk comes forward which helps take the sharpness of the scent down a notch which is very nice. The ginger gives a nice spice and also helps contarts the extreme floral. I am reminded of a florists shop, lots of flowers grouped together and fancy bouquets. The florals are more white and airy though, not thick and syrupy like some flowers like honeysuckle and such can be. A very feminine scent, I don’t see this on a man at all.

[Alchemy21599]

In the bottle: this reminds me of late spring in a bottle! A little hint of ginger keeps it grounded.

 

Wet: It smells like I am carrying an armful of peonies, in full bloom, from my garden.

 

Dry: The peony is quieter and the musk is coming through. Light throw. My skin reallly drinks this up.

 

This is a really beautiful scent and evocative of a warm, late spring day out in the garden.

[sophia_helix]

This is definitely a plum-blossom scent on me -- sweet, round, and fruity. The peony and lotus root are the supporting players, barely peeking through. It's very light, but delicious while it lasts.

[coulrophobe]

In the bottle: This reminds me of Titania quite a bit - or Fee, as mentioned already by Ms. Belladonnastrap.

 

On: Yes, like Titania, but a bit more floral than fruity. It's light, fresh, green - and softens to a gorgeous pale musk as it dries down.

 

It stays pretty close to the skin and fades a bit faster than I'd like - but those are my only criticisms. It's a lovely blend, and one I was sure I'd like. Great for springtime (or if you're longing for an end to the rain and cold, like I am). Very pretty and uplifting.

[Miyabi]

In the bottle, it was really fruity and candylike, but when I put it on, it morphed into this warm gingery scent without any plum until after it dried down, and then it smelled like plum. The musk in here doesn't bother me at all, something I find interesting.

 

Probably will keep the bottle, at any rate. Sometimes it veered off into this odd candlelike scent, but I like it so far. It's different.

Edited February 5, 2006 by Miyabi

[desu]

In the bottle: Fun, fruity plum, light and playful.

 

On my skin: The sweet plum now balances with the ginger and musk. So loving this one. It's a refreshing change from the sexy Lupercalia scents I've been reviewing tonight. It's sweet without being cloying, musky without being overbearing and heavy, and just a hint of ginger to keep things lively and on their toes.

[hangingfire]

In the bottle: Plum! A slight fresh green note, but mostly plum.

 

On, wet: Plum! There's some faint florals as well; it reminds me of Kitsune-Tsuki, but without the variety of jasmine that didn't quite work on my skin. Excellent; I liked Kitsune a lot except for the jasmine.

 

Drydown: The plum finally stops hogging the spotlight. Peony and ginger, faintly reminiscent of Mi-Go now but with a less persistent fruit note. The musk lingers as a soft undertone.

 

Loverly. Between this and Holiday Moon, I'm really enjoying the lunar oils this year.

[The Perfumed Ferret]

In the bottle: Candy and strawberry

 

 

On: Plum, Peony, and Ginger

 

 

Dry Down: This one is waaaaay too sweet for me! The Plum and ginger drowned out the peony, and that damn strawberry shows up again.

 

 

 

This one is not for me.