Kindly Moon

[Kimocean]

KINDLY MOON

Hide this one night thy crescent, kindly Moon;

So shall Endymion faithful prove, and rest

Loving and unawakened on the breast;

So shall no foul enchanter importune

Thy quiet course; for now the night is boon,

And through the friendly night unseen I fare,

Who dread the face of foemen unaware,

And watch of hostile spies in the bright noon.

Thou knowest, Moon, the bitter power of Love;

'Tis told how shepherd Pan found ways to move,

For little price, thy heart; and of your grace,

Sweet stars, be kind to this not alien fire,

Because on earth ye did not scorn desire,

Bethink ye, now ye hold your heavenly place.

 

Utterly ethereal, an exquisite expression of love: moonflower, lotus root, white gardenia, beeswax, peach blossom, blue musk, stargazer lily, golden osmanthus, ti, sandalwood, hyacinth, ylang ylang, and a touch of vanilla bean.

 

 

So I got to smell this one at Will-Call tonight and it is another LOVELY scent. It is very floral and when wet struck me as very "perfumey". It has settled down into a soft complex scent. Dry it has lots of cool floral with just a hint of a muskiness and I can smell a touch of the vanilla beneath it. Overall it's a very cool gentle scent and definitely one I will wear.

[eggplant]

Wow. Kindly Moon reminds me so much of Acqua Di Gio, which I wore and loved in higschool. It's a cool gentle floral, somewhat "aquatic" and definitely unlike any other BPAL I've tried. It might be a little too strong for my taste, but otherwise something I would enjoy wearing.

 

ETA: It dries down to a much more subtle scent.

Edited October 5, 2006 by eggplant

[Reedsong]

It's hard to pick out individual notes here; the florals work so well together that the overall impression is of a mildly sweet, rich scent. The scent starts off wispy, almost nonexistent, but deepens and develops on dry-down, with a light throw. I definitely get stargazer lily and peach blossom, and I think even a bit of the beeswax and vanilla bean! It's so refined, and...well, the description says it. There's a distinct 'love' energy to this one, if that makes any sense, a shy and lovely feeling in wearing it.

 

This is so perfect to the verse and the concept that I'm stunned - and thrilled to have a whole bottle!

[dorei]

In the bottle and on the skin, all I smell is gardenia. It's very pretty, but not for me.

[Chrysantza]

As befitting its name, Kindly Moon is a kindly scent - very fresh, gentle, and pale.

 

On me, it's not nearly the Sweet!Floral! I was expecting from the gardenia and ylang-ylang. Rather, it's reminiscent of damp spring flowers after a rain, with just a touch of underlying greenery. It's one of the rare scents with aquatic notes that I can wear.

 

There used to be an occult shop called Curios and Candles in San Francisco. They sold planetary oils. This is the closest I've ever smelled to their Moon blend (minus the camphor that was in C&C's Moon oil). Of all the lunacies I've tried, this is by far the most lunar of them all. It's as lunar in feeling as the Luna Celestial, but a lot softer.

 

The only drawbacks to KM are: 1) It fades fast! For those of us who are scent-eaters, this is a good one for the locket. 2) The time of year - this is not really an autumn scent - it's one I am thinking of putting away and breaking out for the spring and summer. But it's very lovely and I'm glad I ordered it.

[Deiicide]

Can I finish huffing my wrists now?

 

Wow.

 

Let me repeat this again W.ow!

 

This ranks up there was one of my favorite florals with Peony Moon, and Queen of Hearts.

Let me just say that Gardina is one of my worry notes, in the Lady of Shallot it made me want to fall down. it was soooo powerful.

For those of you that are 'afraid' of florals, don't despair. It has such a wonderful etheral and lilting mix of elements that is so fitting of the theme.

In the Bottle: Fruit? What is there fruit? No wait, it's the peach blossom with the vanilla warming it up. There is a slightly waxy sense to it, and it's just...wonderful.

Upon the wrist: Everything is soooo well balanced. But in the beginning there is simply peach blossom to me, tempered with gardina and a warm trickle of vanilla.

5 and 20 minutes later: About the same! And my skin doesn't eat it up within 20 minutes like other white florals! yay!

 

This reminds me of a more starry version of Suspiro, where Suspiro is heavy upon the Lilies and Jasmine this one seems to mimic it in blossoms and gardnia! While I was iffy about this moon, this one has completely blown all expectations out of the way.

Edited October 5, 2006 by Deiicide

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Kindly Moon is a Rococo Still Life.

 

A gorgeous, fairly ornate floral bouquet setting in a vase with a peach perched beside it... dew drops on the petals and if you look closely you'll see a bee in flight right above that one flower towards the bottom of the arrangement.

 

And to think I worried a bit that all the florals would mesh into an overpowering dischord that I got from Flower Moon.

Edited October 6, 2006 by Heavenlyrabbit

[Galatea]

In the Bottle: Clean, bright, and light, with an ever-so-slightly sweet undertone.

 

Wet: Soooo utterly beautiful. Ethereal is the most descriptive word for this. This blend smells a bit more on the "deisgner perfume" side from what BPAL usually does, but it is still utterly lovely. Floral, aquatic, and down to earth all at the same time.

 

Dry: Whoa, this one moves it up a notch when it reaches the dry phase. It was less strong in the bottle and when I first put it on, now it's about three times stronger and REALLY floral. Not killer floral by any means, but it has a much more pronounced flowery presence.

It's very clean-floral smelling. Perfumy, with wonderful hints of sweetness from the peach, beeswax and vanilla.

 

Throw: Superb throw. This doesn't overpower, but has definate sillage.

 

Overall: I'm not a floral perfume type of girl, but this really appeals to me. I think it has just enough elements of woods and gourmand goodies to make the flowers stay in their place. This blend is very spring-summer, womanly, white, sparkling and well rounded. Don't discount this blend if it seems too weak or too strong to you at first, try it and you might be pleasantly surprised what it turns into.

 

Rating: ++

[zenvodunista]

You know what Kindly Moon reminds me of? Al Araaf. That sort of sweetly honeyed lily. It must be the beeswax combining with the stargazer lily.

 

The other florals and musk are really not here for me. It's mostly stargazer, and it fades super fast on me. My skin is known for that though, and it's one of the reasons I go for darker scents - they have more staying power on me.

 

This is very pretty, girlish, and a touch posh.

 

n.

[pkthunder]

My first review...

 

In the bottle, this was lots of gardenia. On my skin wet, lots of gardenia. As it dries down, the gardenia fades a little, but still overpowers the other florals. I think my nose just isolates the gardenia. Someone above mentioned Lady of Shalott, and I'm not a fan of that either but I thought it was because of the aquatics.

 

I thought I had escaped gardenia when I moved out of the South. I'm going to try to swap this one...

[CelestialNM]

I am absolutely stunned by the fabulous-ness that is Kindly Moon! I'm not a florals person, but this... This is incredible!

 

Very light and sweet, and a tad fruity (to me). Slightly wet-smelling-- a bit of aquatic? Absolutely divine and cheery. I completely agree with Heavenlyrabbit-- it IS like a Rococo painting. Faites gallant, my French teacher said about the painting.

 

This is very grown up, "perfume-y" yet still fun, cheery, innocent, refreshing. I just....

 

Wow. 5/5 Why didn't I order more of this? Instant favorite.

[maijasu]

This is a light, sweet, airy, and never cloying floral. It's beautiful and one of the few BPAL florals that has worked for me--lots of them turn soapy or powdery, but not this one! I was afraid of the gardenia, but it's not overpowering at all. If anything, the peach blossom is more prominent, which is fine with me! It's really a seamless blend though, and it's very light and cheerful. I agree with others who say it's more of a springtime scent, so I will be saving it for then.

 

I only ordered one bottle of Kindly Moon because it sounded so very floral, but I am so glad that I didn't pass it over entirely.

 

Beth might make a floral lover out of me yet. Beautiful!

[SmileCat]

Ohhhh. Why did I not buy 4 bottles of this? It's just that beautiful.

 

Beth said it was velvety, but it doesn't have that 'fuzzy'-ness that I associate with velvet or anything that smells like it. Lush, maybe?

 

It's much more 'perfumey' than most BPAL, but the depth and clarity of the scent and individual notes is unlike anything you'll find at a perfume counter.

 

Strong, too! This is not an oil I need to massively slather on and I can still smell it on my skin hours after application.

 

Floral, slightly juicey-sweetness, and a touch of aquatic. Moon-woman.

 

Ethereal, entrancing, elegant. Benevolent.

[Britt1975]

Ah! Beautiful! This scent is amazing. Sweet and pretty and clean...exactly what I've been searching for and now I'm kicking myself for not having bought more then one bottle!

 

In the bottle: Fruit! It smells so juicy that it's tempting to drink it. (But I know better)

 

Wet: The florals pop out a little more...but I'm still smelling sweet fruit brushed with vanilla. Cool and crisp, but the vanilla warms it up some.

 

Drydown: It's blended so well that I can no longer define what I'm smelling. Definitely a floral...with just that little bit of fruit still there to keep the floral from being overwhelming. Like an upscale garden party where everyone has forgotten their manners and gotten tipsy on bellinis.

[sofaking6]

Wow I LOVE Kindly Moon.

 

In the bottle it's a light, sweet floral. Really appealing in that way that makes you smile and get straight to testing

 

On wet, still light and sweet - the beauty of Kindly Moon is that it's sophisticated but totally open and welcoming at the same time. It says, no matter who you are, I want you to wear and enjoy me.

 

Dry, the floral comes out swinging, but the balancing sweetness keeps it lovely.

 

Awesome!

[Blood onmy hands]

I almost didn't purchase Kindly Moon, but I talked myself into getting it because of the beeswax (which, of course, I don't smell at all in this blend).

 

Sadly, this is probably one of my least favorite BPALs ever. Even when perfume smells bad on me, I can appreciate things about it. With Kindly Moon, this is just so boring to me.

 

In the bottle... this smells like a washing machine filled with cold water, dirty clothes, and sharp citrussy laundry soap. Watery and soapy.

 

On me... really strong and sharp floral perfume. Like the sharp smell that I get from department store florals.

 

In the drydown, more of the soapy water smell returns.

 

Intensely sharp and perfumey, with a drydown that is soapy and watery. I don't get any sweetness from this at all.

[Lyzz13]

In the Bottle: Melon and Aquatic flowers. Melon? Aquatics? So not for me, but I'll give it a shot.

 

Wet: Still rather aquatic, but the florals are coming out. The jasmine is most prevalient, and the ylang-ylang, while there, isn't too heavy.

 

Dry down: A perfect light floral, with the blue musk giving it a nice staying power. Very much a girly perfume. While I prefer a more substantial floral (Desire+Lyzz=OTP), this is the perfect girly-girl scent for me.

 

I've got a date tonight, we'll see how he like it...

[fairy]

This smells so familiar it's been driving me crazy. I know Ive smelled this before. It kind of reminds me of one of those SoBe citrus drinks.

 

It's warm, citrus and peppery. There is a fair amount of floral throw that floral haters probably wont care for.

 

edited to add: After aging it a bit it turned into sour apple juice on me So I wound up giving my bottle away to someone who will hopefully enjoy it

Edited November 24, 2006 by maddi

[kannan]

I'm not very good at picking out notes but I definately smell the gardenia in this. I love it though, all the florals meld together well to give it such a pretty gentleness that really does remind me of love. There's a bit of aquatic not too much, and a whole lot of feminine reminders.

[puck_nc]

Origin: Fresh from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: When I saw the description, I knew I was going to get it. Hyacinth, stargazer lily, vanilla...and I crossed my fingers about the blue musk, since most musks go postal on my skin.

 

In the Bottle: sweet, chilly florals. No one note leaps out, but together they're beautiful. I'm thinking this would be wonderful to wear in the summer heat for a cool scent.

 

Wet: Now, I wish this was what violet smelled like on my skin. It does smell like violets without the acrid bitter-nasty I get from the actual note. It's fresh and cool and I can catch a bit of gardenia or ylang ylang or sandalwood. But again, no one note takes center stage - it's perfectly blended. My husband calls it "subtle" and approves, though it's not one of his "yum" scents.

 

Drydown: As always, the musk eventually comes out to play. The good news is that it remains a floral scent!! *adds blue musk to pale musk as musks I can get away with* Later on the vanilla decides to show up, but it still keeps morphing gently and maintaining that balance of scents.

 

Verdict: A keeper!!! Might have to pick up another bottle sometime.

[Inanna9]

Wet, this is a fruity floral. Pretty soon it settles into a sweet, creamy gardenia. I'm getting compliments on this one, and I think it's partly because it has such a strong throw (I did slather this one, though).

 

The musk has emerged, and it's very well-behaved, serving to temper the florals a bit and give everything a nice depth. I can pick out the osmanthus, but I'm not getting any sandlewood. I am, however, getting the most interesting note--a creamy and faintly fruity note. I'm guessing this might be the beeswax and vanilla combined with the peach blossom? (might be some ylang ylang fooling me somewhere). Whatever it is, it's rich and lovely.

 

This is very romantic scent, and not just a one dimensional white floral. There are a lot of interesting layers to this. Very pretty.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a sweet, fruity floral.

on: this is so beautiful. i think i'm in love. i'm having a hard time picking out the notes. i smell things that are sweet, vaguely fruity, floral, smooth, and powdery.

half an hour later: very soft, sweet, and powdery.

2 hours later: soft and powdery.

3 hours later: vaguely soapy, but mostly soft and powdery.

overall: i thought i would love this on me, and it do...at first. however, the dry down isn't that great on me. i'll probably give this one more try, possibly in a scent locket.

[crescentmoon]

I am in love with Kindly Moon. I'm SO glad I have two bottles.

 

This scent is just as people said above, a slightly fruity floral initially. It then morphs on me into a subtle elegant floral with a creamy, ethereal flavor. It makes me smell feminine, elegant, and slightly mysterious. I love it.

 

Other opinions: My husband liked it a lot. He said it smelled "Sweet (not like food but like personality) and pretty".

[blackfelicula]

In the bottle: Kindly Moon is sweet and bright, crisp and cool.

 

Wet: This is a gentle floral with golden overtones.

 

Drying down: The combination reminds me of a honeysuckle blend. So far, the scent is true to how it was in the bottle.

 

Dry: This reminds me of the golden-orange of a moonrise. It is soft, sweet, and cool.

 

Later: This is like a darker, gentler, more floral version of Et Lux Fuit. The scent wafted up at me all day, bringing a smile to my face each time.

[strangemusic]

I love the label. I can't decide if the figure is bellowing, or sticking its tongue out at me, but I love it!

 

This is a cool, watery, pale green scent; I'm put in mind of fae cucumber juice. There is an overall clarity and muted sparkle to this oil, though-- these florals are gentle balm, dripping soothing moisture unto the soul. Just my own wee opinion, but this is the nasal equivalent to 'Heirloom' from Björk's Vespertine album... just smooth, glassy, and soft, with a watery, firm incisor bite (think slightly over-ripe melon, that feel at your gums.) Comforting.

 

On me: The pale green scent gives way to an extremely faint, liquid citrine rim working its way around the dominant/top notes (one of which I suspect is the moonflower, another lily), which are rich, winy, sweet at the very tip of my tongue; reminds me of a gorgeous mead I bought in Indiana. Kindly Moon's florals ripple and drip into each other; for the most part, I can't distinguish individual notes, as they meld and shift so smoothly-- I'm just left with an over-arching impression of sweetness and gentility, a cool hand on the brow. There's almost no throw to this oil, and it evaporates quickly in the least amount of heat-- at the end of, say, an hour, I had to press my nose right up against my skin to catch a whiff of the scent-- but it lasts, and it's a keeper.

 

C&P from ye olde LJ, slightly edited for boo-boos.