Red Moon 2007

[abejita]

August is a month of reflection. It is the month of rest before the harvest, and it holds for us a time between toils, a brief period of relaxation before we take up the burden of our work again. It is the Time of the Phoenix, a season of celebrating health, vitality, warmth and joy, but it is also the time at which the Corn God dies for the sake of the land, his blood soaking the earth to ensure a bountiful harvest in the fall.

The Full Red Moon of August was named thus by some Native American tribes because as the moon rises, it dons a reddish veil, visible through the hot, sweltering summer evening haze. Our blend for this Moon mixes traditional lunar oils with the warmth of amber, red musk, and heliotrope, the russet haze of dragon's blood resin, sunflower, and crushed orange peel, with a dusting of summertime herbs: chamomile, rue, elder flower and marigold.

In the bottle: orange peel, heliotrope, chamomile. Orange dominates, and this is the scent of the peel, not the flower, not the juice.

Wet: Sunflower! The dragon's blood is evident, as is a musk/amber duo. The orange peel has receded a lot.

Dry: This is becoming more of an amber-y scent. The various notes now seem much more blended and smooth. The orange peel is nearly gone, just a tiny hint of tartness. The herbs are warm and dry, the chamomile is a little sweet. Dragon's blood, which I almost always amp like crazy, is there, but it's just one more note in a well-balanced chorus of warmth. There is something a little decadent about this, lush and opulent.

This scent is a gold-tinged red to me, shimmery and rippling. It's very evocative of summer. I have never smelled the first Red Moon, so I can't compare the two, unfortunately. Edited September 13, 2007 by Shollin

[harmonyfb]

In the bottle, this was sharp dragon's blood and bitter orange peel. My heart sank, because dragon's blood really plays havoc with my allergies (and I don't care overmuch for the smell - a little goes a long way). On my skin, it was loud and sharp and giving me a headache. Woe!

 

It's dried down to a red-orange scent that reminds me very much of a New Age bookstore I used to frequent. That must be the dragon's blood. Alas, the amber I had pinned my hopes on has not shown up at all.

 

Definitely not for me.

Edited July 9, 2007 by harmonyfb

[Athenae]

This went through a soapy phase that had me TERRIFIED, but once it dries, it's all warm red floral, with none of the dragon's blood I was hoping for. The soap and citrus wears off fast, but I'm not sure the floral is me exactly. I may keep an imp and swap the rest of the bottle.

 

A.

[forspecial_plate]

Ugh....I just lost the review I wrote for this!! I'll try again.

 

Just got Red Moon today, and I can already tell I really like it. It's a warm, dry, and somewhat spicy scent to me, subtle, and stays pretty close to my skin. [Caveat: I had a cold recently and lost my sense of smell for a couple weeks, but I still think this is just a subtle scent on my skin.] The dragon's blood resin, and maybe orange peel, lend the scent a touch of sweet fruitiness. The dbr does not take over...it's really pretty restrained on my skin, which is unusual for me. Here it is very, um, well behaved.

 

I am glad I got this. It reminds me somewhat of Corazon just because they both have this subtle quality while still being strong in a quiet way, if that makes any sense. Even moreso, it reminds me of The Great Red Dragon from the Salon, but not as woody as that scent, and not as sweetly floral (I think the Great Red Dragon has sweet pea if I remember correctly....). But the amber warmth is there. Red Moon also has a spicy feel almost like cinnamon, but without really smelling like cinnamon. That could be coming from the amber too. I will enjoy wearing this!

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

gorgeous red musk

 

On me:

Oh yeah, I love this one. I adore red musk, and that's because it's one of those notes that just always smell great on me. This is fantastic. It's smooth, warm, has a slight sweet quality which in itself is sort of herbal and sort of floral. Hard to pin this fragrance down, it's pretty complex, and the result is a beautiful scent. The amber is really nice here, and the dragon's blood resin is adding a little huskiness and a little floral to it also.

 

Final note:

Lovelovelove

[minnalavender]

This is such a lovely scent that even though I found the package in my mailbox at 10:30 pm after a day at the Home Run Derby, I still tried it on and had to review right away!

 

In the bottle: oh, my beloved Red musk! Atop it is the citrus, and below it the Dragon's Blood, all three blending beautifully together. On my skin the orange disappears and the musk, DB and amber take center stage. It's very light and understated, but there's still a decent amount of throw. And oh - the sweet red musk blends with the candy-sweet DB so nicely. This is sweet and somehow incensy, light yet mysterious, and gets prettier as it dries down. I really like it! If you are a fan of red musk and/or DB, you will LOVE Red Moon.

[naiade]

It smells lovely on fabric and in the bottle. Smooth and light and spicy and deep! Yum.

 

However, on my skin it turns into a bitterly orange bubblegum. (Most decidedly NOT a scent I want on me!)

 

Luckily, it works beautifully on my mom and she wants the bottle.

[Katiedid717]

I just got this today, along with a couple of other scents, and I love it!

 

In the bottle, it's smells like a dusty orange peel - kind of like when I would leave the peels from my clementines in my bedroom, just to make it smell better.

 

Wet, I got a waft of sunflowers and orange, which quickly became a mingled scent of Dragon's Blood and the Red Musk.

 

This one dries very quickly on me. I think that it lasts a fairly long time, but I can't tell - Dragon's Blood and any kind of Musk have a tendency to smell just very very natural on my skin.

 

All in all, this scent is pretty soothing for me. It smells warm - but not the kind of warm you want in the winter, more like something that's been languishing in the sun. It's almost a drowsy warmth.

 

Now I wish I'd bought 2 bottles =/

[bibliophile]

This one really is a morpher! Wet, it is all light, airy, orange sweetness. As it dries, I continue to get whiffs of that sweetness; close to the skin, though, musk, amber, and sunflower dominate. Like several of the previous reviewers, I can barely smell the dragon's blood as a distinct note; it does seem to be contributing its characteristic sweetness to the yumminess wafting from my arm, though! I am another dragon's blood amper, and so this really surprises me. The subtlety of the dragon's blood, plus the light color of the oil, makes me think that there is just a teeny bit in this blend; those of you who tend to shy away from dragon's blood as a general rule may want to give this a try anyway! I can't wait to see what happens to the musk and dragon's blood as this ages. In the meantime, though, the lightness of the fresh blend will make it really nice for summer wear.

Edited July 12, 2007 by bibliophile

[emzebel]

Mmmm...the red musk is strong in this, yes. Mmmm. I loves me some red musk, so this makes me verrrrry happy.

 

This is a lighter version than some, though, with a beautiful crystaline lunar brightness from the slightly spicy orange peel which blends just beautifully, the gorgeous savory summer herbs, a soft shimmer of amber and just enough floral sweetness to tie it all together in a beautiful bouquet.

 

This blend is an absolute perfect melding of just the right scorching summery notes and the hint and hope of autumn relief. It is richer, to my nose, than the first Red Moon, but again, I'm passionately in love with the musk, so take heed.

[dawndie]

In bottle: orange flower water

 

On skin: orange juice concentrate, tart and peppy

 

Half-hour later: the red musk really blooms in the forefront with sweet orange and flowers hanging out nearby

 

In conclusion: I sniffed the previous Red Moon at a Meet-n-Sniff a while ago and was so pleased to see this return with the red musk added. It's like Glasya and Litha are hanging out together drinking orangetinis. A new favorite!

[slave1]

RED MOON 2007

 

In Bottle: Soft sweet resin

 

On Skin: This is so pretty! Almost a pink feel until it warms up and feels fully red. The pink feel I get is from the heliotrope which comes out on me first reminding me of Lolita and Tamora... both scents I love. The orange is light, which is a shock since it usually amps on me. Here it is soft orange blossom to me, not the tart bitter peel that I thought it would be. The herbs are also soft and luckily not sharp or medicinal, just softly soapy and in a good way. The sweetness of the dragons blood, heliotrope and amber keep them in line. The scent is very light and very gentle. I just looked back at the firums and my review of the original Red moon has vanished so I will try and review that one again, but from a quick sniff comparison I’d say the original is much more bright and vibrant red, whereas the 2007 version seems softer and more muted. I think the addition of the red musk does that since it is such a gorgeous velvety scent. As the scent develops it become more perfumey and very elegant and feminine. Wow!!!! I want more!!! Oh my god... I just realized what this scent reminds me of at this stage... Arcana's Queen of Crossbones (minus the honey note)!!! No wonder I love it so much, QoC is my favorite Aracana scent ever. All in all, I LOVE it and will be wearing every drop. Soft, slightly spicy, clean and warm… a perfect scent. Light to medium throw and average to long wearlength.

Edited July 13, 2007 by slave1

[fiddlefox]

I bought a bottle of the limited edition to see what it was like, it was kinda like i thought it would smell like in a way , unfortunately the dragons blood may be getting to me too and giving me a headache. I might have to swap this.

[jewelbug]

Bottle: This is a sweet fruity smell in the bottle. Orange, definitely, but also a cherry hint from the dragon's blood. And some yellow smelling florals.

 

Wet: This is a medium strength floral (is that the sunflower? Its pretty) with a strong orange influence. Unfortunately, in the wet stage, this has a twinge of something i don't like (sorta reminds me of sweet pea, though that's not listed)

 

Dry: This continues to lose its orange/floral (no more weird sweet-peaish scent) as it wears on and after a few hours I'm left with an incensey amber scent with a hint of vanillic sweetness.

Overall: I'm not sold on this yet. I think I'll let it age and then come back to it. These resins definitely have potential but the wet and early dry stages have a floral that I'm not digging.

[heysunshine]

This smells so lovely and as it dries it is constantly morphing into something completely different; I can hardly identify the notes between sniffs. When I really stick my nose to my wrist and sniff I get a light dragon's blood right on the skin. The heliotrope is amped on me in a sweet almond and cherry scent mingling with the summertime herbs and amber. The throw is an amalgamation of beautiful smells.

 

It brings joy to my senses and is absolutely fitting to its description: a month of reflection. It is the month of rest before the harvest, and it holds for us a time between toils, a brief period of relaxation before we take up the burden of our work again.

 

As beautiful as this is I don't know how often I will wear it, it's not really a "me" scent. I do think it will be a perfect fit for wearing during my cycle, though, there's just something about it (I know others felt this way about Red Moon original recipe). I'll imp some out for myself and give the bottle to my mom in a pretty storage box for her birthday, with the beautiful description inscribed somewhere. She is an August baby after all and I think it will smell magnificent on her. Bonus enabling

 

Absolutely amazing. 5 stars.

Edited July 13, 2007 by heysunshine

[Loligo]

This is really nice. It's like a sister to Buck Moon: on me they both have a dusty, sun-warmed musk base, but whereas Buck Moon is rounded out with grasses and trees, this one has herbs and flowers. (And a teeny bit of fruit, but I get very little citrus from this, thank goodness, and what I do get is more the bitter scent of peel rather than the sour fruit smell that can go bad on me.) I wish there were a bit less musk and bit more of the other stuff, but still, it's a keeper.

[Lanet]

I might as well be wearing Hollywood Babylon. On my skin they're identical - strawberry incense. Sure Red Moon smells great, but it's basically just a new name for something I already have.

 

I just don't understand why I'm not smelling what everyone else smells...??

[AliBabble]

red moon smells pretty great on me, i am happy to report. from the bottle, i smell the red musk, which i recognize from many other blends that i enjoy, but the orange peel adds this major "zing" which changes the red musk/dragon's blood sweetness drastically. it's almost "moxie"-ish, which is a strange twist - i always think of red musk as sexy, and sensual, and i think of orange peel as a "zingy" "wake-up" smell, not particularly sexy, so it's an odd combo. but it really works! the amber and heliotrope add this incredible "shining" quality to the whole thing that adds complexity and mystery. very uplifting. this oil is a bit strong and dramatic on me - not really something i'd wear to work, but more of a night time party scent or fancy scent. because it's very sweet and strong on me, and endes up with an almost candied-amber feeling, if that makes any sense. i will definitely enjoy this one tremendously.

[couscous]

A couple of boos and hisses for this Red Moon.

 

Too much orange...blossom (where's my orange peel??), and way way WAY too much amber and heliotrope -on my skin, anyway. What a disaster, because this one...this is the one I REALLY REALLY REALLY thought was going to be 100 percent "me".

 

My body had other plans.

 

I smelled nearly nothing in the vial, got a few precious seconds of dragon's blood at the beginning and that lovely, unmistakable BPAL red musk on the drydown, but everything in between was sickening orange creamsicle and baby powder. It smelled waaaay too thin and sweet- and quite cheap.

 

I'm a bit bummed that both Red Moon and Dragon Moon's DBR notes were tempered and watered down so horribly by lesser components. So frustrating for a fan of the single note! This blend lost the essence of the resin and gave little in return- nothing sharp and unexpected, no grounding warmth, no life. The tart orange would have been a huge help if it came out on me, as would the marigold or other dusty/spicy flowers, but...what can I say? None of them showed at my party.

 

Thankfully, even though BPAL's "Fire" and "Sun" themed scents are almost universally terrible on me thanks to either heliotrope or cassis, there are plenty of scents in the GC to give me that "Red" feeling. If Red Moon doesn't work for you, either, all is not lost. Try the awesome Ars Draconis line, the wonderful red musk in Spellbound, any of Beth's fantastic "Blood" scents...or, better still, hunt down the criminally underrated Litha for a sophisticated take on a fire theme.

Edited July 14, 2007 by couscous

[flyingpizza]

Oh, love love love!

 

My gorgeous red musk! :swoon:

 

I was worried about the dragon's blood, but this turned out to be the sultry red much of Scherezade on me. Delicious!

[kwelge]

This blend owns my soul.

 

Orange/gold/red feel, very smooth, suave and sultry. Starts out strong on the orange peel, then backs off into this wonderful eye-rollingly good blend of the red musk, amber and almost-creamsicle. OMG so good. I keep reaching for it -- whatever the occasion, it brings a grin to my face.

 

Dare I say it: This, I think, could be my signature scent. Time to swap half the current stash for a goodly sized hoard of Red Moon!

[cuervosueno]

From the last update, this was the one I waffled over the most. I was sure I'd love Leo and the Sportive Sun, and just had to have Witch Queen. But I kept thinking do I really need red moon too when it only sounds "meh"?

 

Glad I got it--it is my favorite out of a not so successful order.

 

First, a nod to Dawndie below:

 

 

In bottle: orange flower water

 

On skin: orange juice concentrate, tart and peppy

 

Half-hour later: the red musk really blooms in the forefront with sweet orange and flowers hanging out nearby

 

In conclusion: I sniffed the previous Red Moon at a Meet-n-Sniff a while ago and was so pleased to see this return with the red musk added. It's like Glasya and Litha are hanging out together drinking orangetinis. A new favorite!

 

While I don't get the Litha comparison at all, I certainly see Glasya and orangetinis. The red musk makes this very like Glasya, and in the bottle, this is very strongly orange (though on me, the orange quickly disappears). I don't get the honey booziness of Litha at all, which is sad, because I adore Litha.

 

At first I thought why keep this--it is just Glasya light. But now I'm rethinking that. It is red musk, with a soft addition of mild dragon's blood. I also smell some amber, and a bit of the lunar herbs. But mostly it is similiar to Glasya. I don't know how it will play in the end, but I doubt I'll keep both bottles--they are too similiar on my skin to need both.

 

I wish I got heliotrope, but I don't. In the end, I like it, but am not swooning over it.

[Poenari]

I was nervous about the orange in this, as I really don't like anything orange-scented or orange-flavored. But I amp both dragon's blood and red musk, so I hoped that they would overcome any orange. I was right. On my skin, the red musk is the predominant note, with the dragon's blood just underneath it. It's a much softer, lighter version of Dragon's Musk on me- not as musky, if that makes any sense. I'll be able to wear this to work without overpowering anyone.

[QueenFae]

This is a lot more subtle than I thought it would be. Very lovely, the traditional lunar oil base with a warmed over dragon's blood, a bit of spicy red musk, and a hint of the sweet amber. It very incensey to me, but a beautiful, expensive, subdued incense scent. Like when you walk into a wise old witch's house and you can smell the years of incense and herbs that have been burned near her alter. I am big fan of dragon's blood, so I like this very much.

 

The Red Moon doesn't last terribly long on me, but alas, that is the way of the lunar oils. This is a very pretty scent, and I think I will keep my bottle.

[gwynethr]

I still haven't figured out what I think about it despite a few tries. Part of it may be the slowly dawning realization that BPAL's amber doesn't sit as well on my skin as other ambers, and I'm getting an almost powdery or soapy quality in most of the blends where this is a dominant note. The other notes can sometimes balance out, but apparently not anything with lunar oils (not that I know what those are, and I can't seem to find a description when I search). I have had such bad luck with the lunacies -- all the ones that list "lunar oils" as notes have been a disaster for me, though this one is a lot less problematic. I think letting it age for a while might help.

 

The bad part about that, though, is I can't enjoy the red moon in its own month!

 

Wish I'd been able to get the orange more, or even the heliotrope.