Red Moon 2004

[Lina]

... Our blend for this Moon mixes traditional lunar oils with the warmth of amber and heliotrope, the russet haze of dragon's blood resin and crushed orange peel, and a swirl of summertime herbs: chamomile, rue, elder flower and marigold.

This is my second try of Red Moon. The first try did not end so well- the second try and I am in love.

In the imp: A bit fruity and a bit floral and beautiful.

After dry down: I immediatly pick up the spicey and herbal scents. The floral is now fading and the fruit adds just the right sweet.

after 3 hours: This is one of those things I am sorry I did not order. I got the imp as a gift and what an amazing gift. Quite simply: Beautiful earth bottled.

[diabolique]

iloveitiloveitiloveitiloveit.

 

this is probably the best blend i've tried in a while.

 

in the bottle: sharp, acrid florals and a bit of creamy fruit. i can smell the traditional lunar oils.

 

wet: very bright, sparkling fruits that almost immediately darken, probably because of the amber. i recognize the "traditional lunar oils" from the other moon i've tried, hunter moon.

 

dry: the dragon's blood is lending a sweet and creamy smell to red moon. the orange is baaaarely there, and i can definitely pinpoint the marigold. the heliotrope hasn't made an appearance yet, and i'm so glad. i was afraid it would be too strong (like in glitter and tamora), but it hasn't made me sneeze yet!

 

 

-sigh-

 

i love this. it reminds me of summer.

[surf-tormented]

This is my favorite moon after Blue Moon. It is sweet, but not overpowering. It smells like fresh berries on a harvest breeze accompanied by orange spice, then something more. I assume this is the amber/dragon's blood combo and it all balances for a wonderful reflection of the end of summer. Great for a Leo like me even though the moon falls on the cusp.

 

Highly recommended by me. If I was actually able to buy bottles of this, it would be in my top 22, easily.

[gingersnapp]

I was lucky enough to get an imp of this in an auction, and I can't be happier that I did.

 

In the vial, it smelled like soft cherries and resins.

 

On my skin, well, dragon's blood + me = LOVE. The dragon's blood, amber resins, and marigolds are so soft and lush. I am in heaven.

 

Now if I can get my hands on a bottle of this...

[Sheila]

At first, wet, I thought this was going to be too sweet: I got a blast of fruit and was worried. Then the scent mellows into a red, spicy scent. It's like dragon's blood and amber with an added berry--spicy, slightly fruity, and very sexy. Those "traditional lunar oils" are there in the background, too.

 

I love it! I hope this comes back...

[Malista]

I love the fruit-spicy scent of Dragon’s Blood resin, but it melds into my skin scent and disappears very quickly, so if Red Moon was going to make it, it was going to do it on the merits of the other ingredients. In theory there wasn’t going to be a problem; amber and orange tend to work well on me. I wasn’t sure about the heliotrope or the summer herbs, because I don’t tend to wear florals, and I’m not foind of the scent of chamomile or marigold, but this still seemed like it might be a good match for me.

 

Wet in the bottle: All I can smell is Dragon’s Blood and something minty (traditional lunar herbs?).

 

Wet on skin: Dragon’s Blood, and I can taste the minty stuff (this happens often with me and essential oils. I don’t put them in my mouth, but one taste or another will manifest on the tip of my tongue after I apply the oil to my pulse points. Usually mint or cloves, sometimes citrus peel. Although it usually tastes a little bitter, it has that almost numbing tingle that goes with mint or cloves or citrus peels.). After a minute or two the Dragon’s Blood starts to do its usual fade, and something sweetly floral, rather than fruity, emerges. Heliotrope? Maybe a combination of heliotrope and elder flower.

 

Dry-down: Ah! Now amber and chamomile start to warm the scent up. The tingle is still on my tongue, but what is coming off my wrist is sweet, golden and so well blended I can’t pick out the individual notes. The amber goes powdery after a bit, but not in an objectionable way. This is a calm, gentle, unobtrusive scent, sweeter than I usually wear, but deep and interesting all the way through. There is something self-possessed about this scent – a little aloof, but very aware and not at all unfriendly.

 

A little way into the dry-down the Dragon’s Blood makes another appearance as a sort of berry-ish note, well behind the others, and the amber becomes less powdery again (helped by the orange peel, I think). Gentle morphing continues to occur as the scent fades – all too soon, alas; this is not a play-all-day scent on me, although if you are leaning over my shoulder at work, for some reason, you might catch a hint of something pleasant coming up off my neck over my jugular. More herbal scents emerge as time goes on.

 

I’m by now used to BPAL oils playing hide-and-seek with me – I think they’re gone, and they reemerge an hour after I thought they were done, not wafting, but definitely there, again. It’s sort of fun; and I don’t reapply scent during the workday because there is no place I can do it without potentially causing problems for scent sensitives around me. (Since I’m one, too, I don’t want anyone else feeling about me as I do about the person whose freshly applied scent just ambushed me and provoked an asthma attack.) So the little resurgent swells of scent are sorta neat. I’ll have to wear it for an entire day to be sure, but I suspect Red Moon is one of the peek-a-boo scents.

 

I like it. It isn’t a knock-your-socks-off scent for me, but more of a second skin sort of scent (as most of the scents containing Dragon’s Blood seem to be). That’s fine with me – I don’t particularly want people on public transportation or in the office noticing me because of the way I smell, and the calm, centered feeling of Red Moon makes this an excellent workday scent for me, as I often need to be reminded not to take Reality too personally.

[wickedgoddess]

Out of the bottle…cherry, with something darker underneath.

 

Wet..cherry kool-aid and flowers. Five minutes in….ugh, I'm getting a headache from this. I think it's time to wash this one off. Too bad, amber, dragon's blood and orange peel sounded yummy, but I'm not getting any of those note from this.

 

Hours later, even after washing, the scent of cherry still lingers behind.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, (with 5 being the best) 1 .

[Barb25]

Of all the scents I have tried (and at this point, probably 80+), Red Moon is my absolute favorite.

 

The Dragon's Blood mixes well with an orangey, cherry, yet floral blend. It is truly divine. It makes me happy just thinking about it.

 

What can I say, I am completely head over heels in love with Red Moon.

[cormeretrix]

spicy koolaid goodness!

 

i have to remind myself that i shouldn't drink the bpal. it's not healthy.

 

it really reminds me of either tropical punch koolaid, or that thin red sauce stuff at the chinese place.

 

either way, mmmm...

[joseybird]

I posted this on lj a loooonnnnnnnnnng time ago when I first recieved it, but only now was I able to get off my lazy ass and retrieve it

 

I was more curious about this Red Moon everyone was talking about because of the name and background description than because I thought I'd really like it. And to be honest--none of the individual notes in Red Moon particularly appeal to me.

 

And yet, they combine to create a powerfully compelling, mysterious, and deeply sensual fragrance. I can smell the dragon's blood and orange peel and camamile and amber, as well as other notes that I can't immediately identify. It's a deep, complex, inscence-herb-floral, and reminds me very much of a New Age Store--but I don't mean that at all negatively, for it it smells like magic on a dark night--When I sniff it I can picture a glorious fertility festival (this was before I went and double-checked the description).

 

I will be hoarding this 5 ml...I'm pretty much an apathetic agnostic, but this is the first BPAL I've sniffed that's really made me want to dabble in ritual-work!

[angelblue]

got an imp of red moon. that was the scent that originally brought me to BPAL. a bottle was being auctioned off on ebay and the description intrigued me. i bid but lost the auction. finally arranged a purchase of red moon.

 

in the imp-smelled lovely. nothing i could put a finger on and say "this is in there" but lovely.

on me- sweet berries and the longer it stayed, the sweeter the scent got. baby loves it though so not a wasted effort.

[Tesseljoan]

Me and Dragon's blood are not friends, but in this blend it is in the background, so it adds warmth to the blend. I can smell the Lunar oils mostly. On me, it is an understated floral, a perfume that you would wear when you want to smell nice but not particularly of anything. I swapped it away, because there are people that would be madly in love with it.

[Chirp]

In the bottle: Dragons blood... intense, and fruity sweet. Still, I can catch a whiff of the herbs and florals. The tartness of the orange peel is quite vibrant, floating above the rest.

 

Wet: The heady sweetness of dragons blood is tempered by a burst of crisp, light green summer herbs (I can definitely smell the marigold), while the bittersweet tang of orange peel hides far in the background.

 

Dry: The greeness of the herbs had died down quite a bit, and the soft smell of amber begins to poke through, lending the scent a dry quality. The orange peel is still noticable, but has remained in the background

 

This blend is an interesting mix of red, orange, and green scents. It smells like a meadow in the middle of August, filled with herbs, grass, and flowers baking under the hot sun. A gorgeous summer scent, perfect for a day outside.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Herbs, dragon's blood, & whatever the lunacy blend is.

 

First on: Florals, herbs & everything all mixed together. It's really nice. No one note is distinguishable.

 

Drydown: It's still all mixed in, nothing is more dominant than omething else. It's a nice blend of florals, herbs, and a bit of fruit? with the lunar oils & dragon's blood. I like it, but I don't know if I'll wear it much, so I htink my imp might be off to swaps.

[sarada]

This is absolutely drool-worthy...I haven't kept any of the Lunacy blends so far except for Pink Moon and I am so grateful to have a nice little sample of this now...this is a keeper.

 

I wish I had been on the ball when Red Moon was released! I love amber in many blends (as long as there's no honey), I apparently ~love~ heliotrope because every blend that has it as an ingredient, I find myself wanting to lick it off my skin. It's just a very juicy, edible note on me and is one of the only florals that I actively adore. And dragon's blood -- another note that I love in every blend except those that also contain cinnamon. I can't pick out the orange peel but it must be doing something to lend that "lickable" sense to the oil. I would really love there to be an herbal tea that smelled like this!

 

It reminds me mainly of Wildfire, but without that berry/juniper note that also made me wish there was a drinkable version of that blend. There aren't any catalogue scents that I've tried thus far that resemble Red Moon.

 

I notice many people mention that there is a cherry or berry smell in this, and that would be the heliotrope, I think -- heliotrope comes across as having a very cherry-like smell, but without whatever it is in real cherry smells that makes me nauseous. It's a very, very RED scent though and actually what I would hope that Fire Eater might smell like. Red without being spicy, or hot, or overly floral.

 

Dragon's blood fans should be pleased by this though the 'blood' isn't extremely strong, it's more of a backdrop for the other notes. It makes me think of a field of wildflowers and herbs illuminated by a setting sun on a dry, warm late August day when you realize that it's just beginning to turn the corner from summer to fall, and the sun casts red-tinged shadows on your skin.

 

Also, I think this is a great scent for redheads!

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Sweet, smooth, and syrupy.

 

Just On: Oh so sweet, and I LIKE that. It's almost smelling like Icee syrup.

 

An hour or two later: Just imagine a sigh of deliciousness. Because I just heaved one. It's still sweet, but not candy sweet, it's smooth, and lovely.

 

Around 6 hours: It's still very smooth, and the lunar oils are peeking out from the sweetness, making it very soothing.

 

12 hours: Although faded, the lunar oils still show up, and there's a bit of sweetness left. This is gorgeous.

 

Overall: This is beautiful all through the different stages. I'd certainly buy more if I could, and if this were released again, I'd jump all over it like white on rice.

 

After reading other reviews: Well, I can see what made me smell the sweetness, probably the heliotrope. The whole thing is beautiful, and I hope that someday Beth would consider re-releasing it, as it seems to be pretty adored.

[JazzieCazzie]

Received a half-imp in what has become I think a circular swap of this particular impie ... since I am a big fan of Dragon's Blood, we thought this might work for me ...

 

BOTTLE: Cherry cough meds. Not quite cough syrup, more diluted ... with a hit of orange like Traminic. In other words, if this were not THE FAMOUS RED MOON, there is no way in the world I would ever try this on.

 

WET: Just really nauseatingly cherry/orange, two scents that don't play well with me because of the medicinal association I have. But I am going to tough it out and hope it gets better on drydown and the Dragon's Blood comes up eventually.

 

DRYDOWN: Not AS bad as yes, some Dragon's Blood sneaks in to make it bearable. A spicy red scent but WAAAAAAAAAAAAY too fruity for me.

 

On a scale of 1-5, this barely bubbles over a 1.5.

 

In a way that's good news for me. I'm already angsting enough over trying to track down unreleased Peace and hard-to-find Shub ... all I need is another elusive holy grail scent.

[aidenraine]

I just got an decant of this to try and I am so glad I did!

 

Wet and in the vial I thought - "Ugh, cherry lollypop"- I could only smell the aroma of red hard candies and it was too sweet for me.

 

The drydown of this on my skin this mellows out the sweetness and allows soft florals and a bit of spice to emerge- the florals aren't too sweet but rather combine with the very red aroma to make a sort of dusky vibe.

 

 

It's definitely a summer scent- the scent of wildflowers in the heat, the leisurely sipping of fruity cocktails while fanning onself.

 

 

A red scent indeed.

[chopchica]

Usually I'm not much of a red blends girl, but for some reason (maybe the dragon's blood), Red Moon has turned out to be the major exception to that rule. Red Moon works as a perfect contrast to Blue Moon for me. I wear Blue Moon when it's hot and summery and I want to cool down. I wear Red Moon when it's hot and summery, and I want to be a part of it. Something about the combination of fruity/floral/spicy/herbal just mixes perfectly, and when I wear it, I feel warm and glowy like the sun.

[Hawke]

It could have been so beautiful.

 

In the vial: Something fruity? Almost like punch.

 

Wet: The fruit becomes almost soft enough to be floral. There are no particular notes I can detect. This should be interesting.

 

Drydown(~10 mins): There's definitely a cherry note in here. I thought I might have psyched myself out because of the color, but I'm sure now. It wafts nicely. There's also a cooler undernote, maybe a mint, maybe a sharp wood. And a flower of some sort. This is already complex.

 

Dry(~30 mins): Whoa. Cue the sweetness. I don't know the name of whatever it is that makes this candy like, but man is it strong. I think I'm beginning to pick out a spice -- or something spicier than the sweet anyway, but man. It smells sticky. Don't know if this is quite me. I'll give it some more curing time.

 

(~90 mins): Ninety minutes later, this is very subtle and comfortably spicy. The sweetness is gone and I like it much better. I think I'll have to try it again before deciding whether to keep or swap.

 

(~3 hours): And the mind changes again. Someone earlier mentioned that this fades in and out, and it does. The sticky sweet is back. This has the potential to be lovely on someone else. It does not work on me.

[~AmusedMuse~]

My Impression: First off, Thank you Bain for sharing this most lovely RED scent with me, I can see how it can be so sought after now...I rank it above the ever elusive blue moon even. I get a cherry fire with a citrusy note but after drydown a soft floral, probably marigold. I just love this and am keeping it...Hooray for this one

[metaldog32]

Red Moon.

 

This was one of the most difficult bottles for me to track down..let me tell you!! I got it earlier this year...but it was touch and go. I lost out on not one but TWO ebay auctions and then a very special forumite had a bottle on sale here. Needless to say..I was too late for it...

 

Or so I thought...

 

Wouldn't you know..the original buyer backed out and I was greeted with an email asking me if I was still interested. I will never forget it..it had been a crappy day for me...and well..to get that email..it made my heart melt and my eyes well up..

 

To that special BPAL forumite..I will never forget that day..

 

Ahem...back to the present. Sooo..I got it, fondled it, and then carefully put it in storage..knowing that in the summer there would be a perfect day to wear it..

 

Today is the day. My dad's birthday.

 

Initial sniff from the bottle: Cherry like...definitely fruity..it is Dragon's Blood...and something else that even from the whiff of it makes me think of glowing red...this baby is hot.

 

Applied wet on skin:Dragons Blood and amber and herbs...this is fruity and warm...and NO..right now I am not getting any of the *traditional lunar oils* peeking underneath...I think I smell the marigold peeking..this is really very special.

 

This so typifies August summer..the steady heat/warmth boring into you...the fabulous sunsets that make the late summer landscapes so breathtaking...this is definitely the type of fragrance you wear when you want to *embrace* the summertime aspects..not escape from them.

 

Couple of minutes on skin:Dragons Blood..but now I get more of the orange peel with it..and of course the amber and heliotrope..I am usually NOT a super fruity gal but this blend nails it with the amber and herbs and orange...I have always loved orange peel. I don't really think Kool Aid..maybe because the amber gives it a more sophisticated twist..at least on my skin...

 

Dry on skin:Same players...just a bit softer..but still present.

 

The throw on this is not too aggressive..in fact after an hour or so it settles close to my skin...I wore it to work today and found it acceptable. Funny..I had on a cool toned blouse on..and as soon as I dabbed this on my skin..I just felt warm and pulsating..as if I swallowed a red star or something...it immediately made my body temperature jump.

 

Drydown: Same notes..but if I inhale deeply I finally get that soft mintiness of what smells like to me the traditional lunar oils..but in this blend they are markedly subdued.

 

Bottom Line: This is so a summertime fragrance..for all you sun worshippers Red Moon simply represents all the glorious aspects of late summer the only way a feminine Lunar force could....

 

Beautifully

 

Amazing.

[emzebel]

I wore this on this August's full moon, which was ripe and red and juicy...this blend is absolutely perfect. The dragon's blood is just divine and blends perfectly with the florals and the fruity notes...it is a very powerful oil that made me feel fabulous all day.

[Blood onmy hands]

I was very excited to sample this at a friend's house, just because I am always excited to try a LE blend that is no longer available.

 

Unfortunately, I was not familiar with the notes in Red Moon and realized too late that it has dragon's blood in it. Dragon's blood hates me.

 

First on this was very sharp orange citrus. Then the dragon's blood comes out behind the orange and smells like rotten fruit, rotten flowers, and that odd metallic smell that it often turns to on my skin.

 

It was very strong and bothering me on the ride home, then the amber started to come out and this went powdery on me.

 

Red Moon, sadly, is everything that I hate. Orange citrus, dragon's blood, and baby powder. Oh well, at least now I don't feel so bad for not having a bottle, lol.

[lohengrin]

In the imp: Sweet and a little orangey.

 

On, wet: More orange peel, some dragon's blood, heliotrope... nice. Very.

 

Later: It's an awfully complex scent, there are notes I can smell but not identify. Mostly it's orange and dbr and heliotrope, but there's more to it than that, under the surface. I really wish I had been around to grab a bottle of this, it's fabulous!