Hay Moon

[greenranger]

The moon was but a chin of gold
A night or two ago,
And now she turns her perfect face
Upon the world below.

Her forehead is of amplest blond;
Her cheek like beryl stone;
Her eye unto the summer dew
The likest I have known.

Her lips of amber never part;
But what must be the smile
Upon her friend she could bestow
Were such her silver will!

And what a privilege to be
But the remotest star!
For certainly her way might pass
Beside your twinkling door.

Her bonnet is the firmament,
The universe her shoe,
The stars the trinkets at her belt,
Her dimities of blue.

HAY MOON
Hay absolute, tall grasses, dry honey, mallow, cardamom, amber, and wheat.

I didn't see this one up, so I suppose I am the first?

Oh, the pressure!

I had to get this one, partly because of the hay absolute. It's been a note I was looking forward to trying, and this blend looked like the perfect chance!

This didn't change much from the bottle when I put it on, and it hasn't changed much in the two hours that I have had it on. It hasn't faded much at all, either. I think this one likes my skin.

I smell hay...dry hay on a really warm afternoon. All the scent of walking through a ripe grainfield, without the prickles of straw in your socks. I can find the hay scent, rounded out by the amber and sweetened by the honey. It's a warm, relaxing, summer scent.

I want to go curl up in a hayloft.


----------

The first time I tried this was right after I opened the package...This time it has had some time to settle.

This time, I smell the cardamom and lemon in addition to the hay. Mmmmm. It is even more yummy than it was. Edited July 7, 2008 by Aerinha

[suki]

in the bottle: sweet grass and lemon.

 

wet on skin: the lemon has morphed slightly. now it's more like lemon ice!

 

dry down: like eating lemon pie sneakily in your ma and pa's barn.

 

in all: a fabulous summer scent- thank goodness Beth had delusional pregnancy vapors this month and we got *two* wonderful moons!

[innocent]

This smelled lovely in the bottle but on my skin it went very sharp and soapy I'll hold onto it for a while to see if it gets better - otherwise I'll have to swap it or use it in my oil burner.

 

ETA: I made three friends try this on - it was sharp and soapy on one of them, but a very pleasant sweet grass scent on the other two. Since my skin doomed me to soap I gave it away - even though I really liked the scarecrow on the bottle.

Edited July 1, 2008 by innocent

[savage_rose]

Smelling the bottle, I thought "Dear God NO!" It seems to have a similar scent that Nocturne Alchemy's Eternal Egypt has, that smells like mildewed clothes to me. "Great, mildewed clothes."

 

But on, it's another story. That note o' obnoxiousness goes away, and I can smell something that smells like sweetgrass incense, a bit of the Mead Moon's honey note, and a warm, rich amber-cardamom base. It's really, surprisingly lovely. And it's such a cool pairing with Mead Moon! Hay Moon's warm, summeriness is a nice contrast to the sweeter, smoother Mead Moon. If only there were always two moons in the sky .

[UploadedLobster]

This is much sharper than I was expecting, sharper and less sweet. It has a lot in common with Van Van, actually--that same sort of lemongrassy flavor. The hay, amber, wheat, and honey...I have no idea. Why did they run away? Who knows? Who can say, really, what hay, amber, wheat and honey truly feel? It's a question for the ages.

 

Here's my encapsulation of the whole Hay Moon experience, translated for narrative efficiency into lolcat:

 

O HAY *order*

 

O HAY THAR *sniff bottle*

 

HAY WAIT *sniff wrist*

 

SRSLY NAO *more wrist*

 

O MAN :'(

 

 

...I'ma age it and see if the sharp stuff calms down a little.

 

 

Lobster Rating

better than: drinking out of the milk carton and finding out it's gone off

Edited June 30, 2008 by Uploaded Lobster

[ranyart]

In the bottle, it honestly doesn't smell like much, just some dry grassiness that's vaguely sweet.

 

On my skin: wet, I get a burst of dry cardamom and honey, with a touch of amber and several dry, grassy notes. This is amazing! I've been looking for a blend where cardamom is in the forefront, and maybe this is it. I love that the honey note is present but is indeed a "dry" honey; this blend isn't very sweet at all.

 

Dry, it's still mostly honeyed cardamom with the hay keeping things from being too sweet. The amber makes this scent feel very warm and golden. It certainly feels like a summer evening sort of blend. A few hours after applying it the scent's still on my skin, just staying very close. I wish there was a bit more throw but I love Hay Moon so much that I won't complain.

 

This is one of the most exciting blends I've smelled in a while, and I predict that it will be a favorite of mine this summer.

[Kabooki]

I was very much on the fence about getting this one, and ended up buying it due to the dreams of others as to how they wanted the scent to turn out. All I can say is I am glad that I listened to them

 

In the bottle it smells like hay, and lemon, and sweet grass.

 

On my skin it starts off just like the bottle but soon morphs into sweet grass in the middle of summer, a touch of hay, and the scent of open fields with tall grasses, wheat, and the scent of summer. It stays close to me and becomes very light but not so much that you can’t tell its there.

 

Overall this is what I had hoped it would be

[porcelina]

i do not like the way hay moon smells in the bottle and as a result i was prepared to dislike it. i eventually forgot i was wearing it and about an hour later i found myself thinking, "mmm, what is that wonderful scent?" surprise surprise- it's hay moon! dry grass, warmed by the sun, sweet golden hay- this is gorgeous. it smells just like it's supposed to, hehe.

[tuesdaynexxt]

When I first put this on, I really didn't like it. It was all lemon balm, which I spend most summers weeding from my garden. Sharp, lemony, citronella-y. Ugh.

 

But!! After just a few minutes it softens . The lemon lightens to a hint, and I guess it's the hay absolute, kicks in. It's lovely, sunny, summery, warm! A teeny bit soapy, but it feels childlike and joyful to me. I'll wear this again (with less trepidation!).

[lunalight7]

Hay moon is lovely! Initially, smelled antiseptic/medicinal on my skin but the drydown resulted in a light, honey-sweet, floral. There's a bit of a powdery undertone going on but this may be due to Aunt Rosie ...I will try again at a later date...for now, I am still glad that I ordered this scent.!

[ravenfeathers]

i am a hay nut. i've got horses, cattle, and goats and all of my most bestest quality time is spent with hay and other livestock-y things, so hay moon was a no-brainer for me. it's probably the very first lunacy i've had some connection with.

 

in the bottle sharp, very cologne-y. nothing's really jumping out at me in the way of notes

wet on skin amber and... errr... why is it lemony??? there's a tiny, tiny, tiny touch of honey and the golden greasiness of amber, but it's mostly a dry, sweet lemon.

dry on skin a touch soapy and still LEMON LEMON LEMON (honey) LEMON (amber) LEMON.

 

i'm a greedy little slut and tested this within fifteen minutes of getting it in the mail, so i'll retest in a few days once it's had a chance to calm down a little.

[inurbanus]

Hay Moon smells like it belongs in an Aveda store. My nose is registering it as a lemony-herbal scent, with a little bit of smokiness. This is warm and dry -- I can smell a little amber in the background, but it's not really noticeable. My mind is registering this as a yellowish green color. It's not quite golden, but it is evocative of Summer. I haven't really made up my mind about this one, to be honest. One minute I really like it, and the next I've decided it's just "okay". I'll have to keep this one for further investigation.

 

3.5/5

[eleventhousand]

hay moon has broken my heart.

it has all my favorite things and smells like none of them.

 

[grashopper8]

I think that Hay Moon is dominated by amber, and it has a hint of lemony-aftershave as well. The amber is turning a little powdery on me, which it usually does when it's fresh. After a few minutes, the softer honey note peeks out, almost a honey musk....

 

The overall effect really does give the impression of sweetgrass hay, but the amber is so loud that I think it overpowers the blend. Even still, it's a very attractive scent, and I'm really happy that I went for a full bottle.

 

I really like the smell of Hay Moon in the bottle, and because I know from experience how fickle new amber can be (and how incredibly perfect it becomes when it's aged), I'm going to hold on to my 5mL for a long while to see how time treats it. I predict that I'll appreciate it more when it's had some time to mature.

 

Right now, I'd rate it a 3.8 out of 5.

[Malista]

I was worried about the cardamom, which is often overpowering and harsh-verging-on-acrid on my skin, but because all the other notes sounded so yummy, I had to try Hay Moon.

 

I applied this within an hour of it hitting my front porch. No mellowing allowance made.

 

Wet on skin: There’s the cardamom, but it’s not the olfactory sandpaper I’m used to; it’s a little dry and scratchy, but in a good way, and it’s very quickly folded into the amber and honey (which is in fact a dry honey – how does she do that?). I wouldn’t call the result sweet so much as thickly smooth. I don’t get verbena from this, but there is something that might be lemony to some noses; I’m just reading it as part of the grasses. The hay note is gorgeous, golden, and a beautiful compliment to the amber, which is smooth and rich and warm. The cardamom just adds a bit of completely acceptable spice to the mix. I think this is going to marry and age beautifully.

 

Most of the hay I’ve spent lots of time around is alfalfa hay in bales, and that isn’t what I’m smelling in Hay Moon, but I do smell sweet dry grasses (and maybe a bit of clover) as well as the amber and honey, and it smells a lot the way hay fields look, anyway. This blend is beautiful, warm, natural, and close to the skin; it is among my favorite BPALs, let alone my favorite Lunacies. Wear length on me is average (2 – 3 hours, ending with almost no throw).

[dronzeka]

Like some others have mentioned, I get lemon-herbal cologne, and then amber from this. No honey, no cardamom (sigh!), and it doesn't have that sweet dry grass smell to me. It's by no means unpleasant - just a little dry for my tastes. I might have to try it again, though, when I don't have Mead Moon screaming HONEY!!! on my other wrist.

[hkhm]

bottle: hot and dry honeyed amber.

 

wet: this gets a touch spicier when applied, a very warm, rich amber scent.

 

dry: this has a lemony-dry scent with the amber once dry. lovely.

[veronicafranco]

wow, i have just never smelled anything else like this.* i love honey, amber, and cardamom, like lemon in moderation, and was intrigued to see what the hay absolute from ozymandias might smell like in a different blend. still, this was the one i almost didn't get.

 

it smells very pale yellow-gold to me, almost ivory, with very little sweetness. as it's first drying i get pops of cardamom and lemon. other than that, the amber, hay, and - i assume - mallow make for a very mellow but striking scent. it's a bit expensive-soap-like after a while, but i think i'd like people to think this is what my soap or shampoo smells like...! i think i'll really want to wear it during the hot weather.

 

and dangit, beth, stop with the making my afterthought/whim purchases and frimps smell better than the things i thought i was dying to have. way to enable the heck out of people.

 

ADDED July 4:

 

1 - galleywest, you're a professional commedienne, right?!

 

2 - wearing hay moon for the third time today, and i just feel the need to add a note for the lab here. guys, please start to include it in the scent description when one of the notes is CRACK. i know some people experience sensitivity to this one and would appreciate knowing in advance. also, it's highly addictive!!!!

 

i love me this here hay moon.

 

 

*editing way later to say that yes, now that i've been initiated to the beauty that is yules... i agree with the poster downthread who says this is quite a lot like jacob's ladder... but with a bit of sharpness and brightness - almost a little sparkle - that jl doesn't have.

Edited March 14, 2009 by veronicafranco

[goblinshark]

This smells SO AMAZINGLY GOOD.

 

It definitely smells like hay and dried grasses, but in an almost soft sort of way; it also smells a little lemony at first but that note faded on me pretty quickly. It smells very unisex to me, nothing distinctly masculine or feminine. This might be my very favorite scent so far and although I appreciate Mead Moon for what it is, I wish I could go back in time, pass on Mead Moon, and get two bottles of Hay Moon instead.

 

EDITED TO ADD: OK, this stuff has AMAZING throw and staying power!! I have to say, on me, almost no BPAL scent so far has had anything you could even call 'throw', and they typically fade from my skin after three hours at the very most. I put on Hay Moon at 6:30 this morning and it's now a little after 3pm and I can still clearly smell it wafting up without even having to put my face near my wrist. Best scent ever.

Edited July 3, 2008 by goblinshark

[Kippy]

At first sniff in the bottle - I was skeered. Totally astringent, sharp, chemically, scary. It's the old-skool OFF! with the orange top.

 

I took the plunge and put it on. The OFF! quality fades quickly and I'm not skeered anymore, but still.....Do I hate this? Do I really really hate this? Maybe it's not so bad. Wait, am I starting to like this? Or do I hate this? I could love it maybe, a little. Or not.

 

The problem is, I can't really say what it smells like. It doesn't really smell like its notes - I'll just remark it has a thin, dry quality. And I suspect it might grow on me. But I might hate it.

Edited July 4, 2008 by Kippy

[alicia_stardust]

HAAAAAAAYYYY!

 

Oh, wait.

 

This has a dry, summery, grassy feel to it. It sort of glows and has a touch of honey sweetness and cardamom kick when wet. As it dries, it takes on a more direct hay vibe and becomes much drier and stronger. For a short while, it makes my eyes water which is a very rare BPAL occurrence. After it settles down, though, it goes back to having a more mellow grassy, hay-like tone. I do get a touch of the mallow and wheat, but I can't tell for sure if I'm picking up on the cardamom or honey once the oil has dried.

 

Super strong throw, unisex, and a great summer lunacy. Kinda makes me want to roll around in the...

 

_hay.

[Brianne]

AMBER. Like a bucket full of amber on me. It's not very hay like to me (as a Kansas resident - born and raised! - hay is such a nostalgic smell for me) but it's reminiscent of it. Someone above compared it to an Aveda store saying it smelled like lemony-herbal with a touch of smokiness, and I really have to agree with that. The amber is awful potent in this, and a bit smokey and powdery at the same time. In the way that hay is a very yellow-green smell, this is a yellow-green smell to me. It's only slightly on the masculine side to me, and I think I'll hold onto the bottle and see hwo it ages

[Monster]

Very strong, sharp scent right out of the bottle.

 

On my skin this has a lemony, herbal scent. It's clean, warm and definitely reminds me of laying on a sun-warmed bed of hay.

If you like amber, you will LOVE this.

Very nice, but as it dries down it just doesn't work with my chemistry.

 

ETA 8/10/2009: Received a decant from someone on the forums and wanted to re-review this one...

This is (as I said in my original review) clean and warm smelling. The drydown is just very "old lady like" on me...and not in a good way!

I wanted so much to like this but it's just not happening. Oh well.

Edited August 10, 2009 by Monster

[VanaEveryoung]

In the bottle: grassy, bright, and dry.

On my skin: still smell grass, hay, cardamom - oh, there's the honey, a few minutes in

Later: honey and amber at the front, grass scents warmed up like late afternoon

 

It's very nice! Warm, but not too heavy, lots of natural tones. I like it a lot.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Hard to describe.

 

I don't get lemon. My skin amps anything lemon. It's not lemon. But I can smell what others are getting.

 

It's almost an earthy-lemon. Some note or accord is akin to patchouli and some barely lemon tinged herbal.

 

To me, this is a companion scent to Coyote. It's the grass he walks through in summer on his way for a drink.

 

If you have a bottle or imp of Coyote, try it and sniff

 

Taking another go at what this is like- it's the Summertime version of Death of Autumn.

Edited July 3, 2008 by Heavenlyrabbit