MVJBA: Dog Days of Summer

[sookster]

A languid and loathsome blend of dead wildflowers and smoky, sun-baked grass under a hot, humid blanket of summer gloom.

straight sniff from bottle is sweet grass and wild flowers...an achingly beautiful autumn blend...

once applied the florals become dried and there is a beautiful depth ... the sillage ~~wonderful and this scent is
neither in your face nor waffling in the background...grassy, floral, end of summer days...a sad departure of beaches,
picnics and bathing suits...and a glorious welcome to the cool autumn weeks, with the crisp, crunchy leaves underfoot and the brisk
air wisping 'cross your face and the smoky scent of a fireplace...

an astounding & unique beauty concocted by our master perfumer


11/10/08...doods...i no way smell coconut at all in this blend...too weird....did i get one of the first
few bottles that r00led or what?? so strange..................... Edited November 9, 2008 by sookster

[grashopper8]

Sookster did a great job describing this scent!

 

It's got the remarkable scent of late-summer meadow flowers and dried sweetgrass, with some kind of round undertone, maybe a musk? I'm faintly reminded of Hay Moon and Coyote.

 

I'm really glad I went for the full-on Moonbeasts fan pack, because this scent lives up to its description and is uniquely evocative!

 

I agree, excellent sillage and throw.

 

Sad that summer is over! Dog Days captures that longing, it's like being a kid a recess in September and you can still feel the sun's warmth, but the leaves are just starting to turn and the grass is browning and the wildflowers are drying out and this scent carries on the first chilly autumn breeze....

 

4.6 out of 5

[zankoku_zen]

I agree very much with the previous posters. Dog Days of Summer is that last summer hurrah - the grass is still green, the sun is still beating on you, but you can smell the chill in the air and you know things are going to change real soon. Oddly enough, it kinda reminds me to Don Henley's "Boys of Summer". I think there must be some coconut lurking in there somewhere, because I tend to amp up coconut in a blend, and there's just the faintest trace of it, it smells more like the coconut husk but it makes you think of the very last hint of suntan oil on your skin. I get green grass, mild spring flowers and the tinge of coconut, which sweetens the blend for me and at the same time makes it all that much more nostalgic.

 

This is you heading back from the beach, grabbing that sweatshirt because the nights are slightly colder than before, and you can just feel summer slip away from you.

[iiinterstate]

I really can't explain it any better than the previous posters! This is wildflowers, grass, and evening to me. I'm not usually big on floral blends but this might be one to hang on to. It truly smells like the field next to my parents' house. I agree with zankoku_zen, I think there's a smidge of coconut in here too.

 

edit: wearing this to work today, and I love it even more. There's something almost incensey about the flowers, and my husband really likes it on me. There might be another bottle in my future.

Edited October 16, 2008 by iiinterstate

[Dark Alice]

This is not at all what I thought it would be. I thought it would be a little smoky, mixed with incense and a little bit of coffee. However, this is very green. It smells like fresh green grasses on a hot summer day! There are hints of incense to keep this from being too green. But surprisingly there is no coffee grounds, which is a shame because that is what I was hoping for! But its still refreshing and different. I think I may have to obtain a bottle of this!

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle, this smells like sharp, green grass and something powdery and sickly sweet.

 

On my skin, this morphs into a sharp, spiky grass smell. It makes me think of sharp, dark purple colored meadow grasses, drying under a fall sun. It's not a green, freshly clipped lawn sort of scent, but darker on me. I'm not sure why I like this so much, but I think it's a very wearable grass scent. I never pick out any other notes except for that impression of dried grass and just a hint of something like a powdery, sweet, floral incense in the background.

 

I'm glad that I have a bottle of this, though I'm not sure how often I'll actually feel like wearing it.

[empi girl]

I agree with reviewers who smell coconut. I do too, just a little, under the green of the grass.

 

I love this in the bottle, but on it develops into a languid green grass-musky-powdery scent that doesn't play well with me. I think it is the "sun-baked" aspect that is doing it. I will be passing my bottle along to someone who loves it.

[contrary_wise]

Dog Days of Summer in the bottle smells like fresh cut grasses. On my skin, it's a still quite grassy but I get a definite whiff of dead flowers. It smells like a bouquet of cut flowers dying in the vase. There's a definite dried blooms element, and at the same time there's a rotting stems note too. It's very true to its description.

 

My partner really liked the scent in the bottle. I'm reserving judgment til I wear it a bit more. Right now, I'm not sure I want to smell like a rotting bouquet and cut grass. I'm more into herbal green scents rather than grassy ones. I'll keep wearing this to see if it morphs into something more appealing. I might pass it on if it doesn't grow on me more.

[halcyon_flight]

Oh I love this. Certainly a scent that would appeal to any who liked One to Tie, but felt the dandelions made the scent a little too bitter. If you are a lover of the CB I Hate Perfume blend called At the Beach 1966. Overall, this scent reminds me of the CBIHP perfumes in its evocation of a specific place and time, though it has more of BPALs prettiness than CB's unapologetic realism, heh!

 

I love it, the wildflowers make for an unusual floral, with an almost edible fruity quality to them rather than the sharp dignified scent of the sort of flowers you'd find at a flower shop. These sorts of flowers would probably just be buttons of colours in a field, unremarkable enough that only a kid would think to make a bouquet out of them. Perhaps one lounging in the outfield! But they smell good, they just don't smell like any specific flower I've ever smelled before. Just general flowery-ness.

 

The grass note is straight out of One to Tie.

 

I'd say more scorched than sun-baked! But I don't get any smoke. This incense reminds me more of Heavenly Love and Earthly Love than the brass church-y types. If you're looking for an Incense Blend, this is not it, the incense is sort of a background or foundation, it isn't a main player.

 

Then there's the sunscreen! I can smell it too, a little bit of coconut. That's what reminded me of At the Beach. Lovely, lovely, perfect, perfect!

 

This is such an odd mix of notes, all of which are notes I adore, it seems as if it was specifically made with me in mind!

[lacyjae]

My MVJBA package arrived and I had a chance to try out Dog Days last night. It is just lovely, I can smell the heat and humidity of summer and the grass that's just beginning to turn. The flowers are just starting to wilt. I'm not sure, but I just love it and it makes me warm and wistful. And I get no coconut, either.

 

I was quite happy with it on my little test... and then my boyfriend said, "What perfume is that? I like it." And, you need to understand, this is the first BPAL out of about 30 bottles and who knows how many imps that those words have come out of his mouth. So obviously Dog Days is a winner!!

 

I'm glad I decided to go for the fan pack, and sad that it's only available that way, and now I need to poke around for a backup bottle.

[tartchef]

Dog Days is an odd one... fresh & breezy & decaying at the same time. There's a trace of the green grass note from Blade of Grass, and a sweet, watery floral - literally, wet petals. Pink, yellow & white, scattered over a dank, algae-covered pool, the grass growing long & lush at its banks.

 

Humid & dank, indolent & dreamy - but not scorching, that's for sure

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Pale lemon-yellow coloured oil.

Wildflowers, dandelion, grass, and wet towels (?). Very summery and outdoorsy smelling; evocative.

 

Wet: A tiny bit sweeter, almost like a whiff of honey...actually, I think it's clover. This is a very green scent, and it's dewy and fresher on my skin. The grass and flowers remain strong, almost overly so. I detect a bit of daisy.

 

Dry: Definitely clover. It and the dandelion are strongest, with grass and daisy just behind. I find this very fresh and bright, and the light sweetness keeps this from being too sharply green. Sweetens over time.

 

Summary: I love this and it's pretty unique, being green, grassy, fresh and floral all at once. There is a sunny, summery warmth to it as well, and that undertone of golden vanilla'ed honey, making it distinctly feminine. Fabulous throw and good lasting power.

 

*Oh, wait, I know what this sort of reminds me of - Fairy Market! Definitely the closest scent I've sniffed.*

[dirtytrip]

So, here I was expecting some Roadhouse, and I got that, but enlarged. It's the scrubby woods not far off from the roadhouse. Nothing really green here to me at all. The grass is tired and so are you, and the sun is cooking the fragrance right out of those flattened pallets of reeds. Is there time to lie down for a little nap in this dead, sunburnt sweetness? The last of the wildflowers are nodding at you...

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i had so been wanting to try this - i *heart* the grassy, dandelion, Roadhouse, One to Tie Two to Win and green scents the Lab does.

on me, for the first half hour or so, this is straight up, the scent of the grass in my Daddy's backyard freshly-rained-upon during the warmer mornings. and then, after about half an hour... the delicious grass-and-wildflowers scent disappears and is replaced with either black or green coconut (not the disgusting white inner meat of the coconut that tastes like eating skin) which made me sad and afraid because i don't much like coconut.

then, finally, about two hours in, it turns into baby powder and that generic pink liquid handsoap in public restrooms.

 

:D

 

maybe tomorrow i'll try it in a locket.

[yeahbutnobut]

MVJBA: Dog Days of Summer

 

In the bottle: mushy grass clippings, soft hay, and something sweet…maybe dandelion too?

Wet on skin: definitely dandelion! This reminds me of the Schoolhouse and Sagittarius.

Dry on skin: very green and a bit bitter, like bitter lettuce or weeds…though it also reminds me of my galbanum essential oil. But for now this is gorgeous! It smells like mellow summer foliage, dandelions, clover, a hint of drier grass notes as well. The warmth and humidity of summer is captured well, but it’s not an oppressive humid smell. It does have something edgy to it from that sharp greenness, but the great thing is that it isn’t that green note that turns soapy. I think this is more like the agreeable grass note in Blade of Grass. In fact, the more I smell this, the more I am sure this has fig, or fig leaf, in it. something reminds me of the deep green with the sweet-fruity undertones I got in Eden.

After a while: the scent loses that initial fresh greenery and turns drier, more and more like dry grass clippings, dry lawns, a touch of something sweet and golden (beeswax?), pollen and warmth. Near-endless sunshine and heat hazes. The scent is now spot on like dry grass and withered weeds, and golden hay…I can almost hear crickets when I smell this. Not so much of a muggy scent now, this is now a tiny bit arid, and I like that. Not arid in a desert-y way, but more like a ‘hosepipe ban’ summer…oh yes, this is the scent of the summers I haven’t seen for ages. The scent becomes even softer, a tad dusty, sweeter, more golden and then it becomes evocative of that wonderful smell of summer evenings. Balmy air, a tinge of dust, warm hay and grasses, the setting sun turning the landscape to gold, the mellowest time of day.

The drydown that I get from here is fig! I’m very surprised, but delighted…it’s a dry grassy fig scent. like a lighter, less sweet Strangler Fig, it even resembles Aeronwen to an extent. But this is a really gorgeous warm fig with dry summer grasses and warmth and a bit of sun warmed skin too.

Verdict: I’m on the lookout for the perfect grass scent, and I’ve also got a thing for astronomical mythology/folklore so I was very interested in trying this scent…and thankfully, it works. Most grass/wildflower scents don’t, but this is an exception. It’s not exactly the smell of mown lawns, but this is the smell of dry summer grass and a little something extra which to me, smells like figs and sun warmed skin musk and dandelions. And most importantly-no soap! It smells just like the perfect lazy summer, sultry heat, chilling out in the garden, sun shining down on a lawn that’s just turning dry. If this were a song, it’d be the Kinks’ ‘Sunny Afternoon’. This is the scent of summer heatwaves in a bottle-but without all the nasty stuff (sunburn, flying ants, mosquitoes, that horrid clammy sweaty feeling you get when it’s too humid, etc). This scent, as well as the sunny goodness of L’Estate, makes me crave a good, proper summer again…none of those ‘monsoons’ like we had this year and last! This is one of the few grass scents I love and had to get a backup of.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Yes and I bought a MVJBA pack to get another bottle!

Edited November 30, 2008 by yeahbutnobut

[gingiemay]

I split a fan pack so I could get this scent and I'm so glad that I did. It has the grass/flowers note from Summer Summoning Spectacular but it's pure in this one, no coffee or incense. It smells like sweet grass clippings and blooming flowers. It's fresh and beautiful and I love it! It is similar to A Blade of Grass, but with more of a sweeter tinge--no dried leaves.

[jencallisto]

In the bottle: Very green, light floral.

Fresh on the skin: Sweet and green, almost honeyed, but with a slightly bitter, dark edge that I quite like, actually. If scorching grass made it sweeter, I think it would smell like this. There's also a perfumey quality that I think must be the wildflowers, though I'm not sure why they're so powdery. Still, I like this a surprising amount, so far.

5 minutes later: Sweet and powdery and green, a bit creamy. A little heady and powdery for me, but still nice.

10 minutes later: The sweetness of the powder keeps growing -- there's even a hint of fruit in the sillage, indicating the tropicalness (tropicality? tropicity?) of summer, though overall the scent is more dry than juicy. Pretty!

20 minutes later: I do get that bit of underlying coconut (or something sort of like coconut, anyway) that others have mentioned, giving the green grass and light, fresh floral a luscious round base. It's still more powdery than I'd prefer, but overall, I rather like it.

4 hours later: This is basically just beautiful. Light, fresh, dry, sweet, soft, green. Grass and delicate wild florals and a bit of creamy honey. I think it's reminding me a little of the sweet, pretty, golden hay in The Miller's Daughter, which I also really liked.

6 hours later: Faded, but still really pretty. I think it'll be gone very soon, though.

 

Verdict: This was the first thing I tried from my very first BTPT order, because I'm coveting a second MVJBA tee and I was trying to decide if a second bottle of this would be a happy thing or not. I'm still not sure I need a second bottle, exactly, but I definitely wouldn't rule it out. And I like it enough that if I felt like being evangelical, I could decant it and attempt to convince other people of its beauty.

 

One phrase: sweet, dry grass.

[rayvn1]

Sweet, dewy grass, drooping flowers and a surprising lack of warmth. I have to say I prefer Summer Summoning with its coffee and incense, but if you want more grass and floral this is a good way to go. Pretty!

[Ravenclaw79]

On me, this one is really soapy -- in a good way. It's very clean and fresh, with a bit of grassiness.

[DigitalCoyote]

 

I got this in the mail today.

 

I laughed at my boyfriend being enamored with Tombstone because he said it was his "childhood."

 

I'll be damned if this isn't mine.

 

This is brown, dried out grass that's not quite dead--there's just enough moisture in the ground for the dandelions to pop up--on the baseball field I used to practice on as a little girl.

 

In the end, this died down in to some nondescript incense smell. I assume that's where the warmth of Dog Days came from.

 

 

This was a welcome surprise in the midst of such a snowy and sad winter. I dare say it almost made me cry.

 

 

[tinyvulture]

THIS is the scent of summer childhoods, back when kids actually played outside every day. the precisely mown front lawn that Dad has tried so hard to keep green is baking under the unforgiving sun. you pick the dandelions off the lawn and sing a song about popping their heads off. you can smell the heat in the air. it’s oppressive and muggy. the air-conditioning feels so nice when you run inside for a glass of kool-aid. but school is right around the corner, you can feel it sneaking up. so you race back outside to play some more. a dip in the pool to wash the sweat off, sounds so good. at night you sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow, worn out and ready to do it again tomorrow.

[Gin]

MVJBA : Dog Days of Summer

 

I admit, I was a little disappointed when I went to finally order my Fan Pack and this was the oil listed instead of Mother Shub's peanut brittle popcorn confection. I mean, wildflowers and grass? That's *so* not me.

Except that it's fantastic. Like DigitalCoyote, I feel like this is my childhood in a bottle. I lived with my grandparents in the summer, next to a hill of amazingly tall grass, weeds, and whatnot. I would get up in the morning and run out to the garden to pick berries for breakfast and would then roam around in the "meadow." Dog Days is the smell of that. It would be hot already, and humid. Not terrible at that point, but you knew the day was going to be a scorcher. The long yellow grass would look dry, but it was all bent over on itself, so it was still wet and mushy underneath. The sharp/sweet grass dries down to a soft, sweet floral, much prettier than I expected.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

Mmmmm brown parched grass, dried flowers, and crunchy leaves with just a touch of green clovery moisture underneath. Gorgeous. This is sweet and warm and desolate and dark at the same time. I love this blend and I'm really glad that I got some! It really captures the heat of late summer.

 

[Reaver]

Burnt dead grasses and hayfever laiden wildflowers. I wish I got the beautiful sounding experiences of the above posters but I just don't enjoy this scent. There is nothing fresh to it and it just reminds me of farmers fields. Nothing too special.

 

This came with my MVJBA tee shirt and I didn't really care which oil came with it as I didn't fancy the one before it either. I <3 my shirt though! Go Whipoorwills!

 

2/10.

[Alaeidrel]

I absolutely love this scent. I can't pick out any of the notes, it's so well blended. In the bottle and wet it's vague hay and grass, and then as it dries it washes out to gorgeous florals. It smells like flowers wilting a little too long in a hot august sun, and hay and grasses on the verge of fall. It's a combination of the first damp evening in September and the sun-baked smell of summer greenery. Yum!