Harvest Moon 2004

[closedacct]

The autumnal blooms of clematis, chrysanthemum, narcissus, sunflower, sage and lily twined with Dionysus’ sacred grapes and ivy, a bounty of apple, pumpkin, and ripe berries, and the amaranth and lingum aloes of Janus, all touched by a gentle breath of festival woodsmoke and sweet wine.

Harvest Moon


In the bottle
Ohhh!! This is gonna be great!! Warm and spicy. I think I smell wine.

Wet
Mmmmmm. Okay, I can smell the ivy and I am getting that candy corn/buttered popcorn thing everyone was talking about.

Dry
Snuggles fabric softener.






* When it was almost completely worn off, It smelled delicious, but unfortunatly, it took all night to get there.

[LunaSea]

After my disappointment with Mabon this morning, I decided to give Harvest Moon another try this afternoon. Not good.

 

In the bottle, I smelled the yummy candy corn that a lot of you have mentioned, but the second it hit my skin I got the bandaid scent. Burnt bandaids. The first time I tried it last week, I got nothing but smoke and had to wash it off immediately. This time, I tried to stick with it and hope it morphed, but it's not really working for me. The bandaid has finally faded, but it's just a strange floral to me (the fabric softener people have mentioned?) And I remember the bandaid scent every time I sniff. Sigh.

 

Alas, poor Harvest Moon, I shall not know ye well. Off to swap.

[Sarah]

Harvest Moon is a complex scent. In the bottle, there's this beautiful sweet, buttery caramel smell that I really liked. When I tried it, I was surprised how quickly it morphed into a smoky floral. It reminded me of wet leaves. I didn't enjoy this blend wet. I kind of wish it retained the scent from the bottle, because to me it truly reminded me of fall. Samhain is great, but it smells a bit heavy to me, and Harvest Moon's scent is just right.

 

However, the drydown is a pleasant powdery floral. Anyway, while I like the end result, I think it is too much of a hassle to deal with the smoky floral. I would reserve this blend for days when I have a few hours to spare before leaving the house.

[surf-tormented]

In the bottle, this one smells like Jack, which gave me a huge headache. It has a very buttery scent. Eww.

 

Upon putting it on, it has a lot of the qualities I liked in Jack, except the food smell isn't horrible. It is rather likable and not too strong.

 

Sadly, it fades on me. This one reminds me a bit of All Saints', having a strong butter smell first on, and then getting a wonderful full scent, only to leave really quick.

 

Though the food part of the scent isn't that strong, I don't think I am one for foody type scents. I would recommend it to people who like food scents yet think the powerful smell of an Yankee Pumpkin or Banana Bread candle is a little too much to wear. This is just right, a celebration of flowers, food and a little spice. No candle flashbacks here!

 

I will be trading this for some imps I want more, but I would use all this imp if that wasn't the case. It would be a good "once in a blue moon" oil for me, something different than the darker floral and musky stuff I usually wear!

[Finny]

Buttery, sweet scent comes out of the imp I have. When I put it on, it smells like candy corn for a bit, then it turns into a buttery floral. I can smell hints of smoke, wine and pumpkin. It is a beautiful scent and I wish I had more, so I hoard my imp like the precious it is.

 

ETA: And now I have a 5ml, thanks to Attalia.

Thank you Attalia!

Edited February 6, 2005 by Finny

[scourgeotheseas]

Harvest Moon - another swap with Jasminepearls!

 

In the bottle: Buttery, like Jack, plus alcohol and a whiff of florals. Weird...

 

On me/wet: First, a bit of Jelly Belly Buttered Popcorn, but that hides quickly. In fact, much of the buttery scent went away, replaced by a powdery floral scent.

 

Drydown: Over time, this one softens to a nice floral, but I think my nose missed a lot of the complexity described by other people. I like it, but I'm not sure I love it.

[Digital_Hypoxia]

In the bottle, Harvest Moon is spicy and foody and mysterious. The pumpkin and berry and smoke blended beautifully, and the wine note gave it just enough oomph to avoid a Betty Crocker vibe.

 

On my skin it was initially the same.

 

Unfortunately, after about half an hour it became acrid and stale, almost chemical smelling.

 

I may try this as a room scent or add it to a candle, but it just doesn’t work on me.

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- Gingery with a sharp floral background

 

After 10 minutes- When I first put this on it had a warm spicy, slightly Gluttony like smell to it with a hint of a sharp floral in the background. After a few minutes the warm spicy smell went away and turned all honeysuckle floral on me in a bad way.

 

After 30 minutes- Now this is all wine and floral on me. SOUR wine and floral. It smells a bit like Zephyr the more it dries down. It's sour wine soaked honeysuckle, lemon and jasmine.

 

Summery- I am really jealous that some people smelled this as pumpkin spice and butter. I so WISH that is what it smelled like on me. My body chemistry has once again clashed with a really beautiful blend turning it sour.

[anmorata]

Harvest Moon:

Wet: summer afternoons. harvest time. rolls in the haystack. Candy corn and bonfires..

Drydown: this is a gorgeous, summery scent. It's fading to a soft, spicy floral.

Longterm wear: Hm. I'm not sure on this one. It transforms into something I'm not sure I like. I liked it before it morphed, though, so I'll have to try it again.

[cormeretrix]

i admit that i just wanted this one because i'm addicted to the video game of the same name.

 

in the imp, it's a very harvest-y smell. baked goods, drying veggies/herbs, very edible. made me kinda hungry. also, kind of smoky. like smoked sausages.

 

yep, definitely hungry.

 

sadly, this scent was not for me, which i suppose is actually a good thing, as it made me quite hungry and made me want to eat, eat, eat!

[joseybird]

Finny was kind enough to send me a bit of this Thank you!

 

I had been dying to try this, since I've been all over Mabon and Samhain and other semi-gourmandy fall scents.

 

Fresh on my skin it had that icky butter smell that Jack had, plus something sharply medicinal/floral and spicy...maybe a little fruity...hard to tell.

 

After a few minutes, the butter has gone rancidy, and the back of my throat burns x_x

 

Thank you Finny--had you not sent me a sample I may have made the big mistake of buying a whole bottle unsniffed ._.; Major dissapointment =(

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - light and sweet. No notes are prominent except perhaps apple. The floral scent is there, but it's not overwhelmingly floral, more of a light, pleasant floral scent. Much lighter than I expected.

 

Dry - Mmmm, apple cider! Just a whisper of a scent, like a breeze blowing over an apple orchard on an autumn day. I usually like much heavier perfumes, but there is something very appealing about this.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the best) 4

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Hm. This doesn't smell right to me. Time to put it on and see what happens.

 

Just On: Ouch. This is not good. It's just sharp, icky, and seems to smell like an old dead garden.

 

An hour or two later: This really doesn't sit well on me for some reason. It's not because it's a flowery scent, though I can smell those too, it just seems to hate my skin.

 

Around 6 hours: Now it's all flowers, and pretty faded. I probably won't be wearing this a lot, and may even exchange it for something else. I'll likely give it another try in a few days to see if it was something else acting up.

 

12 hours: It's mostly gone, and I'm not complaining about that this time. There's a trace of powder left with it, and if that were much stronger I'd probably like this.

 

Overall: Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to work very well with my skin. I'm not giving up on florals yet, because I think a lot of my issues are mental, but this isn't one I'm going to wear a LOT.

 

After reading other reviews: I certainly didn't get any foody scent from this one. I wish I had, it wasn't so terrible once it dried down a lot. Where is the candy smell??? Not giving up on this yet, but will have to see how it goes.

[cosmic]

I received some of this in a swap and although it has taken a bit of getting used to, I am really getting into the scent now!

 

In the Bottle: Whoa, really intensely sweet, alcoholic almost, almondy, smokey, buttery, fruity all at once! Reminds me of a more vivid version of "Lou Lou" by Cacharel (which incidently I find gives me a headache!)

 

Once on Skin: On the skin, it looses the fruity aspect amd takes on a warmer smell, the flowery floral scent is coming out now.

 

Dry down: Almost smells like "Wish" by Chopard. One of my fave Winter fragrances. This is the same, definately a Winter scent.

[Rackham's Vanity]

This one is a tricky little bugger.

 

Wet, it was a gorgeous red-fruit scent; I got apples and cranberries and underneath it all the distinctive scent of fallen leaves!

 

However, on my wrist it dried to a fairly average, chemical floral rather quickly.

 

But!!! There's more! If I put it in my hair rather than on my skin, the fruit lingers longer and doesn't go chemical. Go figure.

[yeahbutnobut]

Harvest Moon

 

In the imp: it's sweet, like berries or sweet wine, but there's also something that smells a bit like wheat, but also a hint of cheese? Smells like what my mum eats-those French meals of bread, cheese and wine. But the cheese is more like sweaty feet! Oh well, never judge a BPAL by it's imp!

Wet on skin: still a bit cheesy (ick!) but there's also a leafy smell here, like vine leaves, and wheat, and something sweet and fruity. Luckily that cheese smell fades away, thank goodness.

Dry on skin: oh, this gets better. Now there's a full leafy, herbal smell, like vines or maybe ivy, possibly sage. I can smell grains, sweet wine and possibly pumpkin, there's apple there, fresh green apple, and berries. I can't really smell the flowers mentioned, possibly because they are not heady, highly scented florals. This is such an interesting, unusual smell, it's just like the scent of a country harvest fair.

After a while: I'm quite amazed at how this blend morphs. I suppose it's typical of lunar blends, but that's why they are so fascinating. About 10 minutes after application, the scent is predominantly pumpkin and apple, with berry wine, and that smell that reminds me of ripened wheat.

About 20 mins later: the ivy and sage return again, adding the deep green note back to the scent.

About 30 mins later: the wine and berries are predominant, with still a bit of ivy. This blend swings back and forth over waves of complex notes.

About 40 minutes later: wine and pumpkin, with grains.

About an hour or so, wine, berries and grains, apple and maybe just a floral hint.

Verdict: This is a unique blend which seems to epitomise the fruitful start of autumn. I love those pleasantly warm, calm and gentle days of September, this is what this scent seems to encapsulate. I'm not sure if I love it though-there was a sort of cheesy note that really put me off at first but that fades fast. It's one of the most unusual blends I've tried, so different from the rest. The notes in this are so complex and so fascinating. I'm not getting florals or 'commercial perfume' like some others noted. I'm still unsure as to whether it's a 'me' blend, but I think I'm enjoying it's warm, early autumn vibe. And I cannot help but be fascinated and intrigued at the way it changes scent all the time. Quite an experience!

Edited June 2, 2005 by yeahbutnobut

[silverlilac]

In the bottle and on me wet, I do not like this one at all. It smells way too strong of mint and earthy hay, and a little bit of the grape. A few minutes it tames down a lot, and I am left with more of a soft earthy hay, and I smell those familiar notes all the Lunar oils have. It's been about 10 minutes since I've had it on and it's already morphed into something soft and delicate, and oh so slightly sweet and soapy. The grape is still present, along with a spicy, smoky floral note.

 

If it had remained how it smelled like in the first few minutes, this would be up for swap in a heartbeat, but again the magic of the ever changing oils does the trick and here is yet another scent I love.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Berries and pumpkin.

 

On Skin: I’m not sure about this one, I like the wine and berries, but the pumpkin is giving the scent a bit of an “off” feel for me. As the scent develops on my skin, it blends better and becomes more “fall” like. So many different notes in this one, hard to pick each one out. The florals are a little sour to me, and I hate to say it, but at one point smelled like pee to me. I hate to even write that, but seriously that’s what I smelled. This scent has so many levels and transitions on me, sometimes I like it, and other times I obviously do not. I’ll keep the imp, but this is not one of my favorite moons.

 

***EDIT for 2005 version***

 

I'm not sure why I ordered the 2005 version, since I didn't really love the previous one... but oh well!

 

The 2005 version is a bit more spicy... I smell cinnamon or nutmeg. The wine and berries are out in front again, and the pumpkin isn't showing itself. It's also not very floral. I really like this scent compared to the 2004 version, but again, it's not really a scent I'd wear. I love it as a room fragrance though, especially for October and November.

Edited November 9, 2005 by slave1

[cupide430]

Harvest Moon

 

Starts off sweet and warm and a little bit like corn at first. I get the warmn autumnal thing from this loud and clear. But I'm also getting a sort of ozone-y component that I read as the "traditional lunar oils" and they don't fit with the autumnal components of this. As it dries down a wine note comes out more and it gets even warmer. The ozone-y bit is still there, which makes a bit weird to me. It just doesn't seem to get along with itself.

[Krista]

Harvest Moon

I was told my nose is broken because I think this smells like flowers. I get a definite ozone and a bit of wine, but mostly flowers.

[binkyboots]

love at first sniff!

 

I get flowers (lightly) corn, wood, smoke, spicies, buttery sweetness and earth.

 

I adore it, it stays pretty much the same from application through to drydown and lasts pretty well.

[~AmusedMuse~]

Definite butter, apple, pumpkin and reeks of AUTUMN, not a scent I would wear everyday but nice enough for a once in a while change...

[malanna]

At first, Harvest Moon is sweet on my skin. It smells like candy corn! Hurrah! However, it quickly morphs into an indistinct, murky smell with a tad bit of floral--I think this is the woodsmoke and clove kicking in. Sort of like Samhain, but less wet leaves and more...pleasant. In the end, the florals come out more strongly, and it becomes an indistinct, sweet, floral scent. A scent an older woman might wear to a summer party.

[Undine]

Occasionally some scents will smell, well, barfy in the bottle. I think this comes from smoky scents, especially if there are sweet scents paired up with them. I get it from Hexennacht, for instance. This doesn't necessarily mean anything about how the scent will act when I put it on.

 

This was one of those scents. Then I accidentally put quite a bit on. Despite putting so much on, it did't smell like a whole lot to me if I didn’t sniff up close. The barfiness resolved into smoke quite quickly. I could smell the fruits underneath, but the smoke overwhelmed them.

 

Reviews talk about 'butteriness' and while I guess I could sense it there, to me this had a kind of er, moldery or ashy smell that does not at all remind me of food. No fruit like Mabon. As it dried down, more flowers and spice come up, but still very ashy/smoky and in a way I didn't really like.

 

Upon further drydown, much less smoke, more cider and fruit. At this point I liked it much better but it was very faint. My husband couldn't smell it unless I put it right up to him. Took maybe 2 hours for all that oil to fade, if that.

 

The horrible moldery smell was too much to put up with, regardless. One of the less pleasant oils I've tested.

 

I even briefly wondered if whatever had contributed the "buttery" note had gone rancid as the oil aged, but I don't really think that's the case; it's just me. And I see other people had similar reactions.

Edited July 24, 2005 by Undine

[Veresti]

Harvest Moon

 

Bottle:

I knew that Harvest Moon was suppose to be a fall scent, but I wasn't fully prepared for it. I was literally blown away by the scent- something that doesn't happen often. While it isn't ever going to be my favorite scent, it is damn well worthy of note. It smells exactly like Autumn- I'm not joking. It reminds me of being on my godmother's farm when they were haying. The first note I get a jolt of is something that smells akin to freshly cut hay- a scent I love. The hay scent is mixed with the smell of freshly fallen leaves- you know the kind you lay on when you're a kid outside, staring up at the clouds? Sound cliche? Sure, but I use to do it all the time- somehow the scent of the leaves, grass and pure ozone scent comforted me. Soon a mixture of apple, pumpkin and berries hits my noise, entwined with several floral notes. Usually I despise floral notes with all that I am, but somehow, when they're mixed with such lovely food notes and the scent of hay, it is hard to dislike it. And wow- I can really smell the florals- they aren't overpowering or anything, but they are nicely present, blending well with everything else. I didn't think that the sage in particular would agree with me, but I was mistaken- the combination is quite lovely.

 

Wet:

The florals calm down and the over all scent of autumn intensifies.

 

 

Dry:

The florals are now a lingering after scent (and no, they didn't vanish, they just blend even better with the scent than before), the first smell you get is the sharp smell of apples, leaves, hay and a vague wiff of pumpkin- and damn, does this scent last a long time.

 

Awhile after:

The scent still hasn't disappeared, the florals have come back to the fore-front along with the hay and leaves. The apple and pumpkin have taken a back seat, but they aren't completely gone. You can smell the wine now mixed in with the hay, leaves and florals, which leaves a very pleasant scent hanging in the air.

 

Conclusion:

If I ever get the opportunity to buy a bottle of this, I definitely will- I think they're reissuing it in September, actually. If you're looking for a truly foody scent, I'll have to disagree with everyone else and say this probably isn't the scent for you. The most predominant notes in this scent are definitely the leaves, hay, and florals- but don't let them put you off, the floral scents in here are rather subtle and well blended, so they aren't overpowering. Trust me, I'm not a floral type of gal, but I still enjoyed them in this scent.

 

This is truly an autumn scent, and when September rolls around, I'm going to use all of the Harvest Moon I own- it's absolutely perfect in conjunction with that season- it is literally an autumn and earth scent quite suitable for the harvest season. My godmother fell in love with this scent when I shared a bit of it with her and I plan on ordering her a bottle when they reissue it.