Mabon 2004

[Shollin]

... Blackberry wine and apple cider with hops, apple blossom, English ivy, hazel, sage, oak bark and myrrh.

First sniff: Mabon smells like harvest. Lightly spicy, yellow-orange and faintly fruity. I get an image of a cornucopia with Indian corn and sheaves of wheat spilling out.

Wearing: Autumn spices, faint hints of apple… and there’s a freshness to it on my skin that wasn’t apparent in the bottle. I’m having a hard time pinning this scent down, but it’s just lovely.

[lorajc]

I had to wear this again before I could review it, as it is such a complex scent and I wanted to give it a fair review (being a Libra). I liked this more the second time I wore it. I am not really familiar with any of the notes in it other than the blackberry wine, apple cider and myrrh. I do also know sage a bit, but only from a few other blends and I've never smelled it on its own. I think I'm still warming up to this one and need to wear it a few more times. It is a wonderful autumn blend and would be perfect to wear on a beautiful autumn outing when the air is crisp and the leaves are falling. That's the sort of visual association I got from this (and I never get visualizations from scent). It's like a pumpkin festival scent. It would make a very nice room scent if you couldn't wear it, however, all of the notes agreed with me. It turned to a blackberry wine, appley scent with the myrrh grounding it. Lovely autumn scent and well blended. This is very complex and unique.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

This is another generous decant from dearest Minilux.

 

Mabon was much lighter and brighter than I expected (not sure what I was expecting). I got the apples and ivy very strongly--I didn't think I would recognize the ivy, but this is definitely it; clean fresh greenery, with a sharp herbal note. I like this quite a lot but wish the blackberry would come out to play, since I love it too. As is, it's more green than sweet on me, and makes me think of an English cottage with ivy growing on it and an herb garden. Charming and slightly old-fashioned.

[TygherRayn]

In the bottle, this is 'the mmmmm'. And I vant zhe mmmmm. *winks* Seriously though, I love the smell of this. This is an autumnal gathering where someone has cider in a cauldron bubbling away, and there's a flagon of honeymeade wandering around. I was very excited to try this one, and I'm not at all disappointed. I think I can smell the woodiness in this also, somewhere in with the apple blossom-y floral.

 

When I first put it on a darker fruitiness comes out .. the blackberry perhaps. It's defnitely more berry-like than apple. It definitely darkens the scent, which at first seemed almost too bright and sunny to be an auntumnal blend. Now though, this is forboding of the darkening nights. Much like my mornings are now dark, this has darkened also, warning of winter's approach.

 

Yumyumyumyumyum. This just gets better and better the more I wear it. Dark purples and rich apple reds, like in a cool sunset, come to mind whenever I sniff it. Tempered by only the slightest hint of something green. Love it. Simply love it.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Why oh why does Mabon smell like cherry Hall's mentholyptus cough drops to my nose? Why?

 

Second Impression: That cherry menthol is starting to fade and I'm getting hazel mostly with just a touch of blackberry wine and cider. I'm having a really hard time deciphering this one.

 

Final Analysis: Mabon and my skin aren't playing nice together. This one is going to be swapped away, most unfortunately. Harvest Moon is my holy grail autumn scent.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: apples. lots and lots of apples. very nice.

on: this is darker on. i think i smell some sort of wood and maybe some herbs, but the main scent is still apples. i really like this.

half an hour later: this is great. it's more berry-like now, but with the apples still there. this is gorgeous.

1 hour later: still very, very fruity. i'm so glad i got this one.

2 hours later: fruitiness. wonderful. this is so perfect for the beginning of fall.

overall: a great fall scent. i thought the apples would disappear, but they didn't. this is just perfect.

[asa805]

I had a very similiar reaction to this that andrabell had. It basically kept that menthol smell through the whole wet stage and dried down to a hazel/sage blend with maybe just a drop of apple/wine smell.

 

It took me a while (maybe 3-4 tries) to see if was worth keeping, worth keeping an imps worth or just should be swapped away entirely. ON my last attempt i realized that it should just be swapped/sold entirely because it just doesnt last that long and wasnt that pleasant to my nose.

 

As also with Andrabell, Harvest Moon is my HG autumn fragrance. Its absolutely gorgeous on me and id rather have an extra bottle of that than keep this mabon.

Edited October 11, 2004 by asa805

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: wine and cider

 

WEARING IT: the apple cider really stands out for me, there's also a hint of decaying fruits and something a little more sturdy, perhaps the sage or oak.

 

VERDICT: i'm unsure about this scent, as much as i thought i liked spicy apple cider it just doesn't work very well with my skin i don't think. i'm going to give it another chance though.

[sihaya09]

This is a very complex scent. Wet, I sense very purple fruits, a very deep color that is almost burgundy in my mind. It's kind of over-ripe berry in a way that is sweet, but not cloying (blackberries?). Then, the sage and the ivy really pokes through, winding the burgundy with deep forest green. This is a very earthy scent, calming. And of course, I want more!

[Nadirah]

I smelled apple ginger beer, the stuff I usually make about this time of year, when I cracked open the lid. After about 5 minutes on I smell the blackberries, the smell of something woodsy, cider, and *almost* citrus. This is really beautiful! It doesnt last as long as it should though! So I added about 20 drops to a small spray bottle with a bit of castille soap and that seems to give it a bit more life. A great scent for lotions too!!

[glampyre]

Mabon

 

Smells to me like Neu Wine ("Federweissen")...the strongly alcoholic stuff floating on top of the wine in the cask. It's a by-product of the fermentation process, and is naturally fizzy, sweet-sour, and delicious!

 

We're drinking a lot of this right now in Germany. Mabon really captures the essence of standing in the park under the golden, falling leaves and partaking of this traditionally autumnal goodness.

 

(Thanks, Lixolux, for sharing this with me!)

[Jezebel873]

Thanks to Koumori for giving me the chance to try this!!

I knew this would be one I loved just from the description... the boozy wine scents do so well with my chemistry.

Yep, delicious blackberry wine that mellows out into a beautiful spicy floral that I can't stop sniffing. This may be my favorite BPAL scent ever, at least until the Halloween LEs come out.

[pkwench]

Mabon:

 

Thanks again to Pekeana for letting me sample this one. I love my wee shortie of it. I thought that since I'm wearing it this evening that I should take a moment to comment on it. When I first smelled Mabon, I got a whiff of what I could only identify as sweet marigold. I realize now that must be the hops, cider, and sage at work there. Mabon is a delicious golden afternoon scent. The blackberry scent is gentle and I think the myrrh keeps it all very rich. Smelling it gives me immeasurable joy and gives me the sense of falling back onto a pile of leaves and dried grass settled on rich earth. I love this. If it happens around next year, I'm so buying some.

[xochitl]

First out of the bottle, I had the same reaction many others had. THIS is autumnal? This is cherry! But immediately placed on my skin it turns into a heady, heavy wine, with a few spicy notes to lighten it up. It reminds me of Harvest Moon, but stacking the two next to each other, I'd have to pick Harvest Moon. On its own, however, Mabon is still a lovely harvest scent that I will certainly use up. This one has a certain mystery to it, something musky, that lends it as a good evening scent, where perhaps Harvest Moon is its daytime counterpart.

[quinkel]

It's difficult to review this because it's so complex and there are little thing to compare it with.

 

So, let me say it wonderfull, complex, like a crisp fall day, the only note i can pick are sort of dark berries., to my nose ther could also be a hint of thyme(could it be the sage?) I don't get apples, and i have no idea what Ivy is,or how it is supposed to smell.

 

The color it evokes is dark purple.

It doesn't waft a lot, lays almost flat in my arm and i only notice it if i put my nose to it.

It is really a new love and I will wear this a lot.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Sharp fresh grapefruit??? Weird. I certainly wasn't expecting that. I sense more beneath this citrus but cannot detect the specifics.

 

On me: It's quite weak on me. The fresh zap! of the bottle mutes immediately. But as it dries it's quite lovely. I smell boozy blackberries and apple cider tempered with herbs or green-something.

I expected this to be harvesty, but in my head it's more like a twilight walk under a full moon when the chill is creeping in but isn't quite cold as winter yet. It's like when fog is rolling in from the sea but it hasn't yet blanketed the town yet. It's still a distinctly autumn scent, and a very complex one that changes the longer you wear it.

Edited October 27, 2004 by k00kaburra

[isyche]

This is what I wanted Harvest Moon to smell like. It's very blackberryish in the bottle, and then when I put it on, it takes on this nighttime foresty-leafy-smoky scent with a faint overlay of apple blossom, like people dancing around a fire wearing crowns of flowers and vines. It does make me think of the nighttime to Harvest Moon's day – they've just had a big afternoon feast and this is the party afterwards.

 

Love. It. I wish I'd had it for my Mabon birthday. Thanks, minilux!

[Larila]

Going on i was having misgivening about this oil,it was somewhat a loud wine smell to me.

As the time went on well into 30 minutes, i could smell blackberries also and it was calmer.

It was 1 hour later still smelling the blackberry wine and a faint sweet smell not sure what that might be, i was liking that smell a lot, i also smell was oak bark next was the sage and in the background was the apple blossom with just a little tip greeness, it might be the English Ivy.

And going into 4 hours still smelling, it had mellowed just a bit, i was getting whiffs! on me it was smelling so good, i really need a gallon of it and it had great staying power.

Edited October 31, 2004 by Larila

[TheDarkMother]

I recieved Mabon from a swap with the lovely Tygher who's birthday was not too long ago. And I must apologise for standing her up for dinner, which was so bad of me because 1. I really wanted to meet everyone. 2. I really love sushi! and 3. I'm a social creature at heart. I will try to post the reason why I was late in a few moments.

 

In the Bottle: Mmmm....blackberry wine that for some reason makes me think of the local craft store, which reminds me that I'm missing a few DMC threads. Hmmm....must take a trip.

 

On Me: Wow...this smells like blackberry candles and autumn, but not so much in a foody way. This reminds me of craft stores and fairs, and places where they still hand dip their candles. This reminds me of Tennessee where we would go to this farm that did everything the same as in the Colonial days and we would weave and dip candles. I loved the smells.

 

If there was ever a smell that made me think of hard work with true rewards at the end, this is it. Ok...slathering now!

[ipb]

i just got her in a swap today and oh boy, is this one that i'm sad i missed. i LOVE mabon. the blackberry wine doesn't go super grapey like most wine scents do. it's an earthy scent (the oak, ivy, hops, and hazel), a tiny bit of cinnamon weaves in and out. the myrrh and cider are great notes too.

[Azrhiaz]

Woo, my first 5 ml. that I'll be keeping! Having traded away Morocco and Sin in disappointment, I was really hoping this one would work, and thankfully it does.

 

Wet, I get mostly the apple cider and the blackberry wine, edged with something sharper and green (the ivy?). My first thought was "oh, nice", but then there was a scary moment oh, crap, rotten apples, but it passed very quickly, and then I couldn't quit sniffing this wonderful fall scent, so unlike any other I've ever smelled.

 

Enjoying the luxury of a bigger bottle, I squirted some lotion into my hand and tried to shake a drop out of the bottle into the lotion. Wound up getting two generous drops, but I proceeded to smear myself with Mabon goodness anyway. Went over to a friend's house, and when my other friend arrived, she walked in and said "oh, my goodness, something smells SO GOOD in here."

 

And, of course, 'twas me.

 

<3 Mabon!

[closedacct]

Mabon

 

In the bottle

Apples,ivy and blackberries

 

This is all blackberries on me. Very sweet,yet somehow tart. Way to pretty for me.

 

It lasted a very long time...I think I am realizing that anything with fruit is not for me.

Edited November 17, 2004 by ewalk

[harlequin]

my reaction to this scent is almost word for word what ladylatemar said, though i wouldn't call it strange. .

 

This is such a strange scent - it's like apple-blackberry-spiced cider, but with a slight woody edge on it keeping it from being a foody/fruit scent.  I like it, but it fades really quickly on me, which is strange considering that other people say it's very strong on them.

 

It's a great fall scent, for sure!

I'm going to keep it and slather it on.

 

Out of the bottle and wet on the skin, I pick up the blackberry wine and a spicy apple cider. The next thing to jump out is a bit of the woody smell that mellows the fruityness it might have. I've had it on for about an hour and it has faded quite a bit, but it's still there.. I'll have to wait and see how much longer it lasts.

 

One of my favorites so far, especially of the more non-food/super-fruity scents.

 

I'd give it ****1/2 of 5 stars.

[tart]

The lovely Emu Nymph was kind enough to send some of this to me. At first I thought the blackberry wine was too strong for me to ever wear. I started wearing it to bed because even though it was strong, I thought it was so beautiful. I found that it helped me to relax, so I started wearing when I felt tense or had an upset stomach. Mabon is unlike any other scent I've worn, but I love it! I'd definitely like some more of this.

[magpiedee]

Mabon completely represents to me the concept of "dandelion wine". It smells deeply golden, harvest color, like the very last beautiful day of September, when you say goodbye to fall by lying on your back and letting red and orange leaves fall on your face while whispering love notes to the deepest blue sky.

 

Yellow-gold, clear, liquid, limpid, bold, benevolent, sweet, mellow, ripe. I smell dandelions and leaves and warmth, but that is all I can say of smell. It's like Lughnasadh without the apples and cherries. It is lovely like a sleeping lion, like the perfect leaf, like a bottle of olive oil, robust and lazy and deep.

 

Beautiful.