Candles Moon

[Deiicide]

 

Moonlight shining on the Quickening Tree, the heat and wax of sacred candles, the milk of ewes, Brigid's blackberry, the sting of keening wind, and the last flutter of the Cailleach's winter snow.

 

Straight sniff from the bottle only has the blueberries with a soft floral underneath. Wet first on the skin is wax ladened blackberries with a bit of spice, just enough. I smell coconut in there? Very down to earth with the creamy ness, the blueberry disappears after a moment but the wax stays. Certainly a morpher! Thankfully the beeswax is melting away, bringing forth more of the herbs. It smells as it dries, almost a herby version of Liltha 05', the blueberry and the wax give the same effervescent effect and it's really pleasing. Ozone and Snow notes work very well on me so it tempers and lasts awhile. Throw is low This bottle is a winner!

Edited March 2, 2010 by Deiicide

[Blood onmy hands]

Candles Moon doesn't smell anything like candles to me. In the bottle and on my skin for the first hour, it smells like bright red, sugary hawaiian punch with a hint of sweet spices. After an hour, the scent gets a bit creamier and a lot lighter, like the whole thing was watered down with a creamy vanilla. It's creamy, soft, warm vanilla and a hint of that fruit punch smell. The scent is entirely gone within 2 hours after applying.

 

Weird. I almost wonder if I got the wrong scent, because I'm not getting any of the trees, snow, ozone, or wax that other reviewers have mentioned. It's not even a milky scent on me, though the drydown after an hour is creamy and vanilla-y.

 

I don't mind this scent, but I don't love it either. I'm very happy to have gotten a partial bottle of this, though. I really love the artwork, colors, and lettering chosen for Candles Moon <3.

[Kimbernunk]

Wet, this was an extremely sharp and sour blackberry. This is NOT a scent I'd want to put in a scent locket.

 

Given a couple of hours, however, something warms it up. This is reminiscent of the warmth of a glowing candle (probably from the wood and the milk - the milk, for once, did NOT turn all sour yogurt on me - YAY!), and there are blackberries somewhere. The blackberries aren't as strong on my skin as they are in the bottle. What I end up with overall is a warming blackberries and cream type scent with a definite wax feel to it. Quite nice.

 

This had an average throw on me and a slightly less than average wearlength.

[MCS4096]

Definitely smells like Hawaiian Punch with cream in the bottle

 

The milk is very prominent when first applied, with lots of crisp sweet berries and the lab's snow note. The beeswax starts to heat up and I love that I do wish the blackberries were more present/actually smelled like true blackberry (it smells like generic "berry" to me..). However.. I don't have many berry blends, and this one fills that void nicely. Very pleasant

[Dark Alice]

Ironically...my skin is NOT amping the milk note in this. It's just amping the hell out of the blackberry and snow note. Wet in the imp this smelled delicious like refreshingly washed, cool blackberries. Now it just smells like minty, sour blackberry. So glad I didn't buy a bottle but I am glad I got a chance to try this! Thanks Andrea!

[patina]

There's a tiny bit of blackberry at first that smells almost citrus-like. Then a little bit of ozone. I feared the milk, because I've found it very unpleasant in blends like White Rabbit and Lambs-Wool. I shouldn't have feared. This milk is somewhat sweet and mild.

 

Really, I don't smell much of anything from this. When I put my nose to my wrist I can almost get the texture of beeswax, though.

 

While wearing it, I would occasionally get the faint scent of a blackberry smoothie with milk (yum), however it was faint and far-off. I can't really say this smells like The Winter Maiden bath oil- that blend had white rose and amber, and to my mind it was the better-smelling of the two.

 

I think I'd prefer a more spicy scent, however if you're looking for something cold and subtle and a bit fruity, try it.

Edited March 5, 2010 by patina

[Venneh]

In the bottle, I'm getting blackberry and sour milk and ozone, a really off-putting scent. Think this one is going to be a light application. On my skin, it's really sour blackberry and milk, and curdling like Milk Moon did for me. Oh no. I'll keep this on a bit, but I've got a really bad feeling about this. Well, it curdles on me and goes to nothing, which I'll consider a small blessing. Going to decant the imp I have of this in the bottle out but keep the empty, as the artwork on this is gorgeous.

Edited March 6, 2010 by Venneh

[windbourne]

Growr. I have terrible luck with Lunacies that I order on the strength of the notes, without trying a decant first, and this is no exception.

 

I wanted to love it, but upon opening the bottle, I got a snout-full of sharp, sour ozone-y bleck with a slight undertone of blackberry and milk. No wax (which is usually one of my favorite notes), nothing greenish or snowy gentle, and no warmth. It's the same set of notes that made Windy Moon into such a pain for me. Apparently, the Lab's 'wind' is not something I can wear.

 

I tested it, and there's a little more warmth to it, though not a lot. The snow comes out a bit, which was nice for a short while, and the milk takes on a much stronger aspect (definitely the same as Nonae Caprotina, too.) Whoever compared it to Winter Maiden has a certain point, but I'd compare it more to Lines Written Among the Euganean Hills, which is very similar to the bath oil, but colder and sharper.

 

After a few hours, Candles Moon turns into a sadly generic perfume on me, which is an rather rare and deeply disappointing occurrence from BPAL.

 

I'll keep the bottle around, as it's really lovely, and I'm curious to see if it will shift any as it ages, but my hopes are not high.

-----

Edit:

DAHAHAHAHAHA. The joke is so very much on me. Well, kind of.

 

So--I kept my bottle, and, now, in December of 2011, it's aged into something that is not only lovely as a perfume, but also conveniently gorgeous on me.

 

The milk is still very much present, but the berry is stronger, and the wax is there too (JOY!). The ozone-scent has mellowed to a snowy-type note. The whole thing ends up pretty sexy, slightly reminiscent of Snow White with a bit of berry action and some milk. I am entirely joyful about the way this has changed, and so very glad I kept it.

 

(Truth? I probably would have kept it for sentimentality and bottle art, since it was released very near my birthday. ^-^; )

Edited December 19, 2011 by windbourne

[ami226]

Immediately on the skin I get a rancid milk note. The good thing though, is that the note disappears within a few minutes! Now I am left with a blackberry aquatic scent. Very weird.

 

I kind of like it, but I don't think it is for me.... I can't see myself wearing this very often. I should know better by now than to want a scent with milk notes...

[MerriAnneStowe]

I wasn't sure what to make of this one at first. When I first applied Candles Moon, it seemed pretty faint and I couldn't tell what it smelled like, just that I didn't quite like it. After about an hour, it had become musky. Several hours later, it settled into a milky beeswax scent. There might be blackberry there supporting the milky beeswax, and the faintest hint of a snow note, but I can't really pick those out.

 

If anything, the scent got a bit stronger after an hour or two. It still doesn't have a strong throw, but it's hanging in there nicely.

 

I like this better than I thought I would when I first applied it.

 

 

[megank4]

Nice but no blackberry.

A light beeswax scent and a bit of smoke.

[doublehelix]

I'm so glad I purchased a bottle unsniffed! When first applied, I get very strong blackberry/fruit mixture. As it dries down, it becomes a little musky but i'm not going any beeswax (a note I love!) I can smell a bit of the snow note/ozone lurking in the background. This is a very beautiful scent.

[girasol]

In the bottle: Milky, slightly floral sweetness.

 

Wet on skin: The beeswax is really coming through, with the blackberries in the background.

 

Dry: Milky and slightly musky - there's even something that smells slightly like a honey note. I also got some really nice light florals while it was drying.

 

Verdict: This was my first BPAL lunacy oil, and I really like it. Definitely a keeper.

[fisharescary]

This one is kind of neat for me, as, if I put my nose down next to my skin and concentrate, I can find each of the listed notes by turns 20 minutes in. I am still very new to being able to identify individual notes in things, so that's kind of a rarity. If I back off and kind of 'unfocus' my sense of smell, the overall effect is yummy creamy sparkling blackberry soda (possibly honey-sweetened!).

Could this be a cousin to Glowing Vulva? it feels similar with that sweet creaminess. gotta go check my tester.

 

Average throw.

Duration: For about 4 hours this stays on full strength w/o fading, then all of the sudden down to a wisp of its former self. Unusual. Not bad though.

Edited July 4, 2010 by fisharescary

[glitterlips]

In the bottle, it is AMAZING!!! You can smell all the notes described, and it's very sweet smelling.

 

Once on my wrist, this is all blackberry, spices and beeswax on me. It's a bit more perfumey than I'm used to but I really like this one!

 

Great job, BPAL!!

 

-Melanie

 

****After wearing this for a few hours, my allergies decide they don't like it. Listed in the For Sale/Sawps section.

Edited April 1, 2010 by glitterlips

[heathercaley]

I'm so very excited for Candles Moon!

 

Once applied, I get a blast of milky cool beeswax-y berries. Sounds weird right? Totally not...

 

The milk lends itself to a creaminess that isn't foody. It's sweet and soft. Very feminine. The beeswax creates just a touch of honey sweetness, without being too sugary. It's mellow and smooth. The berries add a certain charm, and create a brightness mirrored by the honey from the beeswax. The snow is represented as a slight minty coolness, but not at all ozoney or harsh. It's just beautiful!

 

The throw is moderate, and it's a cool creamy honey scent from afar.

 

I'm in love...

 

verdict? Too beautiful for a witty remark.

[crebbsgirl]

Smooth creamy beeswax on me. Yum! This is lovely! I'm not getting any ozone here, nor am I getting any curdled milk. And surprisingly the blackberry isn't going to cat pee either. Just sweet beeswax and berries. However, I should mention that the berries are more sweet than juicy. I don't get anything that jumps out as FRUIT. I like this alot, but I already have a few scents in the same family so I don't know if I need to track down more.

 

That said, I wouldn't kick Candles Moon out of bed.

[bluerose]

Candles Moon is a stunning blackberry scent.

 

For me, it smells the same in the bottle, in a burner, or on the skin.

 

Blackberries with a milky undertone. I can't detect any of the other notes. The throw lasts for several hours.

 

Very similar - almost like a much stronger version - to The Winter Maiden, but Winter Maiden is sweeter and the blackberry a bit fainter.

[Schmoozy]

 

Candles Moon comes across as soft, yet cold milky berries with the slightest undertones of wax. It's a very unassuming scent. Lasts for hours, yet maintains a softness the whole time.

[zankoku_zen]

So I get snow but it's the tropical snow that I tend to associate with say... Snow White... meaning i get some tropical fruits: coconut and pineapple. Actually I thought PINEAPPLE as soon as I put it on, with a twinge of beeswax.

 

So um... Pineapple love. Yeah folks, that's what I get. MEGATRON OF PINEAPPLE.

 

I think I kinda like it...

[surlygurl]

When this first arrived, it smelled on me like sour milk followed by fake fruit scented plastic. So I set it aside, pouting all the while.

 

This morning I tried it again. The sour milk has *mostly* unsoured and become a Nonae Caprotina type milk. Plastic berries have become.... not fresh, but no longer offensive. A strange grounding note - the candle wax? - makes it a winter scent for me. If it included a shot of sugar it would be perfect, but it's pretty nice as it is. Hopefully the sour note will age out of this and it'll keep getting better.

[milo]

This is mostly tart blackberries and cream on me. The beeswax for some reason is translating into cigarette smoke to me, or the smell of a smoker that is using scent to cover up the smoke. It really isn't as terrible as I'm describing, though, the blackberries pretty much dominate to me. Because of the smoke association, I'm glad I just went with the decant. Hanerot Halalu did not do this to me, so I'm kind of at a loss why I'm getting smoker's smoke. Oh well.

[yeahbutnobut]

Candles Moon

 

In the imp: milky berries and icy eucalyptus/evergreen.

Wet on skin: sour milk and fruit. Like Nonae Caprotina but with blackberry instead of fig.

Dry on skin: think Ichabod Crane meets Lady Una. The milk is not sweet or creamy, but a very raw, sour smell that reminds me of the raw/live Greek yogurt I sometimes eat with fruit, especially combined with the sharp blackberry which has no sweetness in this scent (at least in Una the berry note was sweeter). Like with LU’s blackberry, I get a hint of the dreaded ‘bad kitty’ smell here too. It’s not as strong, thankfully. I smell a hint of pale wood or tree bark, and a fresh, cool linen-ozone scent which is the wind, as well as a hint of the snow note (the pine-citrus-eucalyptus kind as opposed to the sugary-mint-cucumber-musk variety). And the most important note is absent…where are the candles? I smell no wax; no heat…maybe a whisper of smoke? The notes here seem to clash.

After a while: ok, the notes seem to meld together better. It’s still a little too sharp for my tastes but thankfully it’s a fruity rather than dairy sharpness. And the blackberry smells more like real freshly picked berries and no more cat pee! The milkiness is still there but has toned down to a much more agreeable scent of cool fresh milk. The snow note is what makes this smell cool, but something in here reminds me of clean linen? Like a fruity White Rabbit, and a lot less sweet. But still, the most important note is missing-the candles! Where are they? Though I have to say the more I smell, I do smell something that reminds me of the smell of a candle flame-yes, a flame. Not a blown-out candle, not wax as such, but the smell above a candle flame. So yes, Beth has captured the smell of candle heat as opposed to smoke, which is remarkable. But it’s still not strong enough!

The drydown after a few hours is very nice though and resembles, of all things, Hungry Ghost Moon! I have no idea why as the scents share no common notes.

Verdict: this reminds me of the sour milk and soap and beeswax mess that was Ichabod Crane (at least, my skin turned it into a mess), with Lady Una, but it’s actually a lot nicer once the notes co-operate. I really, really don’t like the first hour of wear. It’s everything I don’t like-sour milk, cat pee blackberry, cologney ozone-in a dissonant mixture, and not a flicker of candle wax or smoke. However this does becomes more bearable at drydown, when the troublesome notes calm down, their sharp, sour aspects fade away to reveal something smoother and more coherent. Almost like a seamless creamy-fresh-fruity musk and wood scent. it is very pretty, but because I really dislike the first hour or so of wear, and also because it isn’t as candle-y as I hoped it would be, I sold off my decant.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? not worth keeping, to me.

If you like this, try: Lady Una, Nonae Caprotina, Ichabod Crane, Chaste Moon 10, Milk Moon 07

[good_mourning]

This has been getting a lot of play lately because I currently live in the desert and need help reminding myself that some day, it will not be this hot. That being said, I don't get winter from this, per se; more like late February/early March, when everything else has mostly warmed up but the ground is still mostly frozen and there's still a bit of bite in the air. Nor do I get beeswax; what I smell is that unique scent you get for a second or three right after you've snuffled a candle. The blackberry is delightfully tart (if anything, I'd like it a bit stronger), and this is the first BPAL milk/cream note that has not turned into rotten-cheese-foot-horror on me, so it's got novelty going for it to boot! Honestly, I'm glad people seem not to like this; it will be easier to hoard.

[isisonearth]

Bottle: Milky and just a little sour but the blackberry is strong!

 

Wet: Warm milk, a bit of minty snow and the tart blackberry. So evocative of the first stirrings of Spring.

 

Dry: If I sniff it close its minty and fresh but that heavenly milk scent tinged with fruit. I can't stop sniffing.

 

Overall: I picked this one yet again hoping for a Milk Moon replacement. When it first came I thought it wasn't right in that respect but now I'm totally getting that same slightly sour milk note that I had such a visceral reaction to in Milk Moon and it combines with just the right amount of fruit. I'm giddy with joy. Such a comfort scent!