Panther Moon

[dreamingjune]

Gleaming black musk, mandrake, labdanum, black ginger, benzoin, champaca, ambergris accord, myrrh, and star anise.

So kicking myself for not getting a bottle of this..

The first thing that stands out is the dark powder note of the Black Musk. This helps carry the spice, incense, and floral notes and keeps them from being too light. There is something about this one that reminds me of a less chocolate, more incense version of BTBT.

Long story short: this is the closest BPAL has ever come to a Nag Champa type perfume in my opinion. This has pretty decent throw without being overpowering, and manages to stay pretty true to the Nag Champa aroma for a few hours. One of my favorites at the moment.

[porcelina]

very comparable to schwarzer mond, to me. (i also compared it to snake charmer, but there aren't many similarities on my skin.) this is more musky and less resinous, with a hint of spice; it's a sweeter, smoother scent. it's really nice, but i only have one bottle so i must hoard it!

[filigree_shadow]

I have seen the reviews comparing this to Snake Charmer, but that's not what it smells like on me. I wear Snake Charmer a lot, and this is quite different.

 

It smells more like a cross between Smut and Schwarzer Mond on me. It's dark, musky, and resinous, with some smoky haze over the top. Up close it's darker and more complex, but from a distance I swear I'm catching wafts of the same musk that's in Smut.

 

I like this a lot, but I don't wear scents like this often enough to need a whole bottle of it. My decant will be fine!

[grashopper8]

All sweet dark black musk on me. Reminds me of Smut. I like it, but my bottle of aged Smut provides the fix I need for black musk BPAL!

[ami226]

On the skin: Black musk is normally a death note for me, so here goes nothing! I definitely smell the black musk here, but it doesn't turn to super sweet powder of doom on me this time. Crazy! Smooth and musky with a blend of resiny sweetness running through. This is an awesome smelling panther!

 

I really like this one and so does the SO, so I think it is a keeper!

[Alia Kaitan]

I have a lot of black musk blends, and this is definitely the most incense-y of the lot. Sweet and smooth and resinous. The first time I wore it (right after it arrived in the mail) it was more nag-champa-esque, but after it had time to settle I got more complexity, a deeper sweetness to round out the incense, and overall a more unique scent. The notes are very well balanced, and no one stands out for me, though I am catching a purring warm base that I think must be the ginger. The musk sort of permeates everything and carries it all along together. Definitely evokes a prowling night hunter!

 

After all the effort to hunt down a bottle, I am so glad to absolutely love this. Will love and cherish my Panther Moon!

[brilliantcat]

I've been dying to try this for ages and I finally got ahold of a decant! I hope it's everything I expect

 

Imp: This is a seriously dark, murky oil! Gloriously musky and incensey. I get the comparison to Smut, which is one of my favorite blends. Off to a good start!

 

Wet: Champaca, musky. I get some sweetness in there that's oddly discordant. I think it may be the benzoin. There's also something earthy and herbal which I imagine is the mandrake. Slowly, the ginger seeps out adding a nice spiciness.

 

Dry: Spicier, more herbal, and creamier than Smut but still very similar to my nose. I will treasure my imp but I won't die of longing if I can't find a bottle. Don't get me wrong, I DO want a bottle!

[ih8perfume]

I was part of an amazing LE/DC swap that included this scent (thanks!)

 

Panther Moon was definitely a sleeper hit for me. I tried it based on the champaca, which is one of the very few florals that works on me and this did NOT disappoint.

 

Normally, the black musk, mandrake, and star anise would have normally made me pass it by, but I was attracted to the champaca benzoin, ambergris idea.

 

On me, this is a heavy-lidded, sleepy, sexy, sultry champaca honey with warm, powdery musky underwear.

 

It has a HUGE throw and is probably one of the stronger champacas I've experienced, but still very wearable, even in hot weather.

 

Just beautiful.. Excellent job, Beth.

[JazzieCazzie]

Decanted from a bottle received in a swap.

 

IN THE IMP: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH yes. Shmexy Coca-Cola.

 

Dabbed ... lavishly ... on wrist and in crook of arm. Oh, and maybe in cleavage.

 

WET: OMGOMGOMGOMYESYESYESYES. This is pretty much everything I love about BPAL scents, and given that the comps mentioned in this thread are almost all other top faves of mine (Scherezade, Schwarzer Mond, Gaueko, etc.) that shouldn't surprise me. Lots of dark gorgeous sexy musk, awesome champaca, dark spicy ginger. I smell like a headshop-flavored Coke float and couldn't be happier. Dark,sexy, sensuous and medicinally mysterious, this is amazing.

 

DRYDOWN: The musk and ginger and nag champa amp the most but honestly there isn't a bad note in here. Even the myrrh plays nice on me.

 

OVERALL: This is where the swap gods smiled upon me. Somehow, when going through all the old scents I'd never tried to put together a massive wishlist, I missed this completely. But when I was approached by a forumite for a swap, because she was interested in a few scents on MY list but didn't have anything on my wishlist, I looked over what she DID have and when I saw the notes for this, I was just ... HOW DID I MISS THIS? And I am so glad it happened because this is a Top 10 for sure for me now.

 

On a scale of 1-5, do you have to ask? A 5.

[Atrous]

Panther Moon smells like my favorite occult book store.

Heavy on the Nag Champa with herbs and spices swirling around. The musk rounds this blend out and adds another dimension.

Dark, spicy incense and gloomy musk. I love it!

[Ishtar]

Given the notes - and given that I love the Lab's black musk - I was certain this was going to be a winner, especially with the almost unanimously positive reviews.

 

Unfortunately, Panther Moon just doesn't work on my skin. Not that it's an unpleasant scent, not by any means, but it never seems to bloom. It remains suprisingly one-dimensional, a little soapy, a little powdery. Oh well. Off to a better home!

[SimplySyra]

Origin: BPAL's Etsy

Bottle: Smooth dark sweet musk.

Wet: Something sharp and spicy on top of the musk. I think it's a tinge of the anise and ginger. Spicy incense.

Dry: Beautiful sweet musk and incense. Something about the sweetness of the musk mixed with the salt in the ambergris makes this such a "skin" scent. It's a very comfortable scent on my skin as if it is actually taking on some of my skin's characteristics. It has very little throw for me unfortunately, and seems to snuggle up close rather than roaming out on its own. But it feels so lovely and natural on me.

 

Verdict: Absolutely love this. It's very smooth. I feel it all blends together into a single impression of sweet, musky darkness. I get the feeling that on the right person it could be a powerful and sensual panther scent, but because it's so subtle on me its more of a soft and warm kitty.

[sunlitgarden]

Panther Moon came out right after I started getting into BPAL. I remember seeing it on the site and being like "black musk? Resins? Yikes! That sounds way too dark and heavy for me!" but it was before I had done a lot of experimenting with notes, and learned that I actually like just about everything in here (though myrrh is iffy). By that point (a year or two later) Panther Moon had become a fan favorite and I was kicking myself for not buying it when I had the chance. Fortunately, I was able to acquire a partial bottle on LiveJournal.

In the bottle, I do find it a little intimidating... I can smell black musk for sure, but there's a bitterness to it, probably because of the myrrh, which is often pretty bitter-smelling to me. It's intriguing, though, something that I keep sniffing again and again to try to get to the "bottom" of it... like trying to peer into the depths of an inky-black pool.

Oil color is brown.

On my skin, it's still pretty bitter at first. It smells incensey, kind of in a "local pagan shop" way. I can definitely smell the ambergris accord in here, though. Sometimes it goes salty on me, but it isn't doing that here. Weirdly, I can only describe the ambergris here (and in its single note) as the depths of a musty attic, but in a way that's pleasant and almost sweet.

The initial bitterness is tempered as it dries. It's not sweet, but it evens out. Something about the combination of spices in here is weirdly enough reminding me of Dr. Pepper, which... I actually have no idea what the flavorings of that are. Internet searches discuss 23 secret ingredients, though, and some people have theorized that it has star anise - so my guess would be that, combined with the vanilla-like benzoin, and a bit of "fizziness" from the ginger.

This is definitely not something I would wear to work or even around the house. I wore it clubbing once layered with Snake Oil. I'm still not sure that I'm going to keep my bottle, but I'm glad I got the chance to try it.

[LizziesLuck]

The champaca is really strong, and I can smell it before I even open the bottle, which scares me. I was hoping for pretty much all the other notes BUT the champaca...eeep!

 

Wet: Champaca and something really sour and icky. But it's settling quickly into something dark and rich and complex.

 

 

Dry: This has just become my new favourite incense blend. It's complex, and so well blended I can't pick out individual notes at all. It's dark, rich, heady. Not "head shoppy" at all. It's beautiful and I love it. <3