Hungry Ghost Moon 2013

[Bookgroper]

Offerings of hell money, ginger candy, sugar cane, smoky vanilla and rice wine mingle with a ghost's perfume of white sandalwood, ho wood, ti, white grapefruit, crystalline musk and aloe. This scent is tapered by the presence of seven herbs, woods and resins used in the purification of the spirit and the purging of earthly concerns from the soul.

Got my bottle today! I wish I were better at describing, but these are my impressions.

I tested this on one wrist, with the 2006 version on the opposite.

This version is much more foody to me in the bottle - it smelled a bit like Huesos de Santo, kind of orangey cake. On my skin, that disappeared almost immediately. As it dried, the character became similar to the 2006 version but while that one feels more citrusy and 'bright' or 'white', this one is warmer, deeper, maybe even muskier?

It seems to have faded a little faster, but that could be because I didn't use as much for the test.

[suki]

In The Bottle: I, too am getting a cake-y vibe from this scent. It definitely reads as foodie to me, but not overwhelming.

 

Wet On Skin: It's funny because I would also compare this scent to Huesos de Santo, but *not* the orange aspect. It's the sweet, mild cake of Huesos, with the ho wood playing in the background.

 

Dry Down: In The final dry down, the scent has shift focus. It's no longer foodie, it's become a balanced scent of woodsy notes at the forefront and a mix of resins and herb-y essence bringing up the rear.

 

In All: Low to medium throw, this scent, in small amounts, seems to be perfect for hot sultry days- for a scent so full of resins and wood notes, it's surprisingly light. I have a feeling that as it ages it'll become even better. For now, I anticipate wearing this for the remainder of our long, steamy summer.

[Lethran]

In bottle: This is way more foodie than previous versions. A mix of ginger, sugar cane, vanilla, and rice wine hit the nose first. The grapefruit forms a sharp counterpoint to the sweet rice cake feel of the strongest cabal. The woods provide a gentle, but grounding background, with the musk twining through everything like a cat through a sea of legs, brushing each note in an understated way, yet weaving it all together. The delicate herbs and particularly resins are good support to the wood notes. It works, and the notes themselves are similar to other years, but previous versions were more atmospheric than foodie. This is foodie first. There is nothing wrong with that, but it was a surprise. Wet: The sweet rice cake faction is still strongest, but the grapefruit counterpoint is much stronger, and with the wood notes in support edges up to a strong second. The resins come out more. It is still beautiful and well blended, but less subtle. As it warms, it becomes grapefruit dominant eventually. On my skin, it is less exciting than in the bottle, and I think I prefer older formulations, but it is still a keeper. Dry: ginger, vanilla, rice, and some of the woods linger longest.

Edited July 11, 2013 by Gwydion

[nineveh]

The 2006 version hasn't budged from my top ten since I tried it seven years ago. Its sparkling grapefruit and soft vanilla musk make it my favorite for warm weather.

 

I wouldn't have minded another bottle of the same or similar formulation if that's how it turned out, but the 2013 version is completely different to my nose. Wet, this is orange cake. Then that fades, and the joss paper/hell money and ginger are most prominent. Something creamy but not very sweet behind that, maybe the rice wine mixing with the vanilla or musk. The base of woods and resins is shadowy but subdued.

 

The 2006 version is a sweet, refreshing citrus, whereas the 2013 version is deeper, smokier, and spicier. It's like the notes that weren't discernible in the 2006 version are at the forefront of this one.

 

This doesn't unseat my love of the original, but it'll be good when I'm in the mood for something darker but not heavy.

[SadariEvenstar]

Wet: A delicious cake note and a very high pitch citrus floral note having a death match. It's aggravating my allergies something fierce.

 

Fully dry; Both notes died. wtf, This is an entirely different perfume. I smell nothing of the intial notes after about 40 minutes. This is now a very perfumey perfume. Musky and rather pretty. I like it much better at this stage, though I miss that cake note.

 

Further testing is going to be needed to see if I can wear this one.

Edited July 12, 2013 by SadariEvenstar

[stellamaris]

This is a perfect example of how Beth makes the versions of her LEs so similar and so different. I have the 2011 (I think) version, which still has the grapefruit/ginger notes as pretty aggressive, whereas in this version they dry off and I get a very sweet cakey scent that is really round and golden (like a yellow cake), with ginger. Not strange as I tend to amplify sweet and vanilla.

I can't match the surety and precise beauty of Gwydion's review with my own, not even slightly, but I can say that this is strange, spicy and wonderful.

It's one of those things that I know there are days when I will wake up thinking "Hungry Ghost Moon"...

[SueTigger]

Offerings of hell money, ginger candy, sugar cane, smoky vanilla and rice wine mingle with a ghost's perfume of white sandalwood, ho wood, ti, white grapefruit, crystalline musk and aloe. This scent is tapered by the presence of seven herbs, woods and resins used in the purification of the spirit and the purging of earthly concerns from the soul.

 

Received my bottle this week. On me, it starts out with a heavy vanilla note with undertones of fruit. As it dries, the vanilla mellows out and the herbs and fruit come out with a hint of spice. Verra nice!

[dementia_divine]

Origin: Decant from TrailerTrashPrincess' decant circle

 

In the decant: Well, this smells like something oddly familiar. 'Tis Froot Loops (or some variety of fruity cereal when it is dry)!

 

Wet: Froot Loops!

 

Dry: The Froot Loopiness lasts for a really long time, and then it begins to morph into something completely different after a few hours. The ginger and the wood notes become the prominent notes, and it stays rather close to the skin (unlike the Froot Loop phase, which was a lot stronger).

 

Verdict: I didn't buy a bottle of this because I thought it would be woody for me...and I was wrong! I don't love it enough to hunt down a bottle, but I may buy one if I see one pop up for sale one day. I actually enjoy it in all of its Froot Loopy glory!

[boomtownrat]

I've been meaning to review this unusual scent for a while now. The notes were so appealing that I didn't hesitate to buy a bottle.

 

Grapefruit in this blend comes across as lemon to me, which is a good thing. Hungry Ghost Moon on my skin is the scent of lemon poppyseed cake that gradually turns into more of a woody-ginger-citrus blend. In some ways it reminds me of Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat with the woods in place of the sweetness.

 

Hungry Ghost Moon is not especially strong. It lasts several hours on me, most of the time with more of the woody-ginger-citrus feel. Citrus, wood notes, ginger, and vanilla are among my favourites, so I'm intrigued and eager to see how this ages.

[JazzieCazzie]

Received as a decant in a swap.

 

IN THE IMP: It's too "busy" for me to define any of the notes in this from the sniff but it is interesting.

 

Dabbed on wrist cautiously.

 

WET: Sadly, WAY too much wine amps on me right away and makes me queasy from the get-go. Funny how much I LOVE to drink it, but just can't wear it.

 

DRYDOWN: I can't get to it. The winey winey wine makes it a washoff.

 

ON a scale of 1-5, a 1.

[milo]

This is a sweet, food blend for sure. I'm getting cake with a citrus icing perhaps. Dries to a sugared grapefruit and maybe a touch of spice. I'm getting a bit of 'funk' in the background every once in awhile, something fungus, but it is intermittent. This is nice, it reminds me of Knockout Drops, only with grapefruit. No need for more, I have KD, but this is a nice summery blend.

Edited September 5, 2013 by milo

[BlueberryPie]

Wow, this is....probably the most unique perfume I've ever tried in BPAL's catalogues. And I'm not sure I like it.

 

I don't get the foody or cake-y scent that other reviewers have gotten at all. I get rice wine, ginger, and lots of woods. It's...hard to describe what this scent is like. The best I can come up with is...you know those little gel capsules you can take your medicine in? It's like if you opened one of that and took a sniff, very bitter and medicinal and almost chemical at times, except with the OCCASIONAL very faint whiff of grapefruit. And there's a strange musty smell when it's wet too.

 

I feel like a hypocrite, since I got into BPAL because of it uniqueness, but I'm not sure I really like this. It's just not me...and frankly, I can't imagine who it might be for. This must morph very different on different people, because all I get is bitter, chemical medicine. Like a particularly dirty Chinese hospital.

 

Score: 3/10

 

 

ETA: It figures that the only perfume with staying power I've tried on in days would be the one that's absolutely horrible on me. Dry, the occasional whiff of grapefruit disappears (which was the only saving grace of this perfume), and I get nothing except bitter, chemical medicine. This is the first BPAL perfume I've tried that just managed to get worse the longer I wore it for. I'm revising my score to a 0/10.

Edited October 22, 2013 by BlueberryPie

[Quillifer]

I loved everything in this apart from a burnt rubber note which kept cycling through, and which I couldn't forget even when I wasn't detecting it

[zankoku_zen]

Ginger, lemon poppyseed cake. This is much more 'cake' and foody than the previous incarnations I have tried, 2006 being more of a sugar ginger candy, whereas this is more like cake + ginger dusting on it.

 

Tasty, and while pleasant, it doesn't tug at my heart strings.

[Vickery]

I got a bottle of this on release and just thought it smelled overly of ginger cookies and musk. After aging, it's more complex - and warm. I'm enjoying it much more, and it lasts and lasts.

[tinyvulture]

Strong foody notes - vanilla and sugar cane mingled with a spike of tart grapefruit. Like a slice of buttery citrus pound cake. Think "Eat Me" + grapefruit!

[Aveya]

Ok guys. This scent is real straight forward. : Fruit Loops knockoff brand's leftover milk.

 

You know, once you ate it all and then it's just this overly sugared carby milk staring at you with all it's rainbow color? And if you're like me and you drink it anyways - you don't really regret it you think "Omg this is incredible why doesn't everyone do this?" It's not as sweet as you'd think, it's actually like buttery (because let's be honest wtf is in knockoffs that makes them taste like... butter. Lmfao) And then you feel ever so slightly bad about it. But next time you get a bowl be honest, you're going to do it again like you're still 10.

 

It's that. In a scent. I can't unsmell it.

 

The funny part is I absolutely love it.

[saint_gawain]

Gummy dark sweet ginger, sandalwood, incense and vanilla, with a dash of citrus on my skin. It's absolutely gorgeous and I desperately hope Hungry Ghost Moon reappears in the future, because I think I've just found a new favorite. It sticks close to the skin and doesn't last long on me - max two hours - before fading, which is my only sorrow over this blend.

 

I wish I had five bottles of this. Gah.