Esbat

[Atrous]

The silent rays of the full moon piercing the shadows of an ancient grove: a ragged canopy of moonflower and morning glory, dew-touched mosses creeping over gnarled oak roots, and shimmering beams of mugwort, cuckoo flower, and rose mallow.

I was really excited for Esbat since the other HM scents are some of the best BPAL has to offer.
Esbat is so disappointing. No Moonflower. No Morning Glory. No Rose Mallow. All I get is a very bitter, sharp herbal with something moldering underneath. I had to scrub it off cause it gave me a headache.

[zankoku_zen]

So Esbat IS a moonflower scent. But its the moonflower that grows in a gothic cementery. I get the aquatic moss, a hint of herbals, moonflower and some other white floral.

 

It does a fair bit of metamorphosis from wet to the drydown - like the elements themselves creep, twine, and bloom. At one point after immediately applying some of the florals were super white and aggressive. I let it do its thing since while it wasn't altogether pleasant, there were enough elements that I hoped would shine through.

 

After an hour, it smells like moonflowers growing on moldering cemetery grave patches, overgrown with weeds, moss and other plant life.

[lady_pandora]

I was a little worried about Esbat based on other reviews, but at least on me, it does have an unpleasant stage but it only lasts a few minutes. Right when it's first applied, it's kind of harsh and chemical-y, like a cleaner. The only individual note I can make out at that point is oakmoss.

 

It develops really quickly into oakmoss with an ethereal floral haze of moonflower, and as it continues to develop, the oakmoss recedes and the moonflower becomes more prominent. The eventual effect is a really nice, refreshing, maybe slightly soapy moonflower with a little bit of moss in the background. I like it! It does become faint within a few hours.

 

I'll probably buy a bottle of this when it comes back. I could see wearing this on a hot summer night or in ritual.

[freyasfae]

Lesson learned: mugwort is not for me, because when first applied this is MUGWORT in your face. I smell like a fairy tale witch who eats small children. But it changes pretty quickly as it dries and eventually settles into a wispy and faint moonflower - quite the metamorphosis from aggressive mugwort to delicate moonflower. I really like the idea of this metamorphosis for an Esbat scent, but I really, really don't like the mugwort stage.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Ooooohhh man that`s a lot of mugwort. It`s like a slap in the face. Kind of clears your sinuses. I don`t actually dislike mugwort, in fact, I find it kind of compelling, however I have never been able to convince myself that I really want to wear it.

 

 

Dry: Still mugwort. Sadly, still don`t think I can wear it, but it really does intrigue me!