Bestiaire du Moyen Âge

[puck_nc]

Watery cerulean musk winding through crushed grass, apple blossom, wild mint, and pine needles.

Origin: Straight from the Lab

Initial Thoughts: The musk is probably on the blue/green side enough that it won't amp the other notes to death. I love apple blossom and mint. I like pine and can tolerate grass.

In the Bottle: VERY apple blossom! The pine and grass make it smell like being in an orchard in bloom. A beautiful blast of spring.

Wet: Hello, musk. Please don't amp too much, musk. I really really like the apple orchard scent and want to keep some of it.

Drydown: Thank you, musk. Deepening the scent and adding a hint of a stream through the orchard is nice. That's just right. I'm going to just assume the mint is hanging around, keeping things cool without shouting its presence.

Verdict: This is a must-try if you love apple blossom. If you were hoping for a lot of mint, try a decant first.

[Rachel L. Fox]

This scent embodies what I envision a Unicorn forest smelling like: babbling brooks, green grass, sunshine, and flowering trees. I heart this scent so much. The throw is hella-strong while still smelling gentle and pretty and it has fantastic staying power. Mythical-feeling and beautiful.

[kscha2017]

What can be said but that it's the perfect olfactory interpretation of the artwork. On me, the musk, grass, and apple blossom stand out, all equal in strength, with just a hint of mint and pine in the background. It's as if I were sitting right there at the water's edge. It's gentle yet mysterious and otherworldly. Perfection.

[kmasden]

To me it started as wet tart green apple, so much so that I wondered if it was the right oil! As the musk flowered, it became softer and powdery and I'm left with a soft blue green feeling,the tiniest bit of green and appley bits in the back of it. Maybe the smidgiest smidge of mint keeps it from going too powdery. No pine at all for me. It's sweet and soft and nice, but I was hoping for the pine.If you love that soft skin, slightly aquatic scent, you might live this. Don't fear the pine or mint or grass imho.

[roseus]

I would like to start off this review by acknowledging Beth's artistry, she is truly a master of her craft. This scent perfectly illustrates the artwork. The apple blossom and grass stand out the most, with the musk supporting them. I have a hard time describing the musk because it's fresh and evocative of water but not quite aquatic to me. It's fresh, clean (but not in a soapy way), and sweet. I get a little mint and pine as well. The pine isn't like sticking your face in a branch, but more like the scent gently wafting down from the boughs. The mint just adds a faint crispness. As others have said this is just like walking through an orchard.

Edited August 20, 2016 by roseus

[zankoku_zen]

Green, watery, apple musk. This smells like slightly floral apple water. It's cool, fresh, and very innocent. The apple blossom is fantastic in this. Good throw and wear length.

[Blood onmy hands]

I thought that this was going to smell like soapy apple shampoo on me, because bpal's apple blossom pretty much always does that on my skin. But this is so amazingly beautiful and special.
Bestiaire really smells like freshly cut grass and torn green leaves, with slices of sweet apple thrown over the greenery. I don't get mint or pine, but maybe they're just adding to the green and cool feel of this blend.
I was also worried that the 'watery musk' would be soapy and cologne-like, but I don't get soap or aquatic from this at all either. In the drydown, I get a little bit of powdery sweetness, like a powdered sugar scent.

Green grass, green leaves, sweet apples, and powdered sugar. Has an airy, cool feel to it. I really love this blend.

[Casablanca]

Wet on my skin, this is lively apple blossom (some of the fruit but more of the flower) and delicate mint, with blue musk behind them. I don't get any pine yet.

 

I had wondered how this musk, described as cerulean, would differ from the dusky-toned blue musk in Midnight on the Midway. I do smell this one as a lighter blue -- not baby blue at all, but like that same dusky blue might look reflecting daylight. There is also a light watery touch to it, just a little tone that reminds me of water drops on celery, very fresh. I think of Squirting Cucumber.

 

The mint is quick to take flight from my skin and is mostly gone before this dries. I never pick out pine. Grass notes usually leave my skin quickly, so I'm surprised to find that Bestiaire dries into a grassy blue musk with a summery apple blossom lingering in the air.

 

Basically, this is idyllic.

[LiberAmoris]

Bestiaire du Moyen Âge is an amazing capture of the art. This is a blue, green, and pale-white-pink palette of notes, all working together. The watery blue musk, grass, mint, and pine needle notes center this solidly in the fresh, airy outdoors. Although any of those notes could overpower, they're kept amazingly in check. The strongest note on my skin is the apple blossom, and it's so pretty. It smells like a combination of tart green apple and sweet white flowers. The overall effect is of springtime in a bottle: blue skies, blue water, green grass, fresh mint, aromatic pine needles, and cascades of pale pink and white apple blossoms. Lovely!

[Jenjin]

The bottle sniff for Bestiaire du Moyen Âge is beautiful, like plunging my head into an apple barrel Water splashing all around, shirt wet, damp green grass staining knees, teeth reaching to grab the best apple. I wished for the fragrance to stay in this magical place, dewy, fresh and filled with promise. But alas, after a few minutes it turned on me like a unicorn with sharp teeth and talons. The dry-down filled me with contempt. Apple pie plug ins! My mother filled her home with these Glade oil warmed apple plugins that chugged out an artificial apple fragrance with a spoonful of ivory soap. It was an exact match for me, so this apple eating unicorn will be trotting off to greener pastures

Edited September 13, 2016 by Jenjin

[Aviatrix]

Apple blossoms and grass! Very atmospheric and true to the concept art. I am not getting much mint or pine. The whole thing has a dreamy, watery quality to it that I think would be perfect for springtime especially.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Well, huh. I get a lovely, brisk, outdoorsy scent accented by crisp, not-too-sweet apples...buried under something thick, heavy, and musty. It reminds me of the "warm tortillas/corn chips" salt note in Callisto. Something warm and almost foody that contrasts jarringly with the cool, smooth notes underneath. Where TF did this come from???

 

Wet: Now that's more like it! A cool, serene scent, elegant and understated and almost achingly beautiful. The apple blossom is a touch of sweetness carried on the wind, and the water is trickling and fresh. I get occasional whiffs of distinct grass, but mostly it melds with the mint and pine for something ineffably green and lovely. The "watery cerulean musk" provides a base of subtle strength so the rest of the notes won't drift away into nothing, but it still contributes to the light, cool impression overall. It wears close to the skin, like a secret only for you. A unicorn's scent indeed!

 

Dry: Unsurprisingly, the water burns off the fastest, leaving the apple blossom as the dominant note. This is fairly linear, as soft and sweet as it ever was. The greens, too, fade into the background - I get an occasional whiff of pine, but mostly just a general greenness to support the apple blossom. I'm getting something almost white musk-like, hiding way deep down at the base; maybe it and cerulean musk are cousins?

[dementia_divine]

In the bottle: The apple blossom note is the strongest. I can smell some of the watery musk, crushed grass, and pine needle, but they're nowhere near as strong as the apple blossom note.

 

Wet: The apple blossom still reigns, but I can smell more of the musk and the crushed grass now that the scent is on my skin.

 

Dry: The watery aspect of the musk is very evocative of the water it is meant to represent now. The apple blossom note is still pretty strong, and I can still smell the crushed green grass. I think the mint may be adding to the impression of a cool stream, and the pine needles just add an extra bit of green to the scent, like you're catching the scent of the pine trees on a breeze as opposed to getting slapped in the face with a branch of pine needles.

 

The musk note ends up becoming more prominent after several hours of wear.

 

Verdict: I bought this primarily because of the label art and the apple blossom note, and I'm glad that I did. This scent perfectly captures the artwork that inspired it!