Weeping Branches Moon

[GypsyRoseRed]

WEEPING BRANCHES MOON
The moon glimmers like bright snow, and plum blossoms appear like reflected stars
Ah! The golden mirror of the moon passes overhead as fragrance from the jade chamber fills the garden

Graceful, arching branches, heavy with plum and apricot blossoms, sweet ichigo, and a bouquet of peony, anemone, honeysuckle, spider lily, and hydrangea against a backdrop of luminescent, gently glowing lunar oils.

This is by no means a thorough review, since my skin testing was limited to a tiny dab on the outer edge of my wrist, but hey, I'll give it a shot.

Weeping Branches Moon seemed to be perfectly balanced to me - slightly fruity as well as a delicate 'pink' floral, so it's neither omgfloral nor juicy and fruity (like, say, Budding Moon was). Overall it was really pretty, feminine, and elegant, in the way that Beth's Asian-inspired Lunacy blends always are. Edited April 20, 2011 by Shollin

[twilighteyes]

Weeping Branches Moon was mostly plum on me. It smelled fabulous!

Edited April 20, 2011 by TwilightEyes

[gniwle]

I had to sniff this the moment it came in the mail. Oh man, I am so glad I bought this! It's so beautiful! The first thing I smell is fruit- Ichigo (strawberry) and plum jumps out, and then I get the soft florals. All florals go a bit soapy on me, but nothing too terrible. The soapiness goes away after a while, and I get plum and floral. I'm so excited to wear this during spring!

 

In short, this is a very soft scent. Very soft, and very lovely.

[puck_nc]

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: There were too many promising florals not to try this one...honeysuckle, hydrangea, lily...and I've had past success with fruit blossom vs. straight-up fruit, so I have hopes for the plum and apricot blossom.

 

In the bottle: The first inhale is sweet, heady spring florals and then I get a zing of fresh greenery. There does seem to be a hint of Oriental to it that would make sense with some of the notes used. It's also a light scent in the bottle.

 

Wet: The lily or something starts out a bit soapy, but it's combined with that fresh green zing and just a hint of some light musk underneath. *checks description for death notes* Hm. Perhaps the wood of the branches?

 

Drydown: Fruit comes out to play and help sweeten away the soapiness and greenery. It's still very much a floral scent, but it warms up a bit on me.

 

Verdict: I think I shall be wearing this often. It's pretty and gentle and I think it'll be a good work scent for me.

[Invidiana]

This is not really a fruit scent but a fruit blossom scent. I get a lot of lovely apricot and plum blossom, which have vestige of apricot and plum fruit a part of thier character but aren't really fruity scents per se. These rest on a really pretty floral background of mostly peony, lily and hydrangea--thankfully I don't really get any honeysuckle. I think there must be some white musk in here as well, giving it a soft airy feeling. This is a really diaphanous, pretty scent perfect for the warmer months ahead.

Edited May 1, 2011 by Invidiana

[msbcozad]

Weeping Branches Moon is pretty much perfectly blended. There's no one stand-out note and the "lunar oils" don't overpower the mix of fruits and florals. This is going to be my go-to feminine perfume for this spring and summer. I wish I'd purchased a second bottle!

[Ravenclaw79]

In the bottle: Fruity Charmkins with a hint of perfumeyness underneath.

 

Wet: Lilacs? Not quite, but reminiscent of them a little. Flowery, but in a really, really nice way -- where usually, floral BPALs smell "floral" to me, strong, sorta fake, this smells real, light, pretty, like actually going out and smelling a flower garden on a spring day. Nice work, Beth -- I'm impressed.

 

Dried down: Needs to be slathered a bit, I think. Really nice, though, definitely the best BPAL flowery scent I've smelled, and it's still not soapy at all.

[karihan]

So, so many notes that I love in this one! Here's hoping the anemone, spider lily and hydrangea work well on me too.

 

In bottle: Strawberries (ichigo), white florals and a soft Asian wood.

 

On wet: Mmm, the apricot and plum blossoms take center stage first, along with the peony. The strawberry is present, though not as much as I was expecting. It adds another dimension of sweetness to the fruit blossoms, and a little extra fruity zing. The honeysuckle also makes itself known in the sweetness department. The other florals and the lunar oils are much more demure, hanging back a bit. I don't smell the wood much, though it may be grounding and rounding things out so this doesn't just scream FLORAL.

 

Drydown: Oh my, everything is beautifully blended here! A melange of flowers, sweetened by the strawberry and honeysuckle, with that delicate wood note keeping the whole from becoming too froo-froo. I can't specifically pick out the lunar oils at this stage, but I suspect they're adding to the fresh sparkle entrancing my nose.

 

Conclusion: SOOOOOO LOVELY! I am rarely disappointed with Beth's Asian-inspired blends, and this one is elegant, feminine and just so gorgeous. Keeper for sure!

[reynardine]

The minute I opened the bottle to sniff, I thought "Peony Moon!" And it looks like there are some notes in common. (Peony Moon is one of my favorites). This scent is a bit more complex (more floral, I think) something of which keeps trying to go to soap on my skin.

 

On the drydown--yeah, I'm getting soap. Something in it doesn't like my skin. In the bottle, it smells exquisite, though.

[Aleah]

This was my very first BPAL purchase, and I'm so glad I took the chance and bought this!

 

I love this scent, to me it's very fruity to begin with, then blending into a fruity/floral bouquet. I like it so much I'm buying another bottle from a seller here. AND it's got me on the hunt for other "Moon" scents on eBay I am very very happy with this!

[Cheri]

I wore Weeping Branches Moon to work today and it lasted all day. I am still undecided if it's fruity or floral, but it's really nice either way. I wasn't sure if it would work, but sometimes you just have to go with your instincts.

[Dracen]

When I first sniffed the bottle I got strawberries and flowers. It gave me the mental image of a bowl of bright, pretty strawberries on a well-set table, next to a vase of fresh flowers.

 

When I put it on the fruitiness soaked right into my skin within minutes and I was left with flowers. It was really nice.

 

Very pretty and while it's not really me I still really love it.

 

 

ETA: While I don't wear it, it has made a beautiful room scent.

Edited May 19, 2011 by Dracen

[tarotgirl99]

I am not a bottle enthusiast in general--I am all about the scent--but the Weeping Branches Moon is the most exquisite BPAL bottle ever.

 

Happily, the quality of the scent matches the beauty of the bottle. It first reminds me, oddly, of the original Blue Moon--it has that ethereal watery thing going on, but the plum sweet-tarts it up a bit. On dry-down, I get a flash of soap that disappears quickly, settling into a plum blossom on moon water. It's almost a skin-scent with a minimum amount of throw, but it mellows me when I sniff it. Almost like a TAL in its gentling effect.

 

Very happy to have a bottle of this.

[Gin]

Wet, Weeping Branches Moon is gorgeous fruit blossoms and strawberries. On my skin, it dries to plum blossom. Pretty, but I wish I could retain more of the initial complexity. Like Strawberry Moon '09, I may have to use this in non-skin applications (or reapply frequently) to keep it from going single-note on me.

[pinkstardust420]

Oh, foo. This smells SOOOOO beautiful in the bottle, (plum/strawberries and woods) but it goes to soap-ville on my skin. Damn it!

[countessmouse]

Really fruity in the bottle, but it goes straight to a floral bouquet on my skin. A very pretty scent!

[tajana]

Yep, it's really fruity in the bottle. A tart, sheer take on strawberries tinted with plums. On my skin, wet, it's mostly "fruit blossom". Definitely fruity, with the strawberry-plum-apricot coming through in that order, but instead of being juicy or candy-like, the fruits are rendered much more delicately, balanaced out with a soft spring blossom scent. It stays more fruity than floral for a long time, but after about an hour it goes 50/50, with watery, dainty flowers balancing out the lightly sweet fruits. Peony is definitely making a statement here, but all the other floral notes seem to swirl together for me. There's a clean, thin woody glowy base that's barely detectable at all until about two hours after application, but it just barely grounds the fruity-florals and probably makes this last a lot longer than expected.

 

This is pretty and not at all artificial smelling, but it might be too well-mannered for me! It's quite strong and long lasting for such a diaphanous feeling scent, but it's just so inoffensively pretty. Everything is so sheer and well-blended that nothing in particular sticks out. I was hoping that the apricot blossom would be really textural and that the floral bouquet would be louder, or that the "branches" would manifest as a sharp wood note, but, nope. I'd enjoy some Weeping Branches Moon room spray or hand soap, though.

[Melenass]

Is mostly peony and plum blossom, and a faint aroma of woody branches, supported by sweet ichigo. It is very nice and light, comfortable

[zankoku_zen]

This is gorgeous. I get plum blossom, soft woody branches, whiff of peony and honeysuckle. It's a little sweet, soft Asian floral.

 

Sadly, I do get the strawberry note, which while not as fake as like in Strawberry Moon, is the one discordant note in this blend.

 

But... I really like the rest of it! Fruity floral lovers take note!

[filigree_shadow]

Definitely smells like one of BPAL's Asian fruity-florals. A little more floral than Fire Pig et al, but sweet and fruity like that. I think one or two of the floral notes aren't perfect for me -- whereas Peony Moon, Budding Moon, and fruity ones like Kitsune-Tsuki have no disagreeable notes on me. So although this is indeed a wonderful scent, I already have a couple that I like even better than this one. It is very pretty, though.

[Little Bird]

Weeping Branches Moon smells like strawberry cotton candy laced through perfumey, clean florals to me. It's a bit similar to the feel of Sugar Moon 2011. I can't pick out any one floral note, and I'd normally dislike this (perfumey white floral smell doesn't usually work for me), but the strawberry really sweetens everything up and makes it wearable, and the florals keep it from being too sweet. And this one is very strong with lots of throw.

 

A very pretty fruity-floral with lots of yummy strawberry.

[frecklestars]

In the bottle: light and a little candylike in the apricot vein of things. the plum and apricot make it heavily fruity, so much so that I can't catch any of the flowers except maybe honeysuckle. the term "luminescent" is very apt though. the more I huff it (oh yeah, I do that), the more I can pick out more individual notes and can finally pick up things like the peony in it. and it's lovely. I just hope the florals take over on my skin as opposed to that candyish fruit.

 

On my skin: ohhhh, it more than lives up to its' promise of a mix of bouquets and fruits! peonies and anemones and honeysuckle, a bit of hydrangea, those mysterious but lovely "glowing lunar oils", plus a bit of plum and apricot. yum! it smells very spring-like, and puts me in mind of the Japanese cherry blossom festivals (possibly also inspired by the label). I really love this one (and I've had some bad luck with limited editions in the past, so this is a nice surprise!).

 

Last thoughts: lightly femme-y, an equal balance of fruits and flowers, with peony and plum-apricot being the primary notes. honeysuckle sweetens without overwhelming.

[ami226]

On the skin: Sweet fruits with some pretty, sweet florals. After a bit the sweetness of the fruits fade a tiny bit. This scent is just lovely! Not much else to say really.

[Gateau]

Wow, my first review. I am glad I get to start with something I really loved.

 

In the bottle: A hit of sweet plum wine and something sweet and floral.

 

Wet on me: Sweet plum wine and honeysuckle blossom, which combine to smell almost like candied fruit. Something a little tangier -- apricot? the ichigo strawberry? -- emerges, and something a little soapy and clean. That must be the peony and/or lily, but it's not sticking out. I don't know what hydrangea, anemone, or lunar oils would smell like to pick them out. I get the impression of pink and white blossoms on branches shadowed by the darkening indigo moonlit sky. This is pink and dusky purple, flowers by evening. Not a bright garden, but a garden after moonrise. I get the impression of taking an evening walk in the warm spring, not dead of night.

 

On the drydown: The clean scents are coming out a bit and mingling with the fruity sweet floral blossoms, still not dominating. There is something -- the branches? the lunar oils? -- that add a certain warmth and depth to all this ethereal sweetness, like a musky melon or the pearly bloom on plums and grapes. It's a very romantic fragrance with a touch of warm darkness.

 

Fairly fast fade on this -- I applied 3 hours ago and now need to put my wrist right to my nose to smell it. It's something I'd want to reapply throughout the day. But it's not an everyday fragrance, something to save for when I need a touch of spring and romance.

 

(edited to correct stupid error)

Edited June 14, 2011 by Gateau

[Lycanthrope]

Sigh, what is it with the scents I love most being the least traditionally masculine ones?

 

I love the light, hazy gauzy florals and the plum-berry. It's mostly a sweet juicy berry with a tiny bract of woods and all the wet, dewy florals humming in the background. Drydown is mostly berry, florals never take off screeching like they sometimes can when they are these wet leafy flowers (hydrangea, etc).

 

And if anyone asks me, yes, I am wearing a strawberry perfume.

 

I bought only one bottle, I could have bought a few more. Searching thusly!