Moscow

[donnatron]

A rich, bold blend of imperial rose, carnation, lush jasmine, lily of the valley, dark musk, amber, bergamot and gilded tangerine.

Imp: Carnation and citrus. Aight.

Wet: Floral. I can't really pick out any of the florals, but it is pure floral on me.

Dry: Dear Jasmine, Stop going soapy or I will have to open a can of whoop ass and I am down to my last three. This smells like a really nice perfume layered over soap. I catch some amber and rose and what I think is bergamot. Very pretty. Heady. Complex. And then there's the soap.

Throw: Eh.

Overall: I guess it's less skin-drying than layering perfume over actual soap, but I can't say that I've ever got the urge to smell like fancy florals and Ivory at the same time.

[Rouge]

This was a freebie from the Lab. Roses and I don't often get along, but since this blend has amber and tangerine I'm still looking forwards to trying it.

 

In the vial - a very rich and powerful blend; "imperial" is the perfect description. Something here reminds me of Fallen, but I'm not sure exactly what.

 

Wet on the skin - Sweet, rich jasmine and amber cloked in warm tangerine.

 

Next stages - Oh dear, the rose is going soapy and sour, just as I feared. With typical Russian tenacity, though, the other notes aren't going down without a fight.

 

Dry down - Ultimately, this is too heavy on the florals for me to wear on the skin, but I may use up the imp as a room scent.

 

Similar scents - New Orleans shares the same characteristic jasmine, but is much more forgiving to those who can't wear a straight-up floral.

[soonyi]

wet, rose and jasmine are abbreviated by bergamot and slight bit of tangerine. very well blended, all the notes are there and each softens the other.

 

dry, more of the lily comes out, but the strongest note by far is the jasmine, a la LUSH's Flying Fox. rose (a la Rose Red), bergamot, and tangerine are present and accounted for; carnation isnt immediately apparent, it seems to contribute more to the lushness of it all. very nice and very very sweet. definitely not for someone who cannot tolerate jasmine though!

 

ETA: i've read elsewhere that the jasmine calms down after a bit of aging. i am going to try this cos the second time i wore this, the jasmine was screaming loud. it was too upsetting--time out for you, moscow!

Edited April 13, 2008 by soonyi

[angharad]

Hmm. This is one I can never decide if I like or not. It's a very strong floral blend with a soft fruit/citrus sweetening it up during drydown. Lush, regal, imperial, powerful. It eventually dries into a powdery generic flower. Lasting time is several hours.

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: sweet orange and heavy spring flowers.

 

wet on skin:the orange is gone- it's all heavy, sweet floral now.

 

dry down: a cloying rose mixed with an equally cloying purple flower of some sort- lilac? jacaranda?

 

in all: if you adore florals, gab some of this. for the rest of us, i'd say pass. :shrug:

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Jasmine, lily of the valley, amber, and hints of rose and carnation. Strong, heady, warm and womanly floral.

[Lamia]

A standard forgettable floral.

[voodoocatwoman]

I have to agree with fairnymph on this one- it is very heady and warm. I detect jasmine and carnation (two of my absolute faves). There's also a bit of orange that cuts into the super sweet floral and tones it down a little. I do believe I will have a bottle of this.

[stillalive]

I nice, faint, dark red smell to me. One of the few almost-florals I can tolerate on my skin. It quickly fades to next to nothing, but that next-to-nothing part smells faintly of flowers, which is the impression I want sometimes.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Very strong rose with hints of carnation and jasmine.

 

Immediately on skin: I get rose (fresh, but not very sweet) mixed with musk and jasmine. This blend has a slightly rubbery scent to it on my skin… I think it’s the jasmine.

 

After a little while: This calms down to a very rose-filled scent with small hints of carnation and lily and a base of warm amber. This is a sweeter scent now, and very floral.

 

Overall Impressions: This blend is mostly rose with some of the other notes peeking through. And surprise, surprise… the jasmine behaved itself! The amber gives this a warm, almost golden feel to it, but I don’t get any of the bergamot or tangerine. This is very pretty though, and I think people who like rose may enjoy this.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Bright at first: rose, citrus, mint. Then carnation, followed by the darker notes of musk and amber.

 

Wet: Rose-carnation, with lily of the valley and mint. Then the amber kicks in, and the whole thing suddenly turns heavier. The jasmine adds some sweetness, and I think this is going to become a very heavy floral indeed.

 

Forty minutes: A heavy floral-amber, still changing. Carnation-rose dominates. The lily never showed up, and the jasmine is just barely present although beginning to ramp up. The mint has vanished. The citrus is just barely there. Right now the amber is overwhelming the musk, but if this scent follows the usual pattern the amber will diminish in favor of the musk in an hour or so.

 

Five hours: Things got busy and I stopped paying attention to how I smell. Now it's down to a slightly sourish musk with a bit of amber. I don't like this as much as I do most of the rose, amber, musk combinations.

[crebbsgirl]

The minute this touched my skin - it went all rose. I was hoping for some amber or carnation but all I got was rose. It didn't develop past that for me. Sadly, this one is off to swaps.

[Coldfire]

Imp: rose and jasmine

Wet on Me: rose, jasmine and carnation now.

Drying Down: The rose is overpowering everything.

I am not getting any of the bergamot or tangerine

Dry: the rose just smothered everything and sat on it.

Not a keeper. Re-homing the Imp

[kamikat]

I'm not really into floral, overly feminine scents, but this one works for me. It reminds me a bit of White Linen without smelling like "old lady". A nice, clean, floral scent that might appeal to someone who normally doesn't like florals.

[annerqm]

I have a lot of hope for Moscow. I’ve found many lovely BPAL floral blends, but quite a few are very similar to popular department store scents. So now I’m looking for a unique and different a floral blend, and I really want it to be Moscow…mostly b/c I love carnation. (Lush’s Potion is one of my all-time favorite scents.)

 

In the Imp: A sweet, spicy floral. I smell carnation and rose, in that order, with some softer, whiter flowers peeking through. There’s a sharp little after-bite, perhaps that’s the tangerine. Very nice – I’m getting excited.

 

Wet on skin: Much fuller and bigger bodied than in the imp – it’s much spicier, too, the carnation is really coming out, so I’m getting really excited! Moscow is a feminine floral, but it has enough spunk and depth to make it different.

 

Drying: The carnation is backing off a bit, but it’s still the dominant floral with the rose second. I’m starting to get the jasmine and LotV as well. I expected this to be a whiter-smelling scent – but it’s not…it’s spicy and warm…so, to me, it’s color is a deep, warm pink-orange.

 

I believe the musk & amber are making this deeper and richer than some of the other floral blends I’ve tried.

 

It’s a real achievement that jasmine & Lily of the Valley are used without it totally dominating the blend, I can smell these notes from time to time, but it’s subtle. However, I am having a hard time picking up any bergamont or tangerine…

 

Overall, this very strong...I can smell it well without having to put my wrist near my nose.

 

Fully Dry: This is not going in the direction I want. The carnation is fading fast and the rose is taking over. Unfortunately it’s the heavy, perfume-y rose I don’t care for (as opposed to fresh, sharp rose or sweet, candy-rose). Without the carnation, this is getting much less spicy and MUCH more musky. I’m worried Moscow is going to end as pure musk, just like Bathsheba did…

 

Final verdict: Sigh. This was so promising, but my skin turned it to almost pure musk. Not even an hour after applying, very little floral

remained (except for some heavy rose), and I smelled like Jovan Musk Oil.

 

I need to find a carnation blend that does not contain musk.

[Iceblink]

Way nicer than it should be on me considering there's jasmine, carnation, AND lily in here. The musky amber's what dominates and the florals aren't too strong, although there is a slight soapiness. Kind of just a nice perfumey smell on me. Nothing spectacular but not nearly as disastrous as it could have been.

[cymbeline]

Smell alike: Chanel n°5 !

 

Color impression: Glorious white

 

On me: Complex powdery white floral all over. I thought tangerine and bergamot would be stronger: sadly, they were overwhelmed by rose and jasmine. It’s really a N°5 scent -just a bit less vanilla-sweet oriented in the background.

 

Wearing: It gets all soapy on me. But, I guess my mother -Chanel 5 lover!- is gonna quickly put her hands on this one !

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Musty rose and jasmine

On Application

Very floral - dry and musty

 

Dry Down

This starts off as strongly floral rose and jasmine but soon goes through a nice stage of musky citrus before fading away after 10 minutes.

Rating (0-5)

1

[isisonearth]

Imp: Very rich...jasmine and amber with a sophisticated musk.

 

Wet: Sweeter on but a very heady floral. It reminds me of my nemesis at work B&BW Velvet Tuberose.

 

Dry: A powdery, ambery floral. Carnation never appears and neither do the bergamot and tangerine.

 

Overall: Doesn't play well on my skin. Off to the swap pile.

[mooncityminx]

In the vial: lush citrus, like fresh oranges, grapefruits, and lemons torn open.

 

Wet: Florals emerge from the citrus, something slightly powdery and resinous. This is reminding me strongly of walking into a Lush store. The citrus amps and amps on me.

 

Drydown: The lily, the jasmine, and rose all blend harmoniously with the citrus. It's not soapy, it's complex and luscious, and I am ashamed to keep saying it, but it sincerely smells just like a Lush store. Walking up the street catching the heady mixture of roses and citrus on the breeze, walking inside only to be blasted with the intense citrus/floral/resinous fragrance, and the lingering wafts from the shopping bag on the bus rides home. This is heaven! Need! Moar!

[hellomoonglow]

Hmmm. In the imp this was all fruit and flowers. On the skin it was really strong flowers. Dried down after half an hour all I get is a whisper of lily of the valley.

 

Maybe I need to apply more, because the notes in this are much of what I like (except for jasmine and carnation).

 

Overall rating? So-so.

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: The aroma of a flower market, where the blooms are so fresh that they're still damp with dew, with a softer, darker undercurrent of musk. The lily of the valley stands out particularly, with a hint of rose and some spicy carnation. I don't get the amber or citrusy aromas yet. At a sniff, I'd say this is a bit like Venice.

On, wet: Oh, heavenly. Amazingly, the flowers smell even fresher, with a hint of green stem and leaf, and the bergamot and tangerine give it wonderful brightness—not enough to scream "citrus," but enough to give it zing. The flower notes are well blended and difficult to separate; rose and lily are most prominent, but I catch a little spice from the carnations and a touch of sweet jasmine. There's still a sense of that earthier dark musk beneath, adding some depth and serving as a base for the flowers.

On, dry: Most of the citrus is gone, but the flowers are blended better than ever. The carnations are more prominent now, adding some nice spice, but they each contribute a little something. The amber has shown up and merged with the earthy musk to give this a dark, golden undertone—it does have a sort of "gilded," imperial feel to it.

Later: Sweet, musky amber and spicy carnation, with a faint hint of rose and jasmine. Sticks very close to the skin, but still lovely.

Overall: If you're looking for a clean, sweet-spicy floral that's both classic and classy, then you'll be very happy with Moscow. It does have some superficial similarities with Venice, which is also lush and womanly, but Moscow doesn't have the purple aspect or the decadent sensuality of Venice; it's fresher, brighter, more refined. It keeps making me think of a well-dressed, regal woman walking through the kind of flower market where the blooms are fresh cut and brilliantly colored and exquisite.

 

 

[savage_rose]

This is a gorgeous, citrus, spicy blend on me. It's floral but not cloyingly so because of the other notes. It disappears quickly (thank you, musk!), but is elegant yet expressive while it lasts. Very beautiful and womanly.

[GalaxyLei]

At first, mostly rose and jasmine. Especially jasmine. I can detect a tiny bit of spiciness underneath, which comes more as it fades, which happens quickly. Eventually all I am left with is a slightly creamy jasmine note.

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Rose, tangerine, carnation, and some sour jasmine

 

Wet: Tangerine and a still sour jasmine

 

Drydown: Yick. Sour plastic jasmine. Too bad This has so many awesome notes going for it