Moscow

[milo]

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

 

Heady flower alert! Right from the start, lots of jasmine or something jasmine-like. This blend reminds me of spring, though I'm not getting any tangerine, just heady flowers of unknown variety. Nice to try, but not for me.

[Drae]

In the imp: A very quiet, non-descript floral scent
Fresh on skin: The amber and jasmine start to rev up.
Dry down: Not much morph, but it is going slightly powdery. While it is pleasant enough, this is falling into 'floral old lady perfume' category for me, and slightly boring.

[Sidhechaos]

As usual anything with carnation in it right off the start, wham! Smack in the head with a ghetto mace. Thankfully it settles down quite nicely within the first four or 5 minutes and the other fragrances start to come out to play. oddly enough the rose is quite polite and does not amp on me to and overwhelming level
Like most roses to nor does it turn to potpourri. Eventually the other florals come into play. Once again I am impressed beyond all reasonability by Beth and the labs ability to blend florals that normally amp to barf inducing levels on my skin and instead give me something that is pleasant and beautiful.

After 15 to 20 minutes the amber and musk blend in quite nicely everything balance is very evenly, nearing the end of the first hour citrus notes start to blend in and for the next few hours there is just a very nice balance of everything. Wish it lasted a little longer but definitely a lovely floral I'd like to add to my collection. Don't remember if this imp came as a free me from the lab or from a forum purchase but I'm glad it came my way.

[Deliciousness]

In the imp: Fresh florals with an under tone of old lady funk
Wet on skin: The rose starts to bloom and there is a hint of citrus in the background. Unfortunately, I'm getting this "old lady funk" going on. I'm not too sure whats thats about.
Dry on skin: Well, that funk I was getting at the onset has dissipated, but so has the majority of this scent. Short wearing, at least for me.

Well, this scent is pretty, once I got past the odd odiferous stage, but by that time, the scent had already evaporated and I had to huff my wrist to get much of anything.
Moscow is a sweet, feminine rose scent with a wonderful blend of citrus (from the tangerine) and hints of lily of the valley (one of my favorites). Unfortunately, this blend falls prey to a "funk note" and is short wearing on my skin.
Glad I got to try this, but it's not going to find its way to my bottle list.

[Monster]

Out of the vial I get a BIG indolic jasmine note. I'm afraid to put this on my skin, but I will…just a very small amount.

 

When first applied the jasmine is still very apparent. I'm not a fan of jasmine at all and the indole in this one is giving me that poopy diaper/old sock smell that I associate with white flowers. As it dries, the jasmine is still all I smell with maybe a bit of musk underneath. I really can't get past the jasmine in this one. It's just too distracting. Off to swaps.

[mymymai]

ITI: Yep, that's jasmine and that is all I get. Wow.

 

Wet: I tried this on earlier but didn't have time to sit down and write anything. I remember thinking that I smelled...strongly perfume-y, which is the jasmine. Normally, I like the other notes, but jasmine is just a bully on my skin.

 

Dry: Slightly powdery jasmine, a touch of rose, and lily. It's too overtly floral for me, so it's a pass.

[JuliskaMarie]

In the imp: A warm/golden, citrusy floral. Strong, yet sweet.

Wet on skin: Oh yum, the flowers & citruses are dancing around, taking turns at leading this perfume! The musk & amber are providing depth, without being noticeable & (as usual) the rose is nonexistent on my skin.

Dry on skin: Rose??? Is that you??? The citrus notes are more subtle now, so it's mostly a warm/golden (the amber+musk combo) floral, with just a hint of citrus around the edge. The carnation & lily of the valley are taking the lead here, but the rose & jasmine are definitely there too!

After a few hours: Dusty, musky, ambery florals. There's a slight "juiciness" left by the citrus fruits, but none of the fruits themselves. It's turned a little bit soapy on me too.

Verdict: Not an everyday perfume, but a good floral "comfort" scent.

[tinyvulture]

Warm, cheerful florals. Mostly jasmine and lily, evenly balanced. I'm surprised jasmine isn't stealing the show. I'm not really finding the rose and carnation.

 

The tangerine is sweet and sparkly but not too overwhelmingly citrusy, just right.

 

This is a little too "floral bouquet" for my taste.

[Veronica]

This has a lot of floral notes I like, but I'm not sure if they'll be too overwhelming together! Wet, this smells exactly like a bouquet--fresh, clean and just a mingling of florals, most prominently lily and jasmine. The tangerine is there in the beginning, but seems to disappear in drydown. A pretty floral bouquet, but you have to love florals to like this scent. A bit much for me to wear.

[Nicnivin]

A breathtakingly beautiful, mature floral. Carnation, rose, and lily work together well and create a very regal scent, while the jasmine, bergamot, and tangerines make me think of a Russian tea house.

 

This is the scent that Anna Karenina would have worn.

[LizziesLuck]

Amber always amps on me, so this is super sweet (almost sickly but that fades). Mostly sweet rose with some carnation. Very strong, but fades to nothing quickly.

[OctoberGwen]

I can't believe I've never tried this. I need to start giving some love to the GC.

 

There is a reason that flowers are so often used in perfumes - they fucking smell good. People who appreciate good florals will love Moscow. The addition of the musky base and the brightening effect of the bergamot and tangerine are just gorgeous with the rose, carnation, and lily of the valley. The jasmine is so well blended, it's barely a whisper - just adding its distinctive brand of sweetness to the mix.

 

As Nicnivin said, it is classic and regal in a very 'Russian tea house' way. It's almost a crime that I don't own a bottle of this yet.

 

[joopjoop]

My initial impression is big bouquet of flowers! It feels very stately and 'perfumey' and a little old fashioned.

 

First on I get all florals and almost no citrus. It's a bit heady and overpowering - much like the abrupt change of going from the cold outside to an overheated building in Russia in the winter. When you get inside it is all warmth and color and strong floral smells and it is all a bit much.

 

Later it turns powdery on me and smells like generic fancy perfume - perfectly pleasant but nothing special. A few hours later it fades into a lovely light floral, but that's too little too late for me.

 

This one is not for me, but for the right person I think it could be amazing!

[Mermaid-on-Land]

Right on application, this smells like overwhelming flowers and musk. After it calms down a bit the musk takes over for the next hour or two. It's a similar musk to The Night-Raven on me, it smells sharp-dusty-thin. At this stage it reminds me quite strongly of Design perfume. The tangerine eventually emerges to sweeten it a bit but it's still very musk dominant at this point. I think my mom, who's a huge fan of musk scents, would love this one, I might have her try it! Eventually the rose makes an appearance as well. And the bergamot hangs out subtly in the background. It's a bright, clear scent, but also very classy and regal. The color association for me is jewel-toned blues and oranges with gilded edges. For some reason it strikes me as, like, of course this is how the city of Moscow would smell as perfume, even if I had no idea, before trying it, how I would expect the city to smell in perfume form. Stuff like that is the reason I love BPAL perfumes! They're so evocative of their concepts. Eventually the musk fades and it's mostly bergamot with soft florals (lilies and jasmine? I'm not great at picking out florals yet)

[Teamama]

Bottle purchased from a forumite. Wow, this is EXCELLENT!

I was worried about the possibility of the bergamot & mandarin notes burning my cheap skin. Fortunately, the patch test resulted in no burns, just a magnetic and joyful scent.

 

The jasmine is my favorite fresh summery BPAL jasmine, and is the easiest note to distinguish. The musk, mandarin, bergamot, rose, carnation & lily of the valley are exquisitely blended together, it's hard to pick them out individually without huffing.

 

LOVE Moscow, very glad I bought a bottle.

 

Edited to add: When wearing Moscow in a scent locket, only use a wee bit. All-day strong!

Edited December 3, 2016 by Teamama

[Kay Torres]

This was Jasmine from beginning to end on my skin. Sickly sweet and soapy. I regularly layer this with Queen Gertrude because it's the only way that I can get any other notes beside jasmine. Together they turn to wildflowers, but by itself Moscow is just a no for me.

Edited July 18, 2016 by SunsetKay

[Scarlet Woodland]

This was beautiful at first, a luxurious blend of florals. Unfortunately within a couple of minutes the Jasmine completely took over and then turned soapy on my skin. I do like Jasmine and it smells like incredibly expensive soap but it's not for me. Will keep the imp around though as will come in handy now and then for an incognito perfume... "what this? Oh it's just my terribly expensive soap... no perfume to see here".

[Casablanca]

The wet-on-skin, first impression of Moscow is tangerine, maybe an unlisted neroli, and a jasmine-led blend of other flowers. I seem to amp orange notes -- both the fruit and the flower -- so I'm guessing this will be mostly orange on me. In the winter and spring, so much orange would have been fun for me, but lately I want resins, vanilla cream, spices, carnations, roses, and a few herbs.

At almost three hours, I'm still not getting any rose or carnation from Moscow. This is a tangerine-neroli-ish single note on me.

 

Pass.

[Rouge]

Wet, this is a wonderfully bright and striking scent. The citrus notes fade quickly to leave a wonderfully spicy and lush blend of florals.

 

This is like the complementary opposite of Fallen - the same rich and imperious vibes but without the shadowy melancholia.

[sarandipitee]

Jasmine is a death note and rose is among my least favourites, but on my quest to explore the GC blends I leave no stone unturned and no oil untested.

 

Wet on skin: whooooa jasmine. Lush, heady and slightly cat pee. The tangerine is helping, sweetening things up. But the the rose comes out and wars with the amber.

 

In the end it's a super strong soapy floral mix. Not for me, but I'll pass it on.

 

EDITED: Holy balls, this got amazing after an hour. Balmy, tropical flowers sweetened by tangerine. I don't think I can make it through the the bad stage but I've found a new note I love. Must find all the tangerine oils.

Edited May 14, 2017 by sarandipitee

[Lucchesa]

A breathtakingly beautiful, mature floral. Carnation, rose, and lily work together well and create a very regal scent, while the jasmine, bergamot, and tangerines make me think of a Russian tea house.

 

This is the scent that Anna Karenina would have worn.

 

Exactly! Sadly I'm not getting much in the way of carnation or lily, but a very well blended warm rosy floral that reminds me of the perfume my mother wore in my childhood. So it smells like a grownup, in the best possible way. I will wear this when I want to wear Perfume with a capital P.

[mishi-bear]

Moscow was surprisingly disappointing for me. I'm generally a big fan of florals, but Moscow for some reason beelined straight to powdery soapy hell. I'm not sure what part of it made it go there since I haven't really had any issue with those florals on their own. Maybe the combination was just too much.

 

Aside from the soap-and-powder, the strongest note to it was the jasmine.

 

Rehoming it and hoping my friend has better luck with it than I did.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: The citrus notes jump out to me the most! The tangerine is the most prominent, and I can also smell the bergamot, some of the dark musk, and then the floral notes.

Wet: The tangerine reigns, and it's so juicy that it's making me hungry (and glad that I have some orange-flavored chocolate around). Then the bergamot peeks out and decides to join it, making the scent more perfume-y. The dark musk note emerges and gains strength pretty quickly on me, and the floral notes are starting to vie for attention as well (mostly the rose, jasmine, and lily, and not the carnation, which is surprising, as I generally amp that note).

Dry: The dark musk is a lot stronger now. The tangerine note is still present, but it is not nearly as strong as it was before, and the same goes for the bergamot. The floral notes are stronger during this phase, and the carnation, which I was not getting during the wet stage, is beginning to peak out and add some spice to the scent.

Then, there was a phase when the musk and jasmine were amping a lot with the tangerine adding some extra sweetness, that was almost too much to bear.

After a while, it ends up being a predominantly floral scent, with the lily and jasmine being the strongest notes, followed by some musk, rose, and what remains of the citrus.

Verdict: I really enjoyed the wet stage of the scent and the initial drydown, but it ended up mostly being a musky floral scent on me in the end, which is not my cup of tea. I'm glad I got a chance to try it, though!

[Bamels]

Frimp. I hardly want to try it. Florals are not my friend, but on it goes. Floral soap when wet. Floral soap when dry. SWAP!

[roseus]

When I first applied I got a blast of fresh floral that I thought was hyacinth but looking at the notes must have been the citrus combining with the jasmine and lily. As it settles the headiness of the jasmine becomes more apparent, and the spiciness of the carnation and green and pollen of the lily come out. The only floral I can't find is the rose. I'm having a hard time picking out the amber and musk, but it must just be part of the perfuminess. The bergamot and tangerine are beautiful bright elements, smells like a sunny spring garden walk.