Dragon Moon 2006

[portalkat]

In Imperial China, the Dragon was the symbol of the Emperor’s power, and to this day, the concept and the image of the Dragon is considered sacrosanct. The Dragon is a symbol of power, the Lord of weather and water. The Dragon Moon celebrates the glory and vigor of Springtime: dragon’s blood resin, tea leaf, bamboo reed, sandalwood and cherry blossom.

I put this on and the floral notes came out very strong. Behind it I could smell the bamboo and the astringent tea leaf. It's very green which helps because the cherry blossoms are so sweet with the Dragon's Blood resin.

After about half an hour, the floral scent is not quite as sharp and the sandalwood starts to get stronger. After about an hour and a half it becomes a soft floral with the resins and wood and the green from the tea and bamboo still evident.

The throw was pretty strong and it lasted about 16 hours on my skin. It seems like my chemistry loves everything which is wonderful - and really bad for my pocketbook!


eta: lab description added Edited November 28, 2007 by Shollin

[BrightRedScream]

In the bottle: Dragon's blood, cherry blosson, tea and what I think is bamboo...this is very pretty and I can't stop taking deep inhales of the bottle!

 

Wet on the skin: The sandalwood comes out...and the tea..I get a hint of the cherry blossom...So complex and pretty and just..wow! The dragon's blood resin is lingering in the background but isn't really making an appearance..

 

Dry down: I still get mostly cherry blossom and tea - it's a beautiful blend and it makes me smile. I really really like this!

The more time that passes though - I find that the bamboo is making an appearance, and the sandalwood is stopping the cherry from becoming too over powering.

 

I'm glad I decided to grab a bottle of this despite my uncertainty

Edited June 30, 2006 by BrightRedScream

[sarada]

When I first sniffed this at a meet 'n sniff over a month ago I thought I caught a stronger whiff of dragon's blood, and overall I thought for a moment that it might be a bit like Red Moon. Now that I got a bottle though it smells just like Holiday Moon to me, as others have observed.

 

I tested it once and the effect was similar -- the tart, green pulpy stem scent of bamboo perhaps spiked with a bit of tea leaf but I don't get any of the other notes. It doesn't dry down to dragon's blood or sandalwood on me either, but side by side with Holiday Moon this has a slightly warmer glow, and slightly less crisp and raw.

 

I think that I'm set for that kind of scent with Holiday Moon though...I'll save my dragon's blood and sandalwood cravings for whenever I try Dragon's Claw. Darn, I was hoping this would work a little better on me!

[themerrybaker]

I was leery of purchasing Dragon Moon because dragon's blood is not one of my favorite notes. I was happy to discover that Dragon Moon is mostly tea, and a little darker and less puckery than Holiday Moon. Since I like tea scents, this is likely to get some wear.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a pleasant, fresh scent with a hint of sweetness.

 

on: wow. lots of cherry blossom. i don't tend to do well with any note with "blossom" in the name, so i'm afraid it will overpower the other notes, which all look good.

 

half an hour later: the dragon's blood is creeping forward more now, giving this a nice, full sweetness. the other notes are very fresh and green. nice.

 

4 hours later: just generally fresh and soft.

 

overall: i haven't had much luck with the asian-themed moons and this is no exception.

[Rheliwen]

I definitely smell dragon's blood in here, but where it tends to overwhelm other blends for me, the dragon's blood ends up being outshined by the bamboo. The combination is quite pleasant, expecially since I don't particularly like bamboo. Underneath it all I get a little cherry blossom...not too cherry smelling, but fruity and floral.

 

The staying power of Dragon Moon is amazing! It was still going strong at 5pm after running around for 2 hours in the morning and then running around being frantic at the work all day. Possibly the longest lasting BPAL scent I have. Dragon's blood is like that though.

 

All in all, this might be nudging out Blood Amber as my favorite dragon's blood blend. It's just so well blended...harmonious.

[Inanna9]

Yep. I'll concur with those who are saying this is like Holiday Moon. Holiday Moon Red. It's really, really beautiful. I would say the dragon's blood is blended masterfully, since it is a note I amp like crazy and I can hardly tell it's there.

 

A very tangy, floral-cherry tea scent. Delicate, but with fantastic throw. I will make good use of this one all summer long. Love!!

[tidesong]

In the Bottle: Green and chemically fruity sweet. It smells exactly like laundry detergent to me.

 

On Application: Laundry detergent, with a little bit of a cherry edge.

 

On Drydown: Soap, soap, laundry detergent.

 

Comments: Nothing else to add.

 

Verdict: Swap.

[gangstaknitta]

Dragon Moon is sensation. That was an intentional typo.

 

I didn't get any of the traditional "lunar scents" out of the bottle or on my skin. I detect it as a milky, slightly clean/slightly minty note, but none on this. Also--and very pleased about this--no dragon's blood. It started off a bit clean but mostly sweetly green. It dried down nicely--light lasting a moderate amount of time. It's almost like grass, clover, and very light, early summer blossoms. I love it. It's a good early morning scent.

[Diana]

Oddly enough, this smells a like like Budding Moon on me.

 

In the bottle & wet, it's mostly bamboo & cherry blossom. Slightly fruity in that flower->fruit kind of way, with the tiniest touch of aquatic undertones. It almost smells like apples.

 

Drydown: It's a clean, sweetish scent. It stayed mostly bamboo/tea/cherry blossom on me. I didn't really get any dragon's blood at all. Unusual for me, since I can normally detect that note very easily. It definitely reminds me of Budding Moon, just less green and much softer.

[minnalavender]

I'm really fortunate in that I haven't yet met a Moon I didn't like! Dragon Moon is no exception.

 

In the bottle, I can smell the Dragon's Blood; the cherry fruit, not blossom; the same kind of aquatic note in House of Mirrors that made me migrainey; and a very green note that smells like a broken flower stem. (I can't pick out individual notes very well - sorry!) On my skin, the DB takes a back seat to the sandalwood and aquatic note, which, surprisingly enough, doesn't go weird on me - the cherry morphs back into blossom instead of fruit and mixes with the herbal note to keep it more spicy than sweet. (THAT is a cool trick - reversing nature!)

 

After it's dry, it's sweet, spicy and girly, not at all dragony. I love it. It seems the perfect spring fragrance at this point.

 

The drydown is just lovely - sandalwood incense and soft, spicy blossoms floating on still water. I'm really glad I have a full bottle.

[shadith]

I'm not sure of the notes- the first thing I get is something green, juicy, and a little sharp, maybe the bamboo? After a few minutes it is milder, but I'm still not getting any other notes.

 

About an hour later a little of the dragon's blood comes out and everything smells even more rounded and sweeter now. I really like Dragon Moon in this stage, but during the previous hour the major note I got was just 'green' to which I can't relate to at all.

Edited July 8, 2006 by shadith

[Rosabella]

Fruity, with a touch of clean green plants; no dragon's blood, no throw. And I thought I was gonna love it! Off to swaps.

[nightbird]

I got into a decant circle for this before I'd had too much experience with various BPAL oils. While experimenting with Aizen-Myoo and Kyoto, I discovered that the cherry blossom note turns into Sweet Tarts when it hits my skin - not something that smells particularly great. So, when my Dragon Moon decant arrived, I was a little nervous about trying it.

 

The cherry blossom in this one didn't go sickeningly sweet, but the overall smell wasn't something I particularly liked.

 

rating: 2/5

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Jasmine, bamboo, tea. There is no dragon's blood, and it doesn't smell at all like the bottle I sniffed at C12.

 

First on: Pretty much the same, with a soapy scent added in there. Damn you jasmine!

 

Drydown: Still no dragon's blood. The jasmine has calmed down though and it no longer smells like soap. It's a very nice light summer blend that has just enough floral but also not too cloying or heavy. The tea and bamboo help round that out.

 

Overall: It's not my favorite, but I'll definitely use my bottle.

[SultryWolf]

Thanks to my new friend VisualWorlds for this!

Bottle: Actually, it's different every time, which creates a compulsion to keep reopening the bottle and sniffing! Mostly, sweetness (like Lotus, but must be cherry blossom riding on Dragon's Blood, the latter whose distinctive aroma is not overt here) with something sharp, probably the tea.

On: Well-blended. Concentrating and referring to the description, I can pick out the notes (well, still no Dragon's Blood to speak of), but the overall impression is a light, asian scent: a bit woody, a bit sweet floral.

 

My girl-dog, Gracie, who revels in being a dog and absolutely loves to experience smelling stuff, couldn't get enough of this in the bottle.

[juniperus]

Bottle: bamboo and cherry blossom - but mostly bamboo. it's not sweet, per se, but it's grabbing my sinuses like the uber-sweet florals do.

Wet: pretty much the same, with a hint of tea in the background

Dry: still heavy on the tart green bamboo, more tea and less blossom. I can barely detect the dragon's blood and no sandalwood. this almost has a aquatic feel to me - very crisp and wet.

Later: much the same - I wish the dragon's blood and sandalwood would have been starts in this show - those are notes I can wear well.

[sofiaviolet]

This is the prettier cousin of Dragon's Blood. I think it's the cherry blossom. I can't really smell it, but I think it makes Dragon Moon rather feminine. On me, there is something kind of fruity! It's not a typical dragon's blood scent, but it's fantastic all the same. My mother says it's citrusy and woodsy, and my brother agrees. I loooove it!

[indicolite]

Beautiful!

 

It comes on tea and floral. It took a while for the dragon's blood to materialise on my skin. But I am having trouble picking out individual notes; I am just sighing "Gorgeous...gorgeous..."

 

Thank you Merlu!

[blackfelicula]

I bought a bottle of Dragon Moon primarily because of the description, my birth year (year of the dragon), and my interest in Asian art and philosophy. After reading the reviews of others I was somewhat nervous, since florals don't always work well on me.

 

In the bottle: Almost overwhelming, this scent is almost fruity cherry, sharp and green, straightforward herbal, and lightly floral in turns. In some ways this reminds me of walking through a Bed Bath and Beyond store.

 

On my skin: I can see how some people experience Dragon Moon as soapy. It's very clean. A little goes a long way. As it dries, it's tempered, likely by both my skin chemistry and the drying. I'm a little headachy, but that is just as likely to be from too much World of Warcraft earlier as from too much sniffies.

 

OK, I got tired of sniffing my wrists and dabbed the tiniest bit under my nose. I'm having a fabulous time just letting it waft in. I can catch sniffs of most of the notes. I'm not certain what the bamboo smells like, though, so I'm assuming it's the tarter bit of green.

 

It softened much more on my wrists than it did beneath my nose. I think this is one scent where I'll have to experiment with the best place to apply it.

 

I like it. It's different from my usual choices, but it has an addictive quality to it.

[PurringPulsar]

Dragon Moon

 

In the imp: fresh, slightly soapy cherry blossom, a hint of Holiday Moon's tea-bamboo scent, and d-b.

Wet on skin: lots and lots of cherry blossom reddened slightly by dragon's blood.

Dry on skin: mmm, not bad. This is a very pretty scent-it's very pink, very springy, and very Asian. A calm, zen scent. Cherry blossom is dominant here, and it's quite lovely, I must say. I get sharp tea and cool, pulpy bamboo at the base. Maybe a hint of sandalwood. the dragon's blood is there but it just enhances the 'pinkness' of the cherry blossom. Whoever said this is a more spring like version of Holiday Moon is spot on. It does smell a little bit soapy though.

After a while: this gets even more soapy, I'm afraid. This does smell more like Holiday Moon's bamboo with a lot of cherry blossom, but it seems that combination is reminding me of a certain soap I smelt somewhere…probably in a (clean!) public toilet. I'm not keen on this soap stage, despite the pretty and light scent it has at times.

Eventually the sandalwood appears but the scent has become very faint and the scent develops a dry, flat scent, no depth or anything…just dry cherry blossoms on pale wood and dry bamboo.

And then after many hours this turns to a sharp, dry, greenish, slightly acrid scent which reminds me of the drydown reactions I get from a few jasmine and honeysuckle blends. And I'm not so keen on this. It also smells like watered down dragon's blood.

Verdict: I'm quite glad I didn't buy this, because it's my least favourite of the Chinese moon scents. The start was pretty, calm, and peaceful, it was like Holiday Moon painted pink. But then it began getting soapy, flat and one dimensional on my skin. I don't say this about most BPALs and I love Beth for her wonderful smells and usually the oils she make blow my mind, but I'm afraid to say that on me this scent is rather bland, there's no depth here, no richness, at least not with my chemistry. This scent doesn't do anything for me at all. It's not spectacularly awful, it doesn't turn nasty on my skin, but it's just quite 'meh' to me. And it had such a cool name too. Oh well…I may be having a bad skin day though, due to monthly matters. I'll probably swap or sell my decant.

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Kyoto, Aizen Myoo, Holiday Moon

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[finecurvedhips]

first whiff - oh no. flowery.

 

i was so hoping this would smell more strongly of the tea leaf, bamboo, and sandalwood. my untrained nose smelled no dragon's blood at all, just the cherry blossoms. lovely as they are, they are not what i was hoping for.

 

on me - yup. flowers. it's nice enough, i suppose. i may hold on to this, though chances are i'll end up trying to trade it off.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Metallic Dragon's Blood Resin, a slight hint of cherry and an even slighter hint of the bitterness of the tea leaf.

 

Wet on me - Green and soapy with a hint of stale tea.

 

Dry on me - For the first couple of hours it's green and bitter, then it softens becoming soft sweet cherry blossoms that hang just off the skin.

 

Overall - I like the final dry down very much, I suspect this may be one that grows on me.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Dragon's Blood + tea

 

On me:

This goes on Dragon's Blood with a soft green, reedy backing. Very VERY Spring like. This is the embodiment of Spring in scent I think. It's fresh, airy, watery, and floral. Don't be afraid of the blood though! It dies down almost immediately and settles into the cherry blossom and the gorgeous tea note. The bamboo is definitely there and faintly green, but it's very gentle. This scent isn't TOO sweet, but it does have a sweetness to it that keeps it from becoming too soapy or overwhelming.

 

This scent makes me think of innocence. It's so airy and pure, I can't help but think of youth and the color pink. Again, this is definitely a Spring scent! The Dragon's Blood is almost not there at all anymore after even just 10 minutes. The cherry blossom is slightly sweeter and the tea is beautiful and green.

 

Final note:

I didn't think I would like this when I first sniffed it. It smelled perhaps too floral and reedy to me. But once I put it on my skin, it turned into a beautiful Spring scent. Definite keeper. Actually, I might part with one imp just to make a linen spray, because this would be SO BEAUTIFUL on linens!

[storme]

In the imp: Shampoo! Well, bamboo and cherry blossom and a fair amount of tea, but apparently that reminds me of shampoo.

 

On me, wet: Lots of cherry blossom and bamboo and tea - not much sandalwood or dragon's blood, which I would expect to make this warmer and more grounded. This feels like an airy scent, but it's *still* reminding me of shampoo.

 

On me, dry: man, is there in fact dragon's blood or sandalwood in this at all? I'm still getting that bamboo/tea/cherry blossom smell and nothing else. Very light and clean and airy.

 

Verdict: This is a very consistent scent. If you like it from a sniff you'll probably like it when on. I'd like it more if my brain would stop telling me it was shampoo-ish. Sigh.