Schwarzer Mond

[asciident]

The keeper of secrets: opoponax, Tunisian black amber, night musk, antique patchouli, zdravetz, terebinth, myrrh, and Pimenta racemosa.

Wet: Mmmm, incensey musk.

First on: Opoponax, musk, absolutely gorgeous patchouli (I don't know what 'antique' means in this context, but it's beautiful).

Dry: I think this is second only to Priala on my new list of favorites. *swoon* It's just wonderful, sweet and spicy, a hint of wood from something without being overpowering. It's hard for me to describe, because I don't recognize at least half the notes, but the ones I do are just amazing. Edited November 29, 2007 by Shollin

[Extispex]

So I finally scored an imp of the coveted Swartzer Mond. So many notes in this I love, and I was curious as hell about it.

 

In the bottle, I get a strong spicy myrrh with a sweetish amber edge, almost caramelly. (caremellish? caramel-esque?)

 

Wet on my skin I get the usual 'patchouli blast', but its a sharp, spicy and sweet patchouli, not dirty. The patchouli yields to the myrrh and opoponax, and I get a hint of sage-like sweetness (zdravetz?). I also suspect this sage-ish note of supplying the underlying soapiness that detracts from the overall deliciousness of this blend. Its not an overwhelming soapiness, but its there, lingering beneath the resiny goodness.

 

The soapiness doesn't last, thankfully, and the drydown is lovely. Sweet, spicy resins, kind of warm and rich.

 

Later it goes through a hippie headshop phase on me, before settling back down into a sumptuous darkness. So I'd have to say that at its best, swartzer mond is a cthonic beauty. At its worst, soap and hippies (though never the twain shall meet).

 

In the latter stages I get a dusting of amber, deepened by the other resins.

 

I can certainly see why there's so much fascination with this lovely blend, but it goes through at least two iffy stages on my skin, and there are other dark blends I like much better on me.

[bulletslc]

I can see why people compare Minotaur to this. They are both deep, deep resin scents....with musk and amber added for warmth.

 

 

However, for me there are very distinct differences.

 

Minotaur is golden glowing resin with a sweetness and light that SM doesn't have.

 

Schwarzer Mond is dark, dark, dark....musty and musky and mysterious! The patchouli and myrrh are what I notice most. The patchouli is like none I've smelled before, except maybe the Essential oil bottle I've had for twelve years now. This is thick, complex and in NO WAY "dirty hippy"!!! The myrrh gives a sharp woody bite to pull this out of patchouli darkness. The amber and musk warm things up a bit A very lovely scent if you like resins. I definitly get a more masculine feel from this one than Minotaur. I could see wearing Minotaur while a mysterious, swarthy man in black accompanies me on a date while wearing SM. Mmmmmm, that would be a nice combination.....

[argylexsoul]

At first, this almost completely myrrh and opoponax on me. Lots of strong resins with that cola/fruity note others get. I have no idea what it is, but it's like cherry coke or something, if cherry coke actually tasted at all like cherries. But basically, strong, peppery resins.

 

As it dries down I get more of a sweet patchouli, not as earthy as other blends, but still definitely itself. The pimenta racemosa (bay rum) also starts to appear, giving a wonderful rounded spiciness to the back of the blend. The terebinth note is very interesting. The turpentineish astringent resin is present and gives a more woody scent to the blend. I also get the musky green sort of herbal zdravetz as well. The Tunisian black amber and night musk don't stand out to me, although I get some of the amber at the end of the dry down and can tell that the musk is there supporting things.

 

This is a pretty awesome scent, but I don't know if I'll go searching it out since it's hard to get and I have so many others that are in a similar category. I like it a lot though, and it's not nearly as masculine as I had assumed it would be. I'll definitely keep my imp.

[Naamah_Darling]

Little known fact: every time I try to review Schwarzer Mond, my word processing program has crashed, or the electricity has cut out. This is the fourth attempt. I want to state for the record that I like this scent, but not enough to keep having to retest it, so this is rather annoying to me. Nevertheless, here goes attempt number four.

 

Patchouli, amber, and myrrh are strongest here. The terebinth is right up there, too, a clean kind of pitchy, pine-needle note. The musk is rich and smooth. Overall, this is dark, earthy, fleshy. And it gets better if you allow the oil to age.

 

On, the terebinth comes out, and the bay rum (that's what Pimenta racemosa is). Normally bay rum smells horrible on me, but here it's tied with enough earthy stuff to keep it from going rank and sour. The zdravetz is nothing more than geranium, its oil described as woody with a floral and herbal undertone. It is definitely present as well, and complements the patchouli and myrrh quite nicely.

 

As usual, amber, myrrh, and opoponax, all resins, fill in the middle of this scent quite nicely.

 

This is a scent with a lot of character provided by the odd ingredients: terebinth, bay rum, geranium. But its core is the patchouli and the musk. That's what the throw smells of, and that's what is on top when you get close to it.

 

Schwarzer Mond is beautiful, dark, a thick, heavy scent almost drugged. Those who don't do well on very dark, very earthy scents would be advised to steer clear, but if patchouli and musk sound good to you, this is definitely worth seeking out. It has a reputation for being one of the better Lunacy blends, and while I don't know if I'd go that far, I will say that it's a very well-formulated scent.

 

The drydown is an exceptionally rich and muscular amber, its smoothness dirty with spices. At this stage, it is very, very nice, and exceptionally sexy.

[LadyCrow]

Dear Brian,

 

If you weren't already taken, I would say, based on the evidence of Schwarzer Mond, that you are thoroughly my kind of guy. That is -- sweet, deep, earthy, grounded, complex, scholarly, possessed of a slightly prankish spirit (a Lunacy! I had to fall in love with a damn Lunacy!), and quite possibly a fellow former spelling-bee competitor.

 

See, in the imp, this is so sweet it's almost foody. Wet, there's this huge blast of opoponax, and then this hip, urbane, yet not overdone patchouli walks right in the front door and steals the show. Yet it's by no means alone: resins and musks flood the scent-scape, the way the finest ambient and trance music artists cover their soundscapes with tones that stimulate and relax different parts of the brain at once.

 

And now I'm gushing. I've been reduced to a gushing fangirl by merely opening a rather expensive decant. Well, that's life -- fine old wines and liqueurs get me drunk off my hiney, too.

 

Yours with nose to wrist,

LadyCrow

Edited July 6, 2007 by LadyCrow

[flyingpizza]

Oh I love this so much! And I'm glad, because I paid way too much for it on Ebay .

 

I see the similarity others note to Minotaur, but it's not as single-note myrrh on me. It's surprisingly subtle; I expected it to have much farther throw, but it's a soft, delicious, close to the skin scent for me. Beautiful resins and no baby powder on me!

 

Try if you like Priala, Minotaur, Midnight Mass, Snake Charmer, etc.

[funkmoppet]

Frimped to me by the awesome DenMother.

 

*Sigh*

 

This blend is clearly sex. I know that from one sniff of the imp, to the very initial wet phase on my skin. Resinous, dark, musky and complex.

 

But Black Amber is the kiss of death on my skin. It's the one amber that just will NOT work, no matter what else is in the bottle. Add myrrh and it's all over. This would-be glorious blend went to doom-powder on me faster than it dried. You could almost hear it turning to powder.

 

It positively pains me to have to wash off something as potentially superb as this - but my skin chemistry just will not allow black amber to work.

 

[Trish]

This was also frimped to me by the awesome DenMother! And it also went to powder on me, as amber usually does. But not as quickly as it often does, so before it did it was a lovely sweet patchouli with a hint of spice. The powder isn't so bad either, a soft resin powder rather than baby powder.

 

The imp will be kept though - my partner really took a liking to this and claimed it! He hasn't tested it yet, but he has his own scent locket (yep, he is completely enabled lol) and loves it in the imp.

[DifferentDances]

Courtesy of a forum swap!

 

Imp: Blast of myrrh, patchouli and resin. Strong.

Wet: Incensy. Very, very incensy. Strong, and overwhelming, and not unlike being seated a wee bit too close to the ceremonial fire.

Drydown: Well, I think a hint of something sweeter is coming out. Its soft roundness makes me think it might be the musk.

Dry: Thirty minutes later, the intensity of this has gone down drastically, leaving the lingering traces of patchouli incense that's resting on a bit of scorched wood. It's not entirely pleasant, and I was hoping the night musk and opoponax would come out stronger. I also wonder if there's something in here that I'm allergic to, because my skin is kind of warm like a rugburn.

 

My rating: 1/5. *sigh* I should really learn that what everyone else raves about rarely, rarely works on me. I think I've liked one out of the twenty or so scents that people routinely rave about.

[Shollin]

First sniff: A thick, sweet, earthy sort of scent.

 

Wearing: It didn’t smell too promising in the vial, but my skin picks up the patchouli immediately and gives it a nice bit of oomph. It’s always refreshing to find a resiny blend that doesn’t have frankincense (which hates me).

[aine]

As Schwarzer Mond opens, it is all about the bay rum, myrrh and patchouli. Dark, perhaps a deep maroon if it were a colour, but syrupy also. A sweet spicy incense.

 

When it dries the black amber and opoponax start to shine. So rich, syrupy, resinous. This is such a distinctive oil, and it is just getting richer with age.

 

Love it - fortunately I have a couple of backup bottles of this one because it is firmly placed in my Top Ten and I wear it often.

[Rosaleen Dhu]

Dark. Dark dark dark. And brooding. And sexy. This is so what Angel would wear. Angelus too.

 

On my skin it's very incense like, including that smoky sharp undertone that good resiny amber sticks have. I don't get much sweetness at all - on me this is heavy and thick. On my Spooky though? Heaven! Deep dark dangerous...this is so different from Black Moon! They do play very well together, though.

[storme]

(whoops, inadvertently reviewed A Great Cry In Egypt here instead - edited to put in the right review)

 

In the imp: smells like cola spilled on sandalwood. How peculiar.

 

On me, wet: yup, still coca-cola, but this time with hot resins and musk behind it.

 

On me, dry: ah, the cola note's gone - it's all dry, dusty hot incense and woods now, drizzled in musk and a cloying sweetness.

 

Verdict: I like it more than I thought from the notes, but I think that sweet-dusty combination is going to mean I pass on this one.

Edited September 23, 2007 by storme

[cranberry]

Wet, this smells fizzy and cola-ish. It’s sweet, and gets sweeter as it wears. It’s something like vanilla, but not quite. I can’t put my finger on it. It’s best described as sweet syrupy cola plus patchouli far in the background.

 

As it dries, the fizzy cola scent is gone and the bay rum makes itself known blending with the patchouli…

 

I’m wearing this trying to pick out all the notes and how they progress, when what I really want to say is that this smells amazingly good.

 

Dark, rich, resinous, slightly spicy. The amber and patchouli in this scent are just gorgeous. As the notes say, the patch is old. I tend to think of new patchouli as being aggressive, in your face, spiky and loud. The patch here is smooth, exotic, dark and beautiful. It has none of that “head shop” association that patchouli sometimes has (and I do enjoy that as well). There’s something here that has a bit of an astringent smell. When I place my nose to my skin I can smell it clearly, yet when smelling it normally I don’t get it. I think it was a fleeting scent and brought to mind a weird association, so it’s good that it’s gone. I’ve heard the comparisons of Minotaur to SM, and I have to agree but I like this far more. This is more refined, brighter, clearer.

 

As it wears, that sweetness remains and blends so well with the resins, patchouli and musk. It has a good wear life, which is great because I want this scent to stick around. This is dark, mysterious, so sexy, resinous and just so gorgeous. There’s a brightness to this scent which is surprising. Something almost translucent that brings to mind sheets of golden dark amber. There’s a clarity to this scent. Despite the resins, I don’t think of this scent as earthy – it’s more a fire/air blend to my mind.

 

I love this scent and have to say the hype is right on. It deserves every positive mention that it gets and should be as sought after as it is. It freaking phenomenal. And because it was part of a duet, it’s fitting that it layers as well as it does with Black Moon. I love that combination.

 

I love this scent!

[Lunaratu]

I didn’t get to officially try this on but sniffing the sample strip with the Schwarzer Mond I was struck by how dark it smelled. Really dark and murky in a fluid, almost oil-slick type way. A bit too dark for my tastes so I am glad to say that I don’t think I need a bottle of this which is a very good thing given the rarity and the demand for this blend. Phew! I am glad to have dodged at least this bullet.

Rating: 3/5

[Styx]

Schwarzer Mond (orange oil)

 

Bottle: aquatic, earthy cola.

 

Skin: I got this because of all the previous reviews saying it smells like cola. And I'm glad I swapped for this, I love it.

It starts of as a patchouli-cola, and it dries down warm and spicy. Beautiful resins, very deep and compelling.

A man would smell sexy in it, and a woman would smell handsome in it.

Its a scent I would wear like a black cashmere sweater. I know I will finish the bottle.

 

A dark, warm autumn and winter night blend.

[greymatter]

I was really looking forward to this one. I swapped for it and waited impatiently for my decant to arrive.

 

Let me issue a disclaimer: I understand why people like it - but it was nothing like I expected. To me, it was really heavy and masculine and just not for me at all. I sent it off to a patchouli fiend and she's happy as Larry.

[porcelina]

strong, thick, dark musk. resinous and dark and a little bit spicy. it doesn't last that long on me but the ultimate drydown is lovely. and the patchouli stays hidden!

Edited December 4, 2007 by porcelina

[hkhm]

bottle: amber, patchouli and musk. very murky and dark.

 

wet: heavy patchouli and myrrh. not dirty patchouli, just very thick and dark.

 

dry: the amber re-appears once this dries, mixing with t e patchouli myrrh. this is dark, sexy yum.

[Ishtar]

Oh this is absolutely lovely! I have been on an incense/resin kick as of late and Schwarzer Mond is all I wanted in this department and then some.

 

I can definitely see where people get the cola note from. There is indeed something here that is almost effervescent, almost peppery, almost sweet... but not quite. Most of all, there is darkness in this blend. Not in the sinister sense of the word, mind you. But this smells to me like a very "matte" oil, an oil that absorbs light and reflects none.

 

After complete drydown, the myrrh, opoponax and amber come to languidly rest on a soft pillow of aged patchouli. Deep, spicy, terribly sophisticated. A truly timeless scent that rivals the greatest classic fragrances thanks to its elegance and depth.

 

Hats off to you, Brian.

[lilacea]

Starting off on my skin, it's cherry cola, effervescent and pretty bright, there's amber there for sure, and the patchouli is well behaved. The dry down starts to incorporate a touch of resinousness, but it slips into a pinkish sort of musk with a deep amber background. There's a little bit of a woody element, but this is really quite sweet on me! It reminds me of the musk note in Juke Joint.

 

Overall, I was expecting this deep, dark scent (and it does have elements of that), but it has actually turned pretty girly on me. Skin Chemistry is a wacky thing!

[Wwindy]

Oh, drat. This is gorgeous.

 

It's definitely got a message of HELLOOOO RESINS!, but in a sweet, somehow gentle, ever-so-slightly florally tinged way. It doesn't read as headshoppy or hippie at all to me throughout most of the wearlength, and I would therefore be much happier about wearing it to work than some other resinous/patchouli blends. (Except obviously I won't be doing that, because why waste a single precious drop on work, right? ) The final tail end of the drydown is a little patchouli-heavy, but I do that to a lot of blends -- my skin seems to hold on to patchouli longer than anything else. I suspect a mid-day reapplication would take care of that problem, anyway.

 

*sigh* This is the first time I've fallen for one of the really hardcore sought-after blends. Just watch... next it'll be Minotaur or worse! Well, I'll enjoy my decant while I have it!

[ravenfeathers]

oh. my. goodness.

 

in the bottle dark, smoky, and heavy

wet on skin throw is strong and instantaneous and freaking gorgeous. the myrrh and patchouli are the main players here, having filthy, depraved hot sex all over my arm. the amber adds a sullen glow and there's something dry and woody here, too. the musk is black as night, but standing back in the shadows.

dry on skin the sex is all over now, but the afterglow remains. patchouli is perhaps not fully sated and keeps the party going, but languidly. i should add that this patchouli is everything that is great about patchouli and nothing that's not. it never once smells like bong water and dirt on me, not even once.

 

on extreme dry down, there's a little bit of soapiness going on, but the darkness of the blend overall can support a little soapiness. amazing, gorgeous scent.

Edited May 27, 2008 by ravenfeathers

[LadyLuckDoubt]

In the Imp

Ooh, yum, dark woodiness with a smokey edge-- is this patchoulli behaving itself here? It's not hippy-patchoulli, it's high-end classy patchoulli. I love resins. I'm glad I got this...

 

On Me

Dark, resin-heavy and utterly stunning. Very much the unisex perfume, and it smells intense and yet clean. Not overly herbal, definitely no metallic notes, either, but also lacking that fiery edge a lot of the unisex blends contain.

 

The only thing I can say about this which doesn't impress me is that on me, it's short-lived. It fades down to a ghost of a wood, and that's it-- and that happens within an hour or so.

 

Still, that didn't stop me buying a bottle on eBay.

Edited July 22, 2008 by LadyLuckDoubt