Rose Moon

[LiberAmoris]

Since friendships fade like the flow'rs of June,
I will leave her in charge of the stable moon."
Then he said to the moon: "O dear old moon,
Who for years and years from thy throne above
Hast nurtured and guarded young lovers and love,
My heart has but come to its waiting June,
And the promise time of the budding vine;
Oh, guard thee well this love of mine."
And he harked him then while all was still,
And the pale moon answered and said, "I will."

And he sailed in his ship o'er many seas,
And he wandered wide o'er strange far strands:
in isles of the south and in Orient lands,
Where pestilence lurks in the breath of the breeze.
But his star was high, so he braved the main,
And sailed him blithely home again;
And with joy he bended his footsteps soon
To learn of his love from the matron moon.

She sat as of yore, in her olden place,
Serene as death, in her silver chair.
A white rose gleamed in her whiter hair,
And the tint of a blush was on her face.
At sight of the youth she sadly bowed
And hid her face 'neath a gracious cloud.
She faltered faint on the night's dim marge,
But "How," spoke the youth, "have you kept your charge?"

The moon was sad at a trust ill-kept;
The blush went out in her blanching cheek,
And her voice was timid and low and weak,
As she made her plea and sighed and wept.
"Oh, another prayed and another plead,
And I couldn't resist," she answering said;"
But love still grows in the hearts of men:
Go forth, dear youth, and love again."

But he turned him away from her proffered grace.
"Thou art false, O moon, as the hearts of men,
I will not, will not love again."
And he turned sheer 'round with a soul-sick face
To the sea, and cried: "Sea, curse the moon,
Who makes her vows and forgets so soon."
And the awful sea with anger stirred,
And his breast heaved hard as he lay and heard.

And ever the moon wept down in rain,
And ever her sighs rose high in wind;
But the earth and sea were deaf and blind,
And she wept and sighed her griefs in vain.
And ever at night, when the storm is fierce,
The cries of a wraith through the thunders pierce;
And the waves strain their awful hands on high
To tear the false moon from the sky.

Thou art false, O moon, as the hearts of men. I will not, will not love again. Bulgarian rose, tea rose, violet leaf, opium poppy, Bois de Jasmin, patchouli leaf, honey, blue lilac, balsam, woodruff, and lemon peel.

Rose Moon is just achingly beautiful. I say achingly, because this smells to me like longing, as it's a wonderful capture of the poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Or as Robert Hass once wrote: Longing, we say, because desire is full / of endless distances.

Beth's rose notes are numinous, and here they seem to shimmer a little with a kind of lunar light. There's no doubt on my skin that this is a predominantly rose blend, but the rose is really balanced by the other elements. No one note stands out to me as singular, but if I concentrate I feel like I can smell hints of them---a moment of patchouli leaf and violet leaf that seems to give the blend a bit of earthiness, opium poppy which always smells a little spicy on my skin, the honey and lemon peel giving it a touch of sweetness and tart lift---and the lilac and balsam making something wistful happen in between them.

Honestly, I am a total sucker for the rose blends, but even so, this is one of my favorites.

[bella_delirante]

I've been on pins and needles waiting for this one, so here we go!

 

In the bottle: I get a hint of rose, but it doesn't hit me in the face like I expected. I smell the citrus in the background, with the opium poppy and something earthy, maybe patchouli? Its really refreshing, which unusual. Rose scents always strike me as very warm, not cooling.

 

Wet application: There's the rose, it blooms quickly on my skin. It's not total rose though, it still maintains that fresh citrus smell and I'm starting to get another sweet floral, I guess either the lilac or the jasmine.

 

Dry: The rose has settled in and the patchouli is really coming out. The opium has behaved and is melted into the background, which is good b/c normally anything opium gives me a horrible headache . I still smell a hint of the lemon too.

 

This blend is really lovely. It's very complex, the longer I inhale when I sniff my wrist, the more it changes. It's a nice summer blend b/c even dry I still find it refreshing, and thank the gods that the opium didn't ruin it for me. I'm very happy with this one. 6 out of 7 stars.

[Sistinas]

a review of Rose Moon

 

Vial ~ the rose is very soft. Actually all the notes are very soft, I can pick of the Jasmin and the opium poppy and the balsam, but they blend in very well with the rose, which has the center stage.

 

Wet ~ The scent has not changed from what I picked up in the bottle, Still mostly rose but you can slightly pick up smoe of the underlying notes.

 

Drying ~ The rose is mellowing and starting to get lost. But the scent is

very nice.

 

Dry ~ This is a real light scent, I am wondering how well it will hold up with my scent absorbing skin. So far, a soft scent, but the rose has

blended in more with the other components and it is no longer just rose. It is this fragrant blend that is soft and lightly sweet.

 

Fade ~ After 40 minutes, Rose Moon is barely traceable on my skin. I will have to try this out with my scent locket later on.

 

Final thoughts ~ I find Rose Moon to be a very light beautiful scent that is perfect for summer. I will hopefully be picking up another bottle at

will call, because I can see myself wearing alot of it. With the exception of it not lasting long on me, I really do adore this scent. On a scale of 1 to 5 -> 4

[glass_cat]

Well I knew I couldn't really miss with this one, as BPAL's rose scents work perfectly on me. They're pretty much the staples of my collection, plus they're my boyfriend's favorites on me, so I couldn't pass Rose Moon up even though I needed another bottle of rose perfume like a hole in the head.

 

At first, I don't know that I really thought this one was anything special. It definitely smelled incredible, but it just smelled a lot like straight tart rose, and I have some single note rose oil from another perfume source that I've been working on for a while now already. However, as the scent settled a bit and started to become what it wanted to, the complexity of Beth's beautiful blend started to make itself known. The jasmine and opium (which was the note that really sold me on this despite the fact that I have so many BPAL rose scents already) began to speak up, and then the honey really came out making this so sweet and soft.

 

I've had it on most of the afternoon... several hours at least... and I can still smell it perfectly well... so on me at least, Rose Moon has great staying power, too. I love how it starts out very tart and rosey but then mellows and sweetens up as it wears. It doesn't change enough for me to label this a "morpher", but it does evolve enough to make it interesting. I like that! This will make a delightful blend for me to wear throughout the summer. I'm really glad I decided to buy this after all.

Edited May 24, 2007 by glass_cat

[blackrosepassion]

Rose Moon

 

Collection: Limited edition: A little lunacy

 

Initial Impression: ..and there were roses. On first sniff out of the bottle all I can smell is the beautiful scent of roses, another sniff and there is something more complex behind the roses I just can't name it at this point in time.

 

While wearing: This starts of very roseh eavy but over time other notes come out. The rose starts to mellow after about five minutes and it became a wood scent with flashes of honey and rose, occassionaly I catch a slight citrus scent.

 

Conclusion: When I saw this one I knew I had to have it not only were the notes in it some of my favorite notes but roses are my favorite flower and June is my birthday it just seemed to perfect. This scent seems to last a lot longer on me then other scents using less then I usualy would. I really wish I had bought two or three bottles because I just know this is going to be one of my most loved scents.

While wearing it I feel girly and calm. It brings to mind a picture of sitting on a porch overlooking a beautiful garden on a summers night. In front of my is a jug of iced lemon tea and a plate of honey cakes. In the air the smell of roses and woods and night blooming jasmine. This is the scent of romance and summer love, the scent of a young woman discovering what love is all about and the scent of the garden. This is a garden i want to visit often.

 

Rating: 4/5

Edited June 19, 2007 by Shollin
Removed Lab description --Shollin

[ForeverLastcXs]

At first sniff I get rose. Oh no, this blend is probably not going to like me. I ordered a bottle of this against my better judgment. Most of Beth's rose blends don't work on me, but some do - it all depends on the rose. If I remember correctly, Bulgarian rose is one of the ones that does not.

 

Luckily, on my skin, the rose calms down and starts to blend in with the other elements. I'm still not terribly adept at singling out certain notes, but the rose is not as strong as me as it has been in other blends.

 

This is fading quickly. It's a very light, pretty, unique scent, but I'm not sure that it's for me. I will have to give this one a couple more tries before I decide to swap it away.

[Iceblink]

Wow. This is completely unlike any other rose blend I've tried! It's pure rose at first, but when it starts to settle in on your skin, other notes start popping up. I got the lilac and a hint of honey. And the opium is *very* prominent. 2 hours later, it's almost all rose and opium, and it's really sexy and sultry. Great for summer, and will probably smell even better in a few weeks.

[Eemia]

Most of Beth's rose blends are very strong on me, so I am surprised at how light and gentle this is. I can put scads of this on all over and it isn't offensive. This has to be the daintiest rose blend I have.

 

This actually reminds me of my favorite rose tea that I make special trips to Chinatown for.....it has that same watery lightness, probably even more so b/c of that tiny hint of lemon and honey. I can make out the violet too in the background, but it is so light.....only the powdery note blurring the edges gives it away. None of the other notes are loud enough for me to pick out. There is a really nice smokey/musky quality in the drier stages that I think is due to the opium. Again though, it is so light. I think of it as a hidden smokiness.

 

Everything is so rounded out and seamless....what a beautiful, beautiful rose fragrance. I love the bottle too--it's so pretty!

[slave1]

ROSE MOON

 

In Bottle: Rose

 

On Skin: I had to order this because I always order every lunacy. I knew it wouldn’t work on me though, because 90% of rose scents hate me. This is SUPER rose. Very tart, sour and extreme. I was hoping the honey would sweeten it up, but I don’t smell any honey at all. I smell the rose, ripe and strong… there’s no missing the rose in this scent at all. I get a light woody note in the background and also the tartness is amped by the lemon peel. The other notes just blend in with the very dominant rose. As the scent develps, a bit of sweetness comes forward, but it’s not honey sweet, it’s the floral sweetness of jasmine and lilac. A bit cloying for me. All in all this is an extreme rose scent and very feminine. If you like rose notes, you MUST try this one. Sadly it is not for me. Strong throw and long wearlength.

[widdershins]

In the bottle, Moon Rose is super rosy. I just get rose rose rose and maybe a touch of lemon.

 

When I first put this on, I was overwhelmed with patchouli. I usually shy away from patchouli or heavy woodsy notes because they give me headaches, so I was a tad apprehensive.

 

Later it calmed down and the rose became more prominent along with some sweet flowery notes, which I'm assuming are the lilac and honey.

 

I usually wear Two Five Seven when I want a rose scent and it's clobbers me with it all day (which I love, don't get me wrong) but Rose Moon is a more sophisticated subtle blend on me. I will definitely have to wear it more than 20 minutes to appreciate the full value of it, but so far I'm very happy

[dawndie]

In bottle: light foofy roses

 

On skin: light roses with other flowers floating around in the background

 

Half-hour later: the other florals have come to the forefront, making this more perfumey and powdery. I have an imp of the Blue Lilac SN which is a beautiful sophisticated "powder," like something in a starlet's 1920s boudoir.

 

In conclusion: I knew I had to have a Lunacy blend called Rose Moon because I love the BPAL Roses. While Rose Red is a wallop of rose, this is more of a jumble of florals with a prominent rose note, plus I'm so pleased that sophisticated blue lilac is in this. Very pretty!

[vylit]

I love Beth's roses, and I was so excited by the thought of this moon.

 

Unfortunately, my skin amps up the rose and it's all I can smell. On me, this scent is similar to London, but it turns powdery on the dry down, unlike London which holds its wet scent.

[taramarie]

I could smell tea rose wafting from Rose Moon before I even opened the bottle. Wet on my skin, I smell tea rose, jasmine, lilac, and lemon. Tea rose is definitely the strongest note. Rose Moon is like a cousin of Two, Five, & Seven and Persephone.

 

Beth is a master of rose blends, and this is one of her best.

 

ETA:

 

I was in denial, but now I must face the facts -- once dry, Rose Moon turns to floral soap on me. Damn you, crazy body chemistry. Oh well, I'll pass this on to someone whose chemistry is more agreeable.

Edited May 27, 2007 by whiterosepetals

[dronzeka]

This is just beautiful! In the bottle, and wet, it smells primarily of rose, but a gentle rose rather than the haughty fresh Peacock Queen. As it dries, more florals come out - lilac, something violet-y, just general soft sweet flowers. I don't get any patchouli scent from the patchouli leaf, which is a relief since patchouli doesn't agree with me. A hint of lemon brightens the blend, and honey adds a slight syrup-y sweetness. This is gorgeous - a kind of deep-pink-light-purple color, lovely and sweet and not heavy.

[batcheva]

In the bottle Rose Moon smells very rosy, like a weaker version of Peacock Queen. On me it turns a little powdery and the lemon comes out a bit. After I've worn it for a while it smells very musky to me and that's probably the patchouli. I'm not getting any of the other notes yet.

 

I'll have to wear this one a few more times to decide if I like it or not.

[hipslike___cinderella]

Straight from the bottle, and for the first 10 minutes on my skin, Rose Moon is all roses. Especially tea rose, which has a 50/50 chance of turning into burning hair on my skin. Luckily, Bulgar rose seems to balance this out, plus the lemon peel keeps this crisp and fresh. Instead of being an oil in which you pick out the notes right away, Rose Moon sort of shimmers in stages on me. Violet leaf begins to peak out first, and then a whiff of jasmine here, a dollop of honey there. It continues to gently morph, and after an hour or so, I'm left with a warm smear of rose, opium, and honey, which smells almost natural and very close to my skin. I like this last stage the best, yet it's incredibly light. I really appreciate all rose blends, and this is no exception; a lovely breath of nature that is perfect for springtime on the cusp of summer.

[naeelah]

My review will more or less sound like sistinas'.

 

In the bottle, this is very strong on the rose. As it dries, the bouquet opens a little, but nothing stands out, other than the rose. The other floral notes seem to serve more to provide a rich backdrop to the rose, which is appropriate. Everything is very soft, and the throw is light. It has been about an hour, and already the scent is very soft on my skin. [ETA: here it is a month or so later, and today the throw is very strong. I go through scent-eating horomonal stages, so perhaps I was in one at the time of my initial review.]

 

It smells like a bouquet of flowers containing many roses on a nearby table. It's noticeable but not strong. The blend is pretty much purely floral, but with a slight woody quality to ground it. It's a very pretty, feminine scent. It reminds me a lot of Lady Luck Blues, but without the sweetness. It's really nice, I just wish it didn't fade so quickly.

 

ETA: Now, it doesn't fade nearly as quickly. That's a good sign! Since it's lasting much longer this month, I can smell more of the differences as it morphs. After about an hour, it's still just as strong, but either the rose has faded or the other notes have begun to take over. The rose is still dominant, but now the light, wood-like quality is much stronger. I tend to amp wood notes, but I can definitely smell some of the other leaves and flowers in the mix.

Edited June 18, 2007 by naeelah

[Phaedra]

Wet this is sweet, dewy pink roses with some lilac or wisteria. When first on this is pale pink roses, wispy and powdery. Soft and sweet. There's a hint of something purple- lilac, wisteria or maybe hyacinth. This doesn't change much more on me. It dries down to a lovely soft honeyed rose. This is a light rose blend, utterly delicate and feminine. It's similar to Moon Rose but is even softer. This is a must try for any rose lover!

[QueenFae]

Ahhhh, this is ever soo lovely!! A sweet, innocent, feminine, pink rose blend. The ripe, plump pink rose note is on top, with a gorgeously smooth undertone. I can smell hints of the jasmine, honey, and a breath of the patchouli. There is a slight powderiness to the background. This is as girly as it gets!!

 

This is a light scent, like most lunar blends are. The rose note does get very strong at first, though.

 

This is lovely!! I love it!

[sarada]

I like to get in early with reviews whenever I can, but it's taken me days to contemplate this one! I love rose, so I knew I'd enjoy it, but this one really needs to dry down on my skin for me to get the full effect.

 

I first wore this to my high school reunion the day that I got it in the mail -- I put it in a locket so it would last all night (and it was held at a place called the Rose Garden, so it fit). I did get wafts of it throughout the night, but I think it wears best on my skin actually. Because something really magical happens with Rose Moon, after it's been on for a few hours.

 

When I first put it on, it puts me in the mind of, well, a washroom in a Victorian tea room. This is not a bad thing, but it definitely makes me think of milled rose soap and a sort of powdery scent. Looking over the ingredients, I can tell you what the culprit is in the powdery bath/soap scent, and it's blue lilac. Violet leaf may be adding a bit to that soapy quality.

 

However, it's nice, and since I love rose, I'm digging it in this phase...it's very fresh and tender. I need more floral and rose blends that are light like this, without going into my usual smoke and resin routine. Everyone needs a change of pace sometimes!

 

But a long time after I put it on, something amazing happens, and the patchouli kicks in. I don't smell patchouli as such, but the warm, dark resiny scent begins to warm up and deepen and darken the rose, like a wispy, smoky cloud drawn across the moon. It goes more in a direction that you might expect Love in the Asylum to go, though not nearly as strong. Still, that slightly smoky, darker, more earthy warmness really rounds it out.

 

So Rose Moon is a winner -- it sparkles like a cloud of pink powder suspended in the moonlight around you when it first goes on, and then turned into something warm, dark and sultry. That's just on skin though, it stays more of a painted porcelain pale pink rose in the locket, which is also lovely!

[savage_rose]

At first it smells rosy, but almost...shrilly so. Maybe it's the lemon peel. But it just smells kind of sharp, and with the rose it's a very striking combination...not entirely pleasant, just different. But not only did it last for hours and hours once applied, but it sweetened and deepened as time went on, into the loveliest, deepest rose. Mmmm.

[euterpe414]

I knew I was taking a MAJOR chance with this one, and I am totally in shock...even though this one has tea rose, it behaves! On my skin this is very very rosy yet is soft (not sharp like some of BPAL's rose blends are on me). I never get any of the nail polish remover note I get from tea rose. It has a bit of an earthy element too which I think is the patchouli leaf- this only comes out once it is dry, but it's what makes the blend for me. I don't detect and lemon peel or opium the entire time it's on my skin. This is definitely a refined rose blend; I love how it sort of fades into the distance as it wears (and it wears for quite a while)- after a few hours it is just whisper of fresh rose. Beautiful.

[miss apple]

Rose Moon:

 

In the bottle: rosey but not cloying or overpowering. Not getting much of anything else but perhaps that's because it's been blended to enhance and manipulate the rose? Not sure but it's nice. Girly.

 

Once on: I thought it would be stronger and that my skin would amp it up but it fades to just a hint of scent on my wrists after a few hours. I didn't put much on though so perhaps I just need a bit more next time. The rose softens and now I can smell honey which blends deliciously. I wasn't sure that I would want to wear this often but it has turned out quite nice. Definitely a keeper.

[tarotgirl99]

I had Rose Moon circled on my Must-Buy calendar, but when it became available, I did the unthinkable and decided not to get it. Opium and violet are usually death-knell notes for me and patchouli isn't usually a fave, either.

 

I bought a decant and felt very virtuous. Then I started reading the reviews and just felt stupid; opium and violet weren't in the forefront it seemed.

 

Today my imp came in the mail...Rose Moon is just gorgeous. I can't smell the opium and violet, just tea rose, along with other florals and notes that darken and deepen this complex, compelling blend.

 

Strong throw, too. I am so glad I was able to find a bottle of this, after all. I can't stop sniffing my wrist.

[ralenth]

Bottle: Full, lush roses in bloom. Mmm.

Wet: A little sourness creeping in under the roses.

 

Drydown: Oddly enough, it smells green, evocative of freshly cut stems.

 

Dry: The green scent is dominating, though I catch faint whiffs of rose.

 

Overall: Incredibly disappointed. Will test once more before kicking this one to the curb.