Sugar Moon 2008

[Veresti]

Sugar cane, blue musk, mahogany, black orchid, black currant, violet, blackberry leaf, teak, strawberry, and dusky rose.

All I smell is a sickly, sickly sweet burnt sugar smell. Not crystalized or white sugar, but that brown stuff, sort of like maple sugar. Or maybe maple syrup left sitting out in the sun far too long during the course of a week or two. I had to wash it off, the combination of notes apparently doesn't agree with me- in fact it makes my stomach turn a great deal. I might try this at a later date, but as it stands, I'm not sure I can handle this blend. And I'm sure this is a constant refrain on certain blends - but this makes me really sad, because I thought the notes would suit me so well. I think one of the bottles is going to go into storage in my armoire, and I've already put up a few of the decants for swap. This scent is really lasting, I would like to note. Ten hours later, I can still smell it pretty damn strongly, and I've washed with strong soap and water several times.

[hkhm]

bottle: i get a whole range of notes on first sniff but the two that stand out are a slightly carmelized sugar and a violet similar to la befana's.

 

wet: this is like a muskier, sweeter version of la befana on my skin. there is also a fresh, clean scent here... not an aquatic, but very clean.

 

dry: the drydown in incredible! super light, sweet violets. this is sweet, sexy, playful, flirty... a yummy spring scent.

[Lyrical]

In vial: sweet and light, yet with a hint of warmth and richness. The "colour" is a deep, violet blue. (The actual colour is brown, as far as I can tell.)

 

Wet on skin: sweet, light fruity-floral. Not as woody as I thought it would be, but pleasant.

 

Dry on skin: this turns into something really gorgeous. It's hard to pick out individual notes, but it's woody and sweet without being at all heavy, and the musk is a light, soft one. The woods give depth and warmth and the "colour" veers from cool blue tones to soft, reddish brown ones. Beautiful! The throw is great, so you only need a tiny drop of this!

 

Once or twice I have indeed got the infamous celery note, but mostly this is just lovely!

[savage_rose]

Sugar Skull with lunar oils. It ends up smelling like the usual sugary blend with a hint of mint, and...oddly enough, melon. It's light and sweet, like sunlight. Very spring-like.

[tuesdaynexxt]

Mmmmm....

 

I get a bit of that deep caramel scent, almost burnt, but I think it's deepened by the mahogany. There are florals under there, but this goes to strawberry and a bit of violet on me. Gorgeous and seductive, with good throw and long lasting!

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp i definitely get something that is very much whiskey...hmmm

once applied this has somewhat of a burning note which could very well be the mahogony and musk

and blackberry leaf...

this is quite intriguing to my schnoz...and quite a morpher as well...i think this may

age wonderfully

[Akurarei]

Sugar Moon

 

In the Bottle:

Caramel & violet woods.

 

On my Skin, Wet:

Blooming caramel notes tempered by wooden stems of violets and cool water tones.

 

On my Skin, Dry:

Violet wooden stems - caramel in the background.

soft tones of breezes and cool water notes.

 

Verdict:

2 bottle worthy - yay!

Wonderful blend!

 

ADDED June 10:

 

Sugar Moon 2008

 

I thought I had posted a review for this one - but I guess not O_o

 

In the bottle:

soft lavender colored woods sprinkled with a sugar snow.

this is very soft and lovely, like a white kimino of the finest silk caught in a gentle breeze among fresh spring forests and voilet fields.

 

On my Skin, Wet:

I amp woods like crazy and this is no exception.

So for about 2 minutes this is nothing but sugared woods - no violet, no herbs, nothing but sweet woods.

 

On My Skin, Dry:

Ah, the woods are receeding into the background now - and the sugared violets are coming out more and glowing a crystalized lavender against the darkening forest.

 

Verdict:

a gorgeous scent - i definitely get fun mental images from this one - lots of whites, forests, softness, and shades of violet and lavender.

10 of 10 Ranking!

[AEris]

This is even more interesting than I anticipated!

 

Sugar Moon seems pretty hit or miss by reading the reviews, but I'm not quite sure how I feel about it, personally. It's just odd to have that warm browned-sugar note alongside cool violet and rose, as well as woody mahogany, and those berries....

 

It ends up coming together nicely at the end, albeit a bit 'cologney' smelling. It's not as tame or sweet as I thought it would be by smelling it wet. The drydown smells like sweetened florals, with some curious backing from the cool berry leaf and grounding mahogany.

 

You know, it comes off smelling kind of masculine on me, actually!

 

I am not sure if I need my 5mL, but I will give it some more love before I decide.

 

3.5 out of 5

[PurringPulsar]

Sugar Moon

 

In the bottle: it’s the lovechild of La Befana and the Emathides-currant, flowers and caramel.

Wet on skin: black currant and blackberry (please don’t cat pee on me…) and burnt sugar.

Dry on skin: berries! This is actually really nice-it smells like berries covered in brown sugar, with hints of woods, herbs (I swear I smell sage) and musk. The strawberry note doesn’t turn acidic or cloying, the blackberry doesn’t turn to cat pee. I wonder if that ‘miracle musk’, blue musk, which made the normally unwearable lilac so beautiful in Night Thoughts, is also working it’s magic here by making the caramel, blackberry and strawberry smell lovely on me?

After a while: now this reminds me of Bitter Moon…but not bitter! It’s got a similar blackberry-rose thing to it, only the blackberry actually smells like berries here, not feline urine. I also smell the woods and musk and even a hint of incense, and brown sugar. This isn’t cloying caramel at all, this is a sugary dark scent like La Befana, but even less caramelised than that. I’d say it was more like Bad Luck Woman Blues? It also reminds me of a less foody version of Knave of Hearts. There’s a lovely tart juiciness like you get in fresh berries, cutting through the sweetness.

This then smells just like a berry fruit salad, freshly picked, with hints of wood and musk. It’s such a pretty scent! the brown sugar then turns into the juicier scent of sugar cane, and then it smells like teak and fresh summer berries with something sage-like, and blue musk.

Verdict: I wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I do but this is berry perfection on me. So many scents containing strawberry and blackberry smell wrong on me. Not this one. Here, the berry notes smell pure and true, and combined with a darker sugar note than expected, this smells just like a salad of berries sprinkled with brown sugar. The other notes just enhance the lovely fresh sugary berry scent, the woods add a nice solid base, there’s a hint of gentle floral, and the blue musk adds an ethereal lunar glow over everything. This is really beautiful-slightly caramelised but not cloying, and fruity with a tart freshness. I’m going to wear this one a lot…only problem is that now I can’t get the KD Lang song out of my head!

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Yup, this is my favourite blackberry scent.

If you like this, try: La Befana, The Emathides, Lady Una, Knave of Hearts, Bitter Moon, Rose Moon, Midnight on the Midway

[PersephonesChild]

The florals have a nice glaze of sugar on them that keeps this from being strictly a "floral" blend. There's a hint of woodiness from the mahogany, and when it's dry on my skin, I do faintly smell the strawberry. Fear not, all you enemies of rose, I smell next to none of it in this. The floral I get the most hint of is violet, which adds a dark astringency to the blend. I agree with everyone who said this comes off as slightly boozy, and is a relative of Red Lantern-- fortunately, a relative that doesn't start to smell like plastic on my skin! I would also say it's a relative of The Dodo, since sugar cane is the main note in both of them.

 

ETA: It's now 1/25/09, and I just want to comment on how this has aged-- the sugar cane has really come forward, and the blend now just sparkles with it. It smells like crystals. Kinda cool, although I loved it before!

Edited January 25, 2009 by PersephonesChild

[steelxrose]

It took me a while to warm up to Sugar Moon, as I neglected to check the note list before I put it on, and was expecting more sugar than what I found..something more like Sugar Skull. At first, I found it to be a bit manly, having not been able to pick out individual notes. Then the berries came into play and oh, my! This is a dark berry scent on me. I can hardly detect any sugar in Sugar Moon, yet it is yummy.

[Brianne]

When this first goes on, it smells like dark sugar - something akin to what you would find in Sugar Skull. Behind it is a slight boozey smell and very faint florals. The combination is surprisingly not sweet OR girly. Totally not what I'd expect from a blend called Sugar Moon hehe!

 

If you've ever smelled LUSH's Creamy Candy, this is what it smells like to me - not very candy like, and yet sugary but in a sort of.... husky? way I suppose. It has a lot of depth and I have to say that I do not get strawberry or rose. It reminds me of blends like Sugar Skull, Black Lace and Smut. If you like those, you'll probably enjoy Sugar Moon

 

As for me - I really like it, but I'm trying to decide how MUCH I like it. Enough to track down a whole bottle? I'm not sure yet, but I'll definitely keep my imp at least

[angharad]

At first, this is a smooth, rich maple sugar. The longer it stays on, the less sweet it becomes and the more generic florals and musk come out to play. It's nice but not something for me.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Sweet, fruity, dark and musky. A little wood and floral.

 

Wet: Sugar, strawberries, polished exotic woods. Powdery florals. Black currant rose, and violet distinct.

 

Dry: It's becoming very sweet, woody, musky and dusty. I agree that in the drydown it smells like a fruity version of Smut.

 

Summary: Sugared strawberries and purple fruit, deep musk, dark woods, and powdery florals. Good throw and wearlength.

[zankoku_zen]

I agree with angharad - at the beginning, this was very warm maple sugar. But as it dried, it turned more floral. Right now it has a touch of blackberry but is basically a floral.

 

Bah. I was hoping for sugary fruits. Sad.

[bookofblues]

In the imp: Musty and sweet and a tiny touch of something vaguely medicinal. Very "wet" or "damp" smelling, if that makes any sense.

 

On me after 10 minutes: Wow! Brown sugar and violet! This is a dead ringer for Love Potions Raven Moon 2008 on me. I mean, they could be twins. Neat!

 

Very nice after dry-down. I'm glad I wasn't put off from the initial sniff. Too similiar with my chemistry to the previously mentioned scent for me to hunt down a bottle, but lovely nonetheless.

[Pika]

I'll add my vote for a Sugar Skull sibling here in Sugar Moon. Very much the sugary-sweet notes I get from Sugar Skull, kind of maply/caramelly/mocha-y, with a bit of flowers. Considerable throw, fairly "light" scent, maybe even a titch aquatic, and long lasting. I found it to be a bit cloying after a while though. I'm really sad I didn't get more of the interesting notes others did, like the berries, or the mahogany and teak.

 

I think it's too similar to Sugar Skull for me to keep both, and I'll have to retest, but I think Sugar Skull wins the sugar battle.

[Emera]

IN THE IMP: Dark, clean woody-musky, a little planty.

ON SKIN: Sweet, darkly smoky, with a little bright and flirty strawberry complementing the raw sugar cane. Darker than what I would usually wear, but that was my intention in trying it – I wanted to find a more sophisticated scent that was still sweet and fun.

LATER: Strawberry is the definite top note now, with the smoky notes as a background. This is a sexy geisha strawberry in a black silk kimono, though. Dare I say it… a strawberry tart? *rimshot* None of the florals ever emerged noticeably, but it’s gorgeous and fun nonetheless. (though I wish the burnt sugar had come out!)

SUMMARY: Bright strawberry on a dark background of musk and woods. Cute and sexy. Strong throw, short wearlength.

[DARKBEAUTY28]

Wow, this smells just like something else that I own, but now I can't figure out what it is! Now I'm going to have to go sniff my massive perfume collection to find out. Anyway, I really like this scent! Sweet and fresh...it seems like it might work on a guy and a girl. Okay off to figure out what it smells like...then I will update.

[donnatron]

A frimp from the lovely GirlinDenial

 

Imp: Corn syrup over a bowl of fruit and a touch of what smells like gentlemen's cologne. As is common with the lunacies, my nose can't really distinguish different notes. Just deliciousness.

 

Wet: The cologne smells really explodes--I think this is the blue musk. The sugar amps up and the whole scent is just like "O HAI GUYS!" There's a nice berry quality.

 

Dry: Sweet, candied blue musk floating gently over currants and strawberries with a touch of sweetened violet and rose. This is GORGEOUS.

 

Throw: Ample.

 

Overall: Man, oh man. This is a beautiful, beautiful scent. It is quite strong and "dress up" to me, but if I see a bottle, it will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine indeed.

[Mamacat]

I was worried that this one might be like Sugar Skull on me. Sugar Skull is a burnt sugar candle on me.

 

Sugar Moon, however, is more like a musky, slightly mapley, sugary scent. The maple is almost a herbal maple or maybe more like fresh maple sap than maple syrup or sugar. It's quite lovely and there are times when I just HAVE to wear it.

[quigza]

Regarding the sugar: If you don't like sweet, Sugar Moon is something to avoid. Not that it's straight sugar. It's not rock candy or sugar cane. It's like the sugary part of a creme brulee (without the creme). Still, it's sweet throughout. I don't get any sugar fade. (which I like)

 

In the bottle: sweet plants of many sorts. Kinda like the smell of my old garden right before dawn.

 

Wet: sweet. juicy berries. Kinda like if you mixed hope & faith, with berries. Also a little extra "something" I can't discern

 

Drydown: svveet. strawberries are prominent. roses & violet are definitely there. The extra "something" is fading to nothing fast

 

At the end of the work day: the berries take a back seat to the roses & violet- which are duking it out. I get more throw from the rose & the violets seem more intense at the wrist sniff. (Note: violet & rose get amplified on my skin)

[lisawoj]

I wasn't sure if I'd like blue musk, but apparently I do. The burnt sugar smell others describe is prominent here for me, as is the teak and violet. Not too sweet or too woody, very nice, decent staying power.

[wikkidraven]

when i first tried sugar moon without checking the notes i could have sworn i was smelling a bit of anise. now i'm trying it a second time and it's not present. this is extremely musky caramelized sugar, and in the wet stage it smells positively boozy. as this dries the woodier and earthy notes come out, and there is a very faint underlying soapiness. musk is the predominant note for me, and while it's not all bad, i don't know if i would wear this regularly.

 

i'm on the fence about this one.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Very sweet violets and strawberries

 

Wet on me – Fresh green grass and soap?

 

Dry on me – This smells remarkably like Lush’s Honey I Washed The Kids soap, which I like, but there are slight dusty hints, which I don’t

 

Overall – I suspect if I ever feel the need to smell like this I’ll where the HIWTK solid perfume as it doesn’t turn to dust on me