Worm Moon 2008

[dawndie]

Do not smirk as a hearse goes by,
For you may be the next to die.
They wrap you up in a big white sheet
And throw you down six feet deep.
They put you in a big black box,
And cover you up with dirt and rocks.

All goes well for a week or two,
Then things start changing; all is new.
The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The worms play pinochle on your snout.

A big green worm with rolling eyes,
Crawls in your stomach and out your eyes.
Til your blood turns mossy green
And oozes out like Devonshire cream.

Worm Moon marks the season of rains, when the worms scuttle forth, aerating the earth with their movements and enriching the soil by digesting waste in organic material, which creates organic fertilizer.

Since April is Black Phoenix's Month of Absurdity, we present a melding of Victorian Grotesquery and springtime fecundity: mold-crusted dirt, decomposing organic matter, coffin wood, drooping funeral flowers, congealed blood, gloomy lunar oils, cuckoo flower, and a gruesome burst of overripe red fruits.

Love the jaunty skeleton on the label!

In bottle: clean chlorinated dust

On skin: dusty white florals with a clear chlorine tang

Half-hour later: some watery fruit (like cranberries floating in a bog) has become stronger, but that and the flowers are just hanging out under that great "clean" dirt note

In conclusion: this is amazingly clean-smelling when the description is all rotting and decomposing. This blend ranks up there with Dead Man's Hand as something to experience, not just something to grab before work or going out. Amazing and unique! I really like this one.

[hkhm]

bottle: dry dirt. this is zombi's more distinguished cousin.

 

wet: this is more flowers and dirt as opposed to roses and dirt (zombi). and it has a much drier feel. i am in love.

 

dry: i'm just starting to get a hint of those "overripe red fruits" and coupled with the dusty dirt scent, this is pure win on my skin.

[TheIceMaiden]

Worm Moon smells like pure dirt in the bottle. On my skin, the dirt is there but it isn't the fresh-from-the-grave kind like in Zombi. Its lighter and softer, like potting soil or garden dirt. A light floral note mixes in with the dirt. As Worm Moon dries, the florals disappear, the dirt becomes very faint, and I get blood and red fruit. I am really enjoying this scent because it reminds me of gardening, but it also has that fun BPAL twist of including the blood and other surprises.

[alicia_stardust]

This smells exactly like dirt and soil; the moist, fertile kind that is full of bits of lost and decomposed items and creepy wiggly crawly things. There are bits of spent floral blooms that are just past their prime and a touch of red fruits and blood that are ever, ever so slight. While this IS dirt, it is clean and fresh in a way. I find it absolutely delightful and it's a fun and different category of lunar oil. I'm keeping this one!

[inurbanus]

This is surprisingly clean smelling for something that's supposed to smell like dirt, but I like it. For some reason, my skin is registering this as fresh cotton with a heavy floral undertone. I don't get any of the fruit mentioned in the description, but as Worm Moon is very complex and layered, I can smell something ripe under all the other notes. While it wasn't what I was expecting, this is a great Spring scent -- it's perfect for a beautiful day like today.

 

4/5

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Flower over wood and fruit and earth, sweet and decayed, but in a pleasant way. Wet: Mmmm… The wood comes out and a lush wet green mossy scent. This really does live up to it’s concept, the harsher elements balancing the softer ones, strange and atmospheric. The fruits and flowers are very subdued, presenting a softening effect to the bolder elements, rather than taking center stage. As this is how I like things, I am very well pleased. Dry: My skin loves this stuff. It is pleasantly masculine, but complex and ever shifting. I am in love, really I am. I might have liked a touch more dirt, but this is picking nits. Seriously, this is made of win.

[slave1]

WORM MOON

 

In Bottle: Dirt to an extreme

 

On Skin: I am so mad I didn’t order this shirt. This has to be one of the best labels EVER! Anyway, on to the scent… the dominant note is dirt. Massive amounts of earth. Then I smell the sweet dark red fruits… actually quite pleasant. The florals are very pretty, not overwhelming at all. The blood note is also sweet, I’m thinking Dragon’s Blood. The wood and dirt notes are dusty but also quite moist… odd to imagine I’m sure, but that’s how they smell to my nose. As far as Beth’s dirt/earth scents, this is one of my favorites since it is so complex and has so many levels. It’s actually quite pretty and feminine. I think I’ll be wearing it a lot! Light throw and short to average wearlength.

[sarada]

I haven't been reviewing my moons lately....which is a shame because I love them so much this year!

 

Worm Moon sounded pretty much like the ultimate dirt/garden scent so I was delighted to see it appear. I love the smell of dirt and potting soil and freshly-turned earth and moss and rot more than just about anything (along with burnt wood, fresh wood, wet wood, wet stone, and...well, you get the idea). Hearing the will call reviews that this was like peat moss or potting soil made me want to stockpile this before I even got my first bottle!

 

This is indeed a dirt scent to die for. If you had a chance to try Graveyard Dirt, this is much deeper and stronger with many layers to dig through. It reminds me also quite a bit of Premature Burial because in addition to the earthiness there's a lot of greenery and a bit of a floral hit. This is not quite so heady but has a similar quality.

 

I've been wearing this for days...on my skin, in my Clockwork locket, I just can't get enough of it. Not quite the sweetness of Death Cap, but nowhere near as pungent as Zombi, this is just the right combination of gritty dry dirt, moist garden soil and hints of bruised flower petals and deeply decomposed compost that has turned to humus.

 

Yet, oddly enough, wearing it I feel like it smells perfectly clean -- soil washed by spring rain.

 

It's an instant classic, and while Singing Moon has been my favorite moon for months, this one has to at least tie it.

[CordeliaSeduced]

My first lunacy, and a complete impulse buy--normally, I would never gravitate towards anything with "decomposing organic matter" listed as a key note. I'm glad, however, that I didn't stop to rationalize this one: I love it!

 

I don't get any dirt out of this whatsoever. Rather, my immediate impression is a very clean, mottled floral and possibly a very dark fruit...so dark, it hardly registers. Upon applying, the floral grows stronger and stronger. I might not be the best basis of comparison, because I appear to amp floral to new heights, but for most of the time I was wearing this, very little else showed itself. After a few hours, the fruit came to play: it's a deep, dark fruit that is by no means sweet but not tart, either. Like taking a whiff of air just above a fruit bowl full of apples and berries--perhaps you're smelling the plant matter around the skins, rather than the juicy flesh of the stuff itself.

On the finish, there's a dusty quality. Most perfumes finish off powdery on me, but this was distinctly and wholly different and I can only call it "dust"...maybe dry earth, and perhaps the rot that was described initially. It doesn't strike me as rotted, however, as this is a very clean scent. Very clean. In the bottle, I dare say almost sterile.

 

All over, I definitely enjoyed this scent and am thrilled that I ignored my better judgment and ordered it. I only wish I had purchased the matching shirt (or wore tee-shirts) because this label is just too adorable!

[phantasmmysteria]

Well, this was a complete miss for me! The worst in a long time, though I suppose I should've seen that coming.

 

In the bottle: Um.... men's cologne?

 

Wet: It starts out smelling very strongly of cologne and Irish Spring, but then it goes all coffin wood, all the time. I'm guessing it's cedar? It doesn't turn to pencil shavings or anything, but it sure amps like hell.

 

Dry: WOOD! And it's way strong -- I have about 4 other BPALs on my arms, but it's all I am catching wafts of.

 

Yeah, this was just.... bad. I was so hoping for some rotted fruit!

[ravenfeathers]

oh. my. god.

 

in the bottle potting soil! no! greenhouse!!

wet on skin wow. this is... nearly making me speechless. it's moist soil, yep, it's humus, my goodness. and there's also some really crusty, dessicated dusty soil, too. then there's something that really smells like wilted plant matter and a faint whiff of fruit.

dry no morphing at all, just the same as the wet stage. it's odd because it instantly says "greenhouse" and is completely unmistakable, but at the same time, there's something nigglingly perfume-y about it, too.

 

like singing moon, this is incredibly, fiercely evocative and i'm madly in love with it just for that alone. wow. thank you so much, beth!

 

(and i'd just like to say that the label, which i found laughably grateful dead-ish originally has really grown on me, too. cute little skeleman....)

Edited April 16, 2008 by ravenfeathers

[LunaLovegood]

I can barely get anything from this.

I detect very faint dirt and maybe old flowers, because there's a slight sweetness to it.

I can barely sniff it, its really mellow on me and on the bottle.

Definitely not a keeper for me.

[nappunkitty]

This was totally an impulse buy for me--I decided I really wanted one of Beth's 'dirt' scents, since I hadn't tried any yet. On me that clean dirt smell is very nice (although it sticks very close to the skin). Unfortunately, I didn't get much besides some pale underlying florals before it faded. I want to give it another try, and in the meantime, it's way more complex on the hubby--still not much in the way of fruit, but the florals are much more pronounced, and he gets a little blood. I may have to keep it for him.

[VioletChaos]

in the bottle: mold. in fact, this was *so* mold that i felt nervous about getting an asthma attack!

 

wet on skin: moldy soil, for real. i am so not exaggerating in the slightest.

 

dry down: this stayed pretty consistent on me. there was a 15 minutes interlude wherein a slight spicy floral was peeking out and the mold turned to leather at the same time, but then all at once, the floral pretty much left, the mold/soil combo returned and that's how it stayed for the several hours it remained on my skin.

 

in all: glad i got to try my boyfriend's bottle, equally glad i didn't get one for myself!

 

 

[tziporra]

I'm perched on the fence.

 

On the downside.... I didn't get ANY dirt!!!! stupid skin chemistry!!!! I was really hoping for that Burial-esque deep soil smell, and it's just not there on me.

 

On the upside..... I get lots of rotting fruit and florals. Yay for rotting fruit! At one point during drydown this is very Blood Countess-y on me, but without the smoke.

 

And I just don't know about all that Dragon's Blood I'm getting from the blend... It's um, sweet and all, and I like sweet.... But I'm not head-over-heels or anything.

 

All in all, this is a much better blend on me that my last attempt to buy something unsniffed. I don't think I'm getting rid of it, mainly because I want to see if the dirt will come out a little more strongly in a week or so. Will update if appropriate.

 

Best,

 

Tzi

 

ETA: On further wearing the dry down has changed from sickly-sweet dragon's blood (not so good) to FABULOUS woodiness (YUM). So yeah, this is in heavy rotation now.

Edited April 23, 2008 by tziporra

[KyrieArashi]

Oh dear god. I should have bought multiple bottles. >.<

 

In the bottle: Soil! Pure, wet, fresh soil!

 

Wet: Soil, but not quite as fresh. There is some over ripened fruit sitting just below the surface. Not rotting, just slightly past its prime.

 

Dry: The flowers are just peeking out, but the soil is still on top. I can smell how dry the flowers are with age.

 

After 5 minutes: As it dries down some more, a nice, light wood scent seeps out to the front.

 

After 10 minutes: Boy, this is a fast morpher! It is almost like I am laying in a coffin as the years go by in seconds. I can smell the blood now, but very faintly. I can imagine the soil dropping onto me through the planks of a poorly made coffin.

 

After 20 minutes: There are the flowers again! Much stronger than before and with more life to them, I imagine I've broken from the coffin to find years of bouquets in various stages of decay and freshness.

 

After a few hours, I have to be really close to my wrist to smell it, but I just put on a bit of Dirty and Worm Moon is coming back strong! Could this be... a layering combination!?

 

This stuff is so good that I am actually drooling! This is exactly what I imagined the land of the dead in Corpse Bride to smell like.

Edited April 18, 2008 by KyrieArashi

[steffanina]

Worm Moon-

 

In Bottle: Dirt, and a tiny tiny ozone/aquatic note.

 

Wet: Hmm, very clean dirt! Like, I just sat down in my laundry-fresh jeans into some nice dry dirt. A bit of flowers rising up, too.

 

Dry: Dirt, earth, whatever you want to call it--that stays true in here all the way through, though it competes with dry hot flowers. It's a nifty scent; if I didn't have my beloved The Premature Burial to keep me supplied with the most delicious earth scent ever, I'd want to come back to this one. As it is I'll keep my little decant for the moment but not seek a full bottle. --Did I mention I get the impression of ironing for this one? Ironing and hanging up clothes. Not the laundry detergent smell, but the smell of hot linen.

 

Overall: Very nice dirt scent!!

[savage_rose]

First sniff: a mixture of "Ewww, am I really going to put this on?" and hearing Christina Aguilera say "Dirt-y!" from that song a few years ago. This scent is very dirt-y.

 

On, it's got a strangely pleasant moldy-dirtiness to it, of potting with wet earth. It reminds me of the earth note from Possets' Cambienne. And I put it near the spot on my hand that has Hexennacht, and it smells FANtastic.

 

I hope this will become a GC someday, because it would be one Hell of a layering note. I can't believe this is so great!

[Czarina]

This is really interesting. Bought a bottle from the Lab.

 

In the bottle: potting soil.

Wet: freshly spaded earth, full of humus...like in a forest.

Drydown: dirt. But complex, good smelling dirt. I really can't pick out any rotting notes. I can, I think, detect peat moss.

 

Truly unique.

[cranberry]

Wet: In the bottle and wet on the skin, this smells just like fresh, potting soil.

 

Drydown to about 20 minutes: As it dried, it starts to smell more and more like a soft incense. There’s still a dirt tang there, but it’s really softened up. This is really pretty but I can’t believe how soft and faint this is.

 

20 minutes to < hr: It’s been on less than an hour and it’s already gone. Too bad, I really like the phases of this scent, especially after it had dried down a bit.

[taramarie]

Disclaimer: I have a cold and my hormones might be a little out of whack, so this probably isn't the most accurate review.

 

Wet on my skin, Worm Moon is decaying organic matter and a hint of wood. It's a lot like Destroying Angel, but lighter. Drying, there's the barest hint of floral at the end of a sniff. Dry, it's halfway between the organic matter and men's cologne. I love this and I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars, which is weird since I only give Destroying Angel 2 stars. If you love the Ars Moriendi line, try this.

[ImperatrixMundi]

If a compost heap was reincarnated as a perfume it would smell like this.

 

The wet stage is the best, I get the dirt and some red fruit with a very sharp, boozy tang and some wood. But what starts so great fades so fast!

I get the same thing as cranberry two posts above me. After 20 minues it has turned from dirt to light incense. Then it goes away.

If it would just stay it would be so great but it seems to have zero staying power.

[sookster]

straight sniff from the imp is fresh, moist, mossy earth right next to one of

my favorite babbling brooks as a child...

 

my goodness....the best earthy scent beth has created to date...this is pure, brown,

rich dirt to me and

never ventures from this stage...the throw is pretty magnifi"scent" for me as well...

another big bottle purchase that i had to have!!! yay!!!

[penemuel]

Got a decant of this. In the vial: it's raining in a forest full of fallen oak leaves.

 

On my skin: rich, damp, loamy earth

 

Drydown: this morphs from the rich, loamy earth scent to an almost incensey scent. I don't get any of the red fruits. I think the incensey scent is the wood.

 

It's a beautiful blend!

[Little Bird]

Oddly, I don't smell flowers or fruit from this at all, and I tried it on my skin and my boy's skin. It smells like damp earth with some rotting wood thrown in, and perhaps with a bit of sour, dry moss in the drydown. My boy really likes Worm Moon on himself, but it doesn't have great staying power on either of us. It leaves a hint of light, earthy, almost incensey fragrance on the skin for a half hour or so, but it disappears entirely before it hits the full hour mark. I'm not crazy about Worm Moon. I'll probably let the boy keep the decant, but I don't feel the need to search out more (except maybe an empty bottle, because I do like the label art).