Dragon Moon 2008

[seamor]

In some cultures, the Dragon is benevolent, bestowing blessings and granting wishes. In others, the Dragon is an icon of destruction and harbinger of catastrophe. In all its incarnations, both baneful and benign, the Dragon is a symbol of strength, authority, and the raw power of nature. Our Dragon Moon represents the forces of rebirth and the vigor that springtime brings: dragon's blood resin, galbanum, blue sage, lavender, peppermint, sweetgrass, frankincense, moonglow magnolia, bergamot, and green cedar.

Yipes ... I've never done a first review before. Please bear with me (and put this post where it belongs if I've failed to find the existing thread).

* * * * *

Indescribable, really. But I'll try.

In the bottle: A strong, sultry, musky, amberish scent.

Wet: Subtle ambery musk - very quiet on my skin. I am fearful that it will simply disappear, as has sometimes happened with other scents.

Drydown: Blossoms rapidly into an intoxicating herby sweetness. Good throw of the sweet notes. I can pick out the peppermint close to the skin if I really try, but it blends so well that it is registering mostly as a clean freshness. Marvelously blended - none of the individual notes stand out. I get an explosive, almost overwhelming sense of lush new green growth and blossoms of all varieties, multiplying joyfully in a golden galbanum light.

This is just perfect for Beltane, the day I received it, and this test definitely pepped up my personal celebration, LOL!

A couple of hours later, the remaining scent is quieter, closer to the skin. Not much throw now, as far as I can tell. What's left is definitely dragon's blood, but a sweet, lightly floral, faintly herbal version. The undercover peppermint is still there, keeping the overall effect cool and fresh.

Wow, I sure do like this! Beth, you are on a roll - It seems like my top five list changes almost every time I try a new scent these days! Kinda sorry now that I only bought one bottle, but I'm sure glad I've got the one!

[suileach]

The immediate impression of this that I get is: murky and brown.

 

It brightens on my skin, becoming spicier and cooler.

 

The dragon's blood in this mingles subtly with the mint to become the cold, sinuous dragon's blood of Serpent's Kiss. This is a cool and powerful dragon -- resting but deadly.

 

The sage and lavender raise the scent to a higher pitch, and suddenly, you catch the scent of a flower still blooming on the scorched mountain side... This reminds me of nothing so much as the secret entrance to The Lonely Mountain, where Smaug, coiled on his mound of treasure, lies in wait.

 

This is the most interesting resin-based scent I've ever smelled. It is incredibly unique and powerful; chilled by the other notes, the dragon's blood maintains its spicy bite.

 

I only applied a miniscule amount, but it is very strong on me. Ultimately, I don't think it's to my personal taste (I knew I was taking a risk with the dragon's blood and frankincense), but it is truly an amazing scent.

 

 

eta: Hours later, this scent is still quite present! It's dried down to a green, herbal, somewhat sweet dragon's blood and frankincense.

Edited May 2, 2008 by suileach

[hkhm]

bottle: an effervescent green scent, i know i smell the bergamot and sage most strongly yet this feels light.

 

wet: wow. the sweetgrass amps instantly and smells both warm and sweet the dragon's blood is not nearly as floral as usual and the rest of the notes give this a nice, sinuous green feel.

 

dry: the dragon's blood dries sweet while the other notes (mainly the sage, mint and sweetgrass) give this a sunny, warm feel. love.

[Akurarei]

Dragon Moon 2008

 

I never thought there would be another Dragon Moon again - ever!

I think I busted a brain wrinkle in excitement when I saw this one available!

 

In the Bottle:

Resiny & Woodsy - I like it already!

 

On my Skin, Wet:

AMP Cedar! good thing I like cedar!

This is very strongly cedar for a good long while - I'm actually a little surprised that the 'wet' stage takes more than 1 minute - but in a good way surprised!

 

On my Skin, Dry:

Amber - a glorious clear warm amber!, Woods (hello, cedar - we meet yet again) and - and- and......cherry? dragon's blood? herbs?

maybe a sprinkling of all those! yay!

there's something else in the undercurrent that my nose doesn't recognize (or forgot when the brain wrinkle popped).

 

Verdict:

GORGEOUS GORGEOUS GORGEOUS!

The lab's amber note is my friend! as are all the woodsy notes I've tried!

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

This might warrant a full bottle hunt down to keep this bottle company! (and in my beloved-ness, maybe they will mate and have little dragon moons while I'm not looking! HA!)

10 of 10 ranking!

 

I love you Beth!!!!

 

ETA 2.1.11; I haven't worn this is awhile, Now that it's aged over 2 years, the cedar potency has diminished and the resin-y amber notes have turned more golden. Any trances of herbs/cherry/etc are also gone. But I do still love this scent, despite elements gone missing

Edited February 1, 2011 by Akurarei

[lmaunu]

As others have mentioned, this is such a lovely amber, herbal scent. The dragon's blood actually remains pretty soft on my skin, and the lavender and sage dominate. I was worried that the cedar would be too strong for me, but I can barely tell that it's there; instead, I'm getting an overall feel of a green, woodsy scent that has a deep background to it.

 

I thought that this would be a scent that makes me feel powerful, but, surprisingly, the herbal notes make me feel relaxed.

 

I was taking a gamble on it, and I'm so glad I did! It's a wonderful scent!

[ECAmber]

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: Hint of peppermint right off the skin then clean and herbally. Very green, herbally start. Sage, lavander and cedar are apparent.

 

On the dry down: Oddly I get honeysuckle once this starts to dry. Not the sickly sweet honeysuckle that usually turns cloying on my skin, but real honeysuckle from when I was a kid. The florals begin to step up while the sage, cedar and lavander balance it out nicely. There is a very soft, mellow resin holding it all together.

 

Further in: softens up quite a bit and looses most of it's throw on me. Proportionally the floral seems to get slightly sweeter and continually grow past the herbally part of this scent. This probably would have become a bit cloying and overbearing if it didn't fade as it did.

 

Fading out: Tail end of this is resinous, a bit dark while carrying the nicer elements from the start straight through to the end. The herbal, sweet, floral, all had their moments, but like sphaghettification they have all been pulled into the darker tones of this scent.. Lovely, dynamic, edgy.

[dluszcz]

Wow- this is the first dragon's blood resin scent that I've experienced that isn't overtly dragon's bloody and red. In the bottle it's a bit cologny. Initially, on the skin, it's very herbal, the lavendar and peppermint pulling together with the green cedar (which is nice and a bit different from the lab's standard cedar note). There's something hovering a tad medicinal, and I'm suprised that a patchouli note isn't listed, as this is the way it hangs on my skin. There is also something sharp and astringent, like a leave of geranium, crushed between the fingers. Then a rich spiciness of the multiple resins develops alongside the apothecary chest of herbs. Hours later, Dragon Moon has settled down to a powdery-sweet cloud of herbs and spice, nothing standing out alone. The throw is initially rather profuse, but dries down very soft and subtle. Something about this reminds me of the scales of Pisces 2007.

[dixiehellcat]

I love dragons and was so disappointed when the original DM didn't work on me but HOORAY, a second chance, with notes that may work better!

 

In the bottle--both green and floral, if that makes sense, with a light musky note.

 

On, it just blooms! I love how it floats around me. Clearly smellable but not overwhelming. Love it.

[CordeliaSeduced]

I was really amazed at the dragon's blood in this--I would have thought with the name "Dragon Moon," it would be overwhelmingly dragon's blood-y. However, I couldn't get more than just the barest hint of it in the bottle. What I got instead was a mottled green-brown scent like a dozen or more drying herbs in a room made of cedar and scattered with the traces of incense.

Once on my skin, this was very mellow: mainly lavender and sage, with hints of sweetgrass, frankincense, and bergamot. It shifted every now and again, as if the notes were fighting for dominance over my flesh, and for about an hour the cedar was prominent--this terrified me, because I seem to wear cedar like pencil shavings steeped in perspiration, but it faded out quickly enough. As soon as it did, the incensy combination of sage, frankincense, and dragon's blood wafted past, giving the entire smell a smoky, yet still very green, feel.

I don't think it had much in terms of throw, but I could smell it on myself and that's all that matters. It also lasted a good long time. --I'm very glad I gave into the impulse spending here, because even though certain notes were an obvious no-no, this worked very well for me.

[Coldfire]

Oh this is lovely. I'm so glad I got the back up bottle.

 

Bottle: Definitely Dragon's Blood to me. But not as harsh like DB can be. Sweeter. I think the Lavender softened it.

 

Wet on me: No Dragon's Blood at all on me. Now more a floral scent. More of the Lavender but not ALL lavender.

 

Drying down: Smelling floral on one sniff, woodsy herbal on the next and then back to floral. But not sugar sweet floral. thank ged!

 

Dry: Teeny hint of mint now and then. much more herbal and woody. a Floral Pencil in some sniffs. just lovely. my wrist is now glued to my nose.

 

Throw: Personal. I can smell it in my immediate personal space but I'm not hearing coworkers sniff loudly and ask what is that they smell.

 

 

Rating: Totally keeping this. Back up Bottle is the precious!

 

Edit: OMGS I could still smell it on my wrist last night after my shower and this morning too! DANG! Talk about staying power! Dragon Moon 08 for the Win!

Edited May 7, 2008 by Coldfire

[AEris]

1st impressions on skin:

I'm so bummed! I don't know if I got a bottom-of-the-batch bottle or what, but the cedar is the only note that comes out on me. In the bottle, it's an interesting herbal scent with a hint of sweet resin, but 2 minutes on my skin, and all I can smell is "pencil shavings steeped in perspiration" (thanks to CordeliaSeduced for that quote). I guess Dragon Moon 08 just wasn't meant to be for me. It sounded so awesome, too! Sadness.

 

15 minutes later:

Hmm, the cedar note (sawdust B.O.) has really faded considerably. Maybe I judged this one too quickly. I was kind of jealous, reading all the rave reviews and just getting cedar once it touched my skin! But now that it's dried down, it's really strange. My overall impression is that I smell myrrh, and that it smells kind of like a drier, herbal-tinged version of Queen of Clubs. Which doesn't say anything too useful at all, now, does it?

 

I'm still not sure how I feel about it, I'm going to have to slather it on someday where I'll have time to give it more of a chance. Also, I feel that Dragon Moon 08 could benefit significantly from being set aside to age a few months. Feeling waffle-y....that cedar drydown is just truly awful on me!

 

For now, I'll say:

4 out of 5

[slave1]

DRAGON MOON 2008

 

In Bottle: Spicy resins

 

On Skin: This is a dark beautiful resinous scent. Nothing shy about it, very in your face resins. Even with the dragon’s blood, I don’t get a red tone from this, it’s more a dark golden brown feel. The resins are warm, the herbs and plant notes are cool. A gorgeous contrast. This scent is so well blended, it’s very hard for to pull individual notes. It’s more a distinct two sides: the warm resinous side and the cool herbal side. It is very harmonious and I can’t say that any note is overwhelming, they all play their own part. It is sexy, exotic and I think it would be lovely on a man or woman. Overall, a very strong scent that makes a statement. Strong throw and long wearlength.

[savage_rose]

So beautiful. Mainly I'm getting a sweet floral musk with a bit of a sharp, herbal undercurrent. This scent is like an undulating dragon serpent, each scale reflecting a different color, creating a silken rainbow array of olfactory textures.

 

Not sure where that came from. But it's really complex, and the kind of scent you could wear daily and never get tired of it. You'd always be smelling different facets of the blend, and all of them would be good.

[portalkat]

This reminds me a bit of Valentine of Rome and Cairo and I love both. Dragon Moon 08 is a bit brighter and the magnolia gives it a lovely bit of floral note. I thought that this would be stronger on the herbs, but I think that it is heavier on the resins which I love. I think that this is one of my favorite lunacy blends and I am so happy because I was born the year of the Dragon.

[lostluckkitten]

Fresh green cedar, followed by sweet herbals. Herbal, green, slightly floral. Lovely. Florals become much more prominent when dry. Light blue-purple flowers backed by sweetgrass and cedar. Reminds me of incense shops along the beach boardwalk in So Cal… must be the Dragon's Blood doing that.

 

Overall, very pleasant. Imagine the colors on a sprig of lavender... the green stalk and purple-blue flowers. That's the color I feel this blend is. Good one.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is dragon's blood resin, herbal and mint yet very deep and dark...

 

once applied this is sooooo incredible! the mint, sage and lavender harmonize exquisitely

with the resinous notes...i swear this one was meant for me...i need several big bottles of

this amazingly gorgeous blend...

 

thank you for this masterpiece beth

[shadawyn]

Hey, it's my first review! I'm afraid I'm not very good at this...

 

Dragon Moon is my first Lunacy (I only recently started trying bottles/LEs at all!), despite that I've been an off and off customer for some years now. I was borderline on the notes, but the dragon description tipped me into trying it, because my boyfriend loves dragons, and I like them quite a bit myself. Why not trust Beth and take a chance?

 

In the bottle: Sharp, harsh and bitter green with stab of peppermint. I got very worried that I'd made a horrible mistake!

 

On me, dry down: Oh, this is much better on the skin. A nice, sweet, slightly spicy resiny base (I adore resin scents, although this is only my second dragon's blood), I'm getting soft herbal/floral green notes when I sniff close, and the peppermint adds a nice "cool" brush to the whole thing.

 

The throw is all warm resins; I'm not getting too much in terms of the herbal/florals unless I sniff directly. This is a bit different from things I've tried before, but I'm glad I tried it!

 

Conclusion: I'm glad I took a chance and got a bottle. I look forward to seeing if the resins age and morph the perfume later down the road, too.

 

On a scale of 1-10, I'd put this one around a 7.

Edited May 10, 2008 by shadawyn

[Lionesse]

Dragon Moon reminds me very much of one of my favorite GC loves: The Bow & Crown of Conquest. It is slightly more feminine than B&C, but I love it equally

[Reaver]

Really bizarre! I've not tried anything like this before. Wet, this has the sharpness of wet Dragons Blood and fresh mint. Dried, the Dragons Blood does its usual mellow yawn of scent, and lavender and (I assume it's) sage just make it fresh, slightly floral but still medicinal.

 

The frankincense doesn't really glow in this blend at all. It gets pretty much pwned by the Dragons Blood. I wouldn't describe this as resinous, more floral or herbal. It's... odd. But nice. REALLY nice. It suits the name and idea perfectly. The idea of rebirth suits this scent so well. It's like a great potential and strength, pulled back an restrained into a scent. Almost too lazy to be impressive.

 

Conclusion - I like it. I didn't think I did. It falls into my "ichorous and eldritch" catagory. Yummy.

9/10

[taramarie]

Wet on my skin, Dragon Moon '08 is dragon's blood resin (plumeria on me) and frankincense. Dry, it's just dbr. I love dragon's blood, don't get me wrong, but I don't need a whole bottle of plumeria single note right now. I think I'll try this one again soon and see if it's worth holding onto.

[Tulliver]

I'm sort of in a quandary over Dragon Moon. Not that I don't like it. QUITE the opposite.

 

My main problems are:

 

- There are so many wonderful ingredients in this blend and all I get are the lavender and peppermint with PERHAPS the teeniest hint of Dragon's Blood in the background. Now... this is a GORGEOUS scent, but I like a lot of the ingredients in it and I'd have liked to have got a few more of them with, perhaps, the final settled results being this. It's definitely beautiful - I can't stop sniffing my wrist.

 

- It doesn't have a long wrist-life. This saddens me. It's FAR too lovely to fade so quickly. Perhaps it'll last longer at certain other times of the month.

 

I do love it. I love it enough to get another bottle of it. And maybe, when it's aged a bit, the other ingredients will come through.

[MaidMirawyn]

I really love Dragon Moon 2008! I was hopeful, because I love dragons and dragon's blood is good on me.

 

And I was buying the shirt, after all.

 

 

It's great for a dragon. It's smoky, with a floral undertone. (My guess is that the smokiness comes from the cedar and frankincense working together.) No mintiness for me, and I don't get the bergamot, either. (I love bergamot, but this is so wonderful that I don't mind missing it.)

 

It's like he's resting in a beautiful meadow. Maybe he has a campfire going... Of course, five minutes ago his "campfire" was a dead tree. Whatever.

[tasty]

This is minty Dragon's Blood and cedar. I'm really on the fence with this one! One one hand I like how it's refreshing and not like any other BPAL that I've smelled before. On the other hand, hmmm. Do I want to smell like this combination of ingredients? The jury's still out!

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle dragon's blood *yawn*.

wet on skin peppermint, lavender, and bergamot beat back the dragon a little bit and round the sweetness of DB off nicely

dry on skin just a touch of sappy cedar to augment mint & co. it's fresh and heady all at once.

 

i'm a dragon's blood hater, unfortunately, so this blend was never for me, but for a dragon's blood blend, it's very pretty. if you're at all a fan of DB resin, this blend is a must have.

[alicia_stardust]

This smells mostly of dragon's blood resin to me, both in the bottle and after it first dries. After that, however, it morphs a bit and gains a smoother resin and herbal quality to it. Despite the strong presence of the dragon's blood resin, this does not smell "red" to me; it smells "green". Perhaps its the herbs, peppermint, sweetgrass, and green cedar. The lavender and bergamot add a nice touch to this fierce dragon blend. Overall, this is very nice and complex but it smells far better on my husband than it does on me. He's hoarding two bottles now. =)