Smoky Moon 2009: Tristesses de la Lune

[aislingeach]

Soft sandalwood, nicotiana, and velvety orris drifting over lustrous pale musks, stephanotis, elemi, and cyclamen.

In the decant, this was quite soapy and strong. Once dry, on my skin, though? It's a beautiful, soft, and, yes, hazy floral. Very light throw. It has all the complexity and uniqueness that I expect of BPAL, but is very work appropriate! Yay! I might need to track down a full bottle of this: we'll see.

Edited to add scent description. Edited July 10, 2009 by aislingeach

[redward]

Smoky Moon 2009

 

I was reading the other reviews and realized I don't know what orris smells like. So, I googled it - and got a bunch of results for Chuck Norris.

 

In the bottle: This is my first BPAL bottle purchase, so I can actually say bottle instead of imp! Hmmm, this is soft and kind of sweet. It makes me think of Ivanushka in the way it is soft and comforting. Musk, a little bit of sandalwood and some floral. I only really know what nicotianna smells like, so I can't really say which floral(s) I smell. A little bit of something green.

 

Wet: Gorgeous. A sharper almost spicy floral comes out- I think this may be the orris based on what I read. Still with the musk and sandalwood. It is quite light, I have my nose pretty much touching my wrist. Light, but rich, too.

 

Drying: Velvety, round and soft. A bit of woody tang, like a green wood. The florals are of the darker sort. I lose the sweetness as it dries on my skin.

 

Dry: This is positively dreamy, such a good match with the Baudelaire poem. This seems quite complex and well-blended to my neophyte nose. I agree with the others who have pegged this as a sultry summer night scent. It doesn't smell like smoke, but is a little incensey with just the faintest hint that there may have been some smoke floating around somewhere in the vicinity. Very close to the skin.

 

if you are afraid of heavy, smoky incense smells, this would be a good one to try out. You get the incense, but it is light and tempered by the florals.

[GreenSpine]

This reminds me very strongly of the kind of smoke that comes out of a fog machine - it doesn't actually smell the same, but that's the image I'm getting. It just borders on powdery on my skin, and at first I wasn't sure whether I liked it, but it's one of those scents I can't seem to stop sniffing.

[theseagrows]

this is quite woody and smoky. in the beginning it smells like oakmoss, which is one of my favorite notes! the oakmoss has faded after a bit and now i am getting the nicotiana and orris and not much else. maybe a touch of musk but no stephanotis, which is too bad because it's another favorite note.

 

this scent is very dry and not sweet but smoky. i really can't tell if i like this or not-i like it a lot with the oakmoss, but now that it has disappeared (or whatever it was) i am feeling sort of ambivalent about it. i think i may have to swap it, but i'll give it one more chance to redeem itself.

 

[Little Bird]

In the decant vial, this kinda smells like soapy cologne. I was worried that it would be soapy on me, but it's not.

 

Oddly, this isn't smoky on me at all either. Smoky Moon is mostly powdery on me. Light, smooth, powdery sandalwood. That's all that I can pick out of this scent, and this one fades insanely fast on me.

 

I'm glad I just went with a partial decant of this'n, because it's rather blah on me.

[zankoku_zen]

This has an very aquatic vibe in my mind... in fact, it's got a bit of that 'fresh' water feel like in Festival of Anukhet. But in this case, the water burns off and makes more of a fog-like impression, and underneath, you can feel the smoke curling about. And yes, a certain amount of dryness comes out.

 

Meh.

[crebbsgirl]

I think I'm getting more "smoke" than most other reviewers here. I agree with the hazy quality, but on my skin, there is a definite smoke note, not just the implication of one. I also think there may be vetiver hiding in here. The florals take awhile to come out, and I agree with the statement that this is a very layered blend. It does seem that the throw is completely different than the scent at my wrists. Regardless, this is beautiful and ethereal almost. I love this, and I can't wait to see how it ages.

[Brianne]

I think etheral is a good way to describe this. It is a strange combination of both smoky AND soapy. It's clean but has the mysterious appeal of smoke. There is a light sandalwood and iris floating through this also, it's very pleasant and also very low key.

[cranberry]

Mmmm. Tobacco, orris, maybe a touch of the elemi bringing in a green note. I love this! . It smells like velvet, and haze and richness. It reminds me strongly of Black Lace, but without the vanilla sweetness.

 

This doesn’t smell like smoke to me. Smoke to me smells acrid and sharp, smoky like wood burning or even resins burning. There is nothing burning here. This is more evocative of the feel or idea of smoke, rather than the smell. Hazy.

[amandette]

This is my first 'unsniffed' bottle purchase, and I'm so excited because this is amazing on me! Somehow I just knew this would work.

 

It's light and wispy and pale. I get very light woods, nothing dark and heavy, but still woody nonetheless. I love it so much.

[rayvn1]

This started out great Sandalwood and the palest of pale musks with a gentle breeze of light white flowers. This is a very subtle blend on me - clean and gentle. It eventually turns almost completely floral unfortunately as I loved the musk and dust, but it was great to try it!

[donnatron]

Bottle: Weird. I can't really distinguish any of the notes beyond the sandalwood but I would say that this is a grey scent.

 

Wet: Very soapy and almost stinging to the nose. Not gentle. Sharp. Extraordinarily sharp. But I can also smell something very lovely in this. It's overwhelmingly orris and sandalwood with a touch of tobacco dustiness.

 

Dry: This is awesome. Silvery rather than grey. The musks warm to my skin and lend this a soft, crystaline sort of base. This feels very cold and still to me. A little sweet, probably from the stephanotis and then a touch of powdery violet scent from the orris and a sandalwood/tobacco blend from the nicotiana. Very light and clean but a little brooding and sensual.

 

Throw: Average.

 

Overall: This is really lovely. It's sexy and a little sensual without being work inappropriate and well rounded. Amazing.

[Invidiana]

I was initially drawn to this because I'm a huge Baudelaire fan, and, that said, I'm urging anyone else even remotely drawn to Baudelaire to get their hands on a bottle of this somehow! It really is the bottled essence of him and his work; complex, surreal, enveloped in haze. The "smoky" in the title is really referring to the hazy feel of the scent; it isn't a burning smoke, but rather a cloudy veil of sheer musk that is syymbolic of the many shades of gray in Baudelaire's work. It is evocative not specifically of his idea of the azure or the abyss, but the foggy area in between. This is an alluring and mysterious scnet that especially begs to be appreciated by decadent-literature-philes like myself

[jtb2008]

I heart sandalwood. A LOT. I don't get much of it in the bottle, but on the skin it really comes out. Its kind of sweet (minty?) and slightly smokey. This is so kick-ass.

[Schmoozy]

 

I adore sandalwood and orris, and more often than not these two really, really play well together. I was kinda sad that orris really doesn't show up much in Smoky moon, other than to give it that lush velvety feel. Sandalwood is present and once again it is dry, dusty and very woodsy, however with the addition of pale musks it really sweetens and almost seems to make the sandalwood sharper more brighter. I agree that this is not at all smoky, just the feeling of how smoke really clouds over and makes everything grey. This is a soft and intimate scent. The pale musks at first really reminded me of the pale musks in Dia.

[milo]

This really doesn't smell smoky to me at all. Wet, I detect jasmine or a jasmine like note. It's actually pretty overpowering wet, cloying and heady. As it dries, it gets powdery, which jasmine tends to do on me. Thankfully, this fades pretty quickly, as this is just too florally on me. This does not smell 'hazy' or 'smoky', at all, though this imp is fairly old and maybe it has uber aged. Not for me.

[surlygurl]

So today I'm testing my *possible* swap bottles, and this was the first in line. I remember it being almost non-existent as a scent, so let's see how it aged.....

 

Fresh on my skin: Where is it? It just sits there, no throw at all. I have to stick my nose in it to get anything. Then I get orris, tobacco flower, and maybe a touch of sandalwood. Like others say, it's a grey scent, hazy and cool.

 

As it dries, there's a little bit of throw (enough for my BF to notice and approve!). The scent sweetens and the musk comes into play. This is really pretty. It's a good scent for those times when you don't want to overwhelm others with your fragrance.

 

So.... maybe I won't swap it.

[grrrlennyl]

Smoky Moon

 

On: A soft, woodsy scent with a soapy floral background.

1 hour in: A bit soapy, still, but with a nice, sweet floral to it.

7.5 hours in: Powdery, and a bit sweet. Definitely floral, but no longer soapy.

Overall: This is nice, but not something I would wear often.

[starfish327]

I really wanted to keep this one, but apparently it didn't want to like me as much as I wanted to like it.

 

In the imp: nothing. It hits my blind spot. It might as well be water.

 

Wet: very delicate, very gentle. I was expecting smoke, honestly. This is a very gentle, classic scent that reminds me of something from my past-but I can't put my finger on it. The thought that came to mind was 'important occassion blend'-like a job interview.

 

Dry: The same light, cologny frangrance and I'm starting to get some vanilla out of it. I like it, but it's a complete departure from my normal incense and darkness blends.

 

And...ten minutes later it's ivory soap.

 

Sad face.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Sharp/soapy florals

 

Wet on me - Soapy florals

 

Dry on me - Softer florals, but still with that soapy overtone

 

Overall - Floral notes and I have a healthy mutual dislike and this blend proved no different

[porcelina]

after smelling it in the bottle, i don't even really want to put smoky moon on. but i do, and... it's not as bad as i expected, but it's not for me. there is a sharp floral component that i dislike and it dries down to a generic soapiness. there is nothing really smoky about it.

[puellacaerulea]

In the bottle: The sandalwood and orris stand out, as well as yellow florals in the background. Once it's on, the orris and nicotiana really amp up - the orris goes through a brief powdery phase, but it does eventually settle down and blend more effectively with the sandalwood. Overall impression is soft smoky notes (think pale, hazy, luminous) over a base of subtle floral notes. Sticks pretty close to the skin and has great wear time. I always regretted not getting a bottle of this during its original run, so I'm glad I snagged one secondhand.

[Okupsidedown]

I like to skim the notes, then go by the nose when reviewing. A sort of happy medium between blind and fully informed reviewing.

 

In the bottle: Gorgeous, sweet, dry, dark purple. A little wood. I tried this before and did not enjoy, but it's had a couple months to rest.

 

Wet: Purple!! I'm starting to be able to recognize elemi. It's like a white floating floral, but not flowery. If that makes any sense. I'm smelling a beautiful wood that blends so well with the purple dry sweetness. I think I remember it being sandalwood? Gonna go peep the notes now.

 

Dry down: No wonder this is so lovely and smoky without smelling like actual smoke! Nicotiana is a tobacco plant! I love orris, and its gorgeous dry floral beauty. The sandalwood keeps this from smelling too traditionally perfumey. But if you're transitioning from the mainstream, this is a gorgeous blend for you!

 

Dry: White musks, which are normally so forward, are just now starting to whisper. Wow, I can't believe this wasn't an immediate love!!! This is beautifully perfectly blended and balanced!!

 

Synopsis: Beautiful, dry, soft sandalwood with gentle white musks and dry orris without going powdery. Nicotiana is mildly chewy, and elemi is floaty and sweet.

[Kanra]

This has aged very nicely.

 

Even though I do enjoy woody blends almost every time I buy them, they are rarely something I seek out to buy. But something about the description on this one tempted me. I love the idea of a dark atmospheric smoky moonlit night and reading about this fragrance evoked that feeling in me so I figured it was worth giving a try.

 

It's very nice. The wood is strong but not overwhelming. There are beautiful florals and musks too. Overall, this creates a very haunting, smoky atmosphere without there actually being a smoke note. It's more about atmosphere than a literal smoky moon. Tobacco, sandalwood, orris, musk, and elimi really stand out. If you enjoy woody blends that are a bit subdued and introverted, I think you'd enjoy this.

[starbrow]

This scent is always a bait and switch for me. I keep it in my spring/summer box but everytime I see the name, I assume it's going to be a heavy smoky fall/winter scent and so I don't even try it. It got randomly selected today for wear, and I was kind of shook to realize it's a spring-garden-at-night kind of scent. It has rained that afternoon, and drops still cling to stems and petals. Fresh greenery weaves through pale flowers and cool woods, no smoke to be found anywhere. Even the nicotiana is the softest, sneakiest tobacco flower I have ever smelled. It curls around what smells like shy violets to me - hello orris.

 

The sandalwood lends an interesting dry quality that contrasts with the watery florals. I would have expected from the description that this would be kind of a sharp cologney scent - sandalwood, pale musks, all that greenery - but that is not the case. Smoky Moon is poofy, floaty, and diaphanous. If you told me, in a blind scent test, that this was a Last Unicorn scent, I would believe you. It's soft but still has enough throw that I can smell it on my skin without being right up in it. I don't think that the musk is white musk; at least, it's not laundry white musk. It's amazingly wearable. Fragrant garden, without smacking you in the face with any one single flower.

 

This is more floral and floaty than I usually wear, but I think I like it. It is indeed a very spring scent. I think I will rename it Springy Moon on my cap label.