Berry Moon 2009

[iiinterstate]

A golden summer musk with warm fig, orange blossom honey, sweet blueberries, and bright velvety crimson raspberries.

in the bottle: musky berries, and something kind of green.

wet on me: orange blossom and berries. right now the orange blossom is dominating a little but that tends to happen on my skin.

As it dries, the fig comes out and tames the orange blossom. Oooh this is some good stuff. I can smell a little bit of everything, with the honey coming out more in the drydown. I like this a lot already, but I bet in a few weeks once everything has settled a bit, it will find its way into my heavy summer rotation. Yum!

Overall, a very balanced and delicious blend (that's not overly fruity!)

Edit: I've decided this reminds me a bit of Tomoe Gozen. Edited August 11, 2009 by Shollin

[VioletChaos]

i was guardedly hopeful about this blend. on the one hand, Strawberry Moon 09 exceeded all expectations of what a Berry BPAL could be. on the other, light, "summer-y" musks tend to not be my friend.

 

HOWEVER!

 

Berry Moon pulls it all together!

 

from bottle until dry down, Berry Moon stays pretty consistent. that is to say, it's very much tart/sweet berries with a touch of honeyed musk. i don't really get the blueberries from this, for me it's more a mix of black- and raspberries, and with both, it's at the point where they're so ripe that they're almost spoiled.

right before the total dry down happens, there's a few minutes where the scent warms into a berry mead. not the thick type of Mead Moon, but mead none the less. when it's finally dried and mellowed, it blossoms into a warm fruit musk that's all sweet and fruity without being foody or taking on skin-musk or heliotrope aspects (whew!)

 

in all: perfect for the dog days of august that lie ahead, total keeper, total love.

 

 

 

[boxinghelena]

When I sniffed this out of the bottle I knew I should have bought two bottles instead of one, darn it!!!

 

On my skin, I'm getting all types of berries, not just blueberry. I'm not getting any type of musk or honey other reviews have mentioned. Just berries. I've been smelling my wrist all day.

 

It's a keeper!!

[Cheri]

Berry Moon is absolutely one of the most gorgeous berry scents I have ever smelled. It's better than Crawdad Dream, Strawberry Moon, and Lady Una, and those are some of my favorite scents. It has become a new favorite. How to describe it? Ok, it's a little sweet, but not too sweet. A bit musky, but a soft girly kind of musk, and I am wondering why I only got one bottle. Someday I'll learn to go with my instincts and take more chances.

[papermaker]

In the bottle this smells quite like a berry fruit salad. I was slightky worried however of putting it on my skin, because the reactions hered had been so varied.

Wet: It is berries and honey. Like good sweet ripe summer berries and a touch of honey.

Dry there are still plenty of berries, honey, and musk giving it all a nice base.

I wish I had two

[reynardine]

In the bottle: not sure, rather sweet but ambiguous scent

 

Wet: very sweet, honey and berries. I was afraid it was going to end up smelling like candy (no, just no--I don't do candy-scents!), but it settled down fairly quickly.

 

Several hours later, it is now this very pleasant fruity scent, with just a touch of floral.

 

I didn't pick up any musk at all--and a good thing, since musk tends to make me sneeze!

 

This one's a keeper, perfect for a warm summer's day.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: I'm getting mostly the orange blossom honey (which is not really sweet at all) and maybe the summer musk (is that the green/herbal note that a lot of the reviewers are also picking up?).

 

Wet: The slight sour note of the honey is the first thing I smell, but now there's some raspberries. And blast it, there's that sharp green note again!

 

The dry-down: Okay, I'm get a whiff of the blueberries, and the fig is mixing in finally, but faintly. The honey and the musk are at last blending together to form a nice base, and yet the berries may be at war with the sharp green note that is slowly fading away. Yes, I think that the berries are winning! And oh here comes the fig in a major way! About time, as August is when figs are ripe around here. (I love me some figs, and how wonderful the bf has a fig tree in his backyard, but the birds and the deer--he has a bit of nice forest behind his house--tend to eat most of them before they get ripe enough to pick, alas.)

 

This scent is a bit of a morpher on me. I was hoping for more of the blueberries, as in my beloved Blue Phoenix, but alas that seems not to be. It's a bit like Lady Una or Tomoe Gozen, but not enough, if you catch my drift. I know that lots of folks have problems with the Lab's blackberry note turning to cat pee on them. Still, I could wish that there were blackberries in this, or at the very least, more blueberries. All in all, though, this is finally shaping up to be a wonderful scent, mostly honey and fig. I might try layering this with just a drop of Blue Phoenix (I so want that to be in the next Anniversary update!) and see what happens. I wish had some SN honey or honey musk to layer on this.

 

Oi, that green note is coming back out again. And it's just a few minutes since I wrote the last paragraph. Dang it! I'll try this in the scent locket, or otherwise layer with other things. I really wanted to love this. The prototype we got to try at SEWC seemed to be sweeter than this.

 

I'm thinking that the summer musk must be the green and herbal note, and that this scent would be lovelier without it.

 

Yet I must note that the label art is elegant, and is the top half of the art on the tee-shirt, which I ordered because I felt sure that I would love this scent; also that the art on the tee was beautiful in and of itself, an Art Nouveau design, which is a style that I have always been fond of.

 

And to end this long review, the fig and the honey have pushed the green note away. Again. A beautiful but morphing scent.

 

ETA: A couple hours later, the honey and fig are still the obvious notes, with a hint of the sweet berries. Very much a skin scent, for all my slathering. I've decided that it's a keeper.

Edited July 27, 2009 by thekittenkat

[topazphoenix]

In the bottle this smells sooo good, like crisp fresh juicy berries. But from the moment I put it on my skin, the berries disappeared. It went to a strong powdery musk + the sourness of orange blossom...then those backed off a bit and the honey and fig came out. Now the berry seems to be playing around the edges, but never comes to the forefront. I love the idea of this scent and can see how it would be gorgeous on the right chemistry..but cannot see myself wearing it at all. Sigh.

[odalisque]

Berry Moon had me worried for a couple minutes there!

 

It does have a strange sour scent in the bottle -- almost like fermenting fruit.

 

Wet on my skin, it instantly blooms into sweet, lush, juicy blueberry jam.

 

But it quickly dries down absolutely gorgeous. I think there's something about honey and musk combinations that tend to make them skin scents, and Berry Moon is no exception. Dry, it's a sultry sweet honey-musk combination with just a little orange blossom and the faintest, but faintest whiff of fruitiness.

 

It's very similar to Lady Una (the same musk, I think) but where Una has a slight fresh green-ness from the green tea and blackberry leaf, Berry Moon has a pale summergold quality from the fig. If Lady Una is a spring morning with a crisp breeze, then Berry Moon is a summer evening.

 

I'm going to keep this, and enjoy using it, but I probably won't need to hunt down a second bottle because Lady Una does a good job with my honey-musk needs.

 

ETA: ohhhh, baby. In the 3 months since I wrote that last line I have hunted down two more bottles of Berry Moon. It just gets better. I wore it on a family vacation to Sequim, WA, picking blueberries at one of the berry farms there and it was uncanny how much the wet oil smells like squashed blueberries and sugary jam. And then it all dries down and just ghhuuuurrrrrr om nom nom. I was super sad to pack it away for the winter, but this is one to save for glorious summer evenings and sticky hot afternoons in sundresses.

Edited October 22, 2009 by odalisque

[izile]

In the bottle: lovely bright berries, a little honey, it's very fresh and sharp.

 

Wet: musk and honey, and where are my berries fading to???

 

Dry: myrrh, musk, and powdery, dry, resinous, myrrh. It must be the musk.

 

*weeps*

 

Please hope that a few days of settling will fix this! I wanted the bottle everyone else is reviewing!

Edited July 28, 2009 by izile

[Leopard403]

At first whiff, this smelled like cough syrup to me. I blame the fig and honey for that. But on my skin this blooms into something gorgeous. Not immediately identifiable as berry-ish at all, this is a musky fruit scent, honeyed with warm sunlight. It does have a soapy, surprisingly perfume-y note that lingers a bit in the background, but that keeps the headier notes from becoming headache-inducing. This is lovely.

[MeiLin]

I couldn't pass it up because I am all about the honey.

 

In the bottle: Uh-oh, Unfortunate Corduroy Purse Incident, aka plasticky berry musk.

 

Wet: Initially artificial berry, moving almost immediately to green. Directly at my skin, it stays green (probably the fig), but I can smell it wafting up from my wrists as I type; from that remove, it's sweet blueberries and honey. It smells like a berry patch in the August heat; I can "see" little squiggly heat lines coming off it. (Sir is across the room and says, "It's okay. Kinda fruity.")

 

Dry: The fig keeps this from being complete sweet overload, adding an astringent quality--you ever smelled fig sap? This is that. The berries have receded somewhat, leaving orange blossom honey, fig and musk in that order.

 

I like this much better than Pinwheel, and it will be getting Pinwheel's place in the box.

[svelterose]

Would you believe I got two bottles of these based on the friggin description alone? Damn BPAL for making me want their items! LOL.

 

Bottle Art: Pretty and purple. I love that it's got a bit of color to it. It truly is very lovely.

 

Wet: Smells like blueberry gummies with a bit of musk and grass. The musk is definitely the honey coming through which is odd since I generally have a hard time picking up the honey scent.

 

Skin: Definitely smell the blueberry but it's not sweet. I think the fig is helping it from becoming too much like candy which is nice because it makes it smell like a musky fruit scent. The blueberry is blending in very well with the other notes: honey, fig, etc. It smells a bit like one of the commercial perfumes I have but just infinite times better. I love how well evenly all the notes are distributed.

 

As for the 2 bottles, I may end up decanting one because I've got so many scents I can use now. =X

[peacecat30]

Fantastic! A perfect summery blend of tart berries and a touch of musk. Thrilled and glad I caved to temptation.

[HappyLoveJoy]

For about 15 seconds I smell the fruit of Milk Moon '07. Then it changes quickly (thank you!) to rich green fruit? huh? Green? *goes back to read description again* Hmmmm...can fig smell green, I wonder? Anyway, it smells really good! It's nice and strong like Mead Moon meets Hollywood Babylon. The sharp green is rounding out and becoming sweet. More like the berries are floating their way to the top. Overall, it's just like the description says. Rich musky honey and berries with fig lending a fresh, outdoorsy quality that's clean. I'm keeping this lovely Moon.

[Iceblink]

Straight blueberries in the bottle (smells great!) but on my skin I am getting musky honey with a touch of raspberry and a teeeeny hint of fig. Complex and doesn't shout FRUIT all over the place. Another great scent for late summer...and I bet it'll age well as honey blends all seem to do...I like it!

[Scanmike]

I so wanted to love this. I just touched the cap of the bottle to my arm and my daughter said "whew, I don't like that". I got a blueberry scent, like the scent from the Blueberry shortcake dolls. Very fake and too sweet for me. I like Strawberry Moon much better for a fruit scent. I never got the green, which would have toned it down. Perhaps the fig also added to the sweetness. Sold off my bottle to someone who I know will love it.

[blacklacestatic]

In the bottle: Sugary, dark berries. A bit of musk with the vivid sweetness of honey.

 

Wet on skin: The berries are the strongest part of this, particularly the raspberry. Ripe summer raspberries picked fresh from the vine, dark red and juicy. I'm starting to detect a bit of the orange blossom here, which is a much beloved note to me. It makes evrything sexier. The honey is similar to Lady Una, kind of overly sweet, but when it adapts to the skin it gets richer and softer.

 

Drydown: Absolutely irresistable. I am so happy I got a bottle of this. Seductive yet soft and sweet. Extremely summery yet enticing. The best of juicy summer berries.

 

Overall: Love it, it's incredible. I made a good decision on this bottle!

[Finny]

In the bottle, vinegar.

 

Okay, do I really want to put something that smells like vinegar on? Of course, it is BPAL!

 

On, sweet and tart berries, a rich sweet honey musk, a very light hint of orange blossom. The fig is very light, it just lends a sugary sweetness to the blend.

[splendidissima]

In the bottle: pie filling. Sweet berry pie, which I love.

On me: the heavy sweet fruit lightens up quite a lot, probably the summer musk coming out. Still delicious--perhaps even better, because while I like the bottle scent, it might be too overpowering to wear. The dry-on-skin version is paler, more golden, and not quite as sweet, but very berry-scented still. My skin, however, appears to just eat this--after an hour or so I have to put my nose next to my arm to smell anything. I'm hoping this is a time-of-the-month skin chemistry thing, because Berry Moon is lovely and I want to smell it!

Verdict: glad I got a bottle, though I'm afraid of using it up too fast...

[pugmom]

wet - musk overwhelms the blend - it has a clean, white, slightly effervescent feel of white or skin musk for me. I can smell some blueberries through it.

 

dry - much better, musk settles down a bit, now the raspberries are more present giving it a red blueberry feel. The honey is coming through now.

 

much later - mostly honey, with a touch of berries.

 

Lovely and morphs quite a bit - keeper.

[annanwater]

In the bottle: strong vinegar. Rather offputting, but as always, being familiar with BPAL and skin chemistry, I forged ahead. Also smelled of vinegar when I first put it on but then...

 

Magic! (Not that it was surprising.) Warm berries and honey, with a light sweet floral note. Sort of like Lady Una, only not as green.

 

I've worn it two days in a row now...so definitely glad I got it, but must be careful not to use it all right away. Tomorrow I must resist the pretty purple bottle, and go for something else.

[greenranger]

 

 

In the bottle, berries, warm berries on the bramble.

 

On me, the berries apear first. To me it smells like the blackberries I used to pick in this canyon near our house when I was a kid. I know blackberries aren't listed, but, it reminds me of them.

 

As it dries, it changes. It gets muskier, and the honey comes forward. It is also blending more and becoming more of a sweet musky scent, rather than being a series of notes. I like it very much so far, and if it behaves like most musks on me(crosses fingers) then it should only get better with time. =)

[unlaced]

It's been about a week since I received Berry Moon since I had to wait out skin chemistry issues and let it settle.

 

In the bottle: tart blueberry (a la Crawdad Dream) with other berries and musk hiding out underneath.

 

Wet on my skin: Raspberries and musk. Blueberry is gone.

 

Wait a second... *sniff* this smells like... *sniffsniff* ...This is very much like Miller vs. CA at this stage! At the wet stage of Miller vs. CA I got no leather and it was all berries and musk (and a little paper bag ) And, on my skin this is very similar. I'll have to do a side by side comparison of the two.

 

Drying: Still red berries and musk. Fig is nowhere to be found, blueberry is still MIA. Is that the teensyest bit of orange blossom I smell?

 

Dry: Yep... still the same.

Edited August 2, 2009 by unlaced

[stillalive]

no honey, no berries, just perfume. Not surprised.