Under the Harvest Moon

[Lorelai1945]

Blue and white musk, summer roses, wild crimson leaves, grey amber, carnation, lavender bud, and vanilla bean.

 

This is beautiful! It is sweet and musky, with a hint of floral and autumn leaves. It is very well blended, but I can definitely tell there's vanilla in there, and just the faintest hint of rose. It's tamed with that soft blue musk (I often can't wear rose blends). If you like The Girl, this is one you should try- the musk gives it a very similar feel. I'm really surprised this wasn't a break-out star last fall.

[ami226]

On the skin: Definitely get a hint of vanilla. And the musks. And leaves? Interesting combo!! Very light on my skin and doesn't seem to last long. *sigh*

[gingiemay]

This is a gorgeous light musky vanilla carnation blend. It's sweetened a little by the lavender bud but I get NO roses which is wonderful as usually they amp awfully on me. There is very little of the leaves or grey amber. Fabulous, sexy, comforting, this has it all!

[fairnymph]

Pale yellow oil. A light, clean, cologney sort of scent. I definitely get the musks, the slightly soapy grey amber, the lavender (reminds me a lot of the note in Yvaine), and a touch each of spicy carnation and sweet vanilla.

 

Not much different, but the roses come out a little - they're subtle roses though, not the I AM ROSE AND I TAKE OVER BLENDS sort. More lavender and vanilla, in an almost TKO-like sort of way, and a bit more carnation - this a velvety, very textural carnation note that adds both depth and that edge of spice. Amped musks, already.

 

This is melding together so beautifully! Usually grey amber goes soapy, but here it's only lightly so - yes, there is a touch of generic dryer sheet, but everything else is so lovely that I don't mind too much. The musks, lavender, soft roses, carnation and rich vanilla (almost too rich, it's a very heavy and intense vanilla) complement each other so well. I find this to be feminine, because of the sweetness of the vanilla, but men who like sweet could wear this.

 

Doesn't morph. Relaxing and rich and sort of autumnal yet without being dry or spicy - it's so lovely and definitely nocturnal in feel. My one problem with it is the vanilla bean is very strong and amps heavily on me as most vanillas do, and it's *almost* too sweet and rich for me. Strong throw and longevity. I'm glad to have a bottle.

 

Edited March 16, 2010 by fairnymph

[sunshinedaisybliss]

 

This is a surprise winner.. my relationship with rose is not a happy one, but here the rose stays softly in the background - blended beautifully with the musks. I've never come across grey amber before, but I can pick up the amber note in here and it's cooler than usual so I guess that's the grey variety.

 

The lavender never really pops for me in this one - it's there, but not very well developed. The standout notes are the carnation and vanilla bean which together put a warm, heady, and slightly spicy glow everywhere. For me, Under The Harvest Moon reminds me of those lovely creamy skin scents in recent Shunga lines - it's that same kind of not-quite-floral blend but with a much warmer and golden edge. Very pretty.

[CitizenBree]

This scent is very pretty. Floral, but with a touch of something dark. I guess that's the musk. The lavender is very delicate but you can pick it out in here. Makes the scent very soothing. Sometimes lavender can be overpowering, but this is nice. I don't get any vanilla bean and not much of the rose either. The floral I get i think is the carnation.

 

I like floral scents, like roses and violet, but not usually something as generic as carnation. But this scent is different. It is definitely a nice summer scent...it smells like dusk almost.

 

edit: sorry to edit so soon but now it's been another 10 minutes and I totally smell the rose now. I'm a big rose fan and usually like big and bold, but this is a delicate rose and it's soooooo nice.

Edited June 25, 2010 by CitizenBree

[GardenCat]

Started really floral on me. Maybe more musky & rosy at this point. hm.

[jeniviolet]

A year later, I plucked this off the shelf and found it had not been opened since I put a reducer cap on it LAST AUGUST. Or whenever. A loooong time ago!

 

I smell lavender and vanilla, in softer tones than TKO. There's a bit of rose tampering the sweet, and something DUSTY. It's really nice. I want to compare it to Chrysanthemum Moon, but more floral and youthful, an early evening compared to Mum Moon's wee hours. It's that nice mix of flower/sweet/sharp. In comparison to Dorian, as another poster said, it's like that but sometimes I get a soapy masculine after-smell from Dorian. This seems very feminine.

 

I think that there is something here that commercial perfumers really try to replicate but end up with that chemical alcohol smell - it's soft, and light, and not TOO sweet. Just a smish sensuous. It sounds very generalized in comparison with other BPALs I wear faithfully, but those seem to be the words that describe it most accurately.

 

Very, very lovely. I'm grateful I've gotten lazy about selling bottles or I would not have hung onto this after last year, when it smelled like nothing and faded on me after 10 minutes. I forsee this getting a lot of wear this month! I've always questioned the validity of aging bottles until now, but I think I'll be hanging on to them a lot more frequently now.

[steelgossamer]

I LOVE this one. I got this fresh from the lab a year ago and never got around to reviewing it. This is one well-blended scent. Wet, I get a lush, warm floral with amber and rose coming to the front. As it dries down, the vanilla comes through with some musk and herbal notes. Once fully dry, this is a slightly sweet, warm, musky floral with an amber tone to it. It's absolutely gorgeous. I reach for this one on a regular basis.

[countessmouse]

This scent has been morphing like crazy since I put it on. Initially, it had an earthy tone (the leaves?) that I found slightly off-putting and I was convinced I wasn't going to like the scent at all. However, it went floral, then musky, and has since settled down into a lovely mix of amber, carnation, and vanilla. I never got any of the rose, but sometimes I get a hint of the lavender.

 

This one is a keeper.

[Mamma Badger]

In the imp strong floral with a musky undertone.

Wet Strong on the rose and amber.

Drydown turns to rosy baby powder.

 

After about 15 minutes I'm glad I waited it out. The powder fades and I get a sophisticated Musky Rose, with the faintest hint of leaves and amber. Makes me think of some thing Victorian ladies with good taste would wear in the early fall.

[grrrlennyl]

On: Heavy, lush flowers.
Half an hour later: This seems to have mostly disappeared, leaving me with a faint leafy smell.
2 hours in: Faint flowers. No musk. So sad.
Overall: This just went boring on me. It's really sad because I love most of the notes. Sad.

[fairestrocza]

This had a _powerful_ throw. Heady and cloying.

I was out and about when I tested this, and I ended up scrubbing off as much as I could with baby wipes. The remaining scent was still powerful enough to give me a headache. The lingering scent was powdery and cloying.

Under the Harvest Moon earns a 2/5 on my skin.

[HerbGirl]

This is one of my top ten favorite BPAL perfumes. Lavender, Vanilla, Amber and musk...yes. I never smell any carnation or roses, but the leaves do peak out after a while. This is a perfume for all seasons...it never gets old. I wear this to bed, and anytime I want to feel comfortable. Another absolutely amazing perfume from BPAL. 5++/5

 

Eta 10 March 2024- NOW I smell the carnation and grey musk! This is still one of my absolute favorites and always will be.

Edited March 11 by HerbGirl
Still wearing this so many years later!

[Vega]

Sniffed: Light golden vanilla with pale musks and gentle flowers. Airy, sweet and gentle.

 

On skin: Under the Harvest Moon falls neatly between Haloes and Lyonesse, but has its own very distinct character. At first it's all about the creamy vanilla, enhanced with clear flowers, dry amber and fuzzy musks. I'm very relieved that there is no sign of the "autumn leaves". Over time the florals take centre stage: I can smell the clear, graceful rose and herbal lavender. This ends up a beautiful, graceful, contemplative floral on a base of vanilla and musk. This is a dusky, mellow, cozy yet cool blend, a lighter, less rich version of Haloes, or Lyonesse without the oceanic feel. Very evocative of its name too: it does resemble a cool but not chilly late summer night under a full moon, although I'm more reminded of a breezy late-summer day. Colour impression is light golden yellow of myriad shades.

 

Verdict: Oh, I'm torn. On one hand, Under the Harvest Moon is really beautiful and distinctive, but it is still a lot like my beloved Haloes! If Haloes wasn't my favourite golden, cozy vanilla, I would be all over this and snatching up whatever bottles and decants I can find. Ah, I don't need two such similar blends, but I'm so torn! Maybe I will keep my decant!

[starpixi81]

I wanted to LOVE this one so much but it was not meant to be.

 

In the bottle: Nice, slightly spicy carnation and lots 'o musk!

 

On my skin it has a very baby powdery-ness that is very overpowering and a bit too much. I think the musks are too much at first on my skin as that is all I can smell, perhaps the grey amber is adding to that as well.

 

After 2 hours or so it turns into the most delicious vanilla, very reminiscent on my skin of Elf v4. Sadly I cannot wait through the other stage to get to that point.

 

For others without my crazy skin chemistry I can imagine this would be vanilla gorgeousness!!

[theseagrows]

damn, i almost really like this, but i think by now i should learn to steer clear of "blue musk", because it's too aquatic-ozoney and sets off my allergies. plus, ozone-cool scents are not really my thing. i think the musk, rose and amber are at the forefront, though in the vial i smell mostly lavender. the lavender seems to be nonexistent on my skoin, as is the vanilla. the carnation is very, very subtle. i am a carnation lover, and was hoping for this to be mostly amber,carnation and vanilla, but sadly the blue musk dominates on my skin along with something sweet and/or mildly fruity, which maybe the "wild crimson leaves"?

[Gin]

Un der the Harvest Moon is chock-full of iffy notes. I took a chance, but it didn't pay off. I expected something a little more clear-night-sky-like, but instead I get muddled musks, amber, rose, and lavender. It's not bad, but when I'm looking in my BPAL cupboard, I always pass it by.

[Withjoy]

I just got my hands on a bottle of Under the Harvest Moon, and it is a lovely scent for me. Just lovely. It's a soft floral and musk, not sweet, but not heavy at all. However, it doesn't disappear either. I was not expecting to love it as much as I do. It's a perfect scent for a chilly and cloudy day. I wish I could be more precise than that, but I don't know how else to describe it!

[patina]

I'm surprised I haven't reviewed this. It's very perfumy, but such a lovely perfume. Aside from the roses and gentle musk I get a clear sense of blueness and a hint of leaves on a crisp October day.

 

It's extremely beautiful, but somehow it just isn't me. And that's weird because usually I'll wear anything I like without stopping to think whether it's me or not. It's almost as if this perfume had a personality profile of its own. It's been a struggle to find words for it. I fumbled around with descriptions like "girly but not girlish," "ladylike," "sophisticated," "mainstream but better," but none of those really fit. Weirdly the closest I could come to describing the personality of this scent was "Martha Stewart." Seriously.

 

So if you like really amazing vanilla musk and roses, clear October days, powder blue and blush pink maybe this is for you.

 

If you don't like anything that could be considered cloying or powdery or conventionally perfumy, maybe it isn't for you.

Edited October 9, 2013 by patina

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Wow, that's lovely. Sweet rose, lovely soft musk. Sugary vanilla. Hints of lavender and amber. Really really pretty.

 

Dry: Beautiful sugared white musk, hints of vanilla, rose, and lavender. Freakin lovely.