Harvest Moon 2004

[lixolux]

The autumnal blooms of clematis, chrysanthemum, narcissus, sunflower, sage and lily twined with Dionysus' sacred grapes and ivy, a bounty of apple, pumpkin, and ripe berries, and the amaranth and lingum aloes of Janus, all touched by a gentle breath of festival woodsmoke and sweet wine.

Out of the bottle - smells so DELICIOUS! I want to EAT it!! like cornbread, candy corn, corn on the cob, corn of all sorts! browns, oranges, reds, pumpkin, chocolate, heavy, brown, dried leaves...sort of like gluttony without the sharp hazelnut edge.

wet on skin - still retains the heavy sort of foody feeling, mellowing even more (a deeper dark brown warm lovely fall night..more corn less pumpkin)

dry - whoa! 10 minutes later its made a swift change, where it was deep and brown and full and heavy in the sky its now become soft, like after a big lovely heavy fall feast you have the pumpkin pie dessert and then are hanging out in the garden - the wine and flowers have taken over and are so light and lovely. I really smell the ivy and narcissus - it smells like night blooming flowers too. but very very very light - its like its saying goodbye....

Its hung onto these last light lovely notes for an hour now - Harvest Moon is one of the most dynamic shape-shifting oils ive experienced - i think that i might use it more as a room fragrance than on my skin (love at first sniff out of the bottle!) but this is a keeper!!!!

eta: that ive been wearing it every day and night since i got it, i love every aspect of this oil!!

ADDED Sept. 28:

another review - of Harvest Moon as a room scent!

I put about 3-4 drops in with some water and dried crumbled leaves in a pot pourri warmer and it started out with the high flowery notes but now a half an hour later it has settled back into the first foody corn-y deliciousness! It went backwards!!

EDIT: Copied the addition from a followup post. --Shollin Edited September 13, 2007 by Shollin

[Nadirah]

I agree with alot said Lixolux, I wanted to add that I loved the first 5 minutes this was on. My boyfriend said I smelled good. After about 5-10 minutes, it turned into cigarette ash, or a burning something, I couldnt quite get it. Needless to say my body chemisty did not like this one. Its so sad too because out of the bottle it was really yummy, foody and dark. It really does capture the season though its not a scent I'll be able to wear Maybe more as a room scent.

Edited September 26, 2004 by Nadirah

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: It reminds me very strongly of Gluttony, but with less sticky sweetness. There's something else that replaces the candy aspect of Gluttony, and I'm not sure I like it. Can't tell what it is. Oh, just got a whiff of apple and something else autumn-y. Some sort of root, maybe?

 

On me: OK, this scent is hating me. I've only just applied it and it has gone to wet bandaids and plastic. Oooo, I hope it's just temporary.

*sigh*

After an hour the fragrance hasn't changed. I've never had any perfume reject me so thoroughly! Well, in the perfume's defense it had to sit in its USPS box in the hot sun all day yesterday so that may have warped the scent somehow. I hope it goes better for everyone else!

[Aurelius]

Harvest Moon and My Body Chemistry had a war. My Body Chemistry won, which means Harvest Moon hates me!

 

In the bottle: Almond and something else. My nose is clearly not enjoying whatever "something else" is.

Wet: I smell like almond. Almond-y and butter-y. Foody, in a good way. Mmmm...this smells autumn-y and nice.

Drying: Oh my god, it's Attack of the 50 Foot Bouquet! Seriously, it's like I'm being bludgeoned by a gang of flowers. Wow. This has gone from light and foody to damn strong and flowery.

Dry: All I can smell is flowers. Lots of flowers. They've calmed down now, but they've set up camp and chased out all the other notes. Boo.

 

Well, I'm afraid this will be up for swap. I'm sure it will smell divine on someone who's body chemistry doesn't just cling to flower notes.

[astrid]

Oooooh *just* got this in today's mail! I haven't put in on yet, but like lixolux said in the bottle it smells like: Candy Corn! Whee! But, there is more to it than that. Here's to hoping it likes my skin!

[Scylla]

In the bottle: It smells kinda sweet, foody and autumnal.

 

Wet, on my wrists: Sweet, but autumn flowers are in full bloom!

 

On drydown: The sweetness/foodiness has gone away and I am left with lots of autumn blooms and a little smoke. It definitely evokes the colors of autumn--orange, brown and russet.

 

I was hoping it would stay "foodier," but it is a nice, complex floral scent. If you like complex floral scents.

 

I will update my review tomorrow when I use it exclusively. Right now I smell like the proverbial "french whore" with like 5 different BPALS on and Harvest Moon was only tested on my wrists.

 

ETA: OK. Second try, and I am wearing Harvest Moon by itself, and I am standing by yesterday's assessment for the most part. The autumn flowers are still the primary note, but the grape and apple showed themselves a little more today, albeit briefly. The scent itself lasted about 5 hours, so it was pretty long lasting on me.

Edited September 30, 2004 by Scylla

[Spanglemaker]

Out of the bottle: Lordy this is potent! Smells like a really sweet strong hard liquour.

 

This completely changes once it's dry. The sweet heaviness dissappears and it becomes a light floral scent.

 

I'm not really into florals, but this is pretty. It will be a nice change from the usual musky scents I wear.

Edited September 30, 2004 by Spanglemaker

[pekeana]

In the bottle, Harvest Moon is a very rich, buttery scent with just a touch of sugar. I'm really groovin' the way this melds together in the bottle -- so very enticingly!

 

On me, it's all pumpkin and narcissus at first. I know it's narcissus that'd giving me the slight BO twang to the blend, because my chemistry hates narcissus with a purple passion. After about 30 minutes, I get the vaguest hints of woodsmoke and wine beneath the rapidly-fading pumpkin and the overpowering narcissus. *weeps* And then, boom, the pupkin's gone, and I'm left with narcissus, smoke, and wine. But about two hours in, the pumpkin's back and some apple is rising up to mix with the wine and smoke, but the narcissus is still very strong.

 

After that two, two and a half hour mark, it's very very balanced and sexy, even with the narcissus still being really strong -- the narcissus is finally starting to fade, though, so it's all good.

 

I'm really loving the way this ends up, but those first two hours just make me go "gaaaaaah!" I'll fight it to the death, though, to smell as good as I do right now.

[spaceprostitute]

My experience seems to be shaping up the same as Aurelius'.

 

In the bottle and first on the skin, it reminds me of those Jelly Belly Buttered Popcorn jelly beans. I don't like buttered popcorn jelly beans, in fact, I don't like buttery scents...if you do, this might rock your world. Unfortunately, it does not rock mine.

 

I don't get the pumpkin, apples, or berries, in fact, I detected more pumpkin/foody smells from The Hesperides that I got in my swap today. But pretty soon after putting it on I became overwhelmed with a heavy floral, which just isn't my bag. It went very fabric softener sheets on me.

 

I'll edit this a bit later as I let it rest a bit longer, but unfortunately, I think this may be designated to the swap pile. The heavy floral scent is giving me a headache. I just can't be pleased, it seems. Started too foody, and is ending too floral for my tastes.

 

ETA: Up for swaps. I tried. The floral has died down and I'm getting the faintest hint of berry. It's actually not so bad at this stage, but at this point I already have a headache from the fabric softener stage (which I still get a bit of, though it has died down) that I can't enjoy this one. I would have been more receptive if it had started at this stage.

Edited September 28, 2004 by spaceprostitute

[darkling]

In the bottle: Pumpkin with something spicy and strong underneath.

 

Wet: Ugh! Artificial pumpkin smell. I am not picking up any other notes and the spice is lost.

 

Dry: An unnatural pumpkin spice lingers briefly and vanishes.

 

I wanted to love Harvest Moon but it succumbed to the same problem as I face with many fruit or food scents in that it smelled completely artificial.

 

In addition, I used quite a bit of oil for testing and the scent still vanished in about an hour.

[pkwench]

Hmm. I seem to be having better luck with this one than most so far. On first sniff, it's buttery and sharp. Woodsmoke and almond. Wet it's about the same for 2 minutes and then it starts to soften. The blossoms come out lightly to play and the cider and pumpkin start wafting up. It doesn't have much staying power on me, however, and needs to be reapplied about every 2-3 hours, but it's worth it. The second to last stage is a soft, spicey pumpkin laced with light woodsmoke and something vaguely boozy-like cider with a kick. It's LOVELY. Then on the final drydown, it's soft, spicey pumpkin with a powdery, floral overlay. It's all quite nice on me and I enjoy it a lot. It makes me feel very much in the mood for the season. It makes me want to be outside in the fall weather (which we're not having-we're stuck in some weird summer), smelling the leaves at night, catching glimpses of the swollen, fat moon through the trees, and seeing all of the colors of fall as lit by the moonlight.

 

You know I enjoy it if I wax poetic.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

Ok...I get the "Jelly Belly Buttered Popcorn beans" stage mentioned by spaceprostitute but only a light pumpkin. Go figure, when the description actually mentions "pumpkin" it doesn't hit me over the head. (Unlike my recent experience with Mabon.)

 

No attack of the 50 foot flowers, no narcissus but a complex, spicy floral that I adore.

 

Harvest Moon also has tremendous "throw". It's wafting "bling-bling", reeeaallllly expensive my-lover-bought-this-for-me-cause-I'm-so-hot.

 

But then, many of us know my chemistry is bizzarre or maybe I really am a

 

RHM

[roisnoir]

In the bottle, Harvest Moon stank of wood. Like turning over a termite log or something. Leaves. Woods in fall. And oats.

 

On, it went soapy, like a woody, leafy, oaty soap. I was afraid that I was going to have to pass this one on - I like soap in the shower, but not so much as a body scent.

 

After about 10 minutes, though, it became beautiful. Like the hint of the changing weather, and the leaves are just getting red at the edges.

 

It's been about 40 minutes since I slathered it on (see why I was afraid that I'd dislike it? Slathering = commitment) and I can't find it anywhere I put it with my nose. I'm getting *something* delightful, but it's very faint.

 

I'll try it again in a week or so and see if my chemistry likes it better then.

[isyche]

Harvest Moon smells yummy, buttery and foody in the bottle, but once I put it on, it's like my skin soaks it up and all that's left is a faint floral scent.

 

(I tried it twice today, but maybe my chemistry or my nose is off today. I shall try it again later. )

Edited September 28, 2004 by isyche

[erehwesle]

Nobody wants to slather? OK, I'm slathering....

 

I have a difficult time isolating scents, particularly due to the slathering.

 

Too much candy inintially. there's a bright of leather that is promising.

 

ADDED:

 

I'd be rdelly tempted at the moment to mix this scent with neo-tokyo.

 

Not sure that would be a good idea, but it seems to make some sense...

 

EDIT: Copied the ADDED part from a post immediately following this one, and archived that post. --Shollin

Edited November 20, 2004 by Shollin

[ChupaChup]

Harvest Moon is the first limited edition I've gotten to buy. This one did quite a morph on me.

 

First five seconds - candy corn (yum!)

Next 5 minutes - corn bread (OMGWTFBBQ?)

Next 15 minutes - spicy, cidery, woodsmoke, definitely fall (I'm in HEAVEN)

Next 30 minutes - soft florals (huh?), kind of generic perfume smell

Next 30 minutes - pencil shavings (double huh?)

Final phase - soft florals, very pretty, like Hamadryad on me.

 

I really liked the candy corn phase even though it was totally unexpected. The spicy, cidery, woodsmoke phase was EXACTLY what I was expecting from this, wish it had lasted longer. I can see why people are tempted to slather this one.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Dessert. By a campfire. With wine. Spices and fruit and sweetness and a bare hint of liquor. And warmth… enveloping spicy warmth, being close to a fire on a cold night surrounded by friends and laughing your head off about nothing in particular just because you’re having fun.

 

Wearing: There’s a darker base note that pops out immediately on my skin and makes me think of dark cocoa. The wine is more prominent on my skin, floating along the top, but it’s sweet and light, not the heavy grapey wines of some other blends. And around the edges there’s a wonderful dusting of spices. Harvest Moon is delicious.

[Aponia]

This is my first ever post, I'm sort of nervous, so please bare with me.

 

I didn't smell anything foody at all, except the tiniest bit of apple maybe. It smelled very floral in the bottle, like mums and lilies. I was a bit apprehensive at first.

 

When I first put it on, and then spilled it accidently all over my hand (why do i do that with the limited ones!!!), the floral scent was overwhelming, which normally would cause a severe headache, but for the first time ever didn't. It was much too strong and I couldn't bare to turn my head for fear of catching such a huge whiff of it.

 

I nearly gave up, but then, it mellowed out a bit, about a half an hour later. It still smelled faintly of flowers, but now it smelled like mums and lilies growing outdoors, in a forest, with a chill autumn wind blowing the scent to me. It smelled like the outdoors, on an October night. It was so strange, I've never had a scent smell that much like a location, or a time, and less like a "perfume".

 

I could do without the initial heavy flower smell, but the dry down was definately worth it!

Edited September 28, 2004 by Aponia

[Vicious Mistress]

Harvest Moon:

 

In the bottle: Whew! Buttery candy. I'd almost compare this to hot buttered rum. I'm glad it doesn't stay this way, because it's overwhelming.

 

On my skin: For the first couple of hours, I get the bandaid/plastic scent that others have gotten. There's something pretty there, but the bandaid smell keeps messing it up.

 

After 3 hours or so it morphs into a very pretty smoky floral. I asked my roommate what he thought of it last night, and he said it smelled like a hippie shop. He said he expected me to show him something he 'could hide his weed in'. That clarified it for me. I have a lovely soapstone incense burner in my room, and the drydown of Harvest Moon smells just like opening up that burner and smelling the ash left over from the incense I burn. Very pretty.

 

It lasts quite a while on me. I just wish the drydown would happen a bit sooner.

[VelvetSky]

Harvest Moon bursts out of the bottle smelling of sweet candy and ripe grains, absolutely overflowing your senses with smells that are almost hard to describe, let alone pick out. When it hit my skin, I was a bit afraid of the strength of this blend, I almost couldn't put my nose up to my arm, it was that strong.

 

After a few minutes, things start to mellow out considerably, and Harvest Moon starts to fade back into something more tame and floral. The pumpkin melds with the flowers until that too starts to fade back, becoming more of a backdrop scent. The final drydown is basically all floral on my skin...this is a beautiful warm Indian Summer afternoon in a country garden.

 

Harvest Moon is a very interesting blend, because it starts out incredibly strong, potent and foody, and ends up quite gentle, soft and flowery. There is an ingredient here that bothers my sinuses a bit (drat) on the drydown, but that takes absolutely nothing away from my admiration for this lovely Autumn scent.

[sarahj]

Harvest Moon

 

in the bottle: Whoa! Wine! That's all I smell. In fact I was a little hesitant to put it on this morning because I didn't want to arrive at work smelling like I'd just downed a bottle of red for breakfast.

 

wet: On my skin, the sage and lily take over and the wine fades into the background. I also smell a faint hint of the pumpkin.

 

dry: The lily and other florals take over, with a faint hint of fruity-ness in the background (mostly the grape and wine; unfortunately the pumpkin has disappeared).

 

verdict: I like how this smells overall, but I was hoping to smell the pumpkin and apple more. I will enjoy the bottle, but its not my favorite. It has pretty good lasting power...fades after about 5 hours.

[UltraViolet]

This is stronger than I thought.

I smell butter, like "Jack" but not as strong.

I can definitely smell wine too and I'm also surprised at how floral it smells.

It's a combination of floral and foody. It's along the same lines as Jack but again, not as strongly foody.

The dry down was better as it wasn't so headache inducing but the necessary smell of the wine was diminished.

This just explodes with vileness at about the 10 second mark. Oh lordy. I don't think so..

Edited September 14, 2005 by UltraViolet

[danuv]

In the bottle it did smell exactly like Jelly Belly Buttered Popcorn beans to me but then as soon as it hits my skin it turns into lilly. I can't smell anything else at all. I am simply completely overwhelmed with lilies. My skin must react very very badly to that particular note because this happened with something else I tried (can't remember which one) but I am still in the beginning stages of learning the ins and outs of my skin chemistry and now I know it does not care for lily. I'm still thrilled to finally have my own wee BPAL bottle now.

[LiberAmoris]

Harvest Moon smells to me like late summer/early autumn and again I'm reminded of the artisinal quality of BPAL's blends, as this certainly fell under the category of 'experiences in a bottle' rather than simply 'personal fragrance'.

 

The apple, sage, and ivy were most prominent on me at first, but they mellowed into a bouquet of fall florals and what reminded me of pumpkin---not the fruit but the leaf. The image that kept coming back was a cornucopia overflowing with the season's bountiful vegetables and flowers. The wine note is lovely, like the aftertaste from a fantastic red. This is Bacchus and his wreath, an All-Hallown Summer, and the last embers of a bonfire all in one bottle.

 

I'm reminded of these lines from one of my favorite Keats poems "Ode to Autumn":

 

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find

Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,

Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;

Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,

Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook

Spares the next swath and all its twinèd flowers:

And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep

Steady thy laden head across a brook;

Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,

Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.

Edited September 29, 2004 by LiberAmoris

[BubbleDragon]

I've been trying to love Harvest Moon. In fact, in the bottle, I do. It's beautiful, and I want to eat it. But it disappears on me 5 minutes after I apply it. I can smell beautiful florals if I really bury my nose into my wrist. Which is sad, because it starts off so warm and creamy on me. It makes me wish I had one of those wax burner things to scent a room with. Of course... I could just keep slathering myself with it and hope the scent hangs around a little longer, since 5 ml is a lot! I'll chalk it up to my body chemistry and hope it loves me more.

 

~bubbles