Blue Moon 2009: Elizabeth's Creation

[Invidiana]

BLUE MOON 2009: ELIZABETH'S CREATION
The spirit of the full moon is capricious, intense and passionate, yet still distant, aloof and cold. Luna herself governs glamours, bewitchments and dream-work, innocent wonder, transient pleasure and delight, the Moment, impulse, mystery and veils. The Blue Moon is one of her rarest manifestations, and this scent is formulated to encapsulate her most complex and profound nature:

Mugwort, for psychic sensitivity...
Calea Zacatechichi, for divination through dreams...
Orchid and frankincense, for complexity, wisdom and noscere...

... with a potent lunar-charged, oneirongenic blend of blue musk, exquisite woods, moonflower, Madagascan ylang ylang, Florentine iris, Greek cypress, green tea absolute, palmarosa, cucumber, Clary sage, lavender, lemon balm, and passion fruit.

This year, we have two interpretations of Blue Moon: one created by Brian Constantine, the other by Elizabeth Barrial. This is Elizabeth's moon.

First time I'm the first.
I love blue musk, and this is a soft yet mysterious blue musk blend that doesn't disappoint! Not masculine at all. The musk just wraps it in a gauzy haze and the woods (I'm guessing some kind of sandalwood has to be in there) warm it up. Delicate moonflower weaves in and out with the other florals. I get a hint of the cypress, very appropriately wintry since it's an evergreen. I was a little afraid of the lavender and lemon balm togther but they are extremely subtle. I'm not getting any cucumber at all *sigh of relief* but I don't tend to amp it anyhow. The passion fruit comes out just a little at the end for a pleasant sweet surprise. Complex and enigmatic; beautifully done, Beth! Edited December 30, 2009 by Invidiana

[angburfield]

what the previous reviewer said is right on!! This is just BEAUTIUFL warm from the musk with a coolness from the cypress...florals (not soapy) weaving in and out with the kiss of passion fruit. Expertly well blended...what a beautiful creation! Thank you Beth!

[Jenn2D2]

This is so beautiful and entirely unlike what I expected.

 

In the bottle: spicy incense, with etherial florals in the background

 

Wet: frankincense, musk and heady, gauzy florals

 

Dry: the woods and musk come to the fore, with florals weaving in and out

 

This is a very complex, well-blended scent! I love the first spicy notes, and how it changes from minute to minute as it dries down. Fairly good throw, and a little goes a long way.

[surf-tormented]

In the bottle: The perfume smells rank. I mean RANK. Overly sweet rotting plant life mixed with garbage and general decay. I'd challenge myself to smell it again, because, frankly I am a masochist. Yup, I wasn't wrong the first time, this is RANK. SKANKY RANK.

 

On my skin: I got up the courage to put this on my skin. Or stupidity, thinking this is going to be the one that lasts on me and the dying foliage smell will never go away and I may need a tomato bath like one does with a skunk. But it didn't smell RANK on, or even rank, small letters. As it sinks into my skin, it develops a nice herbal odor. It's woodsy without the wood, an odd concept indeed.

 

Later on: It becomes a spicy resin herbal blend. After a half hour or so, the wood and musk notes make an appearance. It lasts a decent amount of hours. I don't think I've smelled any other BPAL that would compare to it. I am hoping with time the rankness that comes from the oil inside the bottle will go away.

 

Verdict: A keeper. A strange morpher. A pleasant surprise. It does have a light blue quality to it, like Selene herself. I got this to wear for ritual on the Blue Moon and Blue Moons in the future. I am glad I bought it. It's more herbal on me than anything else and it is spicy. I am not sure what notes are doing this, but it is lovely. If you smell it in the bottle and get the rank smell, I suggest trying it out because it isn't rank once it gets on your skin, well, at least my skin. I don't want to get hate mail from the one person in which this blend goes unadulterated garbage on.

Edited December 22, 2009 by Madame Nyx

[greenranger]

I'm a little wary of blue musk and orchid, and the cucumber? I thought I could smell that in the bottle and I became very very worried.

 

It hit my skin and changed utterly and completely into something else, almost as it it inverted or turned inside out. I smelled sharp lavender and sage, and then they softened and the cypress, frankincense and musk came out to play. There are notes here that I just don't know well enough to pick out, and the whole thing has begun to blend together.

 

It's a cool scent, and seems slightly shimmery? Like there's some atmospheric shimmer between me and the scent, the same thing that causes stars to appear to twinkle. Very appropriate for a wintery blue moon.

 

It's a very cool scent, to the point where the point where I applied it seems cooler than the skin surrounding.

[Jadys]

Wet, this had a dry hay kind of smell to it and as it dried down it turned VERY perfumey. Not floral, but perfumey. I'm actually a little worried that someone is going to come into my office and think that I'm hiding a whore in here.

 

This is the first orchid blend that I've tried and I think that may be the problem.

[Bunbun]

Sigh!

[Amaranthus]

I told her the moon was a magical thing, that it shone gold in the winter, and silver in the spring...

 

This has the cutest label art ever. I loves the little winged piggy!

 

When I first opened it, the perfume smelled very sharply of frankincense and bitter herbs, to the exclusion of any other notes. I have figured out that it's best to let these oils sit for a few days before judging them.

 

I opened it again the night before the blue moon and it was like a completely different perfume. It has a cool, smooth blue note running through rich woods, and a faint glimmer of herbal tea.

 

On my skin there is a beautiful white floral note that gives way to the smell of hot green tea. Very nice!

 

There is a lot gong on in this oil. At different points I can pick out woods, orchid, lavender, lemon, and who knows what else. It seems I'm always finding something new.

 

The perfume dries down to a light sparkling musk that lingers for a very long time.

 

I wore this on the night of the full moon as I was out driving far away from civilization, and the moon was huge and white-gold, and the whole sky was perfect azure blue. It was beautiful, and it felt like this perfume was made to capture just that moment.

 

 

[DeltaCat]

I enjoy Beth's creation. Unfortunately it all goes soap-tastic on me on drydown. It still smells good though. Almost Irish Spring soap.

Edited January 6, 2010 by DeltaCat

[Siberia]

I love, love the label for this. I'd say it's well-blended because I can't discern any individual notes, but I don't have a fantastic nose, either. Wet, it strikes me as a sharp and unusual perfume scent. It smells like "perfume" to me because I can't differentiate the notes, but not like any perfume I've ever smelled before. Like the previous reviewer, it goes a little soapy on me on dry-down, but not terribly soapy. I'll let it age a while and see what happens.

[zankoku_zen]

This falls somewhere between 04 and 07 in my mind. Not as much cucumber on wet, but not as floral as 07. Definitely florals, and on the drydown the blue musk comes out.

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

Decant: Spicy floral

Wet on Me: spicy soapy floral?

Drying Down: the spicy seems to be the resins of frankincense. The floral has died down a bit. The soap is still in the game.

Dry: the spicy has mellowed with the soap now. This is an interesting scent.

[fairnymph]

Cool, green/herbal, and zesty fruit. The herbs, green tea, cucumber, lemon balm and passionfruit jump out most to me, with light florals (iris and orchid standing out), cypress and woods more distantly. Definitely getting the 'blue' vibe and kinship to both earlier incarnations.

 

Oh, delicous tart, tropical, bright passionfruit! And glorious cucumber and a very strong green tea note. More lavender and cypress; this is more herbal than previous BMs. Sadly, also a bit soapy/powdery; the florals are amped, and the moonflower is turning particularly soapy on me. The iris is more of a soft powder, not bad as far as powders go, and the orchid is quite lovely.

 

Whoa, this has morphed within minutes. The florals are settling down and losing their soapiness - they're faintly powdery and clean, pleasantly so. The herbs have melded into an aromatherapy/Panacea sort of melange that makes this feel therapeutic, in a mystical way. The cucumber and passionfruit are holding and the green tea has really smoothed out, while blue musk has emerged to tie everything together. I've regained hope.

 

Still morphing! The soapiness I can handle, but the powder...powder I tolerate much less well, and I seem to be amping the iris in this majorly, turning this into 'old lady floral talcum powder'. I think also that blue musk is not a musk that does well on me, but tends towards a dusty-musty sort of thing, appropriate in theory but not right for me in reality. Most of the passionfruit is gone after 40 minutes, and the herbs, powdery/soapy florals and that blue musk reign, over a woody base.

 

The powder and musk reign in the end, and the musk really amps up and holds on tightly, tempering the floral powder. Still soapy-clean in feel and the green tea and sage hold on well to keep this herbal/outdoorsy in feel. Definitely complex, but on my skin it lacks the magic of the earlier two BM blends. Moderate throw and good longevity.

[Indigo78]

This beginning of this is like my dream "everyday" scent. It's elegant and sweet, ethereal and bright, but with somber undertones that put the "Blue" in Blue Moon.

 

After a few minutes it turns a bit soapy, but that's temporary.

 

At the ten minute mark, the magical brightness has all but evaporated, but there's something far more interesting in its wake. Soft powder and moss... Sort of a lakeside vibe?

 

Wow. Finally, an aquatic (or borderline aquatic, if there is such a thing) that works on me. The orris is front and center, a scent that I associate with the cushions in new coffins, for some reason. (I haven't spent time in any lately, so make of that what you will.)

 

I digress. I really like this. It reminds me of standing in a lowland fog with the ghost of a very beautiful woman flitting about. I'm glad to have a bottle, and I can tell this will get a lot of compliments because it is attention-getting yet accessible.

Edited January 17, 2010 by Indig0

[PeshaRocha]

This starts out complex and lovely, but on me it very quickly dries down to being too floral, slightly soapy and sneeze-inducing. Drat! My skin fouly amps the least hint of floral into yuckiness, but I keep trying to find something that will have just a pleasant hint of floral on me. Probably a lost cause. *sigh*

[edenssixthday]

Blue Moon 2009: Elizabeth's Creation - This opens up very light and ethereal, with the blue musk and moonflower at the forefront and reminding me a lot of Silver Phoenix and Under the Harvest Moon. Then I smell soapy spicy florals, almost like carnation, but not. That doesn't last long at all because it quickly becomes evident that the lavender in this is going to make this scent completely unwearable for me...but then that impression only lasts for a minute or two. As it starts to warm up on my skin, the cypress note moves to the front of the blend and really dominantes it, and the other green and tart notes bolster the cypress. Once the oil actually dries on my skin, all of the notes that were vying for the top spot settle down significantly and it becomes a much more balanced and well-behaved scent. I can smell that gorgeous blue musk again along with the dry floral scent of iris, and the frankincense giving them depth and texture. It's pretty, but so subtle that once it quits goofing off with all of it's crazy morphing, it kind of loses all of its personality, and on me, it becomes a bit boring. This is a really, really fun scent for the first 10 minutes or so with all of it's crazy chameleon-like changes, but in the end, it's not something I'll likely ever reach for.

[miaa]

In bottle: Heavy and masculine

On skin:

A sexy delicate scent which last all day long. It is somewhat like Midnight mass but with a different layer.

[Little Bird]

I haven't really cared for any of the Blue Moon scents. This one starts out okay, with the cool, watery blue musk and hints of creamy florals. The drydown, however, goes really soapy on me. It smells like a bar of sharp, generic white soap. After a while, I can smell the cypress, adding a hint of evergreen and dry wood to the sharp soapiness, which makes it smell like manly soap on me.

 

I'm not sure what in this is going soapy on me, but I tend to get a lot of sharpness from bpal's ylang ylang and iris notes...

[angelicruin]

This is musky heavy florals on my skin while wet and then, sadly, dries down soap.

[jrk1857]

There's a strong note here, reminiscent of clove. Must be how my body is reacting to the herbs+frankincense. I like it, since I usually can't wear clove.

 

Underneath the clove is a beautifully complex floral/herbal musk. Can't even begin to be more precise than that, but this is lovely.

[crebbsgirl]

Well, colour me impressed. I wasn't interested in this when it was up because ylang ylang and I have a pretty hate filled relationship, frankincense goes to playdoh on my skin and cucumber just plain doesn't like me. But after seeing reviews I hunted down a decant to try. Wet, there is a melange of flowers and herbs that smells like it's going to go off on my skin. But this settles down beautifully. The blue musk and moonflower are absolute standouts here, and there is a sweet tinge of passionfruit underneath it all. The frankincense doesn't really come out for me at all. WOW, this is really stunning. It's light and ethereal, sweet with just a hint of musk, but it maintains an herbal/resinous vibe as well. In the middle stages, it seems to want to veer towards soapy territory, but it doesn't quite. All in all, I really love this.

[milo]

This turns out to be a darker, heavier blend than I thought it would. There are woods or some kind of resin that is amping on me, and it really kind of reminds me of Velvet Panther, Uncertain Horror. Those kind of darker bpal blends. I do enjoy it, but not what I was expecting at all. I'll certainly enjoy this imp while it lasts, especially when I want to wear something 'darker'.

[Blithgunde]

Blue Moon starts as white flowers steeped in lemon and blooms with wood, resins, and musk as it dries on me. It smells blue to me, deep blue like moonlight shadows on the snow, and the scent is veiled somehow, like seeing the moon through high wispy clouds. It's beautiful and magical. My favorite phase is the final drydown; a woody, musky, rich smell that reminds me of old wooden spermaceti barrels in the basement of the Nantucket Whaling Museum. (I loved the smell of those barrels when I was a kid; went back after more than thirty years and the barrels were still there and still smelt the same!)

 

Blue Moon helps me with divination and inner work. It wakes up that part of my being. On the other hand, it also suppresses my analytical, verbal side, so I don't wear it to work. The one day I did, way too much non-verbal information about my co-workers came flooding into my mind while I could barely put two coherent sentences together.

 

All in all I love Blue Moon and I'm glad I got a bottle.

[Dark Alice]

I knew when I read the notes that this would turn to soap on me. It's really nice smelling, floral, expensive soap. But it smells like soap from wet to dry. *sigh*

[Voleuse]

This is GORGEOUS. On first application, it's juicy and almost intensely sweet, with a hint of florals fluttering in the background. When I sniff deeply, I catch lavender and moonflower, and it makes for a wonderful, cool blend. After a few minutes, though, the blend softens, becoming musk and moonflower, with a faint hint of sweetness. It's just as wonderful, but so different from the first impression.

 

In the end, the melon-y sweetness of this is ephemeral, with a halo of musk that grounds it. Lovely.