Blue Moon 2009: Brian's Interpretation

[greenranger]

BLUE MOON 2009:
BRIAN'S INTERPRETATION
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...
Yarrow, for divination through dreams...
Styrax and frankincense, for wisdom and noscere...

... with a potent lunar-charged, oneirongenic blend of dammar, moonflower, white musk, delicate woods, star anise, Florentine iris, Clary sage, Roman chamomile, Greek cypress, juniper berry, night-blooming cereus, and a touch of cardamom. This fragrance has been infused with Neptune's pine and grains of paradise to help part veils and spark the imagination.

This year, we have two interpretations of Blue Moon. This is Brian's Moon.

To me, this is a silvery shimmery incense blend. It's slightly sweet, and has just the barest hint of flowers far in the background. It seems cold and silvery, rather than warm and golden like most incense blends smell to me.

It also seems a little distant and reserved, or maybe it's just calm? This could make for an interesting sleep blend, but, it isn't really one I want to wear out for most occasions. If I were dressed as the Lady of the Moon, or the Queen of Night and Dreams, then yes, it might be perfect.

[Katherynne]

In the bottle & when freshly applied wet, this has something of Schwartzer Mond to it. Which makes sense, because didn't Brian blend them both? Anyway --

It is silvery. I can smell the mugwort immediately as it dries down, blending in a spicy way almost with the frankincense and cardamom. The flowers bloom in the background after a few minutes, sweetening it up a bit. The anise is peeping out from time to time but I'm happy to say it's not dominating the blend. This is a really complex and beautiful blend!

 

It's a very herbal, calming scent, with a luminescent quality to it. I really love this. I can see it being excellent for wear during esbats or rituals as well.

[heavywhitewove]

Wow - what an unexpected surprise! I love Brian's others creations (Blood Amber and Schwartzer Mond) so even though I wasn't jazzed about the description I ordered it on faith.

 

In the bottle: Smells like herbs (sharp rosemary, eucalyptus) and amber, no floral that I can detect. Maybe even a little mint???

 

Wet: Strong strong throw. The herbal smell smoothes out and a sweet musk takes over. Sexy.

 

Dry: Musk almost like a red musk but with a smooth touch of clean herb to it. Somewhat masculine, def. not a sweet, smarmy girly scent.

 

Very pleased I ordered this - it is going into immediate scent rotation. I have a decent BPAL collection and this is like nothing else I own. My other favs are Bow & Crown of Conquest, Crowley and anything with Red Musk. If you have similar tastes - scoop this up now!!!

 

 

[angburfield]

I am so bad at these revieews but I will try becuase this one really surprised me. In the bottle it smelled very herbal and piney...and a bit to sharp...worn this totally mellowed and blended into this sexy musky herbal with a blend of mascualine and feminine qualities ethereal and luminescent...rare and intelligent..this is an amazing blend...I am so glad I took a risk on this and this is the first "Brian" bottle I have bought....I think the blend of the masculine and feminine it what makes it the sexiest...like I can wear this into my most important meeting at work and smell confident, sexy, smart and elusive at the same time!

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Sweet, but not foodie, floral but not overly so, some herbs.

 

Wet: On the skin, this became sharp. But it's slowly softening. Still doesn't have that moon-lit night quality that I received from sniffing the bottle. The sage really seems to be the dominant note. I like sage, but at the moment, all the other notes are bowing down to it.

 

The dry-down: Another one for the scent locket, I suspect. There's a combination of florals in and amongst the sage, like flowers bordering an herbal bed. The sharpness has come back, but in a different way; I'm thinking that that is either the anise or the iris, neither of which work well with my acidic skin chemistry. I really liked the scent out of the bottle, so I'll break out the clocket for this.

[fairnymph]

Cool, definitely lunar, and deeply woodsy. The masculine touch is obvious. The juniper, pine, yarrow and chamomile stand out, and the deep spices are distinct, too - especially the star anise, and to a latter extent the cardamom. This is also much more resinous and smoky; the styrax and frankincense are clearly present. Fainter pomegranate and florals. This doesn't smell really like the other BMs, IMO.

 

Woooooooooods. Pine and JUNIPER and CYPRESS. The star anise is also amped, almost licorice-y, very much ANISE. In fact I'm almost getting an Absinthe sort of vibe here, mixed with evergreens. This is also a little soapy-cologney on my skin, with the florals more present, especially the moonflower and iris, and the white musk piercing through it all. The frankincense too is stronger, smokier, and sweeter.

 

Still WAY too heavy on the evergreens for me. In general this is a VERY potent scent, very masculine and forceful. That star anise is stealing the show along with the woods, while the moonflower has amped to make this a bit soapier, and the cardamom has come out a little to add a bit of spicy warmth. The scent still feels deeply woodsy and blue-green (imagine a deep Teal/Ocean colour), though, which is rather amazing. The yarrow here is also very strong, herbal-bitter-green.

 

After several hours this coalesces into something much more elegant, smoky-herbal-smooth with that deep woodsy-anise base. It's surprisingly nice, and I bet lovers of anise and its kin would enjoy this if they can get through the strong evergreen phase. Strong throw and longevity.

[Ravenclaw79]

I put this on, and wow, it went crazy, morphtacular -- within a few minutes, it was lunar oil -> flowers -> cologne -> soap -> flowers.

 

Now, some while later, it appears to be a floral, rather like a lot of other white/yellow/watery florals, with a little lunar oil underneath. The spices are apparently nowhere to be found. Bummer.

[fairestrocza]

In the Bottle: smooth, soft, herbal; ever so slightly cologney

 

Wet on Skin: slightly reminiscent of The Black Tower, though I am not sure what is making the link in my brain; something smells familiar, but I can't quite place it (maybe the sage or the chamomile? hmm) - all the notes are blending together; on The Boy, this phase has a slight lemony quality that my skin did not pick up, and maybe a slight hint of pine

 

While Drying: this is unique and intriguing; I wish my nose was more familiar with some of these notes so I could better separate out what I am smelling

 

After a Little While: that ever so slight cologne aspect has dissipated; I would still characterize this as an predominantly an herbal blend, with a touch of woods and a touch of musk… I can believe there are flowers in here, but they are unobtrusive… I'm not picking up any star anise, juniper or pine… 'Delicate Woods' seems to be an apt descriptor; on The Boy: um, WOW. It is turning a bit muskier on him, in a very very good way. He says it reminds him of the damp understory of the woods.

 

Later: softer and more subtle than earlier phases; ethereal; The Boy went through a brief soapy phase, but then it evened out. Much less throw than there was initially.

 

Final Thoughts: I'm not sure exactly what it was that made me decide to order this, but I am glad I did. This works well on me, and has some amazing phases on The Boy.

Blue Moon 2009: Brian's Interpretation earns a 3.5/5 to 4/5.

 

ETA: I let my best friend wear this to the opera last week... at the end of the evening, she told me she was going to have to thug me in the parking lot and steal my bottle. Fortunately I was able to pick up a bottle for her through forum Sales. Tonight, she let another friend of ours try it out, and he insists that he needs a bottle too. I'm perfectly fine with that - I love exploring the nuances that each of us brings out in this blend.

Edited January 30, 2010 by Rocza

[penemuel]

I was a little nervous about the flowers listed in this scent, but I really didn't need to be. This is a wonderful, almost sparkling herbal/spice blend. There's a bit of incense (the resins) coming through as it warms up, which makes it even better. This is truly a complex and beautiful blend. I can't pick out too many of the individual notes (don't know whether it's my inexpert nose or just how well blended this is) but it is gorgeous!

[xoe]

I really have had a hard time with Blue Moon.

It is very nice. I feel comfortable wearing it every day.

Not too strong, not too weak.

It is just right.

 

But I've no way to describe it.

[edenssixthday]

Blue Moon 2009: Brian's Interpretation - Very interesting! This is totally different from what I expected. It's incredibly white and dry on my skin -- shimmery and luminescent like moonlight. The cypress, frankincense, and iris are the strongest notes on me, giving this blend a dry, woody type of feel about it. I'm curious if the "delicate woods" note includes white sandalwood. The chamomile and Clary sage give it an herbal quality, and the moonflower sweetens it up a touch. It's really pretty, fairly subtle, and has about average staying power on me.

 

[zankoku_zen]

This one I found to be a bright, male cologne. Cypress, sharp yellow florals, sandalwood. Delicate is an apropos adjective.

[angelicruin]

Woodsy and sharp herbal notes on my skin. And definitely smell the sage on my skin as well. A bit masculine on my skin and threatens to go "soapy" on the dry down. I like it, but just not sure it's me.

[milo]

I find this blend quite hard to describe, but I do know that I really like it. To me, it's like a beautiful elf creature, such as The Lord of the Rings, wearing a shimmering blue dress in a misty forest with the sun shining through the tall trees. I do think that this is a unisex blend, however and males could wear this as well. This blend is a shimmery, silver, 'blue' blend that I may need more of.

[Little Bird]

I haven't really cared for any of the Blue Moon scents so far. This version is probably the best on me, but I still don't really like it or see myself wearing it. It smells like dry herbs and sharp, perfumey florals on me at first. I get a bit more cypress in the drydown, smelling like dry wood and a bit of greenery, but this also goes slightly soapy on me in the drydown. It smells like a drop of herbal, foresty, woodsy perfume thrown into a bottle of perfumey floral perfume, and I was hoping that it wouldn't be so sharply floral. I love moonflower, but don't get along with the iris.

 

This is really light on me and only lasts about an hour. It's mostly sharp, perfumey florals and dry, soapy herbs on me. I don't think that this is one that I'll be needing more of.

[yamiko]

In the bottle: Herby, very green, a little soapy. Not really a scent I usually go for, but I recently found a locally-based decant circle, and I grabbed this with my Werepuppy for kicks.

 

Wet on skin: Not at all soapy on the skin, and SUPER herby. It kinda smells like an herb shop. I have a hard time picking out notes in scents like this, because I really don't know what these things smell like on their own.

 

Drydown (3 minutes): I think I smell the cardamom a bit now, and it's a little more flowery. Oh, and star anise. It smells a little like Kyoto, I think.

 

Drydown (5 minutes): Yeah, definitely flowery and musky now.

 

Overall impression: This is nice, but not really my thing. It's a beautiful blend, very flowery, herby, and a touch of sweetness. It's luckily not a headache-inducing blend, which is how a lot of white and green scents end up for me. I think this should go to someone who would appreciate it more than I do.

[Dark Alice]

This smells like a high end pine sol bathroom cleaner that is used in the really expensive restaurant bathrooms that movie stars used. I wish my skin didn't turn these floral scents into to soapy, cleaner smells because they smell wonderful in the imps. *sigh*

[impolight]

:::BLUE MOON:::

 

 

 

Hooray for the thrills and chills of good fortune through misadventure!

Brian's Blue Moon is to die for, rest assured.There are so may components as to render remarks on individual notes a virtually moot point, yet the fantastical experience that awaits all who would dare sample this formula is innumerable in it's rippling delight, as it were.

Brian's Blue Moon is silvery, gilded prose.

This blue moon is gallant, courageous, noble, irreverent, hypnotic, seductive, and full of dark and stormy territories, yet impossible to tell by it's smooth and untoubled brow.

Blue Moon is frothing, coastal waters.

A psychadelic crunching of ice.

An eroticised nature-worship.

Blue Moon is the tangled tendrils of Byron's torments.

Blue Moon is the vast gulf of hope that immortalises an era.

Blue Moon is a many splendored revolution beneath the gasps and glories of a meteor shower.

Blue Moon is drop-dead-gorgeous! Absolutely breathtaking!

The first impressions from the freshly opened 5mL bottle of this fantastical elixir is of an aqueous essence... A body of water as interpreted by a nocturnal flyer.

This purest ingenuity is in the fact that it is indulgent in the bluer wavelengths of the spectrum, but the crepuscular aspect filling the vision with a nightworld, and it's beautific satellite orbiting in the firmament like an ivory-skinned skinned citrus fruit afloat in an immense punch-bowl of Blue Curacao takes the genius of it all to an entirely new level

.Blue Moon is also suggestive of gazing up at the Moon while swaying in a hammock, high in the treetops,

your hair tossed by the wind's mischief...

On the Skin: Blackened, skeltal, arboreal silhouettes!

Blue Moon is potently suggestive of a pie-eyed 1930's-1940's animated depiction of a blustery night in the boneyard, with toothily grinning man in the moon, tall grasses whipping in the howling wind, bats on the wing, and candlelight flickering through the window on the caretaker's sagging, dilapidated front porch.

The longer that Blue Moon wears, the more suggestive it is of pipe organs, rattling chains, remote manors, eyes shining in the dark, tombstones, crystal balls, music from a phantom gramaphone, floaty bits of furniture, etc.

This is deliciously creepy and ethereal!

Blue Moon calls to mind much of the imagery that H.P. Lovecraft uses in his story, "The Hound".

Blue Moon is evocative of a bygone era, and would feel right at home alongside the fragrance oils found in the Phoenix Steamworks category of scents.

Spectrally, Blue Moon is pitch black, pine green, midnight blue, royal purple, jackolantern orange, candelabra yellow, ash, and bone.

Blue Moon is an omen.

Blue Moon is an entity.

Blue Moon is a holographic Halloween.

Blue Moon is a catastrophically beautiful fragrance.

The Maestro Constantine has outdone Himself with the elaborate and spellbinding quality created in this formula, and imparted to masses in the throes of adoration, in the thrall of disbelief.

Blue Moon could serve as a unisex fragrance, but there is a strong sentiment that is an advocate for masculinity here...

On Her, Blue Moon is a disembodied, gossamer lamentation.

On Him, Blue Moon is a gaunt, haunted genius... A stranger in a strange land.

Blue Moon cannot wield enough bravado by it's description alone

to convey the utter magnificence with which it will bring a most splendid devastation to your day.

An exceptional fragrance in all respects.

Another 6 out of 5!

 

 

[nekogrrl]

This is very similar in feel to Beth's Blue Moon. It must be the florals, cause that's pretty much all I'm getting from it. The white musk is not helping the florals calm down, and there's not enough difference to my nose to keep this blend.

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

Decant: slightly spicey, nightblooming flowers with evergreen traces underneath

Wet on Me: still more of what I smelled in the lil vial. so far so good!

Drying Down: I got this woody-herbaly-nigth blossoms floral blend. Made me feel like I was outside in the woods under the bright blue moon

Dry: This settled into a pale faint blend of what I got from drying down. Very nice.

[bloody sore]

Honestly, this smells like Lush to me. Like when you first walk in the store and can still smell everything.

AWESOME!

I can't pick out any specific notes. I love Brian's blends!

[hlinspjalda]

On me this was mostly night flowers, which I'm not very good with usually; they tend to be sharp and dominating on me. But there was also a lovely soft sweetness about it, probably the resin.

 

The scent faded completely after two hours, which is a remarkably short time for any BPAL fragrance on my skin.

 

I'm glad I have the T-shirt!

[loubric]

I was very intrigued with this blend. In the IMP all I can smell is a very sweet mixture of pine, eucalyptus & lemon. On me, it’s very strong and herby. Pine, lavender, lemon, chamomile & sage are the most predominant.

 

This is a very green, forest nature like scent that has hints of floral poking through. Very pretty and relaxing.

[Vega]

Sniffed: A cold green herbal.

 

On skin: A very complex blend; I'm not familiar with many notes, but it's predominantly a fragrant floral/herbal blend, dry, green, and cool, with woods and incense deep in the background. It begins a little bitter and cold, but gradually morphs sweeter over time. Indeed, Brian's Blue Moon is quite a mystic blend: full-bodied and radiant, yet deep and shadowed. An evocative, powerful scent -- it's not pushy or in-your-face, but it exerts a huge presence. Compared to the 2007 version (the only other Blue Moon I have), Brian's Moon is colder and more austere, aloof. Colour impression is a meld of cool yellows, blues, and greens, edged with moonlight.

 

Verdict: A complex blend that perfectly captures the spirit of the blue moon! Most BPAL blends are quite grounded in "our reality", but the Blue Moons have a particularly mystic, otherworldly air. Brian's Moon is very evocative, but most unfortunately, it reminds me of herbal ointments that my parents used to soothe my childhood tummyaches. ...Aye, a sadly prosaic scent association for such a puissant blend, alas! For this reason I prefer Blue Moon 2007.

[filigree_shadow]

Eep. Powdery blue sort of menthol-ish minty weirdness at first, and ends up smelling like evergreen powder. I don't think this one agrees with me. It's too bad, because the other Blue Moons I've tried have been pretty good.