Autumn Moon of the Mirror Stand

[svelterose]

Honey, quince, vanilla, white cognac, Spanish mandarin, and golden tobacco.

It smells like a tart candy to me in the bottle. On my skin, it smells a bit like those dried plums my dad *loves* to chew on. The ones you get in those Asian markets? Yeah, it's a bit sweet with a definite tang. If I move my nose close, I get whiffs of the tobacco. I'm not getting the cognac but I'm no connoisseur so I might be smelling it and not even know I am.

It's a STRONG femme fatale smell. I'm not sure I'm sexy enough for it.

[pandorasmuse]

In the decant: Honey and vanilla with a boozy undercurrent.

 

Wet: Spiced fruit and vanilla.

 

Drydown: As it dries, I get more of the cognac and tobacco. The vanilla is most dominant for me. I smell the barest hint of the mandarin at the very end.

 

Later: Sweet tobacco and vanilla. When I wore this for a day, it stayed bright, golden, warm, and happy all day. It’s sexy, but not hit-you-over-the-head-sexy. Definitely bottle-worthy!

[Yoginispirit]

Wet: BOOOZEE!!! I smell like I just stuck my arm in a Jack Daniel's bottle.

 

Drying: Still veeeery boozy and I detect butterscotch or caramel oddly. Alcohol loves my skin apparently. It reminds of of Lovers with Rutting Cats (last year's shunga) for some reason...

 

Dry: Oh this is much better. The booze has calmed down (after it nearly singed my nose off) and the quince is making it nice and fruity. It still has a warm butterscotch flavor (tobacco???) but its much brighter.

 

I REALLY enjoy this. I will have to see how it lasts before I decide on a bottle but I will have to apply at least twenty minutes before getting near anyone or else I might get pulled over!

 

 

[thekittenkat]

Of all the Shungas, this one really stood out when I looked at the notes. Everything sounded so lovely, and seemed that it would blend so well--with one exception: the cognac. I've mentioned in other reviews how I seem to amp the Lab's various liquor notes quite often, a sad state of affairs. So, I was worried when I first put this one on, and it seemed as though my fears would come true. The cognac was the top note, with all the other notes swirling underneath. But, as the evening wore on, all the notes came forward and surrounded the cognac; not drowning it out, but allowing it just enough presence to temper the sweetness of the rest of the notes. In the end, this is mostly a honey scent, but the fruits and the tobacco keep it from being too sweet. The vanilla has blended into the honey to give it a bit of an edge. This is what one wishes that good pipe tobacco or one of those little cigars could smell like.

 

Autumn Moon of the Mirror Stand will be in rotation next autumn for me, on those days when Falling Leaf Moon might be a little heavy and dark. Of all the Shungas so far, this is my fave.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: A bright fruitiness, almost like citrus, with a hint of wine and finishing with a bit of creaminess.

 

Immediately on skin: This scent is rich but fruity. I get a blast of fruitiness first, and it’s thick with the citrus of the mandarin lightening it a bit. Over the top is honey with a bit of powdery vanilla. This is very assertive and sweet, with a nice richness grounding it underneath, which may be the tobacco. This is reminding me of Mad Kate a bit with the fruit/honey feel.

 

After a little while: This still smells very fruity… sort of a rich fruit scent with a slight hint of citrus lifting it up, giving it a glowing edge, and powdery honey over the top. It’s quite sweet, especially up close.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent is very nice, considering honey blends rarely work on me. It’s not that bitter powdery rubberiness I usually get, but it’s still a bit overly sweet on me. The other parts of this blend are nice though; it’s sort of a rich, bright fruitiness that I wasn’t expecting. Gorgeous, but not for me.

 

[greenranger]

.......yum.

 

Sweet and sultry, with enough depth and tartness to not end up cloying.

 

I have to see if it manages to stay that way, but, wet this is very yummy.

 

 

 

 

 

[fiddledragon]

Wet this one is fruity and alcoholic, lots of cognac and quince and a touch of vanilla. As it dries, the tobacco comes on strong and harsh. I was worried that it would ruin this one like it did Black Temple Burlesque Troupe, but this tobacco is a bit more restrained. The effect is actually not unlike a strong black tea. The drydown is like some sort of very nice fruit and spice flavored black tea with a little bit of vanilla and honey sweetening it up. Only a little, though; this is a very "dry" scent. On me it's surprisingly masculine given the notes. I'm getting a mental image of some sweet older 19th century gentleman relaxing in his smoking lounge with a nice cup of tea and a pipe of fruity tobacco.

 

Verdict: I'm not sure it's bottle-worthy, but I'd certainly use this imp and might consider getting another one.

[saralaughs]

When first applied: whiffs of BBQ Sauce. I dunno why but yeah, seriously. I think it may be a combination of the honey, white cognac and golden tobacco but really, I don't know.

 

Ok, there is a spice in here that I associate with BBQ. Which is really too bad because the rest of the blend that I can smell is absolutely divine. I just can't get past picturing my hand as a pulled pork BBQ sanich.

 

[gypsyjolie]

I LOVED this scent from wet to about an hour or so in, all the fruity tart/sweet but not candylike base and the hints of tobacco and vanilla - but in full drydown, it's all cloying butterscotch/french vanilla like a candle and I'm not a fan of that scent on my skin. Woe! I really thought this was going to be great on me.

[theseagrows]

ooh pretty scent! it's kind of fruity for my regular tastes, but i quite like this! the mandarin and quince add just the right amount of fruityness without being overwhelming. the honey and tobacco add a rich warmth-this scent is very peach, orange and golden-evocative of the corresponding painting. this scent is very warm, deep and autumnal. i will definitely keep my decant-i think this would be great on a cold wintry day.

 

 

 

[bonny]

baaahhh this is gorgeous! if i had to pick one bottle from the luper/shunga update to buy, this might be it. the notes blend really, really nicely on my skin- i can pick out the tobacco, sweetened a good bit by the honey and vanilla. i LOVE tobacco notes- i'm a kentucky girl and my uncle was one of the last independant tobacco farmers in the area, and the tobacco note here is so much like walking through his cutting/drying room- this is tobacco straight from the ground, still with a bit of green wetness to it. SO nice and not at all 'biting' like the one in antikythera mechanism, though i love that one too- if AM made you think tobacco wasn't for you, try this before giving it up all together. a few hours later this has faded to a faint honey/mandarin sweetness, but cents usually last a lot longer in cleavage than on my arms, which is where i tested.

[Ishianti]

It was sharp and citrusy out of the bottle, but then it mellowed down to a fruity light booziness that really stood out. Could practically taste it, honey and mandarin, with an almost effervescent feel.

 

Then it hit me... it's like a sangria soda!

[pinkstardust420]

This is definitely a sweet scent - Im getting the honey, a bit of quince and the boozy note from the white cognac. However, the golden tobacco plays a part in this...gives it a slightly sweet, smokey note. Nice, but I don't think it's for me.

[starfish327]

i got frimped a tester this past week. i was hoping that this would be a bpal stand in for another favorite from a different retail

 

in the imp: fruit. sweet sweet stone fruit. maybe just a touch of vanilla.

 

wet: peaches, lots and lots of peaches. a touch of quince. not much else, this really wants to be nothing but fruit for me.

 

dry; pretty much the same. a touch of tobacco far in the background, maybe a splash of booze but more of an impression than an actual note. it shifts more towards the manderin/vanilla spectrum than peach/vanilla however. this reminds me of an avon shampoo i used to use as a kid- peaches and cream.

 

it's nice, and i'd probably pick up a decant for when i feel girly, but this is light years from what i was hoping for. i was looking for something much heavier on the vanilla, tobacco, and booze, but this wants to be nothing other than fruit compote on me.

[windbourne]

For me, this was sweet, mild, and fruity. No strong singular notes to distract or annoy -- it's like having a golden puddle of sunlight on my wrist. This is one I'll probably pull out every so often and enjoy, but it's not distinctive enough to warrant a full bottle. (yet)

[Siberia]

This smells wonderfully fruity in the bottle and applied lightly. To me, it smells like brown sugar and quince. When I apply more generously, it takes on an unfortunate Yankee Hill candle vibe. Will have to try this a few more times before making a final decision.

[ravenscanary]

Source: Full decant from circle.

 

In the vial: Sweet, sweet fruit and a liqueur-like booze-note.

 

Wet: Honey and vanilla and fruit, all the way. It smells, like an earlier reviewer noted, like the kind of imaginary dessert that you can only dream of eating. The honey is a very pure honey, to me - it smells like honeycomb over delicately-cooked fruit, finished with a liquor-infused sauce. It's sort of foody to me and yet not like any other foody-scent I love.

 

Dry: This stays very sweet, but the tobacco note comes out and deepens it. It's still absolutely delicious and makes my mouth water. There is something in this that does remind me faintly of a Yankee Candle shop, as others have noticed. One note in here is tickling my brain that way, but I think it's well-blended enough so that it, itself, doesn't smell like a candle.

 

Notes: Long wear and pretty good throw. I'm pretty sure this is bottle-worthy.

[ellebelle]

This is all rich honey and quince and vanilla and orange and cognac. It has a sexy, creamy sweetness to this. I LOVE this.

[Iceblink]

Whew--this smells like fermented honey (MEAD!) to me...sour and tart and boozy. I am not getting vanilla and I think it's needed badly here to calm down all this honey and fruit. Not happening, though.

[AlarmAgent]

In Bottle - Sort of a fruity drink mix, but with quite a bit of honey-sweetness to it as well.

Wet on Skin, First Applied - Apricots and honey, like some kind of dessert!

 

Dry, on Skin - I get tiny bits of cognac-whiffs every once in awhile, but this is mostly apricot (quince, perhaps? it seems less tart than I remember quince, but I'm no quince expert) and very soft, vanilla and honey. The honey seems softer and sweeter than 'O', for example. I don't smell even a little bit of tobacco. I love it, I'm definitely looking to pick up a bottle.

[wl552]

At first this was very strongly citrus, but after it dries it becomes this lovely, rich almost foody sweet scent. The citrus is very slightly still there, but the other notes are much more in prominence. Autumn Moon of the Mirror Stand is simply beautiful. A keeper for sure.

[anomie]

Imp: Deliriously sweet and fruity. This is sweet sticky honey and hints of quince and mandarin.

 

Wet: The fruits come out more, as does a hint of the boozy cognac. Deliciousness. Can I eat it? It's also throwing like crazy, whoa.

 

Drydown: Wow, this has completely morphed. Tobacco and cognac and vanilla with sweetness and an almost floral citrus note. It's really pretty, but I wish that earlier scent had stuck around - it was something I could see myself wearing a lot this spring.

[zankoku_zen]

Lots of honey, and combined with the vanilla and cognac, it smells like a boozey caramel. More delicate than the BPAL caramel blends, but very much in that vein. Sweeter than I would have liked.

 

Pass.

[fairestrocza]

In the Bottle: juicy! The fruit notes definitely take center stage. The tobacco is in there also.

 

Wet on Skin: peach-orange smoothie; more of a pear note on the second try

 

While Drying: trident gum (either the yellow or the orange twist pack - passionberry (minus the mint)? Tropical twist?); still sugary, but less of the gum impression on the second go

 

After a Little While: Still fruity, but the gum impression dies down and the tobacco shows up a bit more. No booze to speak of. Honey and vanilla may be adding to the softness and/or sweetness, but aren't asserting themselves.

 

Later: next morning: honey scent is lingering on my skin; second try - late drydown is a soft, slightly sweet, almost light musk scent.

 

Final Thoughts: This has decent throw while wet, but is mainly a skin-close scent. The skin scent is fairly strong (I don't have to work to detect it, I just have to be sniffing close to the skin). The close scent seems to have some lasting power. I can see being in the mood for this from time to time, but I think my partial bottle will be sufficient.

Autumn Moon of the Mirror Stand earns a 3.5/5 on my skin.

[Dark Alice]

So quince likes me....and how! Wet this goes on as fresh quince pie. As it dries the honey comes out but it's bitter. I think it's the tobacco. When it's completely it is an odd honeyish perfumey scent. Not a fan.