Harvest Moon 2011

[absinthetics]

HARVEST MOON
Harvest Moon is celebrated in almost every culture, and the bounty of the season is marked in a myriad of ways. Harvest Moon touches the Equinox, the festival of Janus, the culmination of Homowo, the “crying of the neck” in Cornwall, and the Women’s Festival of the Moon. This is a day that celebrates abundance and beauty, fertility and progress, and the light of this full moon blesses new undertakings and reunites lost loves.

The Harvest Moon, by definition, is the Full Moon that falls closest to the Autumnal Equinox, and thus, it shares some of that Sabbat’s characteristics. This Full Moon was thus named because it rises within half an hour of the sun’s setting, in the Northern Hemisphere, and at this time farmers are able to work longer into the night by the light of this Moon. As the year draws to a close, the Full Moon rises an average of fifty minutes later each night, with the exception of a few nights surrounding the Harvest Moon, which only rises 10-30 minutes later. This moon is also, to the human eye, the fullest and largest of the year’s Moons, hanging gloriously huge, yellow and low in the night sky, and many lunar illusions play tricks our eyes at this time.

The Harvest ushers in many celebrations, including the Equinox and the Festival of Janus, God of Doors. Janus is the Roman Lord of Gateways, beginnings and endings, and transitions. Thus, the Harvest Moon is a time for blessing new ventures, the onset of new and progressive phases in one’s life, and rites of passage into adulthood. This time of year also marks one of the Festivals of Dionysus, Lord of Ecstasy and the Vine.

This Harvest lunacy combines the autumnal scents of dry leaves, warm, brown spices, white oak, Himalayan cedar, Russian sage, red apple, sweet black plum, juniper berry, clove, saffron, verbena, and yarrow with Dionysus’ sacred grapes and ivy, the amaranth and lingum aloes of Janus, and a gentle breath of Harvest Festival woodsmoke and sweet red wine.

Wow! What an amazing Lunacy. This is an example of why Lunacies can really surprise and amaze me still. In the bottle it is glowing warm, the dry leaves, saffron and brown spices are really amazing. There's this buttery wonderfulness that is not foodie per se, and nowhere plasticy. The fruits I was hoping to come out the most were apple and plum. Though apple isn't your typical apple note the plum is there. But it slowly settles down as it dries. On the skin, the clove comes out a bit but mostly as a heat in the background. This is not a boozie scent, nor an overwhelming wine. It's almost like a halloweenie that got lost. In the end, the hay and woodsmoke creep up, taming the fruits.

[angelicruin]

What a lovely fall scent. Lots of spice in this one mingled with leaves, and fruit. Not exactly foodie, but definitely has a gourmand quality to it. Definitely a good embodiment of Fall.

[Lyanna]

This is a pretty spicy scent! My collegue came to my desk and wondered why she was smelling clove and peppernuts/pepernoten (a typical Dutch Sinterklaas/Santa Claus kind of treat which are just hitting the stores around here at this time). It's a very apt description of this scent.

 

Clove, spices and the dry leaves are definately in the foreground, making this a dry scent. I can feel the woodsmoke in the back of my throat when I sniff deeply, it's a little peppery. The scent is not bitter though, there is a sweetness that lingers around which most likely is the plum.

 

I've been wearing this for three hours and it is now a very nice well blended scent which still has a considerable throw - since my collegue could smell it from five feet away. I think this one will age beautifully. Definately a keeper and I'm glad I ordered a bottle unsniffed.

[coldandsleepy]

I picked up a decant of this on a whim. Past Harvest Moons haven't stirred me a whole lot, but I love this time of year so I almost always end up trying them...

 

I am VERY pleasantly surprised by this one.

 

It's mostly brown spices (warm, spice-cake spices... but removed from any sort of foodie context) and leaves for me. Not dry leaves, but that kind of moist leaf you find at the bottom of a leaf pile, where they're starting to decay. That sounds gross, but I mean it in a good way. Can also smell the apple-- especially initially-- though it's more of a hint at the edge after a few minutes. The aloe is strong to me at first, but fades very soon.

 

Not cedary, which I was concerned about (often smells like rodent cage on me), not overly smoky or wine-y. Like I said... mostly spice and leaves.

 

It's VERY strong on me and is still quite noticeable three hours and one long bike ride after application. But I'm okay with that, because it's a delight.

[Coldfire]

Got this as a decant from BookandBroom

 

 

Decant: mmmm spicy apple and plum and grapes. yum meee!

Wet on Me: still spicy autumn fruits and a faint whiff trace of cove trying to separate from the rest of the spicy goodness.

Drying Down: Moore woods now and less fruit. Still very faint clove

Dry: faintly spicy autumn woods. I like it.

[Rho]

Wow, I was so afraid of this lunacy, but it's actually really wonderful!

 

On me, it's like this apple-pumpkin-bread kind of vibe, but it's not too sweet or "bakery." There are little hints of nature that perfectly invoke autumn. The image I have in my mind is walking down a familiar street in the middle of autumn, carrying a spicy piece of homemade bread in your hand.

 

Ridiculously pleasant. I have only a sniffie and may need to find more.

[orchidaceous]

Mmmm, boozy, spicy, baked-appley autumn woods

Edited September 10, 2011 by bpalcat

[Ghost of a Rose]

In the vial: I smell sweet red wine, grapes, and plum.

 

On me, wet: Plum is definitely the predominant note. Right at first, I can only detect the fruits, although there are unidentifiable nuances to tell me that other things are also in there. They keep the overall impression from being foody.

 

On me, just dried: Once it starts to dry, the clove and a hint of florals comes out, with increasing strength as it dries down. After about 10 minutes, they've overtaken the plum and added the juniper berry and an undertone of pepper that I'm guessing is the saffron. A few minutes later, I can just barely notice the smoke - a gentle breath, exactly like the description says.

 

After 20 minutes, the woods come out to play. At this point, the woods and spices are the main notes, but all the others still have a distinct presence.

 

After 1 hour: The woods, spice, and smoke are the only notes still remaining.

 

This blend is unusual for one with this many ingredients, in that I can discern almost everything listed. Usually with this many different notes, there are a few that stand out and everything else merges together and can't be picked out individually.

It's also unusual and very intriguing in that for the first half hour, it transforms dramatically every few minutes. And it is quite lovely at every single stage.

It's a unisex fragrance that is complex and warm; and it is dignified enough to be ideal for wearing at work. (The boozeyness is gone within moments after it hits the skin, so this wouldn't be a problem unless you were wearing it in a scent locket, where the top notes last. And its a yummy boozeyness, so as long as you aren't going to work, the scent locket might be just the thing!) The combination of oils in this is so appropriate for this time of year (September.)

 

My rating: 4 stars

Edited September 13, 2011 by Ghost of a Rose

[tdiym]

I love this one. I ordered it late on a whim and I'm so glad I did. It's definitely different from the usual things I love and the apple ingredient would have made it something I would not have tried b/c I would have dismissed it as being "too foody".

This is wonderful, very smooth and sweet appley, but the spices and leaves make it very mellow and keep me from smelling like a fruit stand. Pretty decent throw b/c an office mate sitting across from me can always tell when I've opened the bottle. It lasts a couple hours on me and then I have to (get to!) reapply it. It's wonderful and I love it and now I wish I had ordered a back up bottle! Definite win.

[Little Bird]

I don't have great luck with the lunacy blends, but I always like the Harvest Moons (*love* 05 and 06) and love how different each year's version has been.

 

Harvest Moon 2011 goes on smelling of fruits and spiced wine, mainly, and quickly dries down to smelling like roasted, sugared nuttiness with hints of autumn leaves, spices, and sweet berry. There's a nice, fresh, cool air feel as well.

 

It smells nice and harvest-y with a good mix of autumn leaf, spices, sweetness, and fruit. I don't think it'll replace 05 and 06 as a favorite, but I'm glad I got a partial bottle of this.

[tdiym]

This is a very lovely Hunter Moon, unlike earlier ones. On me, it's apples and spice, something I wouldn't normally be interested in ("too foody") but this is more complex and earthy while staying sweet and not going all sour and wonky on my skin after a couple of hours. It doesn't morph much on me, just a nice sweet complex primarily appley scent. Makes me wish I had hoarded ordered a back up bottle

[milo]

Mmm, this smells like something I would want to drink! Wet, I'm getting lots of apple and spices along with a bit of a fizzy quality. Dry, more greenness comes out, perhaps the leaves? I like this, it borderlines potpourri, but the leaves keep it in check. Not really getting plum at all, but still this is an awesome blend, and I certainly wouldn't turn down any if it comes my way. I'll certainly enjoy the imp during autumn weather.

[crebbsgirl]

The wine and fruits are a little more prominent than I thought they would be. The spices come out and the leaves are more present in the dry down. This is a pretty perfect fall scent!

[zankoku_zen]

Wine and spices, and dries to woodsy, leafy spices. Dry, red, autumn.

[loubric]

In th ebottle it's rich, sweet juicy apples, berries and plums with hints of spice. On me its Fall! Apple and warm plum. I can smell the cool and smokiness coming through but it's subtle. It's sweet and perfect for Fall (or rather waiting for Fall to arrive )

[porcelina]

WOW. can't believe i haven't reviewed this yet! what a beautiful atutumnal scent. the fruit is very gentle and subtle under the gorgeous woods and spices, with one of the best smoke notes i have smelled yet enveloping it all in a delicious haze. it's like drinking a mulled wine or spice cider outside around a roaring bonfire on a beautiful fall day.

[Cali]

Ugh! Oh! This is so lush! Wonderfully spicy, foody but without being too tarty!

A could-be-weenie. A feast on a golden afternoon on an autumn day.

The apple, like in Samhain amps on me but other than that this is a lovely cornucopia.

[ShannonElisabethJones]

In the bottle - wood and alcohol.

 

Freshly applied - I get more fruitiness. Something piney. Winey. I can taste it in the back of my throat. Really beautiful.

 

Spicy wonderfulness. I love it!

 

Holy crap - why did I wait so long to try this?