Buck Moon 2017

[samarablackcat]

This Full Moon marks the time of the year when the new antlers of buck deer emerge from their foreheads, coated in soft velvet. This is a time of vigor, thunder, balmy nights, glorious sunlight and hot winds. Buck Moon is an animalistic, deep scent: an amplification of one’s natural musk coupled with forest herbs, pine pitch, deer fur, a hint of clear, warm evening air and a crystalline spark of lunar oil.

 

I don't have my bottle of the first Buck Moon anymore, but this does not disappoint. Same gorgeous musk, a small whiff of greenery, a smidge of pine. Standing at the edge a forest on a clear, early summer night; the earth still warm from the sun, a gentle breeze, just enough to stir up the surrounding area into a glorious scent of life, rebirth, and renewal. I am enjoying this stage now, and can only imagine it will deepen with age. Shine on me, Buck Moon, and The Lord of The Forest, for he is the keeper of the fire in my soul.

[kajacana]

In the bottle: smells like plants, but it's a very soft smell. I would call it herbal. It's got a hint of pine, but not like Christmas pine or air-freshener pine at all -- more like the scent of a breeze that's just blown through a stand of pine trees. It's all softness, nothing sharp or aggressive here.

On skin: This is a tough one to describe! It's the same soft, herbal, vaguely pine-y scent from the bottle, only it gains some musky sweetness. There's a slight powderiness to it, but not in an off-putting way. The musk sits very close to the skin and the "clear, warm evening air" from the description makes total sense. The pine goes away as it wears, and the scent deepens just a little, becoming a clear, lightly sweet, lightly herbal musk.

This scent reminds me of summer evenings where I'm from in New England; it reminds me of being in the woods, far from people and towns, listening to the loons call across the lake. It's calm and tranquil. It's comforting and close, like a hug in scent form, without making me feel claustrophobic. When I smell it I can see the summer evening sky.

It's really beautiful and unlike anything else in my collection. So glad I decided to blind bottle this one!

[PrinceofcatS]

This lives up to its reputation and its description. It goes on with a bright and almost sparkling something in which I can definitely detect both something citrus and coconut, but it's musky and warm, with an embrace of woodsy notes that prevents it from being remotely foody. The pine in this is similar to Przeczucie from last year's Halloween scents, which was a surprising favorite for me and was the note that caught my eye in this blend. But I can also distinctly detect something minty, which makes this feel like more of a summer scent. I think this would be beautiful year-round, but it's perfect for the time when the Buck Moon hangs in the sky.

 

Where I used to live (a more wooded area, slightly out of town; bad for walking to work, beautiful otherwise) there was a stream with wild mint growing in it and this scent reminds me of that a little. Even though there is no aquatic note to this, nor is there a soil note, the way everything comes together reminds me of someplace wet, like that stream, or the air after a thunderstorm. It stormed yesterday when I wore this for the first time and i definitely felt there was a similarity. Maybe "warm evening air" means some touch of ozone, though my mind might also be playing tricks on me.

 

This scent is similar to Black Forest and Bestiaire du Moyen Âge in execution, I think; there's a combination of authentic woodland smells and scents that are evocative of the idea of a woodland. Altogether, it smells like an atmosphere, not a literal interpretation.

 

I really love this scent and it's quickly become a new favorite even though I just got it yesterday. I can tell I'll be deeply smitten with it for a long time to come.

[SadariEvenstar]

I love this. It reminds me of warm, sweet hay on a summer evening in a way that bpal's actual hay note never seems to capture for me.

[sailthetethys]

Oh my god.

 

Someone described the old Buck Moon as Summer Faunalia, and I can get on board with that. This smells less like a forest and more like a mystical forest being in the same way that Faunalia does thanks to the skin musk and the sparkling note. I don't get much pine, just sweet warm woods and soft musk. There is a creamy spiciness that reminds me of a lighter Samhain.

 

This is pure forest magic in a bottle. It's absolutely gorgeous.

[Casablanca]

In the bottle, Buck Moon smells – conceptually, if not literally – like an early summer evening in woods with soft, sappy pine and a mix of herbal greenery.

 

Initially on my skin, it’s similar, except that everything comes out more. I get a very soft, sappy pine, green herbs, and a cool lunar note. Moonflower? It seems like that pale coolness, but not quite floral. Sometimes I think I pick up a little mugwort in the herbs. Everything is soft and well-blended, hard to pin down individually.

 

As the blend dries, I start to catch whiffs of musk – it smells to me like a neutral skin musk with just a tint of brown musk.

 

Lovely now, and I look forward to seeing how it settles in a few months.

[MadameSalty]

This is incredible! Snuggly, fuzzy, comforting. In the bottle I smell the herbs and pine, but on my skin this dries down to a sweet, soft, gentle musky scent. I smell sweet dry grasses, grains, and brown fur. The musk reminds me a lot of Snake Charmer! This is like Snake Charmer and Coyote had a roll in the hay out in the woods during the golden hour of sunset, with the moon just starting to rise. I can see myself wearing this a ton on the fall. This would me magnificent on the man thing as well but I am not sharing! This one is pure BPAL magic <3

[galahad]

When I saw this come up and read the reviews I immediately ordered 2 bottles and I am so glad I did!

In the Bottle:

Softly balsamic, coolly airy (but not cold), faintly minty and sweet.

On the Skin:

A beautiful airy but balmy musk with a touch of green sappy growth and a soft waft of fir/pine. Surprisingly powerful but not overpowering. Almost a sweet tea aspect to this. Indescribably mysterious and sexy

On the Drydown:

A subtle scent but has very good staying power and surprisingly has good throw. I think this will be come my #1 scent. It is so amazing and ends up a slighty smoky musk with soft balsamic greenery and fur notes. It is warm and seductive

[lizardskin]

I really want to like this one, but I think my skin chemistry might be ruining it for me. In the bottle it reminds me a little of A King Pursued by a Unicorn, but without the amber. On the skin, it starts off bright and sweet--almost too sweet for me--but over time it fades into a light, sweet musk. It doesn't have the sharp scent of fresh pine, but a more general foresty scent which does feel very warm and summery. Unfortunately, as it dries down it gets a little powdery and slightly nauseating . I'm hoping that if I let it rest for a while it might sort itself out, because the early stages, after the initial sweetness, are really nice.

There's also something in there that reminds me of Samhain, but I have no idea what that could be since there aren't any notes in common.

[LiberAmoris]

I didn't order Buck Moon when it was first released in 2005, and I was so sorry I didn't because the reviews sounded like something I would love. I was quicker on the draw this time around, and I'm so glad! This is just lovely. An amplification of one's natural musk, indeed. This is a skin scent on me, one that melds almost immediately and radiates a kind of comforting warmth. It's a golden musk on my skin, and the rest of the notes trail like suggestions. I do get a bit of forest herbs and pine pitch. The deer fur note is practically downy. And the warm evening air and crystalline spark—there like a halo.

 

This scent reminds me of my birthday last year in Napa Valley. I was celebrating a delayed 40th (couldn't get away the year before), and my husband and I went to a very lovely, super private place in the hills. It was June, sunny, warm, and dry. The deer roamed the hills and crossed in front of our cabin at dawn and dusk. On my birthday, I put on zero makeup and wore a low-cut, pinot-colored dress. I swanned around on the deck drinking wine, watching the sun set, and feeling so happy I could die. This smells like that sun, the deer, the scrubby pines dotting the hillside, and the simplicity of a bare face.

[Mountaingrrl00]

I loved an earlier version of this, and I'm happy to report that this is nearly as lovely fresh, and likely to be just as good with some aging.

 

Buck Moon 2017 starts out with a sharp pine note and just a hint of ozone. The latter worries me because I often get headaches from ozone scents, but this soon fades.

 

The next phase is warmer, with a vanilla-like furry smell. The musk is coming out and it is gorgeous. Crystalline is a good description. It's like some Egyptian musks I've smelled, a clean skin musk.

 

The musk sticks around and blends with the woods for a subtle, natural-but-better drydown.

[zankoku_zen]

Pine and ozone give way to soft brown musk, vanilla, and a touch of hay. It starts off as cold and crystalline and dries down to a warm, skin scent. Low throw, great wear length.

[Little Bird]

Buck Moon 2017 reminds me more of the original Falling Leaf Moon or Samhain than the original Buck Moon (the GC 'Ochosi' reminds me of original Buck Moon).

I actually don't get much greenery from this blend, other than a whiff of sweet pine at the start. Mostly this smells like spicy, dry, crunchy fall leaves and a soft, furry animal musk that's slightly powdery and vanillic with just a hint of dirtiness. It has that spicy, dry patchouli that's in blends like Samhain, to my nose.

The musk reminds me of a toned down Smell Bent's Commando.
I'm really loving this blend.

[LizziesLuck]

I haven't tried the original Buck Moon. I have sniffed it in the bottle, I believe, but honestly can't rememeber anything about it.

 

 

Wet: Wow, this smells a lot like Samhain, but without the horrid medicinal note that hates my skin. Intead I get pine/cate pee of doom. Blarg. So not what I was hoping for! Sometimes pine pitch is OK where pine is not (like Pickled Imp) but this is not one of those cases. My arm smells like mentholated cat pee and Samhain. HOWEVER, it's settling, and giving me some hope. There are some gorgeous notes in there, and they are starting to emerge. There's something really sweet and creamy and lovely happening. I think age might fix the pine issue as well, it's already receding into the background. Mmm, that musk!!

 

 

Dry: Ya, I am still getting a Samhain vibe from this, but it's much better on me that Samhain ever was. The pine gets smoothed right out, no more cat pee! It's creamy, musky, woody, sweet, spicy. Slightly wild, a bit feral. Hard to describe, but I love it. A keeper, I'm glad I got it, even though it was not remotely what I was expecting.

[milo]

I remember trying this when I first got into bpal, and used up the imp very quickly. Not sure why I didn't go straight to bottle on this one....This one is pretty similar from what I remember. Warm evergreens and musk, sweet and spicy and smells like a walk in the woods eating a snickerdoodle. I would love my house to smell like this too, it really is more of an atmosphere blend to me, but I'm sure I'll use up the imp, and keep an eye out for a bottle.

[Lucchesa]

Buck Moon 2017 is really lovely.  It reminds me of Coyote but with a spark of ozone instead of the amber.  Ozone is an iffy note on me, but it settles down quickly into cool forest and then Buck Moon gradually warms up on my skin, ending up with musk and fur and soft pine and dry underbrush.  I rarely get much throw, nor do I here, but this lasts a long time on me.   I'm looking forward to my 2019 decant!