Moonstone Noire

I noticed this little ditty on the black hole that is Vinted. After being intrigued by it's bottle style, with a massive black moon on it, I nipped over to Fragrantica to see what all the fuss was about. The reviews for it were interesting and polarising enough for me to have a go on it. So, I offered a lowball price (my tried and tested Vinted strategy) and to my surprise, the seller sold me Moonstone Noir for a paltry £6. The reviews in general make for very interesting reading; hugely contrasting and split right down the middle, between admiration and disgust. This gave me the motivation I needed to buy it, as scents that are despicable to some, but also adored by others, are the exact type of scents that I want in my collection. For me, I was expecting more of a shocking start. The scent has a clumsy, boring opening of spiced old wood and nuances of old, dull refined men. But then, the fun begins, as this scent kicks off louder than a pissed off Karen in a shitty restaurant. It becomes a right twisty bastard of a rollercoaster ride! It's got spice, it's got wood, it's got polish, it's got worn leather, it's got grandad's tool shed and it's got earthy, ecological tones. At one point, I was absolutely sure that I was getting moments of Inexcusable Evil by Toskovet! Imagine that! For fuck all money! Then, it twisted again, revealing the heart notes, by becoming a straight-up, classy posh leather scent. After a period of twanging on your olfactory nerves like a double bass player on phet, it all comes to a comforting, slow end, with the arrival of oud and vanilla in the base. Just when you think the ride is over, the final twist comes out, like a magician's encore, with a patchouli-esque sweet, goodbye kiss. It's sillage is magnificent; it casually detonates a fragrance bomb, that fills the entire room with ease. The longevity is there too; 8 hours in this perfume's presence from a single application. Oof, yer filthy bastud yer! 8/10. It is a bit of a wild ride when it gets going, but the clumsy start makes it lose two points.

Nose Note #538 Can't say if I'm dissapointed or not, because so far it smells quite similar to Tom Ford Ombre Leather, but I was expecting something new, just something else, and not another Ombre Leather clone. It has same nutty leather note. It is different, of course, because there's some sweetness to it from vanilla. And honestly I like it more than Ombre Leather, but still I was blind buying and expecting perhaps an Encelede clone, and it is not. Encelede is a minty beer barf. Of course you can say it has something in common with Encelede. Moonstone is slightly minty too. Yet again, this is better than the absolutely disgusting Encelede. I have never even heard of Old Library Dark Tales and I have no idea where to buy a sample. Moonstone Noire already has quadriple the amount of votes Old Library has. I can't believe FA are cloning something that unknown. Does Moonstone smell like an old library, i.e. an old book? Well... at a stretch. To conclude, this is one of the easiest and most likeable "all leather heavy leather" type of scents. The more I wear it, the more I like it. Blind buy? If you've never had anything close to Ombre Leather or any similar heavy leather scents, than probably not, but this could actually be a fantastic fragrance to get acquainted with leather. French Avenue doesn't miss UPD after half a year: Man, how could have I been so blind. This is absolutely an Encelede dupe!!! I love it 8.5/10, easiest heavy leather

Got my hands on both of the moonstones recently, despite the Noire version being disliked on the forums (at least that's what I saw). Nevertheless, the name and presentation intrigued me quite a bit, so when I saw it available in my area, I decided to get it. What can I say the negative reaction I saw was unjustified. This smells quite nice and is surprisingly versatile, for evening perfume that is. Key players here are leather (which is quite floral, similar to Elysian from the same house) and moderately sweet vanilla with hints of vetiver. While I found the Bleu version's sillage nuclear, this one is more intimate and sits closer to the skin. Overall, I believe this is a great evening perfume perfectly suited for formal events but could be pulled off and rocked pretty much anytime except those hot summer days. In short, inoffensive, classy leather with a side of appealing vanilla. Oh and its unisex as well

This fragrance has made me realize how differing peoples tastes really are, I read all the reviews for this saying about how "this is a scent for older men, if you are a young boy do NOT buy this fragrance" "IF YOU ARE NOT OVER 55 THEN DON'T BUY THIS" "this smells like motor oil and is not your BDC so if you're not used to sophisticated niche smelling fragrances then don't get this" I have no idea how you could get any of that from this fragrance, whilst yes it is a mature scent and isn't just an average designer fragrance, it doesn't mean that you can't wear this if you are a younger guy such as myself. After wearing this and getting responses from people, even though it's an older scent it doesn't mean it's exclusive, and just because it smells different it doesn't mean that it isn't going to be generally liked as I've gotten complimented on this all day. Amazing fragrance, new signature scent, 9.5/10

This only comes out at night, literally NOIR with capitals. Vampire or batman stuff. Not your usual fragrance, you can be sure no one else will smell like you in a 100km radius, trust me. The vanilla note is present but don't be fooled, this ain't a sweet playful scent. Not a crowd pleaser. This is a very mature scent, for men over 40 surely. Both longevity and sillage are NUCLEAR, easy with the sprayer. Last but not least, if you know what I mean: This fills the room easily with 3 sprays and it smells different and better in the air compared to your skin. Scent 9/10 Uniqueness 10/10 Performance 100/10 stellar. This was a successful blind buy for me but be warned: This scent is the definition of not blind buy safe, but again if you find it for 25$ as i did, you got almost nothing to lose.