Luna

The perfume that set me into my perfume journey this year, this was a love at first scent that I impulsively purchased when my friend first tested it at the Escentials perfume shop in KLCC. The moment I smelled it, the song Altar of Dreams by Aspidistrafly began to play in my head I knew I had to have it, being a perfume strong enough to evoke a song on first scent. It feels so fairy-like. It's far from a statement type of scent, but rather one ethereal as a mist at moonrise and moonset. There's a soft blanket of refreshing citrus in the opening which I find as comforting as a breeze as one awakes at nightfall, and it dries down to a dreamlike Greek impressionistic, watercolour moonlit rose garden in shades of silver, blue and magenta. Pools of clear water ripple after a light rain, petals float atop it, dewdrops rest atop bushes of roses and jasmine. One traipses barefoot across the stepping stones on the lake, and descends into the lake of silvery moonlight, almost lulled into a slumber by the beauty of the fragrance. It also develops beautifully on my skin. The only saddening thing about this fragrance is like what others have said - the longevity is poor for such a steep price, at most 3 hours before it becomes a skin scent. I spray it on my clothes to get at least 5 - 6 hours out of it; on my pillow it would last a whole night. Then again, it is made out of a lot of refreshing accords which are not meant to last long enough. It's good for going to church, having tea with friends or for a date. Not something that would last a whole day. I suppose the dreamlike ethereal quality also extends to its literal longevity - you'll eventually have to wake up from a short-lived, beautiful dream. But after misting my hair quite generously with it, I can catch whiffs of citrusy rosiness the whole day. It also has gotten me quite a few compliments from others after those few generous sprays, that is after several hours have passed since the initial application, whjch means it's still enough to be noticed by others but not enough to be offensive. I love it so much that after buying the 30ml bottle and using almost half of it, I bought the 100ml bottle a few months later the moment it was back in stock (and fortunately with a seasonal discount voucher) because there's really no way to obtain this bottle anywhere else in Malaysia other than Escentials KLCC. Penhaligon's doesn't ship directly to Malaysia, and all other methods of shipping are way more expensive. I use it for special occasions and outings, but due to its price point, I do not wear it all the time despite this being the one I consider my signature scent. All my friends who are not into perfume also agree this one is beautiful, and my beau loves this scent on me. Easily my top favourite scent only contended by Guerlain's Herba Fresca, which is still are in that "fresh" category, albeit having very different vibes. But Luna officially stays at the top of my list, and I very recently realise it's great layered with another one of my best scents - Coco Mademoiselle Intense, the chypre amber and fresh florals layer amazingly well.

As most people know, citrus scents are not my thing. I'm really happy that I've found some fragrances with clear citrus aromas that I really like. Luna is one of those few, another very beautiful is Thomas de Monaco Ultima Storia (the review written). Luna is at its best on hot summer days, after a shower or when your mind is heavy and you feel like you have too much to think about. It might also work in the gym, but despite the citrus, Luna is a relaxing and calming scent. It is fresh, soft, gentle, incredibly balanced and well blended. The rose and jasmine tie the notes together so well that the citrus is present until the end. Contrary to the initial impression that the citrus notes seemed to disappear quickly, they last very well throughout the long life of the fragrance. Of course, they perform more strongly at the beginning and then level out immediately afterwards. A subtle aromatic essence permeates through the citrus, but I still wouldn't classify the scent as aromatic. The juniper berry also doesn't make the scent sharp and it doesn't conjure up images of a drink. The musk and ambergris base makes the scent clean and sensual, yet innocent, while the Fir Balsam adds depth to the freshness, and together with the juniper berries and citrus, it creates a unique refreshing composition that I haven't found in any other fragrance. The scent is clear, transparent, breathable and soothing. It's no soapy nor shampoo like. What's also special about Luna is its longevity: it easily lasts all day, which is rare for such fragrances. It projects in the nice way as well. Luna is totally unisex imo. If citrus isn't my favorite category, Penhaligon's isn't one of my favorite houses either, but I think I could find others in this collection that I like. I’m absolutely in love with this scent. Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more.

I did not expect to love this one, so much, so fast and hard! Lol. It was definitely a love at first sniff for me. I got the citrusy notes blast before I got the roses. It immediately made me think of one of my all time favorite Miss Dior Rose N Roses. Although Rose N Roses isn't as citrus forward. I'm also surprised at its lasting power for an eau de cologne strength. Although I do wish it was EDP, especially for their prices. Yikes! Also, another plus point for me is even though jasmine is listed in the notes, I don't get any jasmine and I'm glad since I'm not a fan of jasmine. So till I have money to burn lol, for the time being I'm gonna cheer myself up with the affordable option of the proverbial "English rose" with The Body Shop's British Rose. And here's a few "cheat version" of it that I accidentally discovered; to create your own version of Luna, you should layer these combos- 1. Turquoise Vetiver by Ibrahim Al Qurashi with Rose 01 by Swiss Arabian. 2. French Tobacco by Ibrahim Al Qurashi with Club De Nuit Imperiale Woman by Armaf. 3. French Tobacco or Turquoise Vetiver with Gypsy Rose by Maison Luxe (Armaf owned). Luckily I have all 5 and they totally work, in varying degrees and surprisingly longer lasting. If any of you try it lemme know what you think!?

This is the perfume that made me question my entire taste. I usually don't like citruses and white flowers. I'm more of an amber girlie, I love oud, muscs, spices.. But this perfume. It's so bubbly and innocent. Pure, soft, clean. It smells like girlhood, love, life, taking a midnight bath alone while talking to the moon... It made me reconnect to myself with so much depth. I feel healed, it's just me in a bottle. Oh to have all I ever wanted to be and all I that I ever will be in a bottle... On a more serious note, longevity and projection are amazing on me for an EDT. But I wouldn't mind it to be a skin scent, as I feel weirdly intimate with this perfume. There's a subtle synthetic note to this perfume, and the clean musc goes amazingly well with it : I feel like I have been forced to meticulously clean myself to appear as fresh and young and conventionally attractive as I can. I am plastic, it's fantastic, but I'm also the moon's daughter and I fucking will swim in a pond and get all muddy to talk to her. Again, WTF Penhaligon's, I just wanted to smell nice. (This perfume did a better job than any therapist I ever talked to)

One of my favourite fragrances I’ve tried from the Dinky Bites collection so far. Wonderful blend of citrus with heavy emphasis on the bergamot (which gives me a little bit of a tea vibe) with soft florals and lovely aromatics that sit on my skin and make me reminiscent of a botanical garden by a lake in the cooler days of spring. To me, this is the perfect spring fragrance and it makes me want to wear it every day of the season. The scent lasts longer than I expected, and I still get the aromatics and jasmine long into wear which I didn’t necessarily expect. This quickly turns into a skin scent, as is common with citrus-heavy fragrances, but every once and a while I get a whiff of it (as I spray mainly on my clavicles) and it surprises and entices me every time. This is most certainly a fragrance for all age groups, and honestly is a lot more unisex to my nose than people label it as. Overall, as you can tell, I love love love this fragrance!! I could wear this every day and not get bored of it. I need to order a full bottle soon.