Lunosa

Beautiful Floriental showcasing a lovely tuberose absolute. The scent opens briefly with hints of neroli and cypriol before heading to a dense heart of mostly the tuberose but also hints of gardenia. As the perfume dries down, one encounters hints of tobacco, sandalwood, vetiver and Cambodian oud. The feminine leaning scent has enormous projection and longevity. Overall this is a very well done sensual and lingering but overindulgent luxury scent. Enjoy!

A refined white floral with a dirty edge At some point, I got lost in my ever-growing pile of samples, and going through them all started to feel impossible. There are still countless samples sitting in boxes that I haven’t even properly set aside to test, and Lunosa is one of them. The fragrances from the 17/17 Stone Label collection are definitely the ones I remember most vividly from Xerjoff’s portfolio, but Lunosa lacks something that would make it equal to, for example, the incredibly well-crafted Begum. Lunosa opens with a clear tuberose and a delicate, fresh neroli accord. The dirty oud note may be challenging for many - some might even describe it as unpleasant. It is strong at first, and I can imagine it being repulsive to certain noses. However, this very aspect places the fragrance in its own category within a sea of hundreds of tuberose scents. This distinctive feature alone justifies its place in the 17/17 collection. If we focus on the oud note by itself, it is very similar at the beginning to Roja's Fruity Aoud or Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: it has that addictive, sensual, elegant animality. After the bold opening, however, the heart becomes rather simple and quite linear. The skanky oud settles down, softens, and retreats into the background, where it lingers like a whisper. In warm weather, that whisper can still feel a bit too much, even though the overall composition is otherwise bright and sunny, as the name suggests. There isn’t enough Sandalwood to make the texture truly creamy, and the tobacco remains subtle - neither smoky nor ashy. The combination of tobacco, oud, and Vetiver works together to transform this otherwise feminine and versatile floral into something distinctly unisex. The opening, where the notes feel clearly separated, evolves within about half an hour into a well-blended, pleasant, beautiful, and versatile composition. There may be many opinions on whether the fragrance is worth the requested €865 for 100 ml. Personally, if a fragrance is truly excellent, I am not willing to compromise on quality or scent profile, even if a similar fragrance is available at a significantly lower price. If the oud in Lunosa lasted longer, I think the price would feel more justified. Although the union of oud, tobacco, and vetiver is extremely well executed, it could be slightly more powerful. That said, I do not know of a similar fragrance where the quality is this high. For someone who does not enjoy overly animalic scents, this could be perfect. There is something here that you simply do not find in typical tuberose fragrances. In the end, Lunosa is a fragrance I respect more than I truly love. It dares to combine luminous florals with a challenging, slightly dirty oud in a way that feels intentional and refined rather than provocative for the sake of it. While it doesn’t fully deliver on the intensity I personally hoped for, it offers a distinctive interpretation of tuberose that stands apart from the crowd. For the right wearer - someone who appreciates elegance with a subtle edge - it could be a quietly captivating signature. 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 available): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more.

When I first smelled Lunosa, I was completely taken aback by how unapologetically full-bodied and full of character it was. I kept sniffing it - it reminded me of something I had smelled before, but it was resolutely different from any other fragrance I've encountered. It was green, it was rich, it was creamy, it was decaying. It was only after an agonising few minutes of brain-wracking, that I remembered that it smelled very much like tuberose absolute, with its unmistakeable green edge diametrically opposed to its lush, creamy headiness. The smokiness of cypriol cuts through the tuberose, almost desiccating, but also entwining with it. The strong contrast provides backbone and tension to the composition whilst smelling so natural, and keeps me sniffing away at the blotter. Absolutely stunning; probably my favourite tuberose fragrance. It costs an eye-watering £730 for 100 mL though, so I'll probably just pick up a sample.

Some powerful juice. Opening is a big blast of white florals with oud and crazy amount of honey and tobacco. Very sexy and slightly indoic/animalic at the same time. Tuberose is star of the show. Wearability is very good but spraying too much is a no no with this one. Will test it more and come back with an update. Update: Nice one to experience but looking at the price it would be very unwise purchase. It seems that you pay most for the bottle with its gold plated thing-of-a-bob. My sample sprayer got stuck after two sprays so yeah ha to ply it open. Not the best experience with that part.

I’ve never understood the desire behind combining oud and tuberose, I’ve yet to find an example where it actually works. Lunosa is a pretty good example of how easy it is to stick something in a pretty bottle and get away with charging obscene prices for a mediocre scent. This fragrance is dominated by a dry, ashy tobacco alongside a hefty dose of oud - synthetic I’m assuming. A rich, sultry cypriol emerges with its unforgiving and powerful embrace, which is when the white florals come through and ruin it for me. The tuberose is thick and heady, intensely soapy and slightly gummy backed up by and even cleaner gardenia. Every other aspect of this scent I enjoy. But I find the clean soapiness of tuberose combined with the dirty aspect of oud just makes it smell a bit like public toilets which haven’t been cleaned properly - I had the same issue with EO Green from Ensar Oud. It’s a pleasant scent I suppose, but £740 is a joke.