Penhaligon's
Penhaligon's
390 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Primofiore lemon cuts through with immediate brightness, supported by zesty bitter orange and bergamot that feels almost bracing in its clarity. The citrus notes are clean and sharp, with a faint hint of the green stalks and leaf oils rather than the soft fruitiness of the flesh—you're smelling the peel and pith first.
By the second hour, the floral heart settles into focus, and here Luna reveals its true character: a rose and jasmine combination that's distinctly green and slightly aldehydic rather than creamy or indolic. The juniper berry becomes apparent as a subtle woody-spicy thread running through the florals, whilst the bergamot gradually mellows into a softer background, allowing the fir balsam's cool, resinous quality to emerge. The fragrance now smells like walking through a shadowy garden where green leaves are as prominent as the flowers themselves.
As the composition reaches its final hours, the base of fir balsam, musk, and ambergris becomes the dominant force, creating a cool, slightly salty-mineral effect on skin. The musk provides subtle skin-scent tendencies here, whilst the ambergris adds an almost ozonic, slightly marine character. What remains is less a traditional fragrance and more a whisper of clean skin with a faint botanical memory—precious little projection, but an intimate, contemplative presence for those close enough to notice.
Luna is a fragrance that wears its contradictions with remarkable poise. Aliénor Massenet has crafted something simultaneously luminous and earthy—a scent that captures the botanical intelligence of a moonlit garden rather than its romantic sentiment. The opening trio of citrus notes (Primofiore lemon, bitter orange, and bergamot) establishes a sharp, almost herbaceous brightness, but this is no cheerful daytime spritz. Instead, the citrus feels restrained, almost austere, as though filtered through translucent silk rather than splashed directly onto skin.
What distinguishes Luna is how swiftly the floral heart asserts itself, transforming the narrative entirely. Rose and jasmine emerge not as creamy, indolic florals but as crisp, slightly green expressions—the jasmine particularly reads as dewy and aldehydic rather than sultry. The juniper berry acts as an invisible architecture, introducing a piney, resinous quality that prevents the florals from becoming soft or powdery. This green-spicy dimension (64% green accord, 52% spicy) pulls the composition away from conventional feminine fragrance territory.
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3.6/5 (109)