FREDERIC MALLE
THE MOON

2019

PERFUMER
Julien Rasquinet

raspberry
lychee
saffron

frankincense
turkish rose

oud
leather

‘Celestial romance. The moon plays a leading role in conducting the rhythm of life in the Middle East, her ethereal appearance hailing the beginning and end of all festivity. Yet in Arabic, invoking the moon is also an allusion to romance — ‘my moon’; an adoringly grandiose term for one’s beloved that speaks of beauty and eternal devotion. Exuding a warm, opulent quality, rose, oud and frankincense meet a surprising abundance of ripe red berries. In subtle evocation of the fruit-flavored shisha enjoyed across the region, the profusion of redcurrant and raspberry notes adds sweetness and color. A potent new moon.’ – Frederic Malle

After several years of intrigue and a couple of brief smells, I finally wore The Moon properly and I’m able to share my largely positive, but ultimately a bit conflicted thoughts on it.

Taking into account that the only one from this collection that I really knew well enough was Promise, in my mind at least, my favorite of the Desert Gems has always been The Moon. Unfortunately not the most accessible, both in availability in-store and price point. It’s also not the most accessible as far as scent profile, but I don’t find it as daring as I once may have perceived it.

It is animalic; it is daring to some extend. Fiesty, fiery with a slightly pissy, acrid leather. But it has a lot of fruitiness and vivid rose. It feels almost as if it has a gasoline edge; like holding a (overripe) fruit basket and a lush bouquet of flowers on a hot Summer’s day, after you’ve spilled some gas on your fingers while filling up the car.

This darker, denser side grows increasingly sweet and I find that after an hour or two, most of the animalic, leathery side has been overtaken by a sweet ambery wood. If I’m being honest, if anything, it starts to feel too common and generic for its allure and price point at this stage. Not the whole composition, but there’s a good chunk of an ambery base here that smells sub-par for what I wanted The Moon to be.

I like the opening hour the best by far, where simultaneously the most fiery aspects shine, and the most bright, tart and citrussy edges of the fruits. And for a moment it felt like The Moon would be a contender to be my favorite Frederic Malle (over Noir Epices, Portrait Of A Lady & Rose Tonnerre, which would be my top 3 at the time of writing). The tart, rose and earthy combination reminds me for a moment of Rose Tonnerre / Une Rose a little bit. But frankly, I prefer the way that dries down over this sweet amber The Moon. At least for a couple of hours; as I found that in the late drydown of The Moon, some of that slightly animalic amber gets exposed again, as some of the other notes fade out. At this last stage I was reminded of a mix of the amber from Roja Parfum de la Nuit 1 & the sweeter oud from something akin to Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud Satin Mood. This lasts for a long time, but in a more subdued, closer to the skin fashion.

Generally speaking, the performance isn’t as ‘in your face’ as I expected it to be, which helps in making it easier to wear. It has enough depth, but it’s not loud and harsh as many fragrances that go in this broad direction are. It feels… soft, fuzzy, muddy, opaque, but not projecting any sharpness or screechiness.

Having finally worn this fragrance all day, makes me wonder if and how much the Moon has changed over the years; I have a feeling that I’m not smelling it at its finest, or at least, it’s rawest. The drydown feels much more like your average muddy, almost cloying, labdanum-ish amber. There is faint fruitiness and slightly more serious oud left, but that typical style of sweetness takes it down a notch.

It makes The Moon go from potential favorite of the brand to right below my top favorites. Still good and I’d still happily like to add a bottle to my collection one day, but (luckily for my financial situation) it’s not quite a wishlist item, let alone a must-have. I could only consider it at the regular Malle collection price point, but I’m not sure if it would be the first Frederic Malle I’d add to the collection if it were. At €570/50ml, it’s not flawless or magical enough to take it into consideration.