I’ve been testing this perfume for less than a month, and already several people have stopped me to ask me what I’m wearing. And no, this isn’t a joke, it’s completely true. I won’t deny that it’s a feeling of embarrassment and excitement in equal parts, and a thought like, hey… it’s not just me who loves this perfume.
It arrived in my collection by surprise and for being a textbook Taurus. Apparently the Moonstone is the scent that best fits my zodiac sign, and from that moment I haven’t been able to stop using it. There are perfumes bought with intention and perfumes that simply appear at the right moment: this one was the latter.
Moonstone by Aristocrazy opens with pear and bergamot, fresh and luminous, that give way to a heart of tiaré and delicate and enveloping jasmine. The sandalwood and vanilla in the base close with a sensual warmth that is, precisely, the one that lasts the longest on the skin and that makes people turn. It is inspired by the moonstone, that volcanic crystal with reflections that recall moonlight, and it smells exactly like what it promises: something luminous, warm and with mystery.
Moonstone by Aristocrazy.
What surprises me most is the trail. It starts soft, almost discreet, and two hours after applying it is when it’s at its best, when the woody-vanilla base has settled on the skin and the jasmine remains present but softer. That moment when someone passes by and stops is exactly that—the two-hour mark.
I have a bit of an obsession with guessing people’s perfumes; it’s a game I love and one that rarely goes well, but when it does the satisfaction is enormous. In the doctor’s waiting room, while I waited, a luscious, sweet, comforting aroma reached me that I couldn’t stop trying to identify. Marshmallow, strawberry, a touch of coconut and a very soft vanilla base. It took me a few minutes, but I got it: it was the Yum Boujee Marshmallow by Kayali. I simply said: You smell really good — Kayali? And we both smiled quickly.
Yum Boujee Marshmallow by Kayali.
In fact, a few months ago I already wrote about this perfume as one of the ones that had stopped me on the street. It’s no coincidence: it is a fragrance that smells exactly like what it promises, a luxurious and delicious dessert that isn’t cloying. Soft marshmallow, fresh strawberries, coconut flakes, whipped vanilla and pink musk in a diamond-shaped bottle that is as beautiful as what it contains. Mona Kattan created it inspired by the nickname her husband gives her, and you can tell: it is an intimate and comforting perfume that seems made to stay.
And watch out, because these haven’t been the only times it has happened to me. With the Zadig L’Intense as well I’ve lived that experience of someone stopping and asking. It is a floral-woody fragrance with an opening accord of black sesame and gold, very different from anything I had tried from the brand before.
Zadig L’Intense by Zadig & Voltaire.
The orange blossom in the heart adds brightness and a fresh note that balances the intensity of sesame, and the vanilla and sandalwood in the base leave a sensual and addictive trail that lasts for hours. Elaborated with 90% natural-origin ingredients and in a bottle with golden wings that is refillable, it is one of those proposals that appeals as much for what they smell like as for what they represent.
Three very different perfumes, and yet all three have achieved the same thing: that someone stops and asks questions. Moonstone appeared thanks to the horoscope, Kayali I discovered in a waiting room, and Zadig arrived in a different way. But since I have them, I haven’t been able to stop using them, and apparently the people around me can’t stop noticing them either.
