What on earth does a Moonbeam smell like, I hear you ask? Well, that's exactly what I was thinking when I stumbled across this fragrance whilst browsing The Library of Fragrance's huge scent collection online a couple of months ago. The company, known as Demeter Fragrance in the USA, differs from your average perfumery as they're known for capturing singular scents like Baby Powder, Apple Blossom and even Pizza! They also have a linear structure, as opposed to traditional fragrances which have top, heart and base notes, so they don't change on your skin over time and always aim to represent the object or experience they're named after.
Moonbeam* is one of the company's more subjective fragrances and it's inspired by a Shelley poem which I'm pretty certain has to be Love Philosophy:
The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the ocean,
The winds of heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one spirit meet and mingle.
Why not I with thine?—
See the mountains kiss high heaven
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdained its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth
And the moonbeams kiss the sea:
What is all this sweet work worth
If thou kiss not me?
- Percy Bysshe Shelley
After reading the poem I had already started to imagine what Moonbeam would smell like (I think it sets the scene really nicely!) and I'm actually quite surprised at how well they've managed to capture an experience in a fragrance: think taking a romantic stroll around a moonlit garden on a still, Summer's night. Moonbeam is both soft and sensual, it manages to express the innocence of the light but also the darkness and temptation of the night. The mixture of
vanilla and
chocolate add a sweetness to the perfume whilst the presence of
green leaves, jasmine, lily of the valley, amber and
precious woods give Moonbeam an earthy, musky undertone. The Library of Fragrance defines Moonbeam as a gourmand floral and I can't think of a better way to define it! As I usually gravitate towards fresh, fruity scents Moonbeam is a little bit different to the majority of the fragrances in my collection but I love reaching for it when I'm in a relaxed mood and in need of something softer and soothing.
My mum (who favours musky, floral scents) adores Moonbeam exactly as it is but I often find myself wishing that, during the warmer months at least, it had a little bit more of a fruity note added to it. And, after going back on the website, I found that I can do just that with Moonbeam but adding another scent on top of and experimenting with layers. I absolutely adore this idea of creating your own unique scent by layering other fragrances on top and the smart people at The Library of Fragrance actually help those who are new to this idea by providing some scent suggestions catered to each individual fragrance. To transform Moonbeam into that fresher, fruiter scent all I have to do is layer it with Fresh Coconut. I've listed their suggestions below so you can get a better idea of what I mean:
To add a Fruity Note, layer with: Fresh Coconut
To add a Clean Note: Musk #7
To add a Fresh Note: Thunderstorm
To add a Sweet Note: Vanilla Ice Cream
To add a Floral Note: Jasmine
To add a Wood/Spicy Note: Patchouli
All of the fragrances from The Library of Fragrance are Cologne Sprays and typically contain around 2-8% of Perfume Oil which makes them ideal for layering. I've found that Moonbeam lasts around 4-5 hours on my skin and it's actually a scent I can smell on myself without being overpowering! For 30ml, each fragrance retails for £15 (or you can pick up
2 for £25 in Boots!). I'm actually really impressed with how the quality of Moonbeam and I already have my eye on Lychee, Fresh Coconut and Ocean so I can start adding to my collection!
Have you tried anything from The Library of Fragrance?
You can read more about Moonbeam
here, on The Library of Fragrance website!
