Frédéric Malle
The Moon
The Moon by Frédéric Malle opens with raspberry, litchi, saffron, blackberry and strawberry, turns to red berries, turkish rose, red currant, olibanum and violet, and dries down to agarwood (oud), leather, amber, patchouli, sandalwood, cypriol and cedar.
The Nose
Composed by Julien Rasquinet for Frédéric Malle, also behind Naomi Goodsir Bois d'Ascèse and Naomi Goodsir Cuir Velours.
Fruity
Ripe orchard flush of juice
The succulent sweetness of peach, pear, apple, or berry, soft and dewy with a nectar-like ripeness distinct from sharp citrus. It brings a playful, mouthwatering roundness that feels youthful, juicy, and lighthearted.
Sweet
Edible warmth on the skin
A rounded, sugary character that suggests caramel, honey, or spun candy without any single one dominating. It reads as comforting and indulgent, the gourmand pull that makes a fragrance feel soft, inviting, and almost good enough to taste.
Oud
Dark resinous wood with depth
A dense, resinous wood that smells warm and slightly medicinal, with a leathery, animal-tinged smokiness and a sweet, almost barnyard funk underneath. It feels ancient and brooding, wrapping the skin in something thick and quietly powerful.
Leather
Tanned hide, smoke and skin
The dry, smoky scent of tanned hide, edged with birch tar, tobacco, and a faint bitter rasp. It feels confident and worn-in, evoking a well-loved jacket, suede gloves, and a quiet sense of authority on the skin.
Amber
Golden resin glowing warm
A soft, resinous glow built from labdanum, benzoin, and vanilla, sweet but dusky, like sun-warmed tree sap with a hint of incense smoke. It radiates a cozy, golden heat that wraps close to the skin and lingers.
Rose
Velvet petals, honey and thorn
The layered scent of true petals, dewy and fruity up top, with a deeper jammy, honeyed heart and a faint peppery, green bite. It feels timeless and emotional, by turns delicate and commanding depending on how it unfolds.
Raspberry
Bright berry sparkle with a jammy heart
What it is
A bright berry note with a jammy heart. Raspberry adds juice and playfulness to even the darkest composition.
How it smells
Sweet and vivid, with a tart sparkle over a soft jammy depth. On skin it settles into a warm, rosy fruitiness.
In perfumery
Raspberry loves rose, patchouli and dark woods, where its brightness cuts through the shadow. A little brings a whole blend to life.
Good to know
Raspberry can lean fresh or jammy depending on what surrounds it. Against oud and incense it turns rich and almost liqueur-like.
Litchi
Pink-skinned fruit that smells of roses and rain
What it is
The fruit of Litchi chinensis, a subtropical evergreen tree native to southern China, bearing rough red shells over translucent white flesh. Its high water content makes meaningful distillation impossible, so the litchi note is a synthetic reconstruction built from aroma-chemicals.
How it smells
Juicy, sweet and floral: ripe tropical fruit shot through with rosy-metallic freshness and a cool, watery transparency. It opens bright and candied, almost rosewater-like, then softens to a delicate fruity-floral hum carrying faint green and dewy facets.
In perfumery
A top note driving fruity-floral and fresh modern blends, valued for sparkling juiciness. Its rose-oxide chemistry makes it a natural partner for rose, peony and freesia. It anchors the fruity-rose accord at the heart of many modern rose bouquets.
Good to know
Litchi and rose share the molecule cis-rose oxide, which is why the fruit smells faintly floral and folds so seamlessly into rose accords. The same compound, alongside geraniol, gives the Gewurztraminer grape its surprising lychee-like aroma.
Saffron
Crimson threads breathing leather, honey and dry hay
What it is
Saffron is the dried stigma of Crocus sativus, a purple autumn-flowering crocus in the iris family. Each bloom yields just three slender crimson threads, plucked by hand. The dried threads are steeped into a tincture or solvent-extracted into an absolute to capture their aromatic oil for perfumery.
How it smells
Warm and dry at first, with hay, honey and toasted bread, then a metallic, leathery edge driven by the molecule safranal. Beneath runs a bittersweet, faintly medicinal earthiness and a soft rubbery warmth. It opens spicy and golden, drying into suede, tobacco and dusty amber.
In perfumery
Saffron works in the heart, bridging spice and leather and lending a glowing, reddish warmth. It pairs classically with rose, oud, amber and tobacco. Whole leathery accords can be built around it, and it is often wed to rose for a rich, spiced-floral effect.
Good to know
Saffron is the costliest spice on earth, dearer by weight than gold. A single kilogram demands roughly 150,000 hand-picked flowers and many days of stooped labor. Most perfumery saffron is reconstructed from synthetic safranal or saffron bases, since the natural extract is too rare and expensive to use widely.
Blackberry
Dark berry juice with a wild edge
What it is
A dark berry note with a wild, hedgerow edge. Blackberry brings depth where lighter fruits bring shine.
How it smells
Juicy and dark, sweet pulp with a tart skin and a faint violet shadow. It reads riper and moodier than its red cousins.
In perfumery
Blackberry deepens florals and gives woods and oud a lush, wine-dark fruitiness. It thrives in rich, nocturnal compositions.
Good to know
Blackberry keeps its depth well into the heart, leaving a soft dark-fruit warmth in the drydown.
Strawberry
Sweet red berry warmth, soft and inviting
What it is
A soft red berry note, sweet and inviting. Strawberry lends a fragrance an irresistible touch of comfort.
How it smells
Sweet, jammy and gently candied, like ripe berries warmed in the sun. On skin it melts into a plush fruity glow.
In perfumery
Strawberry sweetens roses, vanilla and soft woods beautifully. It gives rich compositions a tender, human warmth.
Good to know
Strawberry reads richest against deep notes like oud and vanilla, where it turns velvety rather than sugary.
Red Berries
A bright tumble of just-picked summer fruit
What it is
Red berries is an abstract accord, not one botanical, evoking raspberry, redcurrant, strawberry, and wild berries. Most red fruits yield no usable essential oil, so perfumers reconstruct the impression from aroma chemicals such as fruity esters, ionones, and damascones, blending them toward a juicy, ripe effect.
How it smells
Sweet-tart and watery-fresh, with raspberry's jammy facet, redcurrant's green snap, and a candied pink edge. It opens vivid and mouthwatering, then quickly softens into a gentle fruity sweetness. The impression is lighter and more transparent than dark berries like blackcurrant or blackberry.
In perfumery
A top-to-heart accent giving brightness, juiciness, and easy approachability. It lifts florals like rose and peony, sweetens gourmands, and freshens chypres. Central to pink fruity-floral compositions, it threads through countless modern fruity florals.
Good to know
Because red fruits resist distillation, the category lives almost entirely on synthetics. Raspberry ketone (frambinone) is a workhorse molecule here; extracting it from real raspberries yields only a few milligrams per kilo, pushing the natural grade toward roughly twenty thousand dollars per kilogram and making it impractical.
Turkish Rose
Spiced honey petals from the Isparta valleys
What it is
Rosa damascena grown in Turkey's Isparta region, where small farms hand-pick blossoms at dawn before the heat scatters the oil. Steam distillation of the petals yields rose otto, while solvent extraction produces the deeper, redder rose absolute used for its fuller, jammier facets.
How it smells
Fresh, fruity and spicy, with a honeyed glow and a green, faintly peppery edge. Against the sweeter, denser Bulgarian rose, the Turkish material reads brighter and more transparent, opening dewy and rosy before settling into a warm, spiced, lightly clove-like depth.
In perfumery
A heart note delivering true natural rose: radiant, multifaceted and indispensable in florals, chypres and orientals. It blends with oud, saffron, patchouli and geranium. Isparta otto and absolute thread through fine perfumery wherever an authentic, lifelike damask rose is wanted.
Good to know
Roughly three to five tonnes of hand-picked petals distill into a single kilogram of rose otto, placing it among the costliest naturals. Isparta Rose holds a Turkish registered designation of origin, granted in 2022, restricting the name to specified districts of the province.
Red Currant
Tart jewel-bright berries snapped from the bush
What it is
The fruit of Ribes rubrum, a deciduous shrub of northern Europe and Asia bearing translucent scarlet berries in trailing clusters. The berry yields no practical essential oil, so perfumery recreates its scent with aroma-chemicals, blending sulphurous cassis-type molecules with bright fruity esters.
How it smells
Sharp, tangy and juicy, with a bright acidic snap balanced by thin sweetness. A faint green, leafy and slightly sulphurous edge lends fresh-picked realism, like the fruit crushed between fingers. It stays crisp and translucent rather than turning jammy or syrupy.
In perfumery
A sparkling top note adding tartness and lift to fruity, floral and chypre accords. It pairs with rose, blackcurrant, pink pepper and rhubarb. It threads through modern fruity-florals, often standing in as the cleaner, less feral relative of blackcurrant, or cassis.
Good to know
Red currant and blackcurrant are close relatives in the genus Ribes, yet smell strikingly different: the red is clean and tart, while blackcurrant carries the pungent, cat-like sulphur funk that perfumers prize and that sharply divides opinion among wearers.
Olibanum
Sun-baked resin tears that smell of sacred smoke
What it is
Olibanum is frankincense, the dried gum resin of Boswellia trees, chiefly Boswellia sacra and Boswellia carterii of Oman, Yemen and Somalia. Harvesters score the bark, and the milky sap bleeds out and hardens in the sun into amber tears that are then steam-distilled or solvent-extracted.
How it smells
Bright, dry and resinous, opening with cool lemon-pine and green terpenes over a balsamic warmth. Beneath runs peppery incense, a faint waxy sweetness and a smoky, slightly camphoraceous lift. As it dries it turns soft, ambery and meditative, recalling old stone churches and warm dust.
In perfumery
A versatile heart-to-base material prized in incense and oriental compositions, lending lift, cool radiance and a spiritual signature. It pairs with myrrh, rose, citrus and labdanum, and defines the smoky cathedral-incense and dry woody-incense styles built around it.
Good to know
Frankincense was once valued like gold and traded along Arabian caravan routes, and it appears in the Nativity story. Overtapping, overgrazing and pest damage now stress wild Boswellia stands, with Boswellia sacra listed as Near Threatened, raising real sustainability concerns for the trade.
Violet
Powdery purple petals that vanish as you reach
What it is
The violet flower comes from Viola odorata, with Parma and Victoria types favored historically. Natural flower oil is extraordinarily rare and barely produced today, so the modern violet note is built largely from ionones, aroma-chemicals first synthesized in 1893 by Tiemann and Krüger from citral and acetone.
How it smells
Soft, powdery and cool, with a sweet, sugar-dusted candied facet and a faintly watery, green edge. Ionones lend a curious quality that seems to fade and return as the nose tires. It reads tender and nostalgic, recalling Parma violet sweets, face powder and crushed petals.
In perfumery
A heart note giving powdery softness and a retro, romantic character. It pairs with iris, rose, leather and almond, and tempers sweetness into restraint. It centers classic violet soliflores and the candied makeup-box theme of fragrances built around violet-sweet nostalgia.
Good to know
The flower note differs from violet leaf, a green, cucumber-and-hay absolute extracted from the leaves. Ionones quickly saturate the olfactory receptors, so the scent appears to disappear then return as the nose recovers, an effect often cited as a textbook case of olfactory fatigue.
Agarwood (Oud)
Deep resinous agarwood, smoky and quietly animalic
What it is
The dark heart of oud perfumery, prized for its depth and shadow. Few notes carry this much presence in so small a dose.
How it smells
Deep resinous agarwood character. Smoky, dark and quietly animalic as it settles into the skin.
In perfumery
A commanding base note that anchors rose, spice, amber and incense. It gives a composition weight, mystery and remarkable staying power.
Good to know
Oud rewards patience. The smoke softens over the hours and a warm, leathery sweetness comes forward in the drydown.
Leather
Tanned hide, smoke and animal warmth
What it is
Leather is an accord, not a single ingredient: there is no leather essential oil. Perfumers rebuild its scent from birch tar and cade (smoky distilled woods), styrax and labdanum resins, isobutyl quinoline and modern safraleine-type molecules, historically echoing the tannins and oils once used to cure hides.
How it smells
Smoky, dry and animalic, ranging from supple new suede to tarry old saddle. Birch-tar versions read sooty and phenolic, almost campfire and band-aid; softer suede accords turn powdery, floral and skin-warm. It can lean bitter-green, ashy or sweet depending on the supporting resins.
In perfumery
A base-note signature that gives depth, structure and a carnal edge, pairing with rose, violet, tobacco, oud and floral hearts. Iconic in the great Russian-leather and rugged dry-leather styles, each one a different facet of the accord.
Good to know
The genre was born in Russia, where book bindings and boots were treated with birch tar; the classic Russian-leather style recalls that scent. Real tanning oils were largely restricted on safety grounds, so today's leathers are almost entirely the work of clever synthetic reconstruction.
Amber
A warm resinous glow built, not harvested
What it is
Amber is not one ingredient but a perfumer's accord, most often blending labdanum (a sticky resin from the Mediterranean rockrose shrub Cistus ladanifer), benzoin and vanilla, sometimes with tonka or Peru balsam. Despite the name, it has no link to fossilized tree amber, which stays odorless on skin.
How it smells
Warm, soft and balsamic, a powdery sweetness sitting over dry resin. It opens honeyed and faintly animalic from labdanum, then settles into rounded golden warmth recalling beeswax, tobacco and worn leather, threaded with a quiet smoky, incense-like undertone that lingers close to the skin.
In perfumery
A base note prized for warmth, depth and long persistence, anchoring oriental and amber compositions. It pairs naturally with vanilla, patchouli, sandalwood and spices. The sweet vanilla-amber template is a perfumery classic, while drier, resin-forward and herbal readings show its other face.
Good to know
The word once meant ambergris, the waxy intestinal secretion of sperm whales, fueling centuries of confusion among three unrelated things: fossil tree amber, whale ambergris and the resin accord. Modern amber bases are wholly plant and synthetic, leaning on molecules like Ambroxan rather than any animal source.
Patchouli
Damp earth and dark wood after rain
What it is
Patchouli comes from Pogostemon cablin, a leafy bush in the mint family native to tropical Asia and grown mainly in Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. The harvested leaves are dried and lightly cured or fermented, then steam-distilled or hydrodistilled into a thick, dark essential oil.
How it smells
Deeply earthy and woody, like damp forest floor, wet soil and old cellars, threaded with a winey, slightly sweet darkness. Fresh oil can read sharp, almost camphorous and green; with age it rounds into chocolate, leather and dried-fruit warmth that clings for hours.
In perfumery
A base note and powerful fixative, patchouli anchors a composition and lengthens its wear. It forms the backbone of chypres and orientals, pairing with rose, vetiver, labdanum and vanilla. It defines many gourmand-oriental blends and carries the woody-balsamic heart of plush chypre accords.
Good to know
In the 19th century, real Kashmiri shawls were packed with dried patchouli leaves to repel moths in transit, so Europeans learned to recognise genuine imports by smell. Unlike most essential oils, patchouli improves with age, deepening and mellowing over years much like wine.
Sandalwood
Creamy meditative woods that breathe in slowly
What it is
Sandalwood oil is steam-distilled from the heartwood and roots of slow-growing Santalum trees, classically Santalum album of Mysore, India. As the wild Indian source neared collapse, plantations of the same species in tropical Western Australia now supply much of the world's perfumery-grade oil.
How it smells
Soft, creamy and milky, with a smooth woody warmth and a faintly sweet, rosy, almost buttery edge. It carries no sharpness, only a rounded balsamic depth. It stays remarkably steady on skin, glowing quietly for hours rather than opening and drying in distinct stages.
In perfumery
A base note valued as both scent and fixative, sandalwood lends creaminess, warmth and a meditative softness that binds compositions together. It pairs beautifully with rose, jasmine, vetiver and spice. Many meditative woody and incense fragrances celebrate it at their heart.
Good to know
Genuine Mysore sandalwood was so overharvested that India tightened export controls and the wild tree became vulnerable, with oil prices reported around two thousand dollars per kilogram. Plantations of Santalum album grown near Kununurra in Western Australia now sustainably recreate the original creamy profile.
Cypriol
Dark smoky root, the desert cousin of oud
What it is
Cypriol, or nagarmotha, is the oil of Cyperus scariosus, a wetland sedge growing wild in the marshy riverbeds of Madhya Pradesh, India. The dried rhizomes and roots are crushed and steam-distilled, yielding under a tenth of a percent of a thick, dark amber oil.
How it smells
Woody and earthy with a cold smoky underbelly, drier than patchouli and rootier than vetiver. A sharp peppery top gives way to leather, dry amber and faint tar. As it settles it reads dark, mineral and ashy, with a bitter resinous edge recalling burnt agarwood.
In perfumery
A base note prized as a natural fixative and an affordable stand-in for oud in woody, leather and dry-amber accords. It pairs with patchouli, saffron, cedar and incense, and anchors smoky oud-leaning compositions, lending body to many spicy woody and modern agarwood blends.
Good to know
Cyperus scariosus is the source of the Indian perfumery base motha, and its sister sedge Cyperus rotundus is a stubborn farm weed worldwide. The same rhizome has flavored Ayurvedic medicine and traditional cooling tonics for centuries before reaching modern fragrance.
Cedar
Dry sharpened pencils and sun-warmed timber
What it is
Cedar in perfumery comes mainly from the heartwood of Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica) and, more commonly, the aromatically similar Virginia and Texas "cedars" of the Juniperus genus. Wood chips and sawmill shavings are steam-distilled into an oil rich in cedrol and cedrene, the molecules carrying the scent.
How it smells
Dry, woody and resinous, recalling freshly sharpened pencils and cedar-lined closets. Atlas cedar leans warm, smoky and balsamic; Virginia cedar reads sharper and cleaner. It opens crisp and pencil-like, then settles into a soft, sawdust-warm, faintly sweet timber that holds for hours.
In perfumery
A workhorse heart and base note prized for its smooth woody backbone and fixative power. It anchors chypres, fougeres and modern woods, pairing with vetiver, rose, citrus and amber. Cedar lends a signature plummy-woody core to spiced floral-woods and threads through countless unisex woods.
Good to know
Most perfumery "cedar" is not botanical cedar at all but juniper; true Cedrus and the unrelated Juniperus share a name through scent, not lineage. Cedarwood oil was burned in ancient Egyptian embalming and used to scent tombs, coffins and ships' timbers.
Fragrance Character
A fruity-woody composition led by raspberry and litchi, resting on agarwood (oud) and leather.
Longevity
how long it stays on skin
This gauge reads the expected wear time, how many hours the fragrance keeps speaking on skin before it fades. A marker near the low end means a few fleeting hours, while a marker pushed to the far end promises a scent still present from morning into night.
Sillage
the size of its scent trail
This reads how far the fragrance reaches beyond you and the trail it leaves behind. Low sits soft against the skin, an intimate whisper noticed only up close; high climbs through moderate and strong toward enormous, filling a room and lingering in the air after you have left it.
Experimental
For the bold and curious
Unconventional, boundary-pushing scents for someone who wants to provoke a reaction and stand apart. Suited to artistic, challenging compositions: inky tar, rubber, fermented fruit, metallic or animalic facets that defy easy liking. On this wheel a glowing coin means it rewards the adventurous nose, a dim one means it plays things safe.
Office
Polished but never overpowering
Close-quarters professional settings where a scent should be noticed only by those near you. Suited to restrained, clean compositions with modest projection: tidy citrus, soft musk, pale woods that read competent and considerate. On this wheel a glowing coin means it works in shared workspaces, a dim one means it carries too far.
Evening
After dark, turned up
Dinners, drinks, and nights out when a fragrance can deepen and project with confidence. Suited to richer, warmer compositions: ambers, resins, smoky woods, or plush florals that bloom under low light. On this wheel a glowing coin means the scent comes alive after sundown, a dim one means it stays better suited to daytime.
Romantic
Close enough to be felt
Intimate moments and date nights meant to draw someone nearer. Suited to warm, sensual compositions that hum against skin: creamy florals, vanilla, soft musk, a touch of spice or amber that invites closeness. On this wheel a glowing coin means it sets an alluring mood, a dim one means it leans more practical than seductive.
Formal
Refined for the occasion that matters
Weddings, ceremonies, galas, and dressed-up affairs that call for composure and elegance. Suited to polished, structured scents with quiet authority: smooth woods, refined florals, soft leather, nothing loud or playful. On this wheel a glowing coin means it carries the right gravitas, a dim one means it feels too casual for the room.
Casual
Easy comfort for unhurried days
Everyday wear with no agenda: errands, coffee, friends, a slow weekend. Suited to soft, approachable scents that feel clean and natural, like fresh citrus, light woods, or a gentle skin warmth. On this wheel a glowing coin means the fragrance fits these laid-back moments, a dim one means it asks for more.
Day to Night
where its mood naturally falls
This slider reads the hour the fragrance was made for. A marker to the left leans luminous and bright, easy in daylight and open air; slide it right and the character turns deeper and warmer, the kind of presence that belongs to evening and candlelit rooms.
Winter
Warmth that carries through cold air
Cold air mutes and slows a fragrance, so winter rewards the dense and the warm: resins, smoke, vanilla, leather, and ambered spice that radiate heat against the chill. The bar shows how strongly this particular scent holds up and glows in cold weather.
Spring
Fresh blooms in mild, rising warmth
Mild, humid air lifts lighter compositions beautifully, so spring favors dewy florals, green stems, soft powder, and transparent citrus that feel alive rather than heavy. The bar shows how well this particular scent matches that fresh, gently warming season.
Summer
Bright and airy in real heat
Heat amplifies and projects scent hard, so summer calls for cool, crisp, breathable things: sharp citrus, salty marine air, aromatic herbs, and watery freshness that refresh instead of cloy. The bar shows how comfortably this particular scent wears in real warmth.
Fall
Spiced warmth for cooling days
As temperatures drop, richer materials read clearly without smothering, so autumn suits dry woods, warm spice, tobacco, amber, and golden fruit that feel cozy and contemplative. The bar shows how naturally this particular scent settles into crisp, cooling days.
Best Worn
Winter and Fall wear, at home in evening, romantic moments, for those who favour fruity and woody fragrances.
Why The Moon Decant
A decant is the considered way to live with The Moon across a few wears before the full bottle.
Official Notes
Raspberry · Litchi · Saffron · Blackberry · Strawberry · Red Berries · Turkish Rose · Red Currant · Olibanum · Violet · Agarwood (Oud) · Leather · Amber · Patchouli · Sandalwood · Cypriol · Cedar
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The Vibe
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