Pierre Guillaume’s fragrances are often romantic, sensual, inviting closeness. In Lune D’Eau he takes a step back, holding us at arm’s length and inviting introspection through this cool composition which recalls moonlight on a lake near Pierre’s house.

Listed notes

Amyris, mineral accords, icy water accords, juniper

Top notes

Right from the outset, it’s apparent that Lune d’Eau is a pared back scent with a distinctly minimalist vibe. It opens with a cool, milky woodiness, definite hints of green but a dry, slightly desiccated green like old-fall leaves or pine needles. Its distinctly cool tone is a little bit musty, very much like actual real forests are, not just overly sanitised renditions of them.

The use of amyris was really interesting here: it imparts a lovely, smooth, milky quality to the opening bars of the fragrance, and really reminded us of the milky trail that moonbeans trace on still water. Given the name of the scent, this was entirely  appropriate and evoked some lovely imagery.

It seems unfair to say that this is an unfriendly scent, I prefer to think of it more as a scent which errs on the side of introversion. It feels like it would hang around and give you a pleasant aura of fragrance, without overtly announcing its presence – like people might complement you but not really be able to put their finger on why.

Heart notes

The aquatic and mineral accords really make themselves known once the fragrance has fully settled on the skin. They conjured pebbles on the edge of the water, wet from the lake, bathed in silver from the moonlight. If you picked one up and sniffed, you would get the scent of Lune d’Eau.

There is a chicness and restraint in the way that this fragrance appears to be constructed. It feels much like a beautiful watercolour painting, executed with the fluid precision of a true artist who knows that leaving out things can sometimes be more powerful than putting them in.

As the scent goes on, its coolness becomes frosty, tinged with the rime of an early morning at the start of winter. There is something almost brutalist an un-romantic about the composition, and actually that was really refreshing and interesting to wear. This scent doesn’t embody some romantic ideal, it is more about presenting things as they are in their austere beauty. And you, as the observer, can either appreciate that or continue on your way. Either way, the lake, the moonlight, the frost, are unmoved by your sentiment.

Base notes

In the base of the scent, a hint of something warmer, sweeter, earthier peeps through. It reminds us that everything is not completely cold and hibernating yet. Perhaps it is the perfumer’s footsteps on the loamy soil as he walks towards the lake to gaze on the moon’s reflection? Or perhaps it is the frondy pine trees he stirs as he passes, releasing their fragrant oils on to the cool morning air. It’s quiet though, contemplative, a real introspective and careful scent which hints at the joys of wandering the French countryside at dawn on an autumn day, but never bashes you over the head with its rendition of such.

Lune d’Eau has a delicate and chic minimalism about it, and it feels like the subject of the scent isn’t something which is examined as much as it could be in perfumery. There’s something really elegant here though, which is deserving of quiet, contemplative attention.

The other stuff

Lune d’Eau is a light and precise scent which, like a magical moment observing moonlight, doesn’t last forever. Indeed it isn’t too long before Lune d’Eau has fled. We found that it lingered for about 2-4 hours following application and warm days seem to chase it away more quickly.

The projection of the fragrance is quite limited, to hugging distance, or close contact. When wearing it though, you bring with you that lovely scent of the cool air outdoors when you enter a space, and I found that particularly inviting.

In terms of the gender of who might like to wear this fragrance, we felt that it leans a little more towards the stereotypically masculine end of the spectrum, but of course you should wear it whatever you identify with.

Lune d’Eau felt like a scent which would wear best on the first few days of autumn, when the tone of the scent would match the world outside and the cool, moist air would allow it to linger a little longer.

The brand

It’s no secret that here at The Sniff we are fans of Pierre Guillaume’s work. His scents are very accessible yet high quality and gently lead you to places you may not have thought possible if your experience of fragrance was centred around the designer end of the market thus far. We’d highly recommend them to someone wanting to dip a toe in the water and start to branch out a little.

We’ve previously reviewed Sunsuality, from the White Collection, PG 9.1 Komorebi, PG 03 Cuir Venenum, PG 04 Musc Maori, PG 5.1 Suede Osmanthe, PG 16 Jardins de Kerylos and the exceptional Bois Naufrage. Also by Pierre Guillaume we’ve looked at Superlady, Sucre d’Ebene, Shermine, Aqaysos, Jangala, Tonkamande, Anti-Blues and Hapyang.

Buy it

Lune d”eau is available from Bloom Perfumery London where it is priced at £144 for 100ml of EdP, or £99 for 50ml. Bloom very kindly supplied us with a no-strings-attached sample of this scent.

You can also purchase Lune d’Eau from the Pierre Guillaume web boutique.

Image by Monkey7 from Pixabay.