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Thursday, March 09, 2006

Perfume Review: Armani Privé Pierre de Lune


Armani Privé collection of fragrances started as a private collection of scents to be worn by Armani and his close friends. The line right now consists of five scents, Ambre Soie, Bois d'Encens, Eau de Jade, Pierre de Lune and, as yet unreleased in the US, Cuir Amethyste. Pierre de Lune (Moonstone) is the floral scent in the collection; it strikes me as feminine much more than unisex. Armani describes the fragrance as “sensual” and “penetrating”, “an intense fragrance that awakens the senses”…as it is very often the case, the reality is much different from the marketing fairytales. Pierre de Lune is the softest, most neutral scent imaginable. So delicate is this blend, it makes Malle’s pale L’Eau d’Hiver seem loud and intense in comparison.

Pierre de Lune is the scent that never raises its voice, every note here is a whisper, from the dainty green violet in the beginning to the ghostly iris in the middle, to the “belambre” (an exclusive synthetic accord that smells faintly of woods and even more faintly of amber). As for cassie, the star note in Pierre de Lune, it is present throughout the scent’s development; however, do not expect the voluptuous, luscious cassie from Malle’s Une Fleur de Cassie. In Pierre de Lune, the note is but a shadow of that heady, daring beauty. This is a perfume that most certainly lives up to its name, evoking the soft, cold opalescence of the moonstone. Pierre de Lune is the scent of Eurydice, forever roaming the pale foggy banks of the river Lethe, with no hope of ever being reunited with her Orpheus.

Pierre de Lune is an interesting perfume, beautiful in an ethereal kind of way. It is perhaps my favorite scent in the Privé collection. Unfortunately, not only does it stay close to the skin and is at times so delicate as to be practically odorless, it also has dismal staying power. That and the hysterical price tag of $185.00 for 50ml will most probably stop me from buying a bottle.

Pierre de Lune is available at Saks and at Giorgioarmanibeauty-usa.com, $185.00 for 1,7oz.

*The photo of the bottle is from Giorgioarmanibeauty-usa.com. The painting is Orpheus and Eurydice by Edmund Dulac.

11 Comments:

Blogger marlen said...

I recently tried and reviewed this one and found it "soft" and "lovely"...The lasting power seemed a bit problematic, but then when I least expected it, there it was! I agree that the cassie is the star here along with the soft powdery violet. I didn't find it al all "too feminine" for a man and overall quite enjoyed it. However, at THAT price, it certainly won't be a future purchase.

4:59 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Marlen,
So you got quite a lot of violet? I got just a little, in the very beginning, but cassie was there from start to finish.

Ever since I tried this one, I keep thinking about it, it is so lovely...but, as you said, at that price...*sigh*

8:27 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Christina,
I think this one is my favorite of the Prives. In fact, yes, I am sure, it is my favorite. I am hoping the new Cuir Amethyste would be so breathtakingly beautiful and unusual that I won't feel bad about the price :-)

8:29 AM EST  
Blogger marchlion said...

It just won't stick around on me. Packs its bags and leaves after 15 minutes. The Encens and the Ambre stick around but this one ... poof.

10:33 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Yes, poof on me too, sadly :-) On a good day, it might hang around for a couple of hours, but so faintly, I might be just imagining it.

10:44 AM EST  
Blogger lilybp said...

With everyone else, I find this lovely but short-lived (too short-lived to be a purchase). Nice layered with Jade, too (Patty's idea, I believe, though the Armani SA also told me the scents were created to be layered as well as worn individually).

11:52 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Judith,
Yes, very short-lived :-( But the lemming keeps haunting me. And yet I know that I can't, I shouldn't , I mustn't...especially with Gris Clair suddently already available! *wails*

12:04 PM EST  
Blogger NowSmellThis said...

I liked this one, but not sure it was FBW for me, and certainly not at the price -- hysterical is exactly right.

2:16 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

R,
Absolutely the same here. Like this but not for that kind of money :-(

2:21 PM EST  
Blogger Kyahgirl said...

I was kind of disgusted with the approach to marketing this line. When in NYC last spring, I practically had to beg even smell the four fragrances at Saks and the SA was so hoity toity I could have smacked.

Armani has out smarted themselves on this one as far as I'm concerned. Nothing wrong with the fragrances really, its just the principle of the thing *stamps foot*

1:13 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

L,
Ah! I am so pleased to know I am not the only one who gets annoyed by this kind of...this kind of...well, you said it best- this kind of "hoity toity" stuff. The ridiculous price, the exagerrated "exclusivity" of it all...I am stamping my foot with you :-)

1:21 PM EST  

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