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.