Perfume Review: Anya’s Garden MoonDance

When I first sniffed Anya’s MoonDance, warm and evocative – like tuberose absolute, I felt like I was slipping into a satiny dress and the perfect pair of shoes. But this phase was short lived and soon I felt like flinging my perfect (and imaginary) footwear, and running across a wet, muddy garden. I suspect that the earthy herbal notes were responsible for this almost unholy craving. The earthiness to me, was reminiscent of green tea and henna (though from the notes, it seems to come from chamomile and mint). This part of the perfume also reminded me of something I’ve always wanted to do: Throw clay on a potter’s wheel and shape pots.

Slowly, MoonDance quietens down allowing a beautiful, almost spiritual part of the perfume to emerge. Like a forgotten lullaby, which would rather comfort than seduce, the tuberose whispers softly here. Yet, inspite of the calming drydown, there is still something undeniably sexy about it that keeps it interesting. Whether it is the Ambergris, the Opponax or the  South African Hyrax that does this, I am in love with the drydown.

Moondance is one of the few tuberose fragrances that I have liked and probably the only one , that has allowed me to enjoy the progression of notes without comparing it to, or craving, the actual flower. The more number of times I ‘test’ this fragrance the less I can break it down into its component parts. It becomes more and more  seamless with every sniff, till it transforms from a luminous flower to the memory of a dance.

You can buy this natural perfume in various concentrations at anyasgarden.com. I have reviewed the Eau de Parfum.

From Anya’s website, the list of notes are:

Top notes: American Violet Flower Isolate, Indian Water Mint

Middle notes: French Process Tuberose, Chinese Jasmine Sambac, French Rose de Mai, American Apple-scented Chamomile

Base notes: African Opoponax absolute, Carolina Ambergris, Haitian Sandalwood, Sustainable White Sandalwood, South African Hyrax

“L’etoile”, Painting by Edgar Degas: Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/3210104203/via Creative Commons

Running Feet: Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgw/2450009759/ via Creative Commons

Disclosure: I received a sample of Moondance from Anya, to review. However, I am under no obligation to like this perfume or write a favorable review.