StellaDiverF
Helpful Review
3
A Cardamom Arkenstone and the Desolation of Boozy Vanilla
I was kindly given the opportunity by a blogger friend (thank you!) to test a few Atelier des Ors offerings, here are my thoughts on Lune Féline:
The cardamom-dominated opening 30 minutes of Lune Féline on my skin is wonderful! And it makes me want to embark on an olfactory journey to explore more cardamom-prominent perfumes!
The cardamom here is paired with ginger. Together they're spicy and woody as expected, yet also have sparkles of an almost green freshness. This creates a lovely contrast with the thick, doughy vanilla in the base, still dormant at the moment and not yet having revealed its true power.
10 minutes in, something unexpected but thouroughly enticing happens: besides the spicy woody aspect of cardamom, a salty and somewhat meaty nuance rises as well. Maybe it's a combined effect of cinnamon, styrax and ambergris accord, of which I'm not entirely sure, but what I know is that it transfoms the aromatic cardamom into a fleshly, even carnal spice like clove and cinnamon sometimes can be as well. There is also a soft fruity spiciness discreetly gaining momentum, Combined with the fuzzy woody texture of various spices and the soft creaminess of the not-yet-awaken vanilla, Lune Féline smells almost like a delectable saffron-cardamom rice pudding!
If Lune Féline contines as such, I might have found my Arkenstone of cardamom fragrance, but as fate would have it, the giant beast of vanilla awakens and scorches the earth into gooey toffee and burnt cotton candy. The syrupy amber also bursts from underneath like molten lava. The combined effect of these two elements is a boozy plum-like amber-vanilla that I struggle with in general, and is reminiscent of the similar syrupy plum aspect in other boozy vanilla such as Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille or Annick Goutal Nuit et Confidences in broad strokes.
Lune Féline then remains as this gourmand boozy vanilla during its long dry down. The woody yet fleshly spices try to make a comeback but never succeed. Occasionally, when the syrupiness softens a little, the woody, slightly powdery vanilla reminds me of vanilla-scented sunflower seed fairly popular in China, as well as a faint chocolate undertone, but the caramelised syrupy amber is still very much present until the end.
Lune Féline has a heavy-to-moderate sillage and an excellent longevity of almost 12 hours.
Because my tolerance of boozy ambery vanilla is fairly low, Lune Féline is too intensely sweet for my personal taste. However, the fleshly cardamom opening is very impressive to my nose, and I think it's well worth a sniff for a cardamom fan even if one is not so keen on gourmand boozy vanilla. Additionally, I'd also recommend it to those who enjoy boozy, caramelised amber/vanilla in general but would like a more spicy, cardamom-laden variation.
Top Notes 
Cardamom
Cinnamon
Pink pepper
Heart Notes 
Styrax
Ambergris
Cedarwood
Precious woods
Green notes
Base Notes 
Tahitian vanilla
Peru balsam
Musk
Kraemdon
ScentedNeko
Modus
NicheOnly
Metaphysical
JC6
RisingChaos
FabienneV
SophAhl
Ngarcia
