Lune Feline by Atelier des Ors

What better way to spend some time in a pandemic than to convince the husband that he absolutely needs to try some fragrances with me. This is the man who, for most of our marriage, never even drank coffee, but last year decided to do so and discovered that he liked it. I figured I had some decent odds here, so happily went to Luckyscent, wandered through different scent profiles, and came up with a bag of fragrances to try. After impatiently waiting for the goodies to arrive, I set aside time for some sniffs and sorted the fragrances into "our" pile, "his" pile, and "my" pile. He won't know day by day if what he's trying is unisex, masculine, or feminine. And I think we both are looking forward to this journey. (Well, at least I am lol.)

Immediately, Lune Feline by Atelier des Ors made it near the top of the sniff test pile. Today, at the start of this experiment, I decided it would be a good starting point since it's listed as Unisex.

The notes for Lune Feline are: cinnamon, cardamom, pink pepper, green notes, cedar, ambergris, woods, styrax, vanilla, peru balsam, and musk.

I have been looking for a while for the perfect "wood pudding-esque" vibe. Something warm, woody, cozy. That makes me feel all snuggly. This delivers, perfectly, on a moody and cold and rainy day. (I suspect that this would be a bit too heavy for southern summer days, but will be an utter delight in autumn.)

At first application, I could smell the cinnamon, but it faded down pretty quickly. On him, the balsam and some of the cedar stays a bit more forward. On me, the ambergris and vanilla cuddle up together and get sexy. In his words: "This isn't masculine, but I REALLY like it." In my words, "Mmmm."

As it dries down, it holds very well. It reminds me a bit of Diptyque's Eau Duelle, but this has a more caramel edge, and frankly the woods seem to hold up a bit more on his skin as well as mine, although my skin still seems to enjoy hanging on to the vanilla a bit more, also.

Four hours in, and it has faded a lot on him, with faint notes of cedar, a touch of vanilla-y caramel, and the balsam whisping about. My skin seems to be following his trajectory, but may be feeling a bit more defiant in letting it go.

Overall, this is a win for both of us. Perhaps a bit too gourmand for some men, and he did admit that it wouldn't be his first choice, but also agreed that he really liked the smell of it and had no objection to smelling like a caramel wood pudding. For me, as someone who loves gourmands, and how vanilla can play around and soften stronger notes like cedar or woods, this is a perfect treat. I can't wait (already) for autumn to get here. I suspect I will be reaching for it again.