Moonlight Cherry
Eau de Parfum, Van Cleef & Arpels (2025)

A fragrance for a contemporary urban Bel Ami. Irresistibly sensual and masterfully crefted. A sweet, highly sophisticated, liquorous (almondy, juicy and apparently boozy) and lascivious cherry-founded fragrance with hints of angular toasted musky darkness and a lofty boozy semi-gourmand dimension. Moonlight Cherry by Van Cleef & Arpels is a fragrance labeled as unisex but perfect on a daring cultured self-confident man imo. Manneristic and edonist but never braggart and exhibitionist. This new fragrance was launched in 2025 (as part of V&A Collection Extraordinarie) as a V&A's attempt to match the current urban trend mastered by sweet contemporary fruity-gourmandish creations (captivating and provocative). However, in pursuing this current objective the house did not renounce to elegance and to its usual touch of parisian refined classicism. The main accord revolves around a greedy connection of dark almondy juicy cherry, angular coffee (providing structure, anchitecture and boldness) and spicy rum, all the elements cruising in a decadent, luxurious and aristocratic jubilation full of depth and intensity. Bitter almond in the meamwhile enhances the liquorous and dandy character of this "lofty-posh" creation while amber-vanilla and musk soothen the angular and spiky influence from toasted coffee-beans, piquant amber, hints of woods and fluffy almond. Dry down is still boozy, ambery and cherry-dominant but with a more structured, dry and restrained balance (I smell emerging the masculine "dark side of the moon" on this stage and a more complex less sweet musky/ambery/coffee-nuanced structure). I see just partially a resemblance of it with the creamier plummier Cherry Smoothie by Zara (2023) which is anyway a less glamorous, "learned", classy, structured and decadent affair (being the former more properly juvenile-gourmand, definitely ambery-heliotropic, cosmetical in vibe and cinnamonic plummy-lactonic in consistency). Yes, a perfect fragrance for a high class NYC's party or for a post art exhibition or fashion week's cocktail meeting while drinking a cherry cocktail and mingling with all around the world bizarre people. Eccellent performances on my skin, longevity in particular with a medium-bodied projection. Recommended for all the people expressing their interiority by unique eccentric style, enigmatic sensual perfumes and moonshiny urban creativity.