I realise that I’ve been a harsh critic of niche brand, Juliette Has a Gun of late, but it really comes from a place of love. Launches such as Not a Perfume and Anyway were irksome to me because I knew that the brand could do better. The Romano Ricci-helmed house started out punky and fun with affordable, yet well-executed scents such as Lady Vengeance and Calamity J, so gimmicky cop outs such as the aforementioned Not a Perfume and Anyway felt like a miss-step.  Well, I am pleased to say that the spirit of Juliette Has a Gun is still alive and kicking, and her gun remains fully loaded with live ammo in the two fragrances within the brand’s luxury collection; Oil Fiction and Moon Dance – the subjects of today’s review en bref.

“Initially created as a limited edition of 999 examples, its success and sophistication have made Oil Fiction an original and highly sought after perfume. A scent that plays with the light and the generosity of oriental notes. A voluptuous fragrance. A royal elixir where the red gold of Saffron blends with the yellow gold of Amber. The promise of a wild nature revealed with sophistication will charm you and unveil with grace. Oil Fiction tells the tale of an elegant trail, suave and animal. Elegant and sophisticated, the bottle is presented in a bright, modern white lacquered box.”

– Juliette Has a Gun

The Notes

Amber Accord, Iris Absolute, Tuberose Absolute and Jasmine Absolute

How Does it Smell?

Oil Fiction is an unusual oriental, due in part to its surprising transparency. Reading the list of notes, one expects a heavy concoction thick with amber and heady with flowers. The result is actually something very different, and really quite startling. In the opening, saffron is the star, and it provides golden strands of richly spiced nectar that lead nicely into the floral heart. To my nose the flowers are vague, meaning that they smell generically white and hot, but don’t really have much character. They lack the pungency and distinct nuances that make white flowers so great. That aside, the dry down saves things and presents an intriguing woody amber that is thin (in an interesting way) and liquor-like. Oil Fiction is a surprisingly masculine addition to Juliette’s oeuvre and leaves me hopeful for what’s to come from the brand in the future.

“Moon Dance plays with contradictions, opposites, bringing them together to create a highly unique fragrance. With its lunar appearance, it exudes solar warmth. A duality that becomes special, seductive and magnetic. Just as the Sun answers the Moon, the Moon Dance bottle is a replica to Oil Fiction. As elegant and as luminous, it sparkles with another burst. Moon Dance affirms its distinctiveness by recounting an olfactive story with a silvery shimmer.”

– Juliette Has a Gun

The Notes

Bergamot Essence, Violet Absolute, Rose Absolute, Tuberose Absolute and Patchouli Essence

How Does it Smell?

Moon Dance is my kind of fragrance – a complex powdery floral that harks back to the grand dames of the 1980s. It has drama, glamour and a couture sensibility, but lacks the heaviness and opaque density that makes those divas of the ’80s so much more challenging to handle. Moon Dance is luminous. It opens with a sweet syrup of plums and violet, casting indigo plumes of smoke into the sky. Things then become very powdery, and sweeter still with rose, iris and tuberose, making way for a plush dry down that is all sweetness and patchouli. If you’re a fan of glam powdery florals with an old school vibe, then Moon Dance is a worthy sniff! I’m a bit smitten…

Availability

Oil Fiction and Moon Dance are available in 10ml (€30) and 75ml (€195) Eau de Parfum.

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Disclaimer
Samples via Juliette Has a Gun. Image 1 via Basenotes. Images 2 and 3 are my own.