Explore How The Beautiful Moon Smells Divine Here

The glowing orb that circles our skies at night, journeying over a month from crescent to circle, has had many a myth explored over history. From the idea that the dark side is perpetually dark, it being made of green cheese, or causing human madness. Other myths include the Moon Rabbit, the Man in the Moon, and the belief that the moon affects human fertility. Another question may well be what it smells of? Mabelle O’Rama’s Lunar Dust perfume may well answer that question, albeit through her imagined story. Find out here in Explore How The Beautiful Moon Smells Divine Here

Moon Mythology

As a child, did you love the idea that maybe the moon was made of cheese? The concept originated as a European folklore proverb, notably recorded in 1546 by English writer John Heywood, to illustrate extreme gullibility. Never a widely held belief, but rather an idiom (‘to make one believe the Moon is made of green cheese’) referring to foolishness. Green here means naive.

NASA

Even today in pop culture, the myth was cemented through cartoons like Wallace and Gromit, and even NASA joked about it on April Fools’ Day. Yet the moon was at the centre of many ancient magical practices, often worshipped as a divine being in many cultures. Some saw it as a powerful god, others as a nurturing goddess. Some hold the tradition that the moon was linked to time, fertility and the natural rhythms of life.

Gunpowder

But science does actually have a smell for the moon. A supposed ‘Gunpowder‘ Smell has been discussed, including multiple astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin, describing the odour as a mix of burnt gunpowder, spent fireworks, or wet ashes in a fireplace.

Romanticism

Yet we somehow still romanticise it. While the sun is associated with heat, labour, and harsh exposure, the moon represents a cool, gentle, and soothing force, appearing in the evening when people are relaxed and away from their daily burdens. It acts as a guide in the darkness, often seen as a protective, nurturing, or maternal force.

Mabelle O’Rama perfumer

As a romantic concept, perfumer Mabelle O’Rama has a perfume inspired by the fine powder of this planet, meet Lunar Dust EDP. Moon dust, or lunar regolith, is a fine, abrasive powder composed primarily of silicon dioxide, calcium oxide and iron-rich minerals. It is formed by billions of years of meteorite impacts, shattering lunar rocks into tiny glass-like shards.

Stories To Inspire

So, how has she explored this idea? As much as it is an idea of a scent, a concept, a dream, interestingly, she has used a note in the scent that is also a concept and an idea: Amber. This is, of course, a golden resinous stone, too hard and solid to ever be a note in perfumery, but as a note when used in scent as an accord. That means it’s a set of ingredients always used to create this effect and smell. Each perfumer will have their own accord for Amber, but it usually has three core ingredients: Resinous Labdanum, balsamic Benzoin and sweetness from Vanilla. Here she uses this note as a warming finish to a ‘cool’ starting fragrance. Because this, in many ways, is a perfume about the two sides ot the moon. It starts with the dark of the night sky before the light of the moon, and the stars come out to comfort us. It’s cool texture and its warm glow.

The key notes here are the dusty powder of cool earthiness from Iris, its root Orris butter, set against the warmth of dry, woody, and slightly smoky Cedarwood, the warmth and richness of Amber and a light ‘hug’ of White Woods. A shimmering, effervescent elixir that could be quite a new scent addiction.

Like the night sky revealing its stars to those who wait, this fragrance slowly unfolds on the skin, inviting you to experience its ethereal journey.

Mabelle O’Rama

Mabelle has two more opuses in her collection. Next up is Forbidden Bloom EDP. Think soft, peachy, creamy, fruity, bursts with juicy Pear and Peach follow via creamy, sweet, and slightly coconut-like aroma, with green and earthy undertones from the opulent velvety flower Gardenia and peachy, creamy, floral from Frangipani.

Like the love of Romeo and Juliet comes a darker edge, bitter yet sweet, with nutty and warm facets from Coffee, followed by dry, woody, and intensely aromatic Cedarwood, gutteral and resinous notes from Ambergris and a warm, comforting wrap via Musk.

A seductive floral fragrance combining Gardenia and Frangipani, two breath-taking blooms entwined in an act of rebellious, forbidden love.

Mabelle O’Rama

A juicy, rich perfume with both dark and light, luminous yet deep at the same time.

The final scent is Phoenix Flame. In classical mythology, this is a reference to a unique bird that lived for five or six centuries in the Arabian desert, and after time, burned itself on a funeral pyre. Then went on to rise from the ashes with renewed youth to live through another cycle. So, how is this story explored via fragrance?

An uplifting elixir with the spice of lemony Sumac, warmth of Cinnamon and green-spice tinges of Cardamon. Alongside is the ‘everlasting flower’ of sweet, syrupy hay, dry tobacco from Immortelle, finishing with the grounding resinous notes of rooty and mythical Frankincense with Myrrh and animlic depth of smoky Oud. A beautifully balanced take on a rooty, smoky biblical scent that lifts and holds at the same time.

An aromatic amber and incense story, this scent invites you on a journey of rebirth and renewal.

Mabelle O’Rama

Mabelle is a Lebanese-British perfumer and artist based in London, UK. She embarked on her olfactive journey, like many, during the lockdown, using scent as a therapeutic escape.  Her fascination with its power to evoke memories and influence well-being, encouraged her to start Olfactive Studio Mabelle O’Rama.

In her work, she experiments with scent as a bridge to nostalgia and fantasy and explores the profound connection we have to our home. Taking inspiration from her Phoenician heritage and the enchanting cosmos, she designs scents that narrate the hidden stories of the past and the uncharted wonders of the future.

With three scents in the collection, the stories, myths and magic of Mabelle’s imagination are on fire. Each a dream or idea, a notion or feeling, concocted into an uber desirable perfume, here imagination drives the creative. These are lofty ideas, but maybe call it ‘magical realism’ because although the stories behind the perfumes are just that, stories, the perfumes are exceptionally real and beautiful.

Find everything you want to know, including her artwork, here at MabelleOrama.com

If you enjoyed reading Explore How The Beautiful Moon Smells Divine, then why not read Skin and Blister Films here

.Cent Magazine, London. Luxury Mindset