That Smile – Review: Hiram Green Moon Bloom

Hiram Green’s first creation for his own brand is called so very beautifully: Moon Bloom. This evocative name and the gorgeous bottle are plenty of incentive for me to want to smell what is behind the enticing outer trappings of this fragrance.

Luckily I got the chance.

Moon Bloom was created by Hiram Green in 2013 and includes notes of tuberose absolute, jasmine absolute, ylang ylang, coconut, leafy greens and tropical spices and resins.

Moon Bloom is an all-natural fragrance and you should be aware of that, since it does have an effect on the way it unfurles on the skin, on its longevity and not least its shelf life.

My relationship with tuberose as a note in perfumery has grown from outright hate, through a tender getting-to-know-you phase, into a very cautious kind of love. Big names with big sillages like Piguet Fracas or Serge Lutens Tubereuse Criminelle have shown me their tender side and some tuberose centric perfumes, like Kilian Beyond Love or Malle Carnal Flower are proud members of my collection. And there is one tuberose perfume of course that is very close to my heart, incidentally also an all-natural one by the inimitable Mandy Aftel: Cepes & Tuberose. Moon Bloom has quite a lot of contenders.

Do we need another tuberose? Of course we do.

What makes this one different? Let’s see…

Moon Bloom is a linear scent, what you smell upon first application is pretty much what stays with you for the next few hours (how many depends on your skin, on mine for about 4-6, so I am not complaining at all). Tuberose, perfectly balanced between green and indolic, and a sweet jasmine intertwine, underpinned by the trusty warmth of ylang ylang, to make a classic white floral bouquet with soft hints of coconut giving it the feel of a warm night in the tropics, without ever going all Hawaiian on you.

As time passes the florals recede a bit and a base emerges that is warm, a tiny bit spicy (think carnation/clove) and cosy in an unsweet, ambery (vanilla/labdanum) way.

Moon Bloom is a soft fragrance, no hint here of the hysterical, diva-esque antics many tuberose perfumes exhibit. Moon Bloom prefers to whisper and entice with a smile, instead of showing red-lacquered claws.

I find Moon Bloom, or rather the anthropomorphized idea of a woman I see evoked by the scent, extremely sympathetic. I feel myself drawn to her and her charmingly enticing ways. She is intelligent, calm, she knows who she is. She is beautiful and desirable, but she doesn’t use that as a weapon, it is merely a fact of her life, equal among many. She loves to smile and there is an air of mystery around her, but this doesn’t make her appear aloof or remote, but draws you in closer, wanting to find out more.

What stands out most about this woman though, is her smile: warm, loving, caring and infinitely sweet, it is hard to remain untouched when you find yourself in the radiant presence of that smile.