Magical Moon Hanae Mori for women

I absolutely adore the opening, which lasts maybe 30 minutes. The dry down however, smelled like menthol on me...similar to Vick's vapo-rub.

Real Notes:

Top notes> Chili, Incense, Pink Peppercorn, Cane sugar

Middle Notes> White sandalwood, Vanilla pod, Red Cedar Bark, Patchouli, Cotton Blossom, White musk, Pineapple pulp

Base Notes: Guava nectar, Lychee, Star fruit, Coco milk, Rose de porcelain, Gardenia, Orange Blossom

I never ever read a review more accurate than Sherapop's review in this perfume.
I was scrolling down quite à bit for that rotten fruit review and I should have known good old Sherapop to make that statement right as it is. This perfume is one of those rare ones that really make me run to the bathroom. Totally not for me.

I gave this a try. And the verdict? I like. I like. I like it a lot. The sandalwood/patchouli base is so creamy, dreamy, and sensuous. The fragrance even left a sheeny residue on my skin. There's something in the notes that remind me slighty of my old signature Ysatis, except this has a touch of sweetness due to the sugar cane. While I can't detect any overt fruitiness, albeit the coconut is probably responsible for the creaminess, the blend is seamless to me. While wearing this rich, fantastic sillage creation, I was instantly transported back to the 70's, when the MAJORITY of scents were unique, long-lasting productions!!

I adore the way the pineapple note presents in Magical Moon. On my skin juicy pineapple overrides lychee and starfruit, but, the hidden fruits lend a depth to the early evolution creating something arresting and addictive.

From the deliciously pulpy opening Magical Moon morphs into "camphorous" cedar and "camphorous" incense (slightly off-putting) temporarily. The candied components rescue MM on my skin thankfully.

Magical Moon exalts feminine romanticism. A most pleasing acquisition.

Magical Moon (EDP) could be summed up in three notes: Star fruit, incense, and sugar. All with equal presence.

Unfortunately, the hefty dose of incense induced it to smell like fruit salad in an ash tray on my skin. I was so disappointed because I love Hanae Mori perfumes in general. :o(

If you like sweet orientals with incense, and the tropical fruit notes here turned you off, I can recommend "Holy Champa by Antoine & Lili" for you. This perfume was created by Marc Buxton - one of my favorite noses, who also created many of the awesome orientals in the market.

Make sure to skin test first before committing to a full bottle. This fume can be tough to tame.

yee haa ... i finally got this thanks to my friend going overseas .mmmmmmmmmmm... its amazing . First you get incense , sandalwood then as time goes on the fruit appears , it is magic as notes do appear at different times ,and the dry down is so beautiful . It suits its name down to the ground !!! It is a soothing and sensual fragrance. It has a slight 'new age ' feel to it at the start thanks to the sandalwood incense which at first makes you feel a bit like Stevie Nicks (I DO LOVE HER) But as the other notes reveal themselves you are left with a unique beautiful fragrance which i am very very happy is now on my dresser!!!..

I am so in love with this scent. It is like nothing else. It is softly smoky, ripe fruits,a very light amber,oh I just try to breathe it all in!On my skin,it smells creamy and a little tea like,a little fruit is there, which is slightly tart,and hazy soft incense smoke.When I wear this,I not only smell it,I FEEL it. It is a very special and unique scent of love and mystics.

I have a vegan replica (no animal ingredients) of this from a wonderful online seller.

If you like a whimsical scent that is actually a PERFUME not just the exact same smell as a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates or a room full of those incense sticks...but the perfect mixture of many different various scents...or if you dont wanna smell like a generic mass produced perfume...I swear to you this is the perfume for you..if your not a girl and not yet a woman this perfume is for you. It smells exactly like the name... a Magical Moon with it's many phases, and colors, ant the emotions that it can stir. If your more of a night person and enjoy gazing at the stars and the way the moon light shines on a field of already beautiful flowers only to make them appear even more beautiful and translucent almost.. :-) My fiance adores it...and he usually hates perfume!
enjoy...*sigh*

Update: This perfume really has a lot to do with skin chemistry! two close friends tried it on and it smelled different on both! One was a truly "bug spray" smell, sad :-( and on the other it smelled very deep and smokey, mostly the incense. On me, however, it is very sugary sweet mixed with fruit and a very light incense smell. But i love these types that blend with chemistry instead of cover it up! Wonderful still!
For an Oriental Gourmand
10/10! mmwaaah!

i use it as a room spray, it is strong incense sandalwood for me. on my skin i smell almost old lady but in the air or room it smells like a spa or something. nice but too much going on for my taste. and i dont get coconut at all. still looking for that perfect coconut. any suggestions?

I bought this scent blind. I liked Hanae Mori Butterfly but felt that it smelled just like Bath and Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar on me. So I kept with the designer and tried something else, that is when I discovered Magical Moon, Like mentioned before I bought this blind but thought this might be what I'm looking for based on the note description. I'm not sure if it's just me or maybe it's because I have the EDP, but this is a very strong musk. At first thought I would believe it might be for a mature audience, maybe someone who likes the older classic like Nina Ricci L'air Du Temps. I don't get any fruit, but there is a strong rose that mixes with a powdery musk - guessing that is the Sandalwood/incense base this is extremely overpowering. Once it does dry down it fades to a very pretty vanilla like scent but it's faint at best and does not last very long. All in all I was disappointed. I really wanted to like this scent but it just was not working for me or my chemistry.

I like Magical Moon but my ownly complaint is that it is sweeter than I expected. The wonderful fact about MM is that the many notes will appear at different times so this is magical indeed. I think I will keep the bottle and see what happens. LOL
***Update: This lasts on my skin for hours and the dry down is divine.

fabulous name, which sparkled up my fantasy like crazy. very promising notes!

The opening makes me fly. I am travelling on a private airplane, drinking juicy & ripe fruit cocktail and fantasizing of the lovely exotic deserted island the plane is taking me to .... then pilot screaming 'may day, may day , may day', engines screeching, wind whirling, nose-dive in 15 minutes; right into the ground, weeds all around (patchouli), dust in my mouth and I can smell something burning ...

It could have been heaven and earth. Too bad it could not make it.

Another reliable "like" from Hanae Mori. For me it opens immediately with litchi and a very soft pleasant orange blossom. Osmanthus and sandalwood develop as soon as it warms. After about 45 minutes it settles into a sweet incense scent with the sweetness having the green note of raw sugar cane. I'm wearing the EDP formulation and after several hours I still haven't found the pineapple, pepper or coconut. Reading through other reviews makes it obvious that this one is unusually dependent on body chemistry. If you like the "butterfly" scent you'll certainly like this one. Since this is the night before the Super Bowl I'll try a football analogy: a solid reliable linebacker but not an explosive receiver. GO STEELERS!
Sillage: about 3 feet unless you drown yourself
Durability: 4 hours and counting; top notes go after about 1 hour
Fabulosity: not special
Price to value ratio: good if you get it on sale
6/10

On me this isn't very complex - it is incense mixed with peaches or apricots. it's pretty sweet. I'm not sure if I like it because I'm not the biggest fan of incense, but it is growing on me.

My only other experience with HM perfumes was HM for women, and it was wayyyy too sweet and too plain vanilla for me, but since Magical Moon's listed notes include some of my favorite things, I bought this bottle blind. It's even prettier in real life!

Fruity notes are the strongest at first... apricot, guava and creamy tropical fruits, introducing delightful osmanthus and a velvety hint of general floralcy. It's sweet, but death by sugary sweetness is averted thanks to the almost immediate appearance of plush incense, with a touch of patchouli and lots and lots of warm sandalwood. The scent is a harmonious one... juicy, sparkly fruits, enticingly soft florals (is that you, cotton blossom?), and the serene woody incense wrapped up with a soft kiss of sugared coconut. It is surprisingly linear and does not change much with time.

To me, this scent is very calming and cozy, and it melds really well with my skin, which lends it a bit of sensual appeal. I keep coming back to the word "serene" to describe this. It kind of transports me to a moonlit tropical paradise while at the same time reminding me of some familiar comforts, like coconut milk, freshly picked fruit, and fine Japanese incense. I'm going to wear this a lot! It's adaptable to any season or time of day, though it might ultimately feel most "right" for casual (as opposed to professional or highly formal) wear, and preferably in the evening. :)

Very stale and synthetic to me. Something about it reminds me of L'airs du Temps mixed with sugar. Scrubbed.

oh yes indeed this is magical!!! this is incense, sugar and creamy milkiness and some juicy red fruit--guava???
along the lines of lolita, kenzoflower and pink sugar in terms of sweet delicious creamy top and dark sugar bottom type of juice.
the bottle is exquisite--a thick slab of cobalt blue.
i did buy the toilette on this one, but it is rich, thick and lasting. i think the parfum would be the sweetest thing of them all.

Hanae Mori MAGICAL MOON is something of a jumble of strong fruit and various other notes which unfortunately does not sit well on my skin. To my nose, the opening is very loud but not very fresh, rather like a pile of exotic fruits that someone forgot about next to a wilting bouquet. Imagine the scene at a swanky Caribbean hotel wedding suite all paid for in advance, but, alas, one of the would-have-been newlyweds gets cold feet. For days the maid stays away, afraid to disturb the happy couple. In the meantime, the fruit rots and the flowers die--as if to certify symbolically the ill-fated marriage!

The sweet patchouli drydown becomes somewhat nicer, but not nice enough to justify enduring the unpleasant opening. Receptions to MAGICAL MOON probably have more to do with skin chemistry than with the composition itself, which I've found to be generally the case with complicated fruity compositions such as this. Since I like the first two Hanae Mori creations, I was optimistic about MAGICAL MOON. But, alas, like the marriage of our metaphorical couple, it was not meant to be! Désolée.

I have a decant of the edp- it is very warm and comforting and not as gourmand as one would expect. There is a subtle sweetness and I can't seem to distinguish specific floral notes; the woody notes ground the composition. It is snuggly as all get out and ladylike as well!

This one really did not work for me. I swapped it a very long time ago, but looking at the notes I should have adored it. But no.

Beautifully composed, a sophisticated, definitely adult perfume which is much more about the flowers and the woods than the fruit and the dessert.
The initial scent after spraying is somewhat odd (the fruit cocktail madness?), but it develops quickly and fabulously into an original and beautiful osmanthus, woods and incense perfume, which I can easily see myself repurchasing.
An utterly lovely summer nights perfume, with a pleasant surprise in the packaging - this is the only bottle in the contemporary part of my perfume collection that has a GLASS top - a sapphire glass flattened ball with a moon imprint - and the only glass top I have seen in ages!
Fabulous - a 9/10 for the scent, sillage and lasting power, as well as the added touch of the real glass moon on the stopper.

At first spray you get a blast of a
scent of sugarcain and a warm scent of
coconut oil reminisent of ancient Egpyt
when they massage it into thier hair.
in a few minutes the sweet scent of guava and the semi-tangness of starfruit
to make it presence to the senses hard to notice the orange blossoms.
the drydown is the greatest esoteric
masterpiece with the offering of rose note to the to the Goddess Isis The Goddess of Love Aphroditie and the mother goddess Uma. the flower of feminity. and the veil of sandalwood
dances around giving thanks for the
creators for the fertilty.
the patchouli is very soft and mild.

with one spray Riding though the deserts of egypt and the color of the flacon of Dark Lapis represent the Twilight sky driving though the pyrimids and the big Giant sphinx glowing it's errie glow so you with in
your curiousity with a flashlight into the tombs of the ancient masters and try to deschyper the most famous of their whrighing the Hierglyphics
and into the dark caves where the mysterious & Ominious moans appear

This will give you an Spirital Awakining.

Very strong,at opening I can't detect any fruit scent at all.I get mostly patchouli and florals and then settles almost to a powdery floral scent. It isn't sweet on me either.For mature ages forsure! Its nice but not my favorite Hanae Mori scent.

Love this! I bought a bottle of the EDP on a whim while out Christmas shopping last month. It's a very warm and mysterious scent on me with a sensual edge to it. My girlfriends are jealous of it and my men friends, including my husband are all loving it. I quickly returned to the store to buy the body lotion so I could layer this on. I love smelling my arm during the day, it puts a smile on my face. Upon first spray it's nice, but as it dries down it just gets better & better!

this scent is definitely unusual, but i love it! it changes constantly throughout the day and i just can't stop smelling my wrist. I smell alot of the patchouli which i love, and also the coconut vanilla. At first spray it is a bit overwhelming, but it quickly mellows and envelopes me with a lovely, feminine aura. :)

to me its a dull sugary with a little oriental floral in it perfume ..swapped mine and glad i did,started to bore me anyway

Hanae Mori's "Magical Moon" is one of those hard to describe type of fragrances. It has this kind of retro 1990's Elizabeth Taylor kind of vibe to it. The opening notes are rather fruity with notes of litchi, guava, pineapple and star fruit. I can also smell the ndertones of pink pepper. Then there's this fusion of rose, musk, sugar cane, cotton, coconut and osmanthus that I smell. I've never encountered a concoction of aromas such as these together. It's rather potent and very difficult to describe, because there seems to be alot going on once these ingredients are forced to embrace each other. Like a battle between the fruits and the florals and the base notes trying to decide which side they like better. It sounds weird, but as I stated earlier, "Magical Moon" is difficult to describe, and call me crazy.....but I actually like it. This potent potion is actually quite enjoyable when it dries down. Wearing "Magial Moon" is like a love/hate relationship, cause you'll either love it or hate it, or hate that you love it or love that you hate it. Either way.......it'll get you noticed, because it's definitely an attention getter. Modern, Romantic and Intimate and ideal for the Fall/Winter season.

I agree with mandashell,there is something really bad in this that gives a stinky touch to the notes..Like rotten fruit,it just doesnt work.Really bad from hanae mori,because her first is very good.

For me this is anything but Magical. It's as if two strikingly different perfumes are being forced to coexist and they just aren't getting along. At first it smells mildly fruity, tropical even. Then it is all smokey, dark and mysterious with patchouli....? o.0 Magical Moon is like night and day and the notes just don't blend well. Overall it smells to me like a musty and stinky pineapple that has gone bad. When I received my bottle in the mail, it couldn't be shipped back fast enough!!

This was Hanae Mori's last perfume before her retirement in 2006.Magical Moon became yet another hotly sort after scent for Ms Mori.
This was inspired by her fascination with the moon. In japanese culture the moon has magical powers and there is a traditional festival surrounding it.japanese people will gather just to sit and look at the beauty of the moon.
Food and flowers are offered to the Gods in return for it's majesty.
Hanae Mori's strong beliefs compelled her to create this 'floriental'. She housed it in a striking azure blue bottle with an aesthetic symmetry styled in slender glass with the cap sitting gracefully on top looking like the moon etched in silver.
Once opened, you are immediately aware of the topnotes of exotic fruits such as pineapple, litchi,guava,pink peppercorn and star fruit.This then settles down into an eastern floral accord of orange blossom, rose,osmanthus and finally concludes with the sultriness of sandalwood,cedar, patchouli, cotton flower and musk leaving you with the sweetness of sugarcane,coconut and vanilla.
It takes you to a faraway place where you can sit quietly, cloaked under the spell of the moon and engulfed by the sweet night air, filled with mysterious night blooming florals and fruit offerings to the Gods.
This was her final contribution to the world of scent. It has allowed us to take a butterfly's view into the fascinating complex world of the elusive Hanae Mori...

The color of this bottle caught my attention and drew me in. I figured what the heck, I'll test it. First impression, very sweet, it does have a bit of depth, although I never found the patchouli. Not overly impressive, nor did I necessarily dislike it. Just didn't have the complexity that I like to experience in a "gourmand" scent.

What a good day to try my sample of Magical Moon under a Capricorn full moon and eclipse! Magical Moon was supposedly made under a full moon and since I have a love for astrology and the moon phases I was automatically drawn in and intrigued by the potion!

For me Magical Moon has the same powdery notes as Butterfly, very soft and feminine but this has more of a "dark" side. The bottom notes appear rather quick for me...patchouli, vanilla, sugarcane and coconut milk. All the notes are blended well, caressing instead of harsh and not one standing out more than the other. It smells like sweet and powdery incense.

I really love this and feel "magical" wearing it! Maybe I'll have some good luck under this full moon. I need it... :)

Awful-very strong, heavy on the patchouli-the initial notes kill whatever good might come of it.This is one of those fragrances to avoid if you want to appreciate the "oriental" family of fragrances.

Update: It's actually not that bad-a little too sweet, well described as "oriental gourmand"-the dry-down is kind of nice, but this fragrance is a little bit too much of something...It's actually not so strong, but it's certainly not a delicate scent.

I love this fragrance. It's sweet yet mysterious, lush and sensual yet breezy and playful. Vanilla gives it warmth and musk and incense give if a sultry, seductive quality. I'm very lucky that the dry down is great on me.

I imagine myself under a beautiful full moon with the resplendent Taj Mahal shimmering on the horizon. A cool evening breeze carries the romantic and sensual fragrance captured in Magical Moon.

For the first hour or two, I would have classified Magical Moon one as a fruity-floral instead of an oriental floral. The oriental notes take a litle time to emerge, during which time I wasn't impressed with the fruits and flowers. It goes on very sweet, and while it was not unpleasant, it didn't seem the least bit original or interesting at that point.

Howevever, I do like the dry-down better, and it truly takes a couple hours to get going. I detect incense, vanilla, maybe a bit of tonka bean (though that is not listed as a note here), some sandalwood. It was still a bit sweet, thanks to the coconut, but with a bit more mystery now to hold my interest.

I have just a sample vial and I think I'll probably stop there. I'm not sure I like the dry-down well enough to put up with those boring fruity top notes. Nice, but nothing special.

dont like this one at all. On my skin it smelled like rotten pineapple mixed with cream. I had to scrub my hand

Mysterious... this is one of the best oriental fragrances. Really magical.

I received it in a Parfum form, at last...What can I say. I'm thrilled! I'm in love! At last, an unsniffed purchase that was better than I could ever dare to imagine. Everything with it is so perfect. I received this a couple of hours ago, so maybe I will need to edit my review later!

The bottle is the most beautiful I've ever seen, so much more in reality than in pictures. It has a beautiful violet-blue colour and silver letters. The cap is fantastic, a jewel on its' own.

I agree that when first sprayed it gives the impression of an old lady scent, or bug spray. But the good thing is that these top notes disappear rather quickly, giving place to a wonderful fumey, exotic,sweet balsmanic scent. As lovely as it sounds!

In the background I can feel the incense, warm and smokey with a wonderful sweetness, and also I can feel wood notes.

The coconut is also quite dominant .My skin tends to bring out coconut notes, and let me tell you, I haven't smelled such a good quality of coconut in a perfume - so milky, exotic and tender. Maybe it's the combination with the sugar, who knows?

Finally I can smell herbal notes drifting in and out at times, that give the perfume another dimension, really magical.

It's more of a nighttime scent, but I can see my self wearing it in small doses the cold days of winter..

It's very magical. I think - smell like moon, big moon. And like old white vine.Woww

If you almost love Lancome's Hypnose and find it slightly too sweet & cloying...this is a better version (IMO) and it's even more affordable. As has already been pointed out, there really are so many phases to it. I get fruity, flowery, woody, musky, and then the cycle starts all over again. Staying power is great on me - lasts all day!

Perfumaniac, I tried both the EDT and the EDP; the EDT is not very long- lasting, but the EDP is fine.

On me it starts off strong ... like spiced pineapple grilled on heavy and fragrant wood, then later it dries down to the most delicious sweet coconut milk. The drydown has excellent lasting power. I'd wear this during cooler weather in fall or winter.

This is a nighttime glamorous scent. Men seem to like it. NOT for work or casual occasions, but for when you want to feel like a diva.
I want to add that I do not usually wear as strong a scent as this, but I really enjoy it.

I read mixed reviews on staying power:
VIOLETTEVIRIDIAN claims the scent dissapeared within 2 hours and JULIETTE HAS A GUN says in her review it does last for many hours.
So which one is it?

I am so disappointed. I loved! the way this smelled in the bottle and on me at first. But for some reason it completely disappeared within 2 hours of putting it on! I am serious! No detectable scent whatsoever. I thought maybe it was just me- maybe I couldn't smell it but perhaps someone else would... so I asked several people and only confirmed that the scent had 'left the building' as it were. Not a drop of aroma survived on my skin. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Neitchivo. BOO!

Very sweet bottle - adorable. Extremely strong scent, it does last for many hours. Unfortunately, I do not like the topnotes, too fruity in a way, but the drydown is quite nice. Not very original, this kind of fragrance is available in many other forms from other brands...- but if you love pretty bottles, this one is a MUST for your collection.

I have to tell you that the very first note of the perfume, overwhelmed me, not in a good way and I went: Oh, NO! Too fruity - spicy for my taste. Fortunately it changed to this sexy and sultry scent that make me cry: YES! THIS IS WHAT I WANTED! The flowers charged at me, after which a woody warm sweet note descended on me. So, if you give it a little time, you will get that wonderful perfume that Aeternitas described so well.
What I really liked is that this perfume transformed while I was wearing it. It went from fruity to floral, from floral to woody and from woody to gourmand. Like the moon and its phases.

Ohhhh...I ordered Magical Moon without trying it on first and was worried that it will not be something I expected.But it turned out to be a magic in a bottle! It is definitely a perfume with a little bit of potion in it.Though it is very sweet and luscious, there is a certain bitter note in it - may be it`s juniper, that doesn`t let it become yet another dessert perfume. Instead of sweet tooth thoughts, I see a valley under a full moon,aromatic herbs and flowers galore,some secret witch celebration of the moon power,where their potions and balms are being made right there, over fire pits.Juniper note I see as a circle of tall dark cypresses surrounding the valley.
I honestly have a warm sensation on my skin when wearing Magical Moon - what else can it be other then magic?

Not for me. I tried the EdT today. The first spray was overwhelmingly fruity. WOO-EE! Sharp and fruity. Perhaps it's the starfruit, or maybe the litchi, or the pineapple, or the combination of all three. Supposedly it dries down to a more woody smell or incense-y smell after a while, but I just couldn't wait for that bus. I had to scrub after 30 minutes. It really is a fruity gourmand, so if one likes gourmand scents with plenty of fruit at the table, I think this would be a good choice.

Sounds great! I have to get a sample of it.. or the hole bottle!

Wow. I tried this for the first time and it's a new perfume on my top 5 for buying. The notes blend together so well. It's beautiful and sensual. Sweet, warm, intense, mysterious, and especially romantic. I'm taken over by the sandal wood in it, it's absolutely amazing. Smoky and seductive. I would say this is an occasional wear, nice night scent.

The EDT is the sweetest. (My least favorite) While the EDP seems to be a bit more woody. The Parfum is darker with more incense. (My favorite) Upon first spray you get a bug spray smell, but within a few minutes it is sensual and dark. I receive many compliments on this one, but I wouldn't dare spray and run out. Magical Moon needs a few minutes before her mystery begins to unfold.