Eva Luna Providence Perfume for women and men

if anyone is interested in samples from this brand, i have a lot of 4 listed on ebay for about $10 less than getting them from providence.

I spritzed this on without first looking at notes, and before I do i"m going to write my impressions.

Initial whiff plays out like a movie trailer that you follow up with the word 'rental'. A screeching, white floral nettles my nose, accompanied by some misbehaved green vibe. This is when I thought it a good time to go make my evening tea. By the time I returned and finished my Facebook perusings, I wondered where that nice smell was coming from.

The florals come forth in the dry down, and they are luscious and earthy, like you would find in the tropics. Gone is that white stinker, to be replaced with something more fragrant, dark, and grounded. The scent becomes less chemical smelling and more natural, and honestly, it works.

IN the end I like this; I"d classify it as an oriental floral. There's just enough here that's interesting and it's very unique.

When I first read the list of included notes and rembered that this brand is "all natural", I worried about the usual problem: Will this smell like a mucky, horse stall? I decided to "blind buy" "Eva Luna", anyway.

"Eva Luna" is an offering by Charna Ethier from "Providence Perfume Co." and it was entered into a natural perfumer's project as her rendition of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The result is a magical partnership of muse and dreamweaver and even based on sampling some of her other offerings, it seems to me that "A Midsummer Night's Dream" - in all it's incarnations over the years - speaks to everything this brand is about. The beauty of real botanicals; the raw, feral power of Nature, with a kick of whimsy, meticulous charm and a sense of organic, untamed art -- the kind that bucks the mundane tyranny of modern trends and "design", like a hand-painted "Coney Island" sign or an intricately beaded purse. It's about pure, wild beauty and beauty isn't always about "simplicity" and clean, uniform lines.

"Eva Luna" is out of time and hard to place. It's balmy garlands of tuberose and mimosa, roses and honeyed moondust, make it seem almost bachanalian and overabundant; too rich, too voluptuous, almost intoxicatingly silly.

But then, the opposing "midnight forest" notes challenge the oily, sweet and nectary florals with a bittersweet kick of something that smells of tagette and we're reminded of the venue: A midsummer night, lush in growth, buzzing with insects, but moist with cool dew. Textured layers of green in darkness - crisp, vegetal, musky, cool and imparting a tweedy, sweet grass background - is the stage the mashing of flamboyant florals dances upon. Much like a secret fairy gathering in summer woods, we are surrounded by dense, moist woods and rich, elegant greens and a gleaming, sparkling floral center that emerges as if from nowhere, with florals that seem almost unreal, like fanciful creations conjured by magic. There's a buzzing frankincense at the base of "Eva Luna" that has a lemony kick, and every once in a while, a charming ping of something that reminds me of wet popsicle stick, shows its face -- too funny to be true, but even charming in its ability to prompt nostalgia. A resiny, crumbly base continues to keep the fairy party contained and hidden in its secret location.

Overall, "Eva Luna" is a lush blend of heady florals, contrasted by balmy, bittersweet greens. The plumeria is more earthy in "Eva Luna" than it usually is presented in other fragrances, but still manages to retain its strange "humid, clean but not fresh" quality. The tuberose is warm, surprisingly sweet and very buttery and the mimosa has a pollen-like density to it; the combination is like a more amiable version of Tiare and Ylang-Ylang, and the sum of "Eva Luna's" parts gives it its magical, luminous quality. These florals don't seem real, but they don't seem lab created, either. The overall result is something that feels, both, very natural and organic, yet charmingly contrived -- like a Victorian stage set. It brings to mind all film versions of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and even a little "Le Voyage Dans La Lune", too. It's the perfect scent to wear to an outdoor play, some "Shakespeare in The Park".

This scent is so unique and reminds me that perfume isn't just about smelling pleasant or for vague, intellectual stimulation. Perfume is the most intimate, wearable form of art. In one word, "Eva Luna" is: "Art". It is also: "Charming".