Demeter Fragrances Moonbeam and Vanilla Bark – Review

I had heard about Demeter Fragrance Library from my friends in USA who loved the unique, sometimes quirky everyday scents that Demeter captured in their colognes (Wet Garden or Gin and Tonic anyone?). So when I heard that these colognes were finally available in India, I was really eager to try them out. Here’s the review of two of their fragrances, Moonbeam and Vanilla Bark.
Demeter Fragrance Library Moonbeam and Vanilla Bark
About Demeter Fragrance
With a mission to “create environments where people can rediscover the wonderful world of scent that is too often overlooked or forgotten in our multi-tasking, modern world”, it is no surprise that Demeter Fragrance Library consists of more than 250 different fragrances inspired by everyday objects and experiences. These are simple, friendly and familiar scents, scents inspired by the beautiful smells that surround us everyday, adjusted to be both, wearable and recognisable. The assortment includes wonderful smells like “Vanilla Cake Batter”, “Baby Powder” and “Honeysuckle” and many more unusual fragrances like “Dirt”, “Leather” and “Gin and Tonic”.
Demeter Fragrance Facts:
* 95% of the ingredients are derived from natural or renewable resources.
* No artificial colors.
* No binders or emulsifiers.
* No Phthalates.
* Alcohol naturally fermented from corn.

MOONBEAM

Demeter Fragrance Library - Moonbeam review
 
When I was in school, I was in the Girl Guides and each year, we went for a week-long camp. It was torture central with terrible places to stay, horrid, horrid food and a hectic routine. The highlight of the camp for me were the astronomy classes (only for a select group of interested girls) where each night, we would observe the night sky and constellations at different times. On one of the camps near Marve beach, we went for “star gazing” at 4am. The full moon hung low on the horizon and seemed to almost touch the water and the moonbeams created a shimmery path leading to the moon. It was magical! It almost felt like if I were to start walking on the calm, shimmery, watery path, I would walk up to the moon.The reason for that flashback is because the name of this fragrance, and it’s description, both instantly reminded me of that night. “Demeter’s Moonbeam captures the dual nature of the moonbeam, reflecting elements of both, the innocence of light and the passion of night.”

This fragrance is really difficult to describe. It starts out with sweet floral notes blended with vanilla but warms up to a spicier, muskier fragrance after about an hour or so. It’s quite a complex fragrance and yet very subtle so if strong fragrances give you a headache, you should definitely go for this one. Another interesting thing about this cologne is it’s unisex appeal. It’s neither overtly feminine, nor is it outright masculine and smelt wonderful on me as well as on hubby.My only gripe is with it’s staying power. On me, it lasted just around 3-4 hours after which it became really, really faint. Nevertheless, a beautiful fragrance.

VANILLA BARK

Demeter Fragrance LIbrary - Vanilla Bark Review
“The heart of this fragrance is Madagascar Vanilla surrounded by precious woods including Patchouli, Vetiver and Sandalwood. It starts with a sparkle of Bergamot warmed by the sun and smoothed and rounded with exotic spices, including cinnamon and nutmeg.”
 
The description of this fragrance sounded wonderful. However, each person’s perception of  a fragrance is different. My olfactory senses fail to sniff out the Vanilla in this, neither in the top notes, nor in the heart notes. Yes, I can smell the musky, woody aroma of cinnamon with a faint hint of sandalwood and…..something slightly sweet but can’t really make out what. But I can’t smell the vanilla.
This fragrance too, lasts as long as Moonbeam. I tried layering both of these and thankfully, the combination is wonderful.
The packaging of these Demeter Fragrances is in keeping with their philosophy of “Simple, subtle, singular scents” and is very simple and subtle too. I’d love to try out “Thunderstorm” and their Nigel Barker special edition, “New York Nights”. These fragrances are all priced below Rs. 2500 so even if you want to try a few, it won’t pinch your pocket too much. They’re also being offered at discounted rates on Flipkart and Snapdeal.
For more information on Demeter Fragrances, you can check out their facebook page:
or their official website:

PS – PR sample. Honest, unbiased review. Affiliate link.

5 Replies to “Demeter Fragrances Moonbeam and Vanilla Bark – Review”

  1. The description is really nice but the fragrance didn’t appeal to me so much.

  2. I agree. But they do have some of their most popular ones.

  3. i really wish we get the entire range in India to try out!

  4. Pooja Mittal says: Reply

    i have some fragrances from them too , love them
    keep in touch
    http://www.beingbeautifulandpretty.com
    http://www.indiandeautydiary.com

  5. I would agree, description of vanilla bark sounds really good. 🙂

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