Claire de la Lune January 20, 2014
Posted by Alexander Sawit in Stuff in General.trackback
By Alex Sawit
January 20, 2014
One week after the Season 3 finale of BBC’s Sherlock, Cyrano friends are still buzzing over the latest antics of the show we collectively regard as the most brilliant television series of the decade. Now comes the anticipated long wait for Season 4 (bloody hell, I hope we don’t wait two years again).
What can I say? Cyrano friends have mind appeal – and Sherlock is the kind of food for thought that stimulates discriminating appetites. Like gourmets, we’ve been replaying the entire Season 3 at the wine shop, savoring every tasty morsel and picking the plate clean for a deeper appreciation of the complex flavors at work in this season’s storyline.
But I’ll save that topic for my next discussion. For now, I want to draw attention to a brand that has been thrust to celebrity simply by being featured on the show:
Claire de la Lune.
Such a beautiful name for a fragrance, I thought to myself when the perfume was introduced in the season finale – and I need not remind Cyrano friends that anything to do with the magic of moonlight always piques my interest. It’s the perfume that Lady Smallwood is wearing in the opening scenes, during which the villain Magnussen correctly identifies it on her. Crucially, it’s the same fragrance referred to later when Dr. Watson says to Sherlock, “Mary wears it.”
In French, the word clair (masculine) or claire (feminine) means “light, bright”. Hence, Claire de la Lune properly translated is “Light of the Moon”. I suspect the Sherlock writers did this to avoid confusion with a well-known title, that of Debussy’s classic piano piece Clair de lune (simply translated as “Moonlight”).
“I’m sure a lot of women are buying that perfume after this,” my sister happily commented immediately after watching the episode.
Like other Sherlock devotees, my sister is aware of the good fortune being reaped by Speedy’s Sandwich Bar & Cafe, now a popular tourist destination for fans due to its being a permanent fixture on the show’s location, where it is prominently visible next to Sherlock’s apartment door “221B”. Surely the perfume ought to benefit likewise.
“It’s not a real brand,” I revealed to my sister, feeling a bit disappointed myself as I explained. “The writers invented it just for the TV series. But it would be great if there was really a perfume with that name.”
Art likes to imitate life, though, and it is likely that the writers invented their fictional women’s fragrance in honor of a real world beauty. Cartier de Lune debuted in 2011 much to the excitement of the world’s fragrance connoisseurs. Created by acclaimed perfume designer Mathilde Laurent, Cartier de Lune has been successfully marketed as “a Moonlight perfume…which mixes the sparkle of the moon offered by luminous top notes of pink pepper and juniper berries and the softness of a garden of white flowers (honeysuckle, lily of the valley…) led by musky and woody base notes.”
Hahaha, I can’t help smirking at the irony of such romantic descriptions. Really? This is the kind of perfume that a cunning lady assassin – aka Mrs. Mary Watson – wears for her man? Interesting…
The more I think of it, Cyrano friends, the more I like this brand name. Maybe we should market a “Claire de la Lune” fragrance of our own to the ladies…something a bit soft, a bit sparkling, a bit dangerous.
Sounds a lot like the sapiosexual heroines who hang out at Cyrano, don’t you think?
[ To learn more about Claire de la Lune, go to Hot on the Scent ]
Cyrano Friends 
Most Sherlock sites talk of Claire De Lune or Cartier De Lune simply because of the names. Claire De Lune notes fit the description of a younger woman’s perfume, so it’s a reasonable assumption. Cartier De Lune is too mature.
Personally, I believe they have it wrong.
The bottle used is a obvious studio redesign of a bottle designed by Ghost. The fragrance of most of the Ghost brands are made for younger women.
So, if your sister is looking for a fragrance that is remarkably close, I would suggest Ghost Deep Night.
Greetings Zack,
Thanks for suggesting Ghost Deep Night. Although I never asked my sister if she was actually looking for that style, I will keep it mind when the subject pops into discussion. Also, now that you mention it, I do recall it mentioned somewhere on the web months ago that the Ghost bottle design served as the model for the one featured in Sherlock (Season 3, Episode 3), so thanks for confirming that, too.
Just to clarify, I’m not a fragrance expert. I’m just a writer who found something rather nice to discuss thanks to it being put in the spotlight by a great TV show.
But judging from your familiarity with this subject, you may also want to read my follow-up article on the subject of moon-inspired fragrances, “Hot on the Scent”, posted at the following URL address:
Cheers!
Oh I was looking to find the perfume and maybe buy it?! so I ended up here, although I found thishttp://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Antonio-Visconti/Clair-de-Lune-20177.html
but the bottle is not the same, so its not that
Hi Tara, thanks for visiting the Cyrano Friends blog. The Antonio Visconti bottle is quite attractive (its curves are inspired by the crescent moon), but unfortunately it still isn’t the one you were really looking for.
If I may suggest, please continue by reading my follow-up post:
In my follow-up post, I explain that based on how the villain Magnussen described the fictional perfume, it seems logical that among real world perfumes Cartier de Lune has a scent that is perfectly consistent with the one in the TV show. I also explain that in my personal opinion, Soir de Lune by Sisley is the most provocative of all the real world perfumes that have a “moon theme”. Even though it’s not what you originally wanted, you might find yourself very pleased with adopting Soir de Lune as your personal moonlight fragrance.
I hope that helped. Cheers!
Alex
Thanks I will check your new post, not only that I’m a Sherlock fan but also I’m obsessed with perfumes too! 🙂