Moonwind
Avon (1971)

Avon Moonwind (1971) can easily be spotted by scholarly perfume collectors as a domestication of something like Miss Dior by Christian Dior (1947) or My Sin by Lanvin (1924), and someone like Luca Turin or Chandler Burr would probably be quick to assess it as such, but that really sells this little blue cylinder of scent short. What we have here is Avon carefully moving into more animalic and seductive territory, as the 70's were upon us and the mainstream craving for all things virile and wild post-Woodstock would carry perfume fashion into the decade, culminating in the sex-soaked crotch-bombs of the early to mid 1980's, when the rising Generation X would rebel and knee-jerk the fashion of scent towards synthetic sterility by decade's end. As the vanguard of the previous mentioned musky movement, Avon Moonwind certainly played it safer than My Sin did, or later takes like Estée Lauder Youth Dew (1953) or Bal à Versailles by Jean Desprez (1962). Keep in mind, those were also far upmarket compared to Avon, where the frivolity of the upper-classes made tastes wilder and more unfettered than the tamer preferences of the average Ozzie and Harriet. Avon had been slowly moving in this field anyway, with scents like Elusive (1970) and Charisma (1970) the previous year, and leather chypres like Occur! (1962) and Leather (1966), but was more or less emulating designers and high-end perfume houses, not committing to sex appeal in marketing.

Overall. this is a sour-dirty opening aldehyde floral, with marketing declaring it a tribute to some moon goddess of love, hence the name Moonwind. The aldehydes and bergamot follow galbanum and majoram, with bits of violet and hyacinthe, including a seldom-seen floral note called "liatrix", described as the "gayfeather" flower and having a coumarinic-type smell. Civet adds its urinous sourness here, fleshed out with musky ylang-ylang and jasmine. A sharp rose and carnation add a dandy facet to the heart of the chypre, while eventually the bite of oakmoss and sandalwood become clearer alongside some benzoin, a touch of vanilla, and Avon's patent house amber. Whereas Elusive is more musky overall, and Charisma more soapy/green, Moonwind leans more-heavily on woods and oakmoss in its finish, being the darkest and most-aromatic of the three animalic floral chypres, and still several tiers beneath the overall skank-fest of something like the aforementioned Bal à Versailles. Fact of the matter is, this is still a descendant of the structure found in Bal à Versailles, much like Jean Patou 1000 (1972) would be, just not benefiting from the same level of production budget or uncompromised artistic direction. Wear time is appreciably long, and sillage will be moderate, but more than you might expect from a "cologne" (Avons were seldom ever the concentration they were labelled anyway). Best use would be wherever you fancy, as there is no real place for a perfume like this in 21st century society.

Moonwind is something those same aforementioned collectors would likely go gaga for had it been released by a more-esteemed designer house, or at least one that was an actual designer house that maybe didn't get as much attention, like a Worth or Weil; because then claims of misunderstood genius or hidden gems could be made. Not Avon though, because Avon is Avon, and that's that. Being so dismissed really makes something like Moonwind a bigger hidden gem than most would know, also keeping prices comparatively lower than other long-discontinued vintages of similar style and age. If you're someone who simply doesn't care about bullshit like provenance and fake psuedo-propriety among perfume brands, especially when dealing with long-gone fragrances that nobody is exactly singing the blues about anyway; and you're just someone who loves a good, classic green musky floral chypre from a by-gone era, then I have good news for you my friend: Avon Moonwind is fairly attainable assuming you're in one of its bigger markets (like the US) or are willing to use foreign versions of eBay to get it from somewhere like the US to your doorstep. Moonwind might not blow the socks off someone used to walking around doused in deep vintage Guerlain Mitsouko (1919), but it certainly is a very good representation of its genre, although maybe the the kinks a little too ironed out for someone of those wilder and unfettered tastes. as described earlier. Thumbs up

I had this fragrance as a child, in the petite kitty bottle as a gift from my beloved grandmother. I recently wore the scent again from that same bottle, carefully kept by my mother.

It was still half full, and although I recalled the bottle and name with love and nostalgia, all that emotion was for the people involved. Moonwind is something I recognize now as a hell of chypre, which is my least favorite genre.

I'm reading these other reviews and thinking I'm insane. Moonwind for me opened dirty, sweaty. Startlingly so. It found some balance with some lavender AND bitter citrus up top, which got sucked into sexy with a dry rose/floral note underpinned by too much oakmoss and a dose of slightly powdery amber. I know the soapy smell of vetiver, and I wasn't looking for it (at my mother's there is no internet and sketchy cell signal--I was blind)and I didn't notice it.

I just put on a little dab to one wrist and the projection reached my nose with no problem, as though I were wearing a parfum from today. It also lasted for a good six hours, subsiding into a pleasant mossy/amber/powdery skin scent that I could sniff right up until the next hot shower.

I was disappointed. I felt sad to write this review--right up until just two minutes ago. I was washed over with a strange and intense desire to get my hands on my kitty bottle. OUT of my mother's curio cabinet and into MINE.

I need to wear Moonwind again. And, I realize, AGAIN.

"Coldish, blueish, windy." Thanks, Notmenoeb, that's a near-perfect description. If I still had some, I'd wear it at Full Moon in cool weather and, yes, perhaps also for a dressy evening out.

My encounter with Moonwind was through its fossil (i.e. an old bottle my mother had in the early eighties). The tall dark blue bottle fascinated me. It had a faint smell and I always wanted to try it myself. I finally managed to find two vintage Cologne bottles on ebay and I now have it. The scent does live up to its name - it is coldish, blueish, windy. It is not a sporty fragrance in my view, but an elegant, class one. I would say it is suitable for summer evenings, long walks in the breezy atmosphere right before sunset. If it were available in edp it would be a splendour, unfortunately only the eau de cologne is available. I thought that being an Avon product it were more easily available, but I was wrong. They should relaunch this fragrance and easily eliminate some boring, candy-florals they market nowadays.

I agree with distortech. This is a nice unisex fragrance that is sporty and fresh. I have it in the Tropical Parakeet limited edition glass bottle. This was a find on eBay.

I love it. An absolute gem of a fragrance. Very unisex for todays standards. NICE!