Luna Rossa strikes me as a "modern lavender" with an edge, its central note of lavender deliberately adorned with an extravagant dose of overtly synthetic accents. What surprises me, however, is the abrasiveness of its fougère accord. Prada, a house known for crafting smooth, complex, and impeccably soapy fougère-orientals like Amber Pour Homme, appears to have faltered here. Luna Rossa has no reason to smell harsh and cheap, yet it does. For a luxury brand, this is disheartening. Wearing Luna Rossa feels oddly utilitarian and frustratingly uninspired—a sensation akin to discovering that your first-class plane ticket has relegated you to coach because the aircraft lacks a first-class section.
Loosely translated, "Luna Rossa" means "Red Moon." Yet the fragrance embodies neither the fiery passion of “red” nor the ethereal allure of the “lunar.” Instead, it smells as its bottle looks: cold, metallic, and reflective. The lavender note is herbal and bitter, steeped in sharp orange that veers into "screechy grey citrus" territory. As the top notes dissipate, a peculiar sweetness emerges, likely attributed to the ambrette seed—softly musky and faintly warm. Within two hours, the scent develops a detached, powdery aura reminiscent of iris and evocative of Prada’s Infusion line. However, this powdery quality is marred by an oddly stiff and overly sweet musk. It feels blatantly synthetic, as if the perfumer overestimated its naturalness and miscalculated its dosage.
This synthetic misstep is a recurring issue in Prada’s Infusion line, but at least those fragrances have some redeeming elements of quality. Luna Rossa, by contrast, smells cheap from start to finish. Eventually, a threadbare dose of Ambroxan ushers the failed herbal composition toward a gauzy, laundry-like drydown. Mercifully, the entire experience ends at the five-hour mark. Its longevity is fair but unremarkable, and frankly, that’s a relief. In reviewing Luna Rossa, I’m mindful of its target audience: young adults, particularly teenagers and twenty-somethings with less seasoned olfactory palates. While it may seem unimpressive or naff to professional adults, a teenage wearer of Luna Rossa might come across as more sophisticated than his peers. It likely charms the ladies and, at the very least, it’s not Axe.