The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Luna Holiday Edition 2019 is a limited collector's release from Nina Ricci, part of the Les Belles de Nina collection that gave the original Luna its playful, youthful character. The 2019 edition repackages that fruity-gourmand DNA into something suited to the colder months, when caramel and vanilla feel less like dessert and more like atmosphere. Christophe Raynaud and Marie Salamagne co-created this holiday edition, a pairing that brings together two distinct creative sensibilities in a single bottle. It launched in 2019 as a special bottle for women who collect seasonal releases and expect them to do more than just sit on a shelf.
What makes this composition worth a second look is the way immortelle threads through the heart. It's a note with a bittersweet, maple-curry edge that rarely plays well with caramel, yet here it does. The trick is in the neroli opening, which pulls brightness from the top and keeps the caramel from collapsing into straight sweetness. Pear adds a green softness that balances the sticky middle, while licorice in the base gives the vanilla a faint anise snap. It's a gourmand with backbone, and the backbone is what keeps it from smelling like a bakery.
The evolution
The opening is all tangerine and neroli, bright and immediate, with the citrus carrying a clean floral undertone right from the first spray. Lime sneaks in at the edges, giving the citrus a sharper, almost effervescent quality. Forest fruits add a dark berry whisper underneath, lending the top a layer of depth that keeps the brightness from feeling thin or one-dimensional. Then the caramel arrives. Not gradually, not politely. It just shows up, warm and round, and the jasmine opens alongside it like a flower pressed between pages of a book. The pear softens the transition, keeping the sweetness from cloying, its juicy quality acting as a bridge between the airy citrus and the denser gourmand heart. Immortelle does something unexpected here too, adding a dry, almost medicinal warmth that keeps the heart honest and prevents the caramel from collapsing into pure sugar.
Cultural impact
This edition sits within Nina Ricci's broader Les Belles de Nina collection, a line known for its collectible bottles and youthful, gourmand-leaning compositions. The holiday editions within this collection tend to push the gourmand elements further than the core line, layering caramel and vanilla into compositions that feel designed for colder weather wear. The caramel-vanilla warmth positions it firmly in the gourmand category, but the immortelle and licorice notes introduce drier, more savory undertones that prevent the sweetness from becoming one-dimensional.
The House
Nina RicciNina Ricci is a Parisian fashion house founded in 1932 by Italian-born designer Maria "Nina" Ricci and her son Robert Ricci. The house began as a couture salon on Rue Haussmann, quickly establishing a reputation for refined, feminine gowns with romantic sensibility. Robert established an in-house perfume division in 1941, though the first fragrance would not arrive until 1946. That inaugural scent, Coeur Joie, marked the beginning of a partnership with Lalique that would define the house's olfactory identity. The house introduced its most celebrated fragrance, L'Air du Temps, in 1948, a scent that remains in production decades later. Puig acquired Nina Ricci in 1998, bringing the house under the same ownership that manages Carolina Herrera and Jean Paul Gaultier. Today, the fragrance collection spans from timeless classics to contemporary offerings like the Nina line, maintaining the house's commitment to feminine elegance.
The Creator
Christophe RaynaudWhile it's difficult to pinpoint a single defining characteristic across all of Raynaud's creations, there's often a sense of balance and sophistication. He's not necessarily known for overly avant-garde or challenging compositions; instead, he seems to favor well-structured f…
