Simoy Ng Haraya (Buwan)

I've always found it very hard to find a fragrance that suits my personality. I've never found the right one; well not until I found myself in Common Room in Katipunan and discovered a Filipino artisanal brand of perfumes on display there.

The brand is called: Simoy Ng Haraya.

Simoy Ng Haraya (Buwan); PHP 650.00

At first I was looking through the names of the perfumes, and I really wanted to get Alon or Ambon. But I wanted something that had a woody scent to it and something "mysterious"; that's when I opted on Buwan (Filipino: Moon).

Buwan (Eau de Cologne) is a mix of carnation, sandalwood and musk. All of Simoy Ng Haraya perfumes come in 50ml black glass bottles. All of their perfumes are phthalate-free and paraben-free too!

Tanaga by poet Angelo V. Suarez

Every bottle of Simoy Ng Haraya comes with a tanaga (a traditional 4-line poem in Filipino) by the poet Angelo V. Suarez. Buwan's tanaga is:

"Mata ng gabi, bakit

mo pa ba sinisilip

kaming nananaginip?

Di ka ba nangangawit?"

In English (as close as I can translate it):

"Eye of the night, why

do you still peek

at we who dream?

Don't you get tired?"

I absolutely love the scent of Buwan. It is as enchanting as the ingredients it is made of. The only way for me to describe the scent, is through my own poem:

"Darkness comes after a day of rain.

Walking home, I pass a tree,

when the cold air of night envelops me.

I look up, and all I see is the moon."

Simoy Ng Haraya, Buwan & my silver crescent moon

It's actually not a surprise to me that I chose Buwan over the ones I initially wanted. First is that I have always loved the smell of sandalwood, and with Buwan having that I would naturally choose it over the ones that don't have sandalwood.

Second is well, the moon has been a constant part for my life since I can remember. My name 月 (Yue) means moon. I was born on a Monday. I have always loved watching the moon (I could even stay out the whole night just watching and being under the moonlight). Most of the significant life events that have happened to me have been on days when the moon is visible in the sky. And I always wear a silver crescent moon wherever I go (it has been with me since forever and is a piece that I never leave without).

So as redundant as the moon may be in my life, I'm happy to say that I have found a scent that I am very happy with and which suits me, I think it will be my go to scent for the long run.

But I would still love to try out the other perfumes Simoy Ng Haraya has to offer. I'm more than happy to support this local and artisanal and proudly Filipino brand!

Simoy Ng Haraya (Buwan) costs PHP 650.00 per 50ml bottle

Do check out Simoy Ng Haraya's website for a full list of the perfumes and products they carry:

https://www.simoyngharaya.com

You can also go to Common Room in Katipunan to see the products Simoy Ng Haraya has on display there.

Common Room @ Katipunan is located at:

#325 Dela Rosa St. Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines
Operating Hours: 10:00am-10:00pm