Gucci’s 2022 Alchemist’s Garden floral by Alberto Morillas: peony, lily of the valley and stephanotis in a sheer, airy bouquet.
At a glance
Tears From the Moon is a 2022 eau de parfum in Gucci’s The Alchemist’s Garden collection, composed by Alberto Morillas. It is a transparent white floral built on three notes: peony, lily of the valley and stephanotis.
In 2023 it won the Fragrance Foundation’s Fragrance of the Year award in the Universal Luxury category.
Creation and context
The Alchemist’s Garden is Gucci’s prestige fragrance line. The Perfume Society dates its launch to February 2019 and describes a collection of eaux de parfum, perfumed oils and waters developed by creative director Alessandro Michele with Alberto Morillas over about 18 months, designed to be worn alone or layered. Another guide, The Perfume Girl, gives January 2019 and lists the seven original eaux de parfum.
Tears From the Moon came three years later. Fragrantica’s launch report describes it as part of an April 2022 expansion of the collection, released alongside Love at Your Darkest, and both Fragrantica and Parfumo credit Morillas. The Fragrance Foundation’s award entry also names him, with Coty, Gucci’s fragrance licensee, and DSM-Firmenich.
Fragrantica’s report describes a 100 ml eau de parfum in a white bottle decorated with golden foliage, a dragonfly and a green bow, and says the dragonfly symbolises freedom, wisdom and transformation. The Gucci copy on the Nordstrom listing this post was first built from also linked the dragonfly to hope.
The composition
Fragrantica and Parfumo list the same three notes. Gucci’s retail copy, as carried by Nordstrom, adds Damascena rose and a powdery musk; neither database lists them, so treat them as the brand’s description rather than documented notes.
The result is less a pyramid than a single floral impression that stays light from start to finish. Gucci’s own description, on the original listing, calls it an airy, luminous bouquet wrapped in a voluminous musk. That is a fair reading: the musk and the transparency of the florals matter more than any one flower.
Why it matters
Tears From the Moon shows how Morillas works with florals. His best-known fragrances are fresh and clean, and here he takes the classic white-flower palette and strips it back to three notes so that it reads as air and light rather than as a heavy bouquet. Lily of the valley has a long history in perfumery, from Diorissimo onward, and this is a contemporary, sheer version of that tradition.
It also marks a turn in the Gucci collection itself. The first Alchemist’s Garden scents of 2019 were presented as a kit for layering, with oils and waters meant to be combined. Tears From the Moon was released as a single eau de parfum, and it went on to win a Fragrance Foundation award in 2023.
Reformulation and editions
Tears From the Moon is sold as a 100 ml eau de parfum; Fragrantica gave its launch price as 295 euros. No reformulation or flanker has been documented.
Gucci’s fragrance licence has been held by Coty, and a change of licensee can lead to reworked or discontinued lines. If you like it, check current availability with Gucci before relying on it as a signature.
Wearing it today
Expect a fresh peony opening, a clear lily-of-the-valley heart and a soft, creamy stephanotis and musk drydown. Parfumo users rate its longevity and sillage as moderate, and Fragrantica’s reviewers often describe it as a close, skin-level scent.
It suits spring and summer, daytime and the office, and works well on anyone. Apply generously for a sheer scent, or layer it over a soft musk if you want it to last longer.