Nuit De Sable

Nuit de Sable by BDK. Beautiful unique scent, shame about the performance. This fragrance smells unique and unusual to me, perhaps because it leans more to the masculine side of unisex and I’m used to the more classically feminine-smelling perfumes. This fragrance boasts notes of cardamom, nutmeg, rose, warm sand accord (?!), tonka bean, sandalwood, ambroxan and musk. I’m glad the saleswomen pushed this one on me as I love it when perfumes evoke wonderful olfactory memories and imaginings. The sweet woody scent reminds me of bees wax, dark honey and the smoke used to calm the bees in their hives. It also reminds me (in a good way) of the smell of the dusty, century-old law books in the libraries I used to do research in. The woody/spicy notes put me in mind of the smell of a rich-person’s house – a beautiful villa with wide, polished wooden floorboards, an antique leather armchair which has absorbed the smell of sweet tobacco smoke and cognac perhaps. However this fragrance is not tobacco-y or smoky at all. It’s warm, rich, deep and comforting. There’s a very soft airy rose blooming up through the woody notes and the dry down has just a pleasant hint of talcum powder. You have to close your eyes and think hard about the sand note, but it’s there (a deserted beach in the Spice Islands perhaps?) and I love perfumes that take me on a journey down memory lane and into other worlds. Unfortunately this fragrance is a poor performer on me. I don’t mind the moderate projection but sillage and longevity is less than 30 minutes. I live in a hot, humid climate so I’ll be interested to see if performance is better in our dryer cool season. The fragrance sticks a little better to fabric so I’m spraying it on the bed sheets for now. This was an expensive buy and it's a gorgeous scent so its poor performance is a crying shame. However I’d certainly be interested in testing more fragrances by BDK if this lovely specimen is an indication of their unique note combinations. Scent 9/10. Performance 2/10 (summer).

Nuit de Sable was love at first sniff. I was enthralled. YOU MUST LOVE SPICE TO LOVE THIS. This is a good contender for a DUNE inspired frag like 'Spice Must Flow' by Etat Libre d’Orange, if not THE ideal replacement. Of course, there were many intrusive scents from the other nearby fragrance counters - Xerjoff, Amouage, Jusbox...all vying for attention so I had to make repeated visits to the store, to be sure this was the one, before I wanted to commit. And yes, Nuit de Sable beat them all. Unique, exotic, middle eastern yet french, seductive, warm and smooth. Like an ignited romance between strangers. I normally don’t care for nutmeg or cardamom but here in NDS, it’s so refined with no rough edges that it’s mesmerising. Like other BDK frags, it’s a cohesive composition in perfect symphony. Well put together rather than a discordant clash of kitchen cabinet spices. I disagree that it’s particularly masculine. I can see any introspective, elegant, sophisticated or nonconformist/rebellious individual wearing this. I was so besotted by this fine piece of french perfumery, that I’d forgone a discounted price online in lieu of purchasing in person at full price straightaway. I just couldn’t wait. Plenty of sprays and I get 2 hours of projection, 4-5 hours of longevity before finally turning to a skin scent. Noticeable difference between tester being predominantly spicy and stronger with no rose at all and my purchased bottle being less powerful whilst showcasing the musky rose facets. Unsure if this is a tester maceration issue, my olfactory fatigue or batch variation but nonetheless, does not discredit this creation. 5 out of 5 **** stars.

This fragrance reminds me of rich, wet, pipe tobacco and I was surprised when I found tobacco was not a note listed. I find a lot of fragrances with tobacco notes have this ashy quality that can become off putting- like sniffing an ash tray- but this stays warm and for all the world like sticking your nose in a fresh pouch of grandpas best blend. I adore it! I am super sensitive to rose, but the notes in this are married so well that it doesn't overwhelm me- the rose/cardamom/nutmeg combo in this reads as warm, herbal, and sweet. The sandlewood draws some depth into it and gives it a woodiness while the ambroxin/tonka/musk set the baseline in a smooth and comforting finish. One spray and I smell it in my entire bedroom- and I can smell it on my clothing for days. It is a scent I love to cuddle up with. I haven't tried it in the warmer months yet, but I have a feeling it may be overpowering for summer wear. But for winter...mmmm!!

Was gonna write something but the big positive review of @citywolfie says it all. Especially: ‘Middle Eastern but French at the same time’ which is an astonishing feat and the strong dune/sand metaphore and the similarity with ‘spice must flow’ by Eldo. That one is the closest reminescence of perfume I found unlike the random le labo paragons made here on the webpage. Big difference though: ELDO’s one is a bit more cold, incensy and streamlined (only ginger as spice). Whereas this really has got what you could call a full-blooming spice bouquet (almost tactile-sensation inducing, reminiscent of that sandy consistency and Arabic spice mélanges). On top of the complete review already written, I’ll add that when sprayed it really fills a room but in a very seductive not overpowering way, this perfume is such an androgynous aphrodisiac it’ll leave you wanting to spray more and more both inside and outside the bedroom. :)

This is my second review for Nuit de Sable, and I felt compelled to share my more detailed thoughts since I re-visited her recently. Let me tell you, I stand by my original business-- This is beautiful! I truly do not understand the lower rating on this one. This is a gorgeous composition of a beachy rose. What I love is I find the rose to be pretty jammy, which you wouldn't typically encounter with a beachy rose. There's a juxtaposition between the jammy rose and the sand & spices. I'm wondering if that's why people are having a harder time getting on board with her.. ? But I really think opposites attract here, and it's blended to perfection. This smells elegant, sophisticated, and down-right divine. If you were once on the fence with this one I suggest trying again. Sometimes it may take 2 tries to truly understand the journey a fragrance is meant to take our senses on. <3