Noa

Hauntingly smooth and slightly sensual like a silk caress on naked skin, Noa by Cacharel is a little scented landscape where everything feels peaceful and romantic but, oh, so graciously full of life and tender passion.. I have to admit the first time I sprayed it on my wrist I thought I was smelling something quite unusual, not properly charming: at least for the very first moments Noa feels like a bunch of green and spicy notes put together almost randomly (someone already mentioned tobacco.. yes, I detect kind of a smoky-herbal vibe through the first stage of this EDT, though I suppose it’s due to the peculiar coriander and coffee blend). The heart, dominated by floral accords, is simply and purely beautiful, with lily and rose getting more and more distinguishable as the musk and vanilla base starts to linger with them, enhancing their tenderness; when drying down Noa gets somehow milky-nutty, curiously wandering through sweetness and freshness, resulting in both clean and warm textures on my skin but without losing an inch of its own personality... which is, of course, that of a fragrance aiming to provide the wearer with an innocent but very pronounced aura of femininity. There’s nothing messy, explosive or utterly extravagant here, just a calm but still lively voice that whispers quiet words... all in the right place, and in the right moment. I think part of the pleasure I get from wearing Noa comes from the fact I’m sure I’ve smelled this fragrance before - many and many times - but only recently I was able to properly appreciate it... it feels so familiar, so reassuring I would always keep a bottle for those moments when I just want to feel safe and relaxed. Though I think it’s one of those scents that would find their place through a daytime/work routine I wouldn’t underestimate this little gem of delicacy for more special occasions as it could be a crowd pleaser (or, at least, a significant other pleaser)... just be sure of wearing the right amount, I usually do 4-5 sprays and the sillage is wonderful, yet very close to skin and clean in a delicious, refined body lotion way. Longevity is quite good for an EDT, nothing impressive though (about 4 hours). A great fragrance that smells like the little pearl inside its beautiful bottle, pure and translucently soft... highly recommended, I will surely buy a new bottle when my Jelly edition will be finished ;)

I first smelled this perfume on a 60ish year old lady a few years ago. I kept thinking I was getting whiffs of her hand lotion every time she walked by and assumed it was probably Nivea or something a little more high end. I kept running into her at different family events and was always catching whiffs of her "lotion" and the more I smelled it the more I liked it. I finally asked what that smell was. She told me it was her perfume, called Noa. Well, I'm in my 30s, she's in her 60s, so I thought to myself "sorry but I won't be buying an old lady perfume for myself", even though I thought it was actually pretty nice. And that was that. Fast forward to last month - I was sitting on a boat with this same lady on a warm, sunny summer day and again I kept getting whiffs of her perfume. This time I thought to myself "fuck it, I'm getting myself a bottle." When I got home the next day I ordered one. After wearing it myself, I no longer think of it as a nice "old lady" scent. It actually reminds me so so much of being a teen in the late 90s/early 2000s, it's so nostalgic and just beautiful. It's soft and creamy and smells "white". Pure and innocent. Carefree. Bright and happy. I used to wear Close by Gap back in high school and Noa reminds me a lot of that one, only softer and way better. As I mentioned earlier, it smells like a nice body/hand lotion. In that way I would say it smells clean and fresh, but definitely not clean or fresh in a lemon cleaner type of way. This is a creamy, soft, powdery, dreamy, girl next door type. It gives off vibes of a laid back sunny summer day. It is the epitome of a "white t-shirt and jeans" type of scent. I want to lay on the grass and watch the fluffy white clouds float on by when I'm wearing this. It's so calming and comforting. It'll bring back childhood memories, I guarantee it. I ended up really falling in love with this perfume. It quickly went from a motherly, old lady scent to a youthful, full of life, bright sunny day. It's a breath of fresh air.

I am so glad I bought a large bottle of this a few months ago. My initial impression was that it was okay. I had procured it to replace A Drop d'Issey, as A Drop seems to be discontinued (in the United States market, at least). I do own multiple back ups of A Drop d'Issey but I wanted to find something to wear that seemed like it would stay on the market. I want to love a perfume for a long time. I don't really have a huge collection any longer and even of what I do have I only wear a small rotation. I prefer wearing one scent at length. At any rate, I didn't wear Noa again until last night, when I thought I ought to sleep in it. That was a lovely idea, and I put it on again this morning. This is beautiful and cozy. The rose is particularly lovely in this, but all of the notes create a complexity that is not at all overwhelming. The coffee and incense touches are subtle but enchanting. I used to love coffee but can scarcely tolerate it now. I am a consummate tea drinker, but this makes me want to have a cup of coffee this morning. In fact, I think I will! I also adore the peach accent and the peach blossom lotion by Nivea is perfect to layer with Noa. This was an excellent blind buy and so affordable. The value is incredible. I have a bottle of Flower by Kenzo coming in, another classic from the era of my youth, and I hope it is as much of a successful blind buy as Noa (I said I wouldn't blind buy anything again but the price for Flower is also quite good and so, I think, worth the risk). Noa is very charming. Update: I did have a cup of coffee and sit with my elderly cat Lola on 3.24.25 after I wrote this review. We had to let Lola go at the age of 20 later in the week on 3.29. This scent, my sweet girl, and a cup of (quite delicious as it's not so often had) coffee created a lovely moment.

I've come to adore the lotiony white musks of the Y2K transition years, but I went this long without knowing THIS was one of them. I think this is probably the godmother of all the musks that dominated Victoria's Secret at the start of the 2000s. The original clean and sexy. That being said, the real Nivea comparison is not the dark blue jar. On first spray, it smells EXACTLY like Nivea Creme Soft *body wash* (again, also not the light cream in the white plastic jar that's common here in the U.S., which has a different scent). The body wash was one of my favorites a couple years back, and found in abundance imported from Italy or Germany to your favorite mass-market discounter i.e. Marshalls, Ross, or TJ Maxx. It that sense, yes, it does smell like actual "soap" - watery yet creamy, baby powder for a second before blooming into a flowery and sweet musk, never animalic. And I much prefer this sweeter, creamier approach to a white musk than Jennifer Lopez's Glow, which was another blue Nivea dupe, pleasant enough but far too dusty for my liking. From the middle to the dry down, it reminds me heavily of the long-discontinued, forever missed original Body by Victoria. Except perhaps, Noa is more rounded, since Body had more shower-freshness to it. But the musk story is 95% similar to Body, to my nose. That comparison makes me more excited to own this than the intriguing coffee note - which I think is only providing a faint nuttiness instead of an actual "latte" vibe. But it is a fair note to enjoy regardless, as it only adds to its coziness and keeps the muskiness under control. I will be going a for a large size bottle soon, and probably hunt for another Creme Soft wash.

I love Cacharel Noa!!!! It’s my everyday scent. I wear it all the time, even before bed. It’s one of the first perfumes that doesn’t give me a headache or make me feel nauseous, which is huge for me. I always swirl the bottle just to watch the pearl spin around lol What I really like is that it doesn’t try hard to be a perfume. It just makes you smell good in a quiet and easy way. I can wear it anywhere without worrying about annoying others. If I had to compare this scent to a feeling or location, maybe a lake without the dirt and grass. Just pure lake, with flowers that aren't too heavy, but just light. It's nostalgic in a way that reminds me of someone from childhood who had that skin scent (not exactly a perfume scent). That makes sense because a lot of people used Dove soap back then, and honestly, this smells somewhat like Dove. It's very soapy too. Not exactly aquatic, but still gives those clean ocean-lake vibes. Hmm... maybe like taking a bath in a pool without the chlorine and ozone smell lol. That said, a couple of things keep it from being perfect for me. When it dries down, I swear I catch a little bit of a sweat smell. Not in a gross way, but... sweet sweat? It’s a little too sweet for my taste, not sugary candy sweet, just that kind of warm, sweet sweat note. I’d love it so much more if it were a bit more musky or powdery instead. Also, I don’t smell the coffee or wood notes at all lol Still, I reach for it almost every day! Before going out, before sleeping, everything. Just a really comfortable, headache‐free scent.