Narcisse Noir (1911)

My review will be very pale in comparison to others here, but I must add my comments, this is so spellbinding! I am new to Caron fragrances; I recently stumbled across a "vintage" bottle of NN in the EDT form, it was pre-owned but barely used. I'm confused about the labels on the bottles, there seem to be white ones or black ones, but this one is blue (a darker blue, not navy blue) with the outline of a woman wearing green sleeve cuffs and a green hat. I can't seem to find out when this particular label was used, and I don't know how "vintage" this is, as a result. If anyone could tell me which decade this particular label is from, I'd be so grateful. I wore it for the first time today, and it is like nothing else I've ever worn, ever. At first, since I know very little about this fragrance, I was afraid that it might not be a vintage because when I sprayed it on it was very light and sunny, all orange blossoms and sunshine, and I thought "oh, this will completely evaporate in about an hour". And then the diva came out, lol! After a few minutes I still got orange blossom but then a dark undertone of something very sensual came out to join the flowers...the best way I can describe it is sort of an estrogen fueled "Gloria Swanson brought me here, so watch out now; I'm a woman watch me toss my hair, shoulders back, bust out, wearing my tightest dress and highest heels" kind of smell and vibe! It was pretty loud for an EDT and as I drove to school I was thinking "oh no, I hope I don't make everyone in class sneeze"...After an hour or so, a very mysterious floral element awakened, something I'd never smelled before; it was so mysterious, in a dark, pristine, beautiful way. Then the incense came out, and seven hours after applying, I can still smell this around me but it isn't loud. It's not powdery and it's not old lady, but it is definitely for a seasoned lady, one who is coming into middle age; she has paid her dues and is embracing her personal power kind of scent. This hasn't faded at all, and it doesn't overpower. I think this intoxicating floral element is the narcissus? I've never smelled narcissus before. The incense that is conversing with it is a soft and slightly spicy incense, a delicate blend that you would burn in your home at your personal altar; it is definitely not the church knock-you-to-your-knees-and-repent kind of incense! This is something I'd wear on days where I want to somehow tap into the power of the Universe for an answer to a question or for help in clarifying something or determining a goal to achieve or a path to take, or for making a statement. This is absolutely beautiful. This is indeed old school, but it is not old fashioned or old/dated. They don't make anything like this anymore. And this is the eau de toilette! I can only imagine that the vintage perfume, in the bottle with the black narcissus cap, was a staggering beauty! I wish I knew which decade my bottle is from. I am so happy to have found this! PS: I was just told that my bottle is around 15 years old, yay!

This is for the EDT, which is supposed to be not as dark and edgy as the 1911 vintage original, but still good and focuses more on orange blossom. I was confused when I saw that this was voted so highly for fall and winter, yet it's a floral fragrance. However, when I first applied, I definitely got it. It's floral, but also got warmth and some spice to it. It also projected strongly within about 8" after first applying my sample! There's a very sexy almost masculinity to this, from perhaps the vetiver and sandalwood already, if not some animalic note as well. But still pretty and feminine with a touch of delicateness from the sunny flowery and slightly fruity elements. It's a bit smokey as well. Very cool, very sexy. An air of mystery as well. I imagine this on a femme fatale. I also know this isn't the original, but it doesn't smell typically vintage at all. I was also surprised to see so many people mention men were wearing this, but I absolutely could see this on a man or a woman. 5 minutes later I get a bit of what people are saying with it smelling grape-y. It's still floral though, but I can imagine grape juice. I smell it more within about 3" now as well. 15 minutes later and it has just a touch of powderiness, but also some heaviness and darkness to it, where it isn't a typical vintage feminine powdery scent. There's a slight sense of cleanness to it, as well. I am really loving this so far. I just wish, as a late 20-something woman, I could think of a time I would wear it. It's definitely for someone that is mature and knows what they're doing. It's a firm and intentioned statement. I may be able to make it work, especially for dressier occasions, and a black dress. 1 hour later and it's mostly a skin scent already, but is definitely there still on the skin. It's dark, spicy, floral, still mysterious with a bit of smoky and hints of grape. Still seductive and classy. Something animalic is just turned up a notch. It makes me think of what probably a Tom Ford fragrance would have been in 1911 with some of their fragrances and their branding. I'll see how long this lasts, but this has been very enjoyable so far. 3 hours later and it feels like I can still smell some sunny bright yellow floral/daffodil, but also a lot of sandalwood on the skin. It's a very nice rich and spicy sandalwood, too. It's not as 'dark and mysterious' anymore I feel, but I still enjoy this scent. Very interesting, but at around 5 hours, it seems to have gone mostly fully daffodil-ish. 10 hours later and the scent hasn't changed, but I can no longer smell it on one arm, and the other arm where I applied slightly more still has a faint skin scent to it. 13 hours later and I'd say the scent on the arm I could still smell this on is basically gone.

Narcisse Noir is the smell of a small liberation. It is the ecstatic unfurling of a muscle too long held in tension, the stretching out of long limbs too long constrained and now allowed at last to be lucid. It is a perfume of performance not entirely suitable for rehearsals. Opening with an entire corps de ballet of daffodils and orange blossoms this production has ambition from the start. These first performers quickly cede centre stage to new stars: a robust if not downright rotund orange with its two partners a somewhat jagged and playful jasmine and a decidedly medicinal tincture of rose. The narcissi never leave the scene though, and can be called upon at any point to lend force to every heavily choreographed and highly sexed set piece. Our third act finds us in expansive territory, an imagined landscape of the Russian Steppes as they once were: wild grasses with antelope and feral cats here and there. It is an animal world, the only trace of men the incense of unseen churches of the old religion. Against this endless wilderness our drama plays out towards an enigmatic ending that hints at the eternal. Narcisse Noir is by turns a joyous evocation of youth, an erotic dance of courtship and a meditation on the meaning of the final curtain. It is classical ballet made scent. Like all great dance it calls on dancers of every sex. ************* I was fortunate enough to sample the current extrait and an older eau de toilette formulation in a white spotted box and the traditional Caron flacon. However, though lighter I find the current toilette to be a perfectly sensuous scent, much derided for no good reason. Rumours abound that the eau de toilette is to be entirely discontinued if this has not indeed already happened.

You try classics as a vintage enthusiast, with much anticipation and a small amount of trepidation praying you dont get smitten with something so unavailable....Vintage edt review. Lasting over 7 hours on me, this opens with jasmine and jonquils cast their spell and command attention. Rose rises up to keep you enthralled guiding you into the musky sandalwood, civet sexy drydown. Love at first spray, it fit my chemistry like a glove, and i could smell its presence all day. Its definitely one of the femme fatale scents that starts as a head turner, grabs you by the throat in the middle and makes you surrender with the growling animalics. Gorgeous, classic, and really nothing out there comes quite close to compare.Beautiful sexy scent. vintage parfum: A richer dark jonquil casts her spell. Similar to edt, only richer. Jonquil note stays at the forefront. Vintage edt version in gold spray canister: The opening neroli is a bit bitter with the jonquil. Its still the Narcisse Noir of later formulations but this from the 50s is a slightly spicier and dryer.I cant begin to tell you that the scent is so realistic, like nothing else I have experienced in fragrances. The animalic nuance flows like as if the animal was right in the room with me and the same with the florals and spicy sandalwood. Its been sealed thru the years and hasnt degraded at all. After coming accross this version of NN..all I can say is modern synthetic perfumary cant hold a candle to this example of expert french perfumary. Bollicks to the IFRA. This is the way to go. Note: serge lutens fleurs d citronner vintage version echoes NN minus the jonquil and heavy syrupy body. For a daytime version give lutens a whirl.

I was about 20 when I first discovered and bought this fragrance, this would have been in the late '70's in Sydney, I bought it at David Jones in Elizabeth street, and I still remember the event, that it was winter, the perfume counter, and my reaction when I first breathed in this gorgeous concoction. I had purchased the EDT and it came in a white box with a pattern of little black snowdrops or stars on it. I kick myself for not having stock piled it, because I have not experienced this for more than 30 years and it is the one fragrance I can recall almost totally from the first spritz to the dry down. This is haunting, deep, sensuous, because of the connection to the time I bought it, it always evokes a feeling of depth, of drowning in a mock orange blossom grove, of daffodils growing amongst the murraya shrubs...I yearn for it and I might try to get a small decant from one of those vintage fragrance stores, only the potential for deep disappointment has prevented me from pursuing this. I saw that there was a formulation released a few years ago, but my connection with this fragrance is pristine, however flawed my olfactory memory may turn out to be. A few months ago, one of the young guys at work came in wearing Zegna's Mediterranean Neroli, and it startled me because my nose immediately connected this scent, on him, somehow obliquely with NN. I have since persuaded my husband to order the Zegna fragrance on line, so we will see how this works out on him. Pure high quality Neroli essential oil is somewhat close when I desperately need a hit.