1881 Bella Notte Man

I purchased Bella Notte Man last year and part of my Spring cheapies buying spree. I was quite busy last Spring--and picked-up a few gems I had been wanting--so i used this once and it has been sitting on the shelf in the catacombs. Shame! Because I wore this recently and what I pleasant surprise in that I loved this fresh-woody-spicy scent. This is more of a first impression, but it's a very nice fresh-spicy scent that is perfect for the Spring days and Summer nights, but it also has a spicy edge (pepper and cardamom) that makes it well-suited for the Fall as well. Bella Notte Man lasted 6-hours on my skin and projected moderately. Offhand, I may even prefer this one to Cerruti 1881 Men. A definite try for someone looking for an inexpensive spicy-woody fragrance that manages to stay on borderline of being a freshie. Cheers!

Wow, this is such a nice performer for it's price. It might not be for everyone's liking as it smells heavy with cardamom and spices. Has a mature masculine character to it, definitely fit for office or business type setting where you would want to be taken seriously. Hence, it'll be apt for older men. I'm not a big fan of leather or tobacco notes yet love masculine fragrances to wear for office, so it is perfect for me.

Great all around scent, very different than the original 1881, very similar to John Varvatos Platinum!!!

Actually even more similar to Varvatos Dark Rebel Rider, therefore a great value!!!

First impression of 1881 Bella Notte was that of surprise - at the soft, fruity citrus accord at the top. Light, almost candied, and ethereal in its softness. Then the heart notes start climbing out, and I am reminded of the spice elements of Azzaro Visit - mainly nutmeg and cardamon to my nose - but without the woody counterbalance that exists in Visit - not to mention that slight plastic accord that goes along with it in the early going. Instead, 1881 BN goes soft and lightly sweet, and I gotta say I really dig it. I think this could almost be looked at as a flanker to Gucci Pour Homme II - another similarly spicy/sweet gem. Similar linkage to Kilian's Straight to Heaven. Clearly all three go in their own respective directions, but definitely share some stylistic traits. As for mentions of similarities to Bentley - I have to disagree. Not even close. Where Bentley is boozy first, then woody and spicy, this one is more focused around warm, sweet spicy elements, with little or no booze to be found. So there you go. If you like the nutmeg/cardomom notes of Azzaro Visit or Kilian's Straight to Heaven, you'll like this. And if you like the spicy-sweet cinnamon/ginger accord of GPHII, you'll like this, too. Considering its thrifty price, only its poor performance holds it back from a full-throated declaration of love. Smells great, but you'll probably want to apply heavily if you want to even notice it an hour or two later. Second impression: Borderline niche to my nose. Actually more similarities with the Kilian than I originally gave it credit for, though I also stand by my stated comparisons with Visit and GPHII being in a similar wheelhouse. Such a well-balanced, classy spice accord against a gracefully nuanced backbone of woods. I suspect that over time, this one is going to cement itself among my top 5-10 all time favorites on the basis of scent and phenomenal bang for buck value. Again, only performance might hold it back.

Spice King (Olivier Cresp, 2014) Scentrack: Thomas Dutronc – Comme Un Manouche Sans Guitare I came across Bella Notte by an accident on a boring rainy evening in Munich. It was very nice at the first sniff. Polite, semi dark and extremely spicy like a bazaar. 1881 Bella Notte has an extremely short citrus phase, and then the spices are introduced. This Oriental interplay of spices is the main theme in this composition. Black pepper, cardamom, strong cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg. All these spices are mashed together in one intensive soup that is sometimes hard to isolate a separate spice. Personally, I prefer less spices and more pronounced to feel all the depth separate notes. After this spicy heart the base is somehow shy and mellow. The strongly artificial vanilla note takes the lead, similar to another blue bottled scent – Hugo Boss Dark Blue. This vanilla (like note of vanilla-flavored coke) is accompanied by some musk and woodsy notes. In spite of the strong spicy character of the heart, the composition is very balanced. Even too balanced to my liking. I feel the composition has a potential to be darker and more intensive, unfortunately it is just another middle of road designer fragrance. The spicy heart and vanilla drydown are really nice. In fact, Bella Notte is very enjoyable. I prefer it during summer nights due to its extreme shyness. The main issue of 1881 Bella Notte is poor performance. It lasts only 2-4 hours on my skin with minimal sillage. This is very unfortunate for this solid composition. What a pity, and could have been a designer winner. Still, it possesses a very nice blue bottle, and the face of the visually attractive campaign was a famous French gypsy jazz guitarist Thomas Dutronc, the son of Jacques Dutronc and Francoise Hardy. Rating: 6/10

The review below by "OnTheMark" is very much on the mark. Imagine dipping a fresh log of wood into a bucket of rum. Remove the log of wood and while it's still damp, sprinkle lots of pepper on it (black pepper and/or sichaun pepper). Put that piece of peppery, rum-drenched wood into a steam room. Now take it out and smell it. That's what this fragrance smells like - it's in the same ballpark as Kilian's Straight to Heaven - the major difference is that the Kilian scent has the citrus/sweet kick from the dried fruits. There's no sweetness/citrus/freshness here - this is all WARM and SPICE. Only men older than 35 should be wearing this. Niche-like but costs less than $25CAD for 125ml last time I checked. YT Channel = The Scentrovert

I don’t get all these comments about this being “niche quality”. Right off the bat I can think of a designer that does this soft spicy vanilla theme far better, and that is Tom Ford’s Noir Extreme for Men. In comparison, Bella Notte is flat and uninteresting. Pleasant yes, but ultimately boring and the performance is abysmal. Perhaps at this price level it’s a scent that can be worn for watching TV at home in the evenings, I wouldn’t step out of the house wearing this because it there’s plenty more wow factor to be had from my collection and this will be unnoticeable within an hour.

One of the best 1881 fragrances in my opinion. Soft but noticeable, masculine yet smooth. As someone who loves Bentley For Men I can see some resemblances, Belle Notte is a bit more retrained and not as boozy and aggressive (Cerruti's scent feels more casual). Quite a versatile scent, would say best for spring and Autumn. Good value for money, also the bottle looks stunning too. Thumbs Up!

Very surprised by this scent, a lot of citrus on the top notes, good spice notes and a great cedar on the base. First thoughts upon trying this was it was very suited to summer with all the citrus, but once the spice starts to come through more it seems more of an spring / autumn scent

Cinnamon check, nutmeg check, corriander check. Quite a spicy beast that lacks Cerrutis characteristic powderyness, best way to describe it really Cerruti 1881 Black but minus the powder.More of a spice bomb good for winter?

This is the same concept Olivier Cresp has worked on while making Mercedes-Benz Infinite Spicy, Kenzo jungle, Armand Basi homme and Roberto Cavalli Black. With Cavalli Black being his best creation by far, in my opinion, and this one coming next. I like it. Easy wearable. Update: Smells almost identical to Burberry Brit. Maybe a bit more rounded but if you don't like Burberry Brit you won' t like this. I still like it but a bit less. 2nd update: It turned from a border like to a hate. I can' t stand it anymore. It burns my nostrils. I' m giving it away.

I agree with the reviewer who said this is similar to Brit for Men, but there are some differences that may be significant (as is the case for me). First, this is considerably weaker, so that may be a negative, but I did get a 125 ml bottle for well under $20, so that's not especially relevant. Second, there isn't any floral element that is noticeable here, other than a little lavender. Third, the "synthetic" type wood note in Brit is absent here. That means I can wear this one, whereas Brit was overbearing and "synthetic" to me. It's got a great balance among the various elements: spicy, woody, sweet, musky, and powdery (along with the patchouli). It is a bit dry, but not in a "chemical" way, as I find in some niche scents. The sweetness is not at all strong, so anyone saying it is too sweet may not have much experience with A*Men and scents I'd call really sweet. I could also see how some people might say it has a touch of L'Instant Homme. Overall, I wouldn't say it's especially unique but it does lasts well and might be worth considering if you find Brit, LIDG, and other scents of that type to be overbearing, but like the idea. UPDATE: I'm enjoying this more than I thought I'd enjoy a scent that possesses an obvious lavender note. Now I'd say it's mostly like L'Instant Homme except without the anise and sharp musk quality. This one is softer and there's no note clash, which I think is what I get with L'Instant Homme. This "frees me up" to swap off my L'Instant Extreme without a second thought, so that's another major advantage of it to me.

Wore this for the first time last night. Starts off with a strange citrus and flowers. Very unique smell and then I get soft incense and vanilla. projection not great but quality ingredients. Would not offend anyone but more suitable for and evening than daytime in the summer I have a large collection of fragrances and find nothing else like this.Dont usually rate Cerruti fragrances and the only one I really liked was the original Nino Cerruti for men which disappeared was reborn and now has gone again! Please, if you are listening bring this back. Anyhow back to Bella Note.My rating on the whole 7 out of 10 for wearability. 5 out of 10 for projecton and 9 out of 10 for quality and uniqueness.

As a younger guy, blind buying this online, I was reading through these comments looking for some closure - "definitely for the more mature man" Uh oh The fragrance arrived, and to be honest, I wasn't sure what to make of it. To me, it was a very green smell, the cardamom and citrus notes giving it a blueberry like opening, drying down to a more subtle vanilla. I understand why this would suit a more mature guy, but after a few wears, the scent really grew on me. Refreshing and cold, I've really enjoyed wearing Bella Note this spring, and would recommend to anyone looking for a citrus, springtime scent - for the price, you can't go wrong.

High quality cheapie that is instantly wearable in the colder months. Starts with a touch of citrus, then you get the pepper and spices coming through. Finally in the drydown you get a strong cedar and musk rounding this very well blended scent off. Projection is strong with this one for at least the 1st couple of hours and then you get another 5 or 6 hours of skin scent that lingers nicely. This is my 1st Cerruti and I can safely say it performs way, way better than I expected for the bargain basement price. 7/10 for both performance and composition. 9/10 for value - I paid under £14 for 125ml

I bought this pretty cheaply in Dubai (about $20 for 125ml) and on the whole I like it. For me it is a fairly linear fragrance. I get strong peppery woody notes that are very evocative of wooden spice drawers in Indonesian antique shops. Delicious. But the scent doesn't really develop that much on my skin, not great sillage/projection and the longevity is around 2-3 hours. Worth buying at this kind of price, though.

Today I had an opportunity to try the new Bella Notte. I must say this one is by far the best 1881 flanker, smelling like a baby of Voyage d'Hermes and Bentley for men. It starts off with a sweet though citrusy cardamom note then becoming patchouli-sh and smoky in the direction of Bentley for men / Bentley for men Intense. This one suruly will get some love here.

Smells absolutely nothing like old version of Burberry Brit. Azarro Visit, yes, and it lasts a bit longer than Visit. Love it, smells unbelievable. 8+ hour longevity. A guy asked me; "What in the heck are you wearing!?", at the cigar shop...He needed to write down the name. Incidentally, I was layering with Vanilla Delight body spray.

Heavy cedar wood, sandalwood, pine top. If you are fan of the "woods" then this one is for you. Cedar dominate and they say it has vanilla in the base but it is pretty far out there which does give it of balance from the cedar bomb in the intro.

Sweet and fruity but dry at the same time. Playful / youthful. Rubber. A bit powdery. Weel balanced and pleasant.Dry wood / Cedar. Quite unique.I like it a lot.

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