Cafe Noir

DSH Perfumes Café Noir seems to be one of Dawn’s best-known and highest-regarded perfumes and is one that’s been on my list to try for some time, as I love gourmands in general and coffee-rich scents in particular. Café Noir comes off like a spicy, resinous coffee, spicier and more floral, frankly, than something I’d actually drink, but such a neat, nuanced expression of coffee. What a neat note listing, as well, with cinnamon and pimento giving way to jasmine, rose, labdanum, benzoin, coffee, tolu balsam, and vanilla. It’s creamy, sweet, though definitely more floral and spicy than creamy and sweet. It’s indulgent without being over-the-top, enjoyable without being too playful, dense and rich while not monstrous. Overall, it’s a very satisfying, nuanced coffee fragrance and I’m a big fan. Performance-wise, it wears a bit more like an extrait, dense and oily but not as boastful of projection as sometimes EDP concentration fragrances are. And this is fine, as there are other coffee fragrances that explore the concept with different notes and loud projection (for example, Kerosene Follow and Sebastiane Espresso Royale) so I rather like what Dawn’s done with the concept in Café Noir and can see how it’s been so successful. Café Noir is for sale at the DSH website as well as other boutiques like Tigerlily and American Perfumer. It runs $135 for a 30ml EDP and $245 for a 60ml Voile de Parfum (distilled in IPM rather than alcohol). As with virtually all of her fragrances, Dawn offers a variety of concentrations and beauty products, so there’s something for everyone’s preference. I’d recommend this outstanding perfume to fans of coffee fragrances in particular who dig a somewhat spicy, slightly floral but still sweet/creamy/resinous take. I’m glad that it’s spicy but not too spicy. 8 out of 10

"It is a Paris night. Dark and sophisticated, it evokes late concerts in smoke filled rooms... sipping coffee and listening to jazz. Captivating and sensual, Cafe Noir fuses classical sensibilities with the flair of the artist." It's a work of art. The first wave of fragrance is boozy, rich, and sharp. It's a fantastic hit of spice, specifically cinnamon, which is lovely and warm. The coffee is freshly brewed. That immediately dissipates and morphs into something a bit darker. The smokiness is delectable. It simmers and simmers down further into your skin. This is the smell of leather rubbed hard by booze stained hands, collecting the fallen ashes of a lit cigar. The hot dry tobacco leaves mingle with smoke, resin and "amber". There is the faint memory of coffee, what it feels to smell coffee and not to smell it directly. There are hints of flowers too, specifically on my skin I smell jasmine every now and again in waves. Something sweet and creamy underneath it all as well, like vanilla. I could never get bored smelling this. My only complained is how muted it is, how close to my skin it sits. I want to cover the room in this fragrance. Update after it's nearly vanished several hours later: there is a sweetness now, it's chocolate-like with vanilla. Absolutely beautiful. 9/10

In the perfumer’s description it says “it evokes late concerts in smoke filled rooms...sipping coffee and listening to jazz.” That description feels apt to me. Café Noir has a clear note of black coffee, but it also evokes the feeling of a bohemian-era Parisian café or a small, dimly lit restaurant in the 1930’s with a singer on stage. There is some damask rose and other gentle florals to balance the darkness of coffee and richness of the vanilla, resins and spices. It smells like a vintage perfume and goes well with vintage clothing or as nighttime wear. Fragrantica incorrectly lists paprika as a note with an image of a red pepper, and some reviews mention a chili or pimento note. The note is in fact pimento berry, also known as allspice which is more similar to clove or nutmeg. There is no chili or red pepper in this.

Cafe Noir is exactly that--a deeply aromatic, rich elixir that gives you a caffeine kick merely by absorbing it through your skin. The opening is piquant and dark and takes some time to diffuse, which is no surprise considering the viscosity if this natural blend. The flowers are not overt but deliver a roundness and subtle sweetness in combination with the vanilla. Labdanum, benzoin and tolu balsam give an exotic, ambery richness and a long lasting layered complexity. Incredibly indulgent and a well composed perfume which I think is suitable for both men and women. It makes me long for a cup of Turkish coffee with a piece of lokum on the side. I also find this a great natural alternative to Opium.

Cafe Noir is warm and full of spices and amber, with a bare hint of coffee. This is a wonderful dark spicy scent that isn't over-sweet. It isn't redolent of spice cake, or cinnamon buns, but the earthy spices themselves. The opening is boozy, maybe rum or bourbon, then the spices settle in for a warm complex finish. At the drydown, I even get hints of leather wafting through.

This is so hot and spicy on me--just what I need on this cold, raw winter's day.

There is coffee in here, but it is most prominent in the first hour, then fades into the warm blend. If you want a ton of coffee, layer this with DSH Coffee Absolu. I've worn samples of this before and never noticed that this is sooooo much like Youth Dew or Cinnabar. I have a fresh bottle now and all I kept thinking as the warmth drifted up is that it is Youth Dew. I'll have to dig mine out and do a side-by-side comparison to see if memory is correct. I mean, clearly my nose deceives me because there's not a note of patchouli here. It must be the balsam, vanilla, cinnamon, rose combo. Not getting pepper. Not getting gourmand. Quality stuff. 100% discernible as a niche house. You can see the quality of the liquid when it drips from the bottle. Not like typical commercial molecules. I'm probably not popular for this, but I think fragrances like these are best worn at home. When I get a bit of sillage of something like this, I unfortunately jump in my mind to "old lady," especially if it's at the shopping mall in the middle of the day. Night time, romantic, studious.

Well the way I would rate the notes would be: 1. Cinnamon 2. Pepper/Pimento 3. Benzoin 4. Coffee 5. Vanilla 6. Tolu This to me is all about a nice hot latte with a heavy sprinkling of cinnamon on top of the foam while you sit quietly eating a warm cinnamon bun. This is gorgeous, warm and creamy but really for me the cinnamon is what takes center stage. A beautiful addition for fall and winter. This is just the perfect amount of spice without becoming a total spice bomb. I agree with the others, I don't smell the flowers but I am sure they are helping the spices to stay grounded and not get too carried away!!! For a real caffeine kick I will stick with Ava Luxe's Cafe Noir.

after wearing hundreds (literally) of fragrances, this is the first that raised tiny welts on my skin! as to the scent experience, it comes off more chocolate/coffee (moka) covered banana. it does not have the excitement of freshly ground coffee, nor that of freshly brewed black coffee/expresso, rather it is spicey floral, paris/rome no no no, unless it is starbucks sweet flavored concoction. actually not bad reminding me of AbdesSalaam Attar of La Via del Profumo for its deep resinous sweetness.

I wanted to love this but I don't know, it's kind of muddy on my skin? I am team This is a Spicy Scent, not a coffee scent. Maybe I'd even call it more of an amber. It's dark and deep and there's a decent amount going on with a vintage feel. The quality of the ingredients is no doubt high. I had better luck with Le Sazerac, which this reminds me a bit of, but is fresher and brighter.

Instead of trying to identify notes, I'll simply say that this is an incredible "scent memory" triggering fragrance; for me, it absolutely defines a happy, warm, old homey-ness with tea. Basically a wonderful tea in an old home. Extremely cozy. I did wish it was a completely natural scent per other parts of her line, but I accept that we're close to that with this fragrance. Agreed with another comment, the first five minutes or so is something that needs to be tolerated to get to the good stuff. Then it continues to develop over time, mostly fairly linear, but the next day on clothes is again a tad different but just as equally enjoyable without question. Really, it barely changed the next day, and that's a good thing. If anything it's just a slightly different tangent on the same worthwhile path. No headache or nausea with this one, which I'm prone to with a substantial number of fragrances. I don't know if I'd wear this as a male, but I very well may. I absolutely DO want to have this on hand as a room scent in some form, planning on buying it this year. Welcoming, the very definition of cozy, warm and happy. Wonderful fragrance.

Straight up, I get an unexpected blast of alcohol, specifically brandy, followed by the strong cinnamon that puts me immediately into a Christmas state of mind. Soon this settles and then the other notes mingle to create a comfort, feel-good scent. I don't get strong coffee here, but it IS gourmand. It is more coffee bun dusted with cinnamon and I agree with Tigerlillian about the Turkish delight on the side. In a way, this is also reminiscent of a BPAL in that the scent is so evocative and strong, you could be in the moment in that coffee shop.... with that bun.

Coffee peppers chili flavors blend with hints of balsamic and cinnamon. It's more of an oily texture coffee peppers and doses of chilies. Spicy coffee will be the fair term. Edit (31st Jan 2018) The second time i test this, i got a rice note within the coffee balsamic, pepper blend making the blend smells kind of grainy! It is quite weird and spicier than i thought,

There's amber and spice atop a background of dark, burnt coffee. The coffee disappears eventually and what remains is a spicy floral amber strongly reminiscent of vintage Opium. Average sillage and longevity. Testing from a sample vial from Olfactif. Between a like and a love.

An awesome warm and nostalgic spicy tea vibe, in an old cottage back in the 1800's with the stone sidewalks nearby, maybe even a Dicken's setting. It's pretty darn gorgeous, I really enjoy it a great deal, wouldn't change a thing, cheers!