Sensuous Noir

If Lancome Oud Bouquet and Dior Midnight Poison had a baby, it would be something very close to Estee Lauder Sensuous Noir. it has Midnight Poison's dark, almost bitter, kind of cold, spicy, earthy rose-patchouli gene but it also has Oud Bouquet's warm and sweet oriental DNA. I hate patchouli when it's too strong and I hate pine in perfumes, I'm not into very spicy or woody or earthy fragrances either. to be honest, I'm not supposed to even like Sensous Noir but here I am, loving it head to toe. fortunately I can't pick up pine in it and patchouli isn't too strong on me. it's all about rose, woods and spices in a warm, ambery base. there's a touch of something delicious here, almost similar to the deliciousness of Oud Bouquet. I can even detect saffron and it's woodyness sometimes reminds me of oud which I usually hate but I love it in Oud Bouquet and I love it here. I can't believe they discontinued this one. they should be out of their minds. this is beautiful and strong and has charisma. it's sexy in an adult, femme fetal way and can be a signature perfume for a queen. it's not my usual type(I'm mostly into gourmands) but it's so good I can't help falling in love with it. Edit: I'm not a fan of it's late drydown. after a couple of hours, it leaves a very very woody scent on my skin without much rose or sweetness.something totally unisex. I use it just on skin,not clothes because I can detect the woody scent it leaves on clothes behind for days. این عطر رو برای فروش یا تبادل دارم اصولا نباید از این عطر خوشم بیاد چون از اکثر نتهاش خوشم نمیاد بااینحال عاشقشم. اگه لانکوم عود بوکی و دیور میدنایت پویزن بچه دار میشدن، بچه شون همچین چیزی میشد. خوشبختانه برای من نه کاج غالبه نه پچولی. من بیشتر یه رز چوبی، اسپایسی تو یه بستر گرم و شیرین امبری حس میکنم. یه کوچولو از خوشمزگی عود بوکی رو داره. حتی زعفران رو حس میکنم و روایح چوبیش یکم واسم یادآور عوده. بطور معمول از عود متنفرم اما تو لانکوم عود بوکی، عود رو دوست دارم و اینجا هم دوسش دارم. خیلی مسخرست دیگه سنسوس نویر رو تولید نمیکنن چون واقعا زیباست و شخصیت و کاریزما داره و یجور بالغی سکسیه و بنظرم میتونه عطر امضای یه ملکه باشه. منتها درای داون نهایی عطر، یعنی چیزی که بعد از ساعتها ازش به جا میمونه یه رایحه کاملا چوبیه که رز و شیرینش خیلی کمرنگ شدن و تبدیل میشه به یه رایحه کاملا یونی. درکل بنظرم سنسوس نویر یه شاهکاره ولی چون درای داونش رو دوست ندارم و اینکه عود بوکی رو دارم که خیلی شبیهشه اما شیرینتره، تصمیم گرفتم سنسوس نویر رو بذارم تو لیست فروشم

I'm hooked I can't believe that finally I'm here hitting the love bottom for Sensous Noir,a perfume I used to dislike as much as I dislike TF Black Orchid! It's been about four years that I have a 5mil decant of Sensous Noir.first time that I tested it,my untrained 23,4 years old nose hated it.I thought too spicy,too woodsy,too masculine,too much dark green vibe.I couldn't understand all it's glowing reviews.after a year I came across a great deal of Sensous and purchased it in a blindbuy and liked that one.not something I often wear but whenever I do I enjoy it and that's one of rare cases in which I like dominant sandalwood and pepper Recently I saw a highly discounted 50mil bottle of Sensous Noir and was reminded of my long forgotten sample so decided to try it out of curiosity I have mixed feelings about it's opening.it's woody,spicy,dark greenish and has a bitter undertone.I don't dislike it anymore but I don't like it either.but it settles down to something which seems to be my soulmate in the perfumey form! I get tones of benzoin and I Love benzoin, specially here that it's paired with spicy,peppery,cinnamony honey,rose,vanilla and amber.it's so delicious but in a very adult,sophisticated,complex and nonfoody way.I love this warm,sweet,deep,rich,resinous base,it's really seductive and it's woody undertone doesn't put me off as it's creamy and smooth in drydown.I also pickup a hint of something smokey which makes it even more unique and edgy I love the fact that while being supersexy, it's also comforying and cozy and while being strong, it's not overwhelming.one of the rare perfumes that just with one spray,I can smell it on myself without trying hard after it dries down I can see Sensous's DNA in it but Sensous Noir us darker,more complex and more interesting.so it's somehow like a love child of Sensous and Dior Midnight Poison but much better than each of these two The sad point is that I can't afford it right now and I'm afraid that I may never find such a great deal in future.sigh

I will address (from my vantage point) the refrains in other reviews first... A likeness to Midnight Poison? For me, only in the smoky rose component. I do not find the patchouli remarkably strong in Sensuous Noir; it's much more noticeable in Midnight Poison. Repeated references to Fem. du Bois? Hmm...maybe in passing. I do not find it strikingly similar. However, I did think of the Serge Lutens line in general when I tested this, which has never been the case with any other Lauder fragrance. Similar to Black Orchid? Not so much to me. Black Orchid is much more complex, edgier, maybe a bit coarser in composition. Sensuous Noir is polished and velvety. I like both, in very different ways. Scary pine? Pencil shavings? Masculine? Admittedly, I like pine and do not find it off-putting, but if I hadn't seen pine in the notes, I would never have noticed it in the perfume. if anything, I wish it were more present. I don't find pencil shavings. A bit of cedar or guaic doth not a pencil shaving make...As for its masculinity, I can only say that it reads very feminine---even classically so---to me, which doesn't preclude my thinking it would smell divine on a man. What is dominant to me, on my skin at least, is benzoin and rose. A bit of wood, a bit of ambery-vanilla warmth, a subtle hint of spice. I don't find it terribly "noir", and certainly not Gothic, although it's definitely not "fresh" or sweet or insipid. I do find it sexy, in a nuanced way. In fact, I feel I have been damning it with faint praise in this review thus far; but really, I like it greatly. It's actually rather intoxicating midway through its wear time, and I could see it easily being a favorite. I'm really very pleased with it, and consider it by far the standout of the Lauder line. It is elegant and beautiful and warm, and yes, sensuous, all without a feeling of trying too hard. A woman who looks and acts the way this perfume smells would be a fine force of nature indeed...

Finally tried on my skin today....and my search to replace Feminite Du Bois is over...such a similar scent on my skin. The appearance of the top spicy notes sadly is not long, but the powdery warm, softer spice/incense mix is beyond beautiful. Have now been wearing this for several hours, and can still smell it STRONGLY. My nose hasn't become accustomed/numb to this magic. I had two sprays on one arm...and one on the other...they almost smell different scents. The single spray has softened to sweet powder, with faint spice. Almost a nuance of floral note. The double spray arm has a more prominent cedar/spice tone. The rose is discernable with two hits, but the vanilla receded, making it part of the whole, but not a vanilla perfume as such...normally my skin picks up vanilla, to the exclusion of most other notes (burberry brit...may as well be body shop vanilla on me...sigh) Fabulous either way...subtle, or more powerful. Though I do believe it could be dangerous if not applied judiciously or overused.......subtle ok for day use, if you can wear it and it doesn't wear you. A fabulous evening fume. Overall, a real surprise, as I wrote off Estee Lauder many moons ago, as old girls frags (no offense to the lovely maturer ladies...hey, I'm no spring chick either...lol) {but they are usually powerful concoctions that don't suit, and won't go away, headache inducing flash backs of crowded lifts in the 80's.}.. but because of fragrantia reviews I gave it a go, and its LOVE...I must own this soon !!! Sillage.. 10/10 Longevity 9/10 I now own this gem, and its beautiful in the evenings...even mistier rainy days (just a liiiittttle squirt daytime) Womanly and sensuous is how it makes me feel.... OK, I now realize that this doesn't replace Feminite Du Bois, but it stands on its own as a wothy member of my perfume wardrobe. Sadly its only getting outings during winter, but I do love it for what it is.

I bought this since I love female perfumes that border on a masculine side and I like well mixed perfumes that are not too floral. It reminds me of a more balanced version of Tom Fords Black Orchid (maybe even the velvet version too, not sure). Black Orchid was always too Dominant, Floral and Bitter to me for some reason (maybe not for my body chemistry). This here instead is a perfect melange where you can't really tell what is in it at first. You always smell multiple complementing things at once so nothing is actually overpowering the other and it does not annoy or cloy. Some would say it smells generic, maybe not connoisseur, or unique enough like those niche perfumes etc. because it does not stand out as being so unique but that is exactly what I like in a perfume when it is a nice mix that just comes together to complement each other. This one does just that. E.g. Black Orchid is just too dominant on a few notes which I found boring rather quickly on me. One just has to wait a few minutes for this perfume to actually work with the body chemistry to realize that it has something special to it. When you initially spray it one gets a hint of incense, sweet but sharp vanilla, peppercorn meets white floral and wood and a big whiff of musk. It then changes to a close to the body incense with a lot of spiciness and pepper with a woodsy touch (like cedar). It dries down to a non-dominant finish that is not floral but piney but in an elegant way (after about half a day), like a pine flower in a hint of vanilla and musk, but not as dominant as in many male perfumes. Longevity is not the best but definitely not the worst, the other versions of sensuous were gone within minutes on my skin but this one stuck a few hours at least. Medium longevity I would say. I think it stays very close to the person, def. no trail here.