Nocturn

Nocturne is everything: goth girl, grunge girl, 2am clove cigarette girl. It smells like rose petals left on black lace, like incense curling through vintage flannel, like your favorite tee that’s been soaking up record store air and mystery. It instantly takes me back to my 90s grunge days—dark, sexy, sweetly defiant. The rose here isn’t prim or polite—it’s moody, grown, and a little wild. Paired with plummy richness, a kiss of clove, and smoky incense, it becomes this vampy, lived-in scent that’s both nostalgic and edgy. And then there’s that unexpected, addictive clean note—like laundry that’s been air-drying in a room full of vinyl, candles, and secrets. It’s not your fresh-out-the-dryer “clean girl” scent; it’s the cool girl who lives above the record shop, who listens to Mudhoney and Soundgarden, who leaves behind a trace of patchouli, incense and mystery wherever she goes. The patchouli in this? Sinfully good. The pink pepper, ambrette, and benzoin just wrap it all in a warmth that lingers like your favorite song on repeat. Out of all the MDA fragrances I’ve tried (and loved), Nocturne might just be the one. A total LOVE love.

Wow, what a fragrance. It smacked me in the face with smoke on the first spray, but quickly settled into a deep, dark, moody rose scent. The rose is really prominent, but the smoke and clove notes stay strong throughout and give it that undeniably gothy edge. It's surprisingly clean-smelling but not too powdery. Nocturn is ultra-cool without even trying. I have to disagree with the Mudhoney and Soundgarden name-drops from below. This fragrance is for people with Sisters of Mercy and Clan of Xymox in their vinyl library, who go to the local goth nights primarily to smoke Djarum Blacks outside and bitch about how the DJ never plays anything good anymore. (Bonus tip: to get really bold, spritz just a tiny bit of Tomboy on top of this. Takes that goth girl and puts a black leather jacket on her.)

This is if Eva Green were the combination of a dominatrix and a CEO. At first whiff it's definitely leather, incense, heavy masc but then the spicy rose rounds things out beautifully. My husband was overwhelmed by it and thought I was burning incense - but I love this. It's not a girlish floral at all, it's a woman. Savage, feral and incredibly sexy. It will make you feel very powerful. But if you're not a fan of leather or animal and tobacco, I'd suggest steering clear.

This is beautifully layered and constantly evolves during wear. I can smell each of the listed notes, but I could swear there's also something animalic here. The plum is ripe but not cloying. Simultaneously unisex and voluptuous. Good but not monstrous sillage, great longevity. An immediate addition to my favorites.

This is for edgy folks. It’s balsamic vinegar made liquid smoke. This is not blind-buy safe, nor is it mass appealing but it’s damn good. If you like “By the Fireplace” or Nest’s “Black Tulip” in the subcategory of fruitchuli’ (aka fruit patchouli) scent DNAs, you might like their more badass cousin. This is unisex and VERY smoky, in like a leather jacket and a cigarette kinda way. There’s a stinky incense with cloves and pink pepper. If the candied plum and ambrette were not present, Nocturn would be unwearable. It’s also very perfume-y. I think this would shine on deep autumnal nights on skin. This house is new to me, but what I’ve learned about MdA’s fragrances is that they truly excel at gothy/alt and dark scents that yearn for the coldest or darkest times of the year. Whereas most cold-weather fragrances fall under the warm/spicy olfactory family, and Nocturn contains clove, which is a warming spice, it’s by no means warm. Nocturn is about as comforting as riding a motorcycle through a cemetery under a new moon-darkened skies. Sample first. I think $10 mil for $22 is a good cold weather night scent for me. Very witchy.

I first hoped for this when I tried Mauboussin Mauboussin. Nocturn is what that fragrance promised and fully delivers. This is dark purple velvet. This is a vampire nightclub circa 1995. If you're going to a vampire rave to dance to Confusion (Pump Panel Reconstruction Mix) by New Order, Nocturn is what you wear. It opens with smoke, dramatic, unapologetically dark. Then the ripe purple plum emerges, sweet and slightly dangerous, accompanied by whispers of pink pepper and light patchouli that trace along the skin without overwhelming it. The rose stays spicy rather than pretty, which is exactly right for what this fragrance is trying to be. The drama quiets. The rave ends at dawn and Nocturn walks you out into something softer, a warm sandalwood incense drydown that is almost contemplative after everything that came before. Like everything from Maison des Animaux the ingredients are doing serious work. You can feel the quality in the way it moves and evolves rather than sitting static on skin. Eight to twelve hours, including on clothes. Nocturn is for living after dark.

Nocturn might be my favorite from this house. It's a shadowy, smoky, moody incense, rose fruitchouli. It very much reminds me of Byredo's now discontinued Reine de Nuit, but perhaps just a bit smokier. It feels very femme fatale, but it's easily a unisex fragrance. Most definitely a fall/winter/ night fragrance.

I should love everything about this one but it is so screechy on me, I’m not able to get into it like others have. I will try it a few more times.

This is marketed as a gothy rebellious fragrance, but it doesn’t really feel like that to me. It’s more of a rose-lover’s fragrance. The opening is rough, as it smelled strongly of rose, leather, bug spray, and food garbage. But don't scrub it because it takes a while to develop. In a few minutes, I was left mainly with a very green rose with cloves. The rose reminds me of the Taif rose in Sahare. It does morph in the dry down such that the rose becomes scratchy, like it’s mixed with grapefruit and celery. I feel like there are rose lovers out there who would appreciate this one, but it’s not me. Some of these dry down notes are what I experienced in Guidance and didn’t like. So, I really think it’s made for a different nose or different skin chemistry.

This is a spicy deep rose scent with a little incense. Definitely deep and dark but not a dense/heavy scent. This reminds me of something like Portrait of a Lady or Metal Flower with the rose/patchouli combo but I like the addition of the incense as well. This seems way more wearable to me than something like POAL as well