New Orleans Datura

I was lucky enough to discover this House as I don't believe I have heard of them before. Sometimes undiscovered perfume Houses come up with a fragrance so good that you feel as excited as a little child receiving a new doll when you discover it. This is the way I feel about New Orleans Datura. This fragrance opens with a dry blast of freshly ground spices, sticky resins and smokey Myrrh. It's as if you've placed a bunch of Cloves, Cardamom, peppercorns, a small chunck of Myrrh and Frankincense into a bowl, grinded them all and burnt them over a fiery flame for a long time. The initial feeling I got from this fragrance was that it was definitely going to be a huge love for me as I could feel that the scent was only going to get better. And it did. The booze comes in now to mix with the resinous spice mix, and boy does it blend in perfectly! I get lots of booze, bitter Cacao and Myrrh the first hour or so, then it sweetens up just a little with a touch of delicious Praline and almond infused Datura. It is rich, opulent and powerful. Although there are lots of foody notes in this fragrance, but I find that I would not classify it as a plain Gourmand scent but an Oriental Gourmand instead. It is quite masculine, with little sweetness and it has an old school vintage vibe to it. It will be a perfect scent in colder months. This is the type of fragrance which makes you feel confident and strong but warm and cosy at the same time. The longevity and sillage are absolutely incredible! It is truly a very well made fragrance and definitely worth checking out! It is addictive and has become one of my favourites to wear in Winter time.

The actual notes on Nomaterra's website are cocoa, green cognac, spices, tuberose, datura, moss, agarwood, almond bitter, frankincense and patchouli. Sometimes I wonder if Fragrantica just guesses at the notes they list instead of finding out what they really are. But I digress. This is gorgeous and very unisex. I mostly get the spices, datura and cognac at the beginning. Then it sweetens up at bit with the cocoa and tuberose adding a whisper to the boozy spicy green chorus, without ever getting sweet. The drydown is all about the datura, moss, frankincense and patchouli, with just a touch of floral cocoa to keep it from becoming too dusty and dry. Performance is at least 5 hours and projection can be beastly in the beginning, so be careful how much you spray. This is a total fall/winter scent IMHO. LOVE!

I purchased the sampler so that I could smell each one of Nomaterra's fragrances before committing to a full bottle (I am very picky about fragrances and have allergies). None of their all natural fragrances has ever bothered me. There was small delay in my order, which I did not mind at all. I knew that their fragrances were probably made as small batches and I will always wait for quality. I was pleasantly surprised when the cofounder, Aggie, responded to my email, PERSONALLY (from her iPhone AND on a Friday afternoon, I do believe). Not only did she respond very quickly, but there was a FULL size bottle of New Orleans Datura in my order. (Thank you so much Aggie and Nomaterra, by the way) I am absolutely in love with New Orleans Datura and several others. Since I also received my original sampler purchase, I have had the joy of trying their different fragrances each day of the week. I ordinarily stick to two main fragrances,Creed Imperial Millesime and Creed Aventus. Both of those are the men's fragrance. Imperial is a great, clean fragrance that everyone around you won't also be wearing, and Aventus will definitely attract tons of positive attention (even if you didn't mean to do so). New Orleans Datura is much more feminine than what I ordinarily wear, but it is so sultry and sensual, which reminds me of the feeling that Aventus also creates. I have received so many compliments and get asked who makes it and I point them toward Nomaterra. If you're into more masculine scents, like myself, you should also try Nomaterra's Brooklyn Violet Leaf. It is the perfect blend of what creates quiet confidence and isn't too loud to wear in a professional setting. Boston Tobacco Leaf is another great one to try for a slightly earthy, masculine feel. Cape Cod is a wonderful burst of unisex freshness like you just got all cleaned up and ready to out and walk around town running errands on a cool spring day. I love them all, but those were some of my first favorites, but the more I wear others, the more I like the rest of the Nomaterra collection altogether. Here's the bottom line: If you want amazing quality and service and a scent everyone else isn't wearing, you will never go wrong with Nomaterra. The whole collection smells amazing and really does take you on a new adventure with each fragrance. I can't praise Aggie and Nomaterra enough! As soon as I figure out which fragrance I'd like a full size bottle of, I'll be hitting them up again