Valentino Uomo Noir Absolu

Having & loving Uomo Inense I took the blind buy risk & purchased this..found it on Fragrancenet for cheap right now with one of their specials! (took the risk there too) all the more positive then negative reviews peaked my interest & I really love that bottle & fact it's hard to find made me have to have it (also getting colder here so it'll make a nice new fall/winter smell). Like I said I love the intense, so hopefully this will be another love, will update with review later once it arrives & I test it out! :D Updte (9/25): Well it finally arrived today & it was legit! VUNA is beautifully blended sophistication & sex in a bottle. I'm so glad I took the risk of a blind buy. Agreed what you have here is Uomo Intense DNA with an added creamy sandalwood. However this is totally different enough to still make it it's own unique scent & it find it to be more might I say slightly more comforting than the Intense. Yes the iconic iris powder lipstick note is still present even though it's not listed I find in Noir Absolu the overall blend is surprisingly smoother I'm guessing from there being no leather & having that nice creamy sandalwood Noir Absolu agreed has a definite gourmand-ness to it (easily unisex), the more it dried down I got an almost spiced cookie vibe on my skin. Sillage is moderate but performance is beast..lasting through even a shower scrub..& the bottle is just even more stunning in person, this is the epitome of luxe quality, very happy the risk paid off & even happier of the steal I got it for & to have a bottle in my collection now. :D Side Note: I do get the comparisons to TF BOrchid (w/o the florals) it also reminds me a little of Noir extreme it's like If BOrchid Extreme & Uomo Intense thruppled..lol also find this works best in small doses (3-4 max) & deff. a better in colder weather scent.

What a stunning fragrance! I own the Donna Noir Absolu and they do definitely share similarities, but this one doesn’t have such prominent fruity and leather notes, although the base is definitely there. If I didn’t have a bottle of both to compare, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell them apart though. It makes sense this one to be the male version, as it is slightly spicier and woodier, but I do still find it unisex, so ladies, if you’re looking for Donna Noir Absolu substitute (as it is unfortunately discontinued), do not hesitate to grab this one. Needless to say I would love this on a man too... I saw the Valentino website still offers it, and IMO the price is more than worth it. I hope they do not discontinue at least this one. The bottle is stunning, as it is the whole line, and performance is great too. It is a sexy cold weather scent, but it can be also worn in summer nights as far as I’m concerned. Love it and recommend it! Valentino fragrances deserve more recognition. PS: I see where people are coming from with the TF Black Orchid comparison, which, for reference, I do not like. I would’ve never thought of that if I hadn’t seen the comments here though. However, to me, Noir Absolu (both the male and female version) is on a whole another level, much smoother, much more elegant, even more seductive if you will, and there is no truffle-patch-coca-cola headache inducing type of thing going on like in Black Orchid.

Valentino Uomo Noir Absolu is a smooth, spicy, and high quality sandalwood fragrance, especially for the price you pay on the grey market. It opens with a peppery incense with the subtle sweetness of cinnamon and although vanilla is not listed a note, nor Iris, the Valentino Uomo and Valentino Uomo intense DNA serves the base. Where this differs is that the smooth, very natural, and creamy sandalwood note lingers after the combination of incense and warm, sweet spices in the top and mid dissipates. In comparison, I would say this is more similar to Tam Dao EDP by Diptyque in terms of the sandalwood note. Where that goes green this goes spicy sweet but is still a natural smelling, wonderful woody base. I think this is an excellent entry level fragrance for those who want to get into modern orientals and sandalwood fragrances. It is pleasing, a joy to wear, and just creates a wonderful scent bubble of woody, smokey, sweet spiciness. Longevity is 8-12 hours as the base notes keep pushing. Sillage is wonderful first 2-3 hours and then creates a nice "scent bubble" for the life of the fragrance. Def. Fall/Winter though I could see it working for cool summer nights around a bonfire. Excellent value for the price though admittedly it is getting harder to find. 8/10 for me. I wish it had a bit more spiciness in the base and the incense pushed a bit more, but, the sandalwood note is wonderful and smooth.

Does anyone else has a bottle without the spikes on the logo, where is written on the bottle Valentino. Or maybe is a bottle after L'Oréal took over the Valentino and they change the still of the bottle before discontinued, does anyone has more knowledge about this? Edit: It does look like L'Oréal change the bottle a bit, I've checked on Valentino batch code and doesn't come up nothing, but when checking on L'Oréal I can see the manufacture date. I have wear it today at work for the first time and guys I honestly never received so many compliments within 2 hours with any of my fragrances I've wear before. People can smell the scent metres away from you and also my colleagues compliment me a lot ''such a beautiful scent'', ''what is the name of the fragrance'' . I will comeback with ratings later one. But at the moment has to be a must have if you are into fragrance. Edit: Longevity: 8 hrs on skin, on cloths 24 hrs or more, 5/5 Projection/Sillage: huge, leaves a very nice trail behind the wearer for about 4 hrs, and fills the room, 5/5 Compliment factor: loads of compliments, is mass pleasing scent, my female colleagues compliment me a lot. 5/5 Price tag: great price, even if is discontinued I will still pay somewhere around 120-140£ to have it on my collection. 4,5/5 I don't see why someone would not like this fragrance.

This is a fragrance I can appreciate and see the quality of it without actually being a super fan of it. I think I prefer uomo intense/dior parfum over this.. However, this one smells more refined than those two. Its hard to explain the scent.. People get different things out of this. This has the iris kind of dna of uomo intense but its definitely different smelling. This one isn't as sweet.. It reminds me of a toned down black orchid with the heavy florals removed and replaced with the uomo intense iris note. If you want a less feminine black orchid with a powdery iris instead of florals... this would be a good one. Even though maybe I'm on the fence if the smell is for me... I gave this a love because I respect the quality and refinement of the scent. To me this is a perfect flanker. It maintains something from the original while going in a different direction enough to differentiate it. This is definitely a different smelling fragrances than Uomo intense.. yet its not like a completely different fragrance.. Whether you like the scent itself... People should at least respect what they were going for... This certainly would be my preferred alternative to black orchid. Scent 4.5/5 My taste - 3.5/5 Performance - 3.5/5