Cologne Noire

Maybe I'm more "unisex tolerant" than most people but I absolutely don't feel that this is too masculine. Not masculine at all I would say. According to my nose Cologne Noire is one of those "unlabeled" unisex scents, the ones that are unisex for real, if you know what I mean. Most unisex scents lean towards one sex and not balancing on the fine line inbetween which makes the good ones magical. At first I get a bitter, non gourmand orange mixed with black pepper. Strong and convenient, I fell in love at this stage already. The orange is very potent on my skin, and if it wasn't I could understand why some people find it masculine. But that's just my guess. In a short while the deep woody notes comes out, it basically smells like a newly chopped down spruce tree, when it's still moist from the water inside. So "zesty" and earthy in a way. These woodsy notes keep getting softer and softer throughout the day, making it more and more comfortable and romantic. This would be lovely on a night out, it's not a classic "girls night out scent" (Parisienne, I'm talking about you! *sigh*) so I guess this would catch peoples attention without being "WOAH god damn it, what are you WEARING?" without knowing if people really like it or not. No, it's comfortable, sexy and soft, not too deep and not too fresh, just a perfect interesting scent!

Probably the most masculine of this line. Fresh and spicy opening, with an elegant floral-woody drydown. Like others have said, I would definitely not pay the $200+ it retails for. Indeed, it is nothing new or groundbreaking, especially 10 years after it has been issued. Some similarities Cartier Declaration and Voyage d'Hermes, but a step higher in quality. One downside though: on my skin, projection is just moderate, overspraying needed! (I sometimes get small whiffs a couple of hours in, though) That said, the quality is here, and at $55 for a large bottle on ebay, it was a no-brainer for me! Fall/Spring days, 30+ Edit: now worn for the 3rd time: projection has improved, and again, not groundbreaking but still, it's great (not just good). It has something "more" compared to other freshies, probably Mark Buxton's signature. Feels nearly niche, I'll wear it more, it's now a love for me!

My favorite genre in perfumery is Fresh Spicy, Van Cleef's interpretation of that genre is good, damn good. I agree with an earlier review that said this fragrance is similar to YSL l'homme but it's more natural smelling in my opinion. The ginger snaps off my skin with a flash of pepper and one of the most natural smelling oranges in the game. The neroli smells so clean and the cardamon is just spicy enough to let you know it's there. I get close to 12 hours of performance with a nice 3-4 foot scent bubble. Found this on the grey market for $90USD, heck of a good deal.

Gorgeousness in a bottle! I love it. It's refreshing, uplifting, sensual as hell, romantic and divine! It lasts incredibly well on my skin and clothes, which is lovely because it's such an enticing smell. I love every moment of it. Such a gorgeous mix of things - the pepper and ginger are woh! stunning! And the citrus and cardamom and soft wood, with the sweet freshness of the neroli, all combine to make this totally wonderful So romantic. Always makes me feel, ooooh... like hugging someone! It's very elegant and caressing too. Love it very much!

UPDATE! Now I've found a sister to this scent. Penhaligon's Elixir. If Cologne Noire is too sharp and manly on you but you like the concept, try Elixir instead, you won't be disappointed. It's rounder and sweeter, but with the same woodsy spicy feeling to it. What a coincidence! Now that I scrolled through the reviews I must say that systeme_d nailed the words that I was trying to form, Elixir (and other similar scents) has a warmth that Cologne Noire lacks. It's cooler and more elegant, while Elixir is more romantic.

The citrus burns off quick leaving a warm dry spice and wood mix. I get cardamom strongest than black pepper then dried ground ginger. Very slight sweetness drys away with the citrus, nothing green here. Lasts 6 hours on me, taking on a more powdery spice quality as it fades. Very enjoyable spicy unisex. This is no in your face spice bomb, more of a subtle very wearable warm spice ⛤⛤⛤⛤

I agree this starts off masculine, almost too masculine for me, but not quite. It's woody, peppery and salty. But the longer I wear it, the more it changes and the softer and more feminine it becomes. May be my chemistry. Whatever the case, I love this cologne. My favorite Mark Buxton yet.

Smoky, peppery, but not feminine. I've been coming across so many smoky, peppery scents lately, I hvae to decide which one i'll actually buy, and the only way I can do that is by a simple formula that could take, literally, hundreds of man hours to establish a winning result. My original assumption was "well, they charge so much, it must be pretty good?" Then I did the maths. (Price per ml) / (Projection + longevity). Not a sound arithmetical formula I'll admit. David Jones co want $199 for a 75ml (2.5 floz) bottle :- Well, the sillage isnt good enought for that much, when I found Burberry London has a much better overall smell for longer. Even D&G the ONE ranks better before the price comparison. All in all, it's a really nice scent, but seriously, if you're going to charge 1.5 times more than our fair genius Jo Malone (in the same store), at least make 1.5 times better quality scents with at least nearly as much originality.

Van Cleef & Arpels Cologne Noire opens with orange layered over a peppery woody base. Although the characteristcs of bitter orange can be detected, but the overall orange note is still dominated by sweet ones. Afterwards, the development is relatively linear, with orange gradually subsides, becoming a supporting role to the vague woody note, while cardamom, ginger and bergamot discreetly add an aromatic edge. The sillage is very close to skin and the longevity is around 8 hours. Cologne Noire is actually an EDP with a structure of cologne. However, it doesn't feel bright. It feels grey and neutral to me. The fragrance itself is solid, enjoyable, fairly unisex and versatile. But personally, I do feel it lacks something extra to justify the retail price.

Neroli, bergamot, bitter orange, mandarin-orange, pepper, ginger cardamom, woody notes. Unisex woody aromatic fragrance. It starts refreshing with citrus-orange tones that are strengthened by ginger, cardamom and pepper. Slowly the bergamot and a splash of neroli will join the bouquet. Very well balanced and elegant. There is a dark and sexy “suggestion“ in this scent... friendly and inviting...sort of whisper: “come closer”. I am sure it can help you making new friends. ;) Good silage and long lasting power. I have to say, it feels more of a masculine fragrance. The dry down is woodier and softer. I am sure women with “lots of passion for life” or “temper” could enjoy it as well. ;) 7.8/10

This is a nice scent. I enjoy it but to me it's far more masculine than feminine, especially as the musk introduces itself in the drydown (but not too much musk which is good). The pepper and ginger are strongest, with a hint of bitter orange. I'm not usually a fan of pepper but I enjoy it here. Very strong in the opening softening to a nice cozy scent. If I could get my husband to try it I would. The only thing I notice is even though it's quiet, it becomes a bit overwhelming to me after awhile. So while I enjoy it, I definitely wouldn't want to wear it. Maybe I'll skip trying to get my husband to try it after all. It's worth experiencing though to see how it goes for you.

Cologne noire is my least favorite of this collection. It's gingery and peppery and nothing more. It reminds me of YSL L'Homme which is better for me. I like the scent but it's nothing special. The only strange thing I find in this fragrance is that it's name is Cologne noire but it's not dark! The pepper do spice things up adding some mysteriousness to the mixture but the ginger and the citrusses makes it fresh and somewhat green. Defenitely not worth the price but it does have the quality of the other entries of this collection. Overall 6/10!

This is the perfect season for this eau! It is not too warm neither too juicy! It smells fresh and comfortable, quite woody, with a weird background of insence and patchouli (which are not listed), but there lay several ginger-bergamot-citrus notes as well. It will make a statement if worn by a woman, and one can smell it distinctly in an office of lets say 20square metres for at least 6-7 hours, provided you re-apply before leaving the house (i found that this helps with the lasting power of all post 2000 perfumes ;) !!

First there's pepper, then pencil shavings. And there and then this is a very masculine scent. But just wait. It develops to something quite different. A warm, fresh and quite feminin mix of citrus and spices. I am not offended by the ginger that some others have complained about. The pepper and wood notes are still there, but very much softer and a nice background to the citrus and flower notes.

nice cozzi warm & spicy perfume , very casual yet considered niche , i like it and i suggest it for pepper fans

This opening is like Baby Blue Jeans by Versace minus the powder. The bergamot turns into pepper.

Double Indemnity by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler

On my skin, CN is quite linear. It opens with a strong black pepper accord, supported by fresh ginger and a touch of bergamot. It pretty much stays the same throughout it's life. The pepper does fade *slightly* as the scent evolves. This is a nice black pepper scent. It's moderately interesting. I'm not quite sure why anyone would wear it, though. I consider Lolita Lempicka Si to be a more interesting black pepper scent, that at least adds some layering to the experience, at a far more reasonable price.

Spicy, Fresh & Peppery... I like this one. I have smelt this kind of smell before though. The use of ginger and black pepper together is not new, and has been done before. I think it is a nice mix, although in my experience the house of Comme des Garçons does black pepper the best. I can't say the longevity is the greatest, although it lasts a few hours initially, but dries down fast. It seems like a fragrance that is light in some aspects, so I think it's limited in where it can be worn and when. I think this would be great in Spring in particular and during the change of the seasons. I get the cardamom and bergamot and orange, these all add a freshness when combined with the pepper and ginger. For me, I don't find this too different from what exists out there and I think that because of that I would only recommend it if you love it after trying it first. Still this house (and the Collection Extraordinaire line) are very good but it's just worth trying out on skin first.

I have sniffed my way through my vial of Van Cleef & Arpels COLOGNE NOIRE, and I must say that my opinion of this fragrance has not deviated in the least from my initial whiff: this smells to me like a mainstream designer woody incense cologne. I am confused as to why this would be marketed in niche-esque or niche-oid packaging except for the obvious purpose of commanding a niche price. I usually avoid commenting on such mundanities, but I am struck in this case by the similarity of COLOGNE NOIRE to several recent middling men's offerings. It's not overly masculine and could certainly be worn by women, if they wanted a simple woody incense scent. But that is the question. There is no complexity or development or depth to this fragrance: it's just incense and woodiness and the usual solvent suspects. I would compare the quality of this composition to something in the D&G Anthology series. Needless to say, I will not be acquiring a bottle.

Oh, how much I adore this cologne / perfume!! It's masculine yet unisex, so sensual and elegant, it's a perfect cologne for a man who has good taste. It reminds me of Tom Ford's "Black Orchid" but imagine this that Tom Ford's Black Orchid maybe is a more flashy fashionista who party in the "It" place in Miami and LA, but Cologne Noir by Van Cleef Arpels is a guy who attend gallery openings in downtown Soho area, dine at restaurants in Uptown upper east side in NYC, relax in the weekends at the Hampton kind of guy who likes the finer things in life and not "nouveau riche" flas your wealth and shout "look at me" kinda man/woman. Very classy, distinctive, confident yet gentle & sensual. Totally unisex fragrance, I highly recommended! Love Love Love it ! <3

Unisex, but I think more masculine than feminine. This opens with a very fizzy burst of citrus, almost 4711 like in its exuberance. That settles very quickly to leave a more defined bitter orange underpinned by a vague spice. I don't get a big pepper note, the ginger is more obvious on me but still not that prominent. All together this is giving me 'Indian takeaway' memories-I don't mean that disrespectfully, simply that there is a mix of aromatic spices and cardamom with nothing in the lead. After an hour it became very soft incense and tailed off rather rapidly, lasting about 3 hours on me. It's pleasant, but not outstanding-I have VC&A collection extraordinaire Rose velour and that is simply spectacular, a completely different class to Cologne Noire.

Finally a Van Cleef that I like but don’t love. (I’ve fallen head over heels for several in this line). My bank account couldn’t be happier. Cologne Noir opens with citrus and spices, and as usual the citrus note burns off within the first hour leaving a peppery trail with other spices leading into the drydown. The transition is a little more generic with a soapy wood note - most likely due to the quiet neroli note lending the laundry impression. Sampling from dauber vials is not my favorite way to experience scent for the first time as I prefer a misty spray, but nonetheless I get 3-4 hours before turning to a skin scent. Projection is still close, but not a deal breaker.

This is a nice spicy, smoky fragrance, but it smells very much like a lot of cheaper options out there. For me it leans more towards masculine than feminine. I smell mostly wood and ginger, and almost no citrus. I might layer this with something fruity or flowery to girl it up a bit, although for the price I probably won't be buying this.

Elegant every day fragrance but again, it simply does not last on me (or my fiancé). None of the VCA collection do which is such a shame as there are some beautiful scents in the collection that I could happily wear daily, but alas I cannot fathom reapplying perfume 10 times a day.

Uninteresting spicy-peppery Eau De Cologne with remarkable woody undertones. Smells like if a Diptyque or a early Comme Des Garcons had received "the-modern-designer-treatment" and then had been brutally tamed down. Absolutely forgettable and overpriced. Rating: 4/10

Opens up fresh with added notes of pepper, citrus, cedar; the type of mass pleasing boring fragrances, the fresh clean synthetic stuff that I'm sick of smelling these days. The dry down is the well know faux woody scent. 6/10

Peppery and a bit sharp at first but the drydown is almost identical to Le Feu D'Issey/Le Feu D'Issey Light. So these two might be an alternative for anyone who is hesitant about the price tag of Cologne Noire.

Truly beautiful, almost enticing. Perhaps not enough to buy a full bottle, but I will nurse th sample

ginger , citrus . feel like going to the aroma spa . I dont love but dont like :)

VC&A Cologne Noire is like Keyser Soze - "...and like that...it was gone!"

It is a pleasant cologne-styled scent, but lacks anything memorable.

Very closed to Givenchy Pour Homme. Softer, less sharp, less woody.

Copy Paste of the Nina Ricci "Mémoire d'homme"