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SyrfRider – :
I have have about 25ml of this left from a bottle that I bought well over 20 years ago and have kept refrigerated since, I knew it would disappear from modern sensibility. This is a mood fragrance, very intense and oriental. This is unique and would not be confused with anything else. I can see why Gloria Swanson would hiss the name of this perfume in the film Sunset Blvd., and why it fit her character. Unforgettable. Excellent longevity and sillage.
Kivacik – :
This is a young blonde in old hollywood, bottled. I sold my bottle because it doesn’t suit my style, but there is no doubt that it is exquisite. Very elegant, very graceful, somewhat timeless yet highly reminiscent of [how I imagine] times long gone but longingly remembered. More beautiful than it is sexy, I don’t associate it with a flapper dress-that would be more along the lines of Nuit de Noel, which is, despite the name, the ultimate sexy vintage badass. This lady’s attraction resides in her demurity.
Злой666 – :
Narcissus ylang close to skin scent.
It begins with big ylang narcissus silage and stays the same for around 5 minutes then goes quite soft and very close to skin.
It has orange, musk, jasmines, and sandalwood but overly quite soft and sort of weak.
It’s cute but quite weak although sometimes I go for soft ones cause that certain ones if it wasn’t soft and weak it would turn into something suffocating. It’s fair.
alex977 – :
Narcisse Noir
Questo Caron del 1911 è uno dei miei profumi preferiti, è un profumo quasi sospeso tra il bene e il male, tra luce e oscurità.
Narcisse Noir è un dominatore, un profumo che ti incanta con la sua dolcezza data dai fiori d’arancio per poi catturarti con il suo cuore noir.
Considerato uno dei capolavori della profumeria mondiale, concordo è semplicemente meraviglioso.
<3
Banderas86 – :
I was about 20 when I first discovered and bought this fragrance, this would have been in the late ’70’s in Sydney, I bought it at David Jones in Elizabeth street, and I still remember the event, that it was winter, the perfume counter, and my reaction when I first breathed in this gorgeous concoction. I had purchased the EDT and it came in a white box with a pattern of little black snowdrops or stars on it.
I kick myself for not having stock piled it, because I have not experienced this for more than 30 years and it is the one fragrance I can recall almost totally from the first spritz to the dry down. This is haunting, deep, sensuous, because of the connection to the time I bought it, it always evokes a feeling of depth, of drowning in a mock orange blossom grove, of daffodils growing amongst the murraya shrubs…I yearn for it and I might try to get a small decant from one of those vintage fragrance stores, only the potential for deep disappointment has prevented me from pursuing this.
I saw that there was a formulation released a few years ago, but my connection with this fragrance is pristine, however flawed my olfactory memory may turn out to be.
A few months ago, one of the young guys at work came in wearing Zegna’s Mediterranean Neroli, and it startled me because my nose immediately connected this scent, on him, somehow obliquely with NN.
I have since persuaded my husband to order the Zegna fragrance on line, so we will see how this works out on him.
Pure high quality Neroli essential oil is somewhat close when I desperately need a hit.
Markusas13 – :
To the words mystical and haunting, I would add sensuous. I have a very very old bottle of the Lotion version. The first whiff told me that I was about to experience something completely unique. Does it smell like incense? Yeah. With a sublimely flor heart? Definitely. As with so many old scents, I feel no need for dissection. I inherited my affinity for the House of Caron from both parents: my mother wore Tabac Blond and my father bought me a bottle of Nuit de Noel for my 10th birthday. I love both of those today, but NN may be my absolute favorite.
636d – :
Narcisse Noir is a sumptuous, dusky orange blossom perfume that is not too sweet. It feels elegantly classical and is very much a perfume of its time. It’s warm, soft and a little erotic. I can definitely feel the Indian spice from sandalwood coming through which makes it also somewhat exotic.
I imagine this is the perfume the women in Gustav Klimt’s paintings are wearing. Absolutely feminine and beautiful.
This review is for the current extrait de parfum.
KwadrO6 – :
Don’t take the initial blast of this to heart just yet. Wait for it. ..
OmG. Divine beyond reason. Indescribable. THIS is ” perfume “.
igor2000 – :
Oh my, this is lovely.
I blind-bought a huge (6oz) bottle of the vintage EDC, because it was a great deal and I wanted to try vintage Caron. When it arrived, it had leaked slightly. The smell was great, but it seemed like just another big floral, and I didn’t try it on skin until today.
On my skin this is so much more complex. A perfectly balanced bouquet of narcissus, jasmine, and rose. And yes, a little noir somehow. I get a similar feeling from Cacharel Loulou: smooth creamy flowers, sandalwood, and incense. Although Narcise Noir is much less sweet, and has that wonderful narcissus note. I really love this. Flowers done perfectly.
I believe notes for the vintage include civet, but do not list orange.
Lexx-37 – :
I have a bottle of the edt concentration. Right away I get the orange flower and narcisus. It is not as heady as I expected it to be. I hate to say this because I really do have a soft spot for vintages. But it does smell a bit dated, dry and musty. I think my skin does not like the house of Caron, I had the same experience with Parfum Sacre. Sillage on me is poor, 1 hour and it was gone.
dpa279Bessinepome – :
For current version of PARFUM.
When I put on me I had feeling of “uhhh” something wrong, It’s not like EDT I have, I was disappointed .
Open with woody note instead of beautiful sparkling floral NARCISSE NOIR I love.
But after few minutes I started to smell NARCISSE NOIR around me ! so I put my nose to hands to smell, It’s not that one, seems like VERY concentrated that gives to me different sensation.
Compare to EDT, PARFUM is more calm but glorious.
This is PERFUME of grand dame.
Also longevity is good, On me more than 10 hours of smelling.
After all I am very happy that I got this PERFUME.
RtN – :
i had a decant of the contemporary formulation of “narcisse noir”, and found it pleasant but not very lasting on me, and a bit…thin.
recently i was given a very wonderful gift of a vintage eau de parfum in the original little black-capped bottle, and it is a whole different story. it’s like time travel in a bottle, whisking you away to the beaux arts period.(although my own bottle was from the late 20s or early 30s, i believe.) it’s beautifully contradictory: ladylike, refined, elegant, but also tremendously sensual. the florals modulate between white and yellow flowers, rippling like silk banners in the wind. the citrus note is present but not dominant; even at the beginning it is overwritten with floralcy. the musk is exquisite, and long lasting. i believe there is a lot more going on, at least in the older versions, than the notes listed above indicate…it’s a breathtakingly well-conceived and executed perfume in its vintage form. so, so beautiful.
it doesn’t project tremendously, at least on me, but it does last pretty well. it has an almost hypnotic quality to it. i am utterly in its thrall, and desolate that they don’t make it the same way any more. perhaps i will try buying a bottle of the current NdN in pure parfum form, and layer it with a deep but uncomplicated musk, perhaps “muscs koublai khan”. i know that when the sad day comes that my little bottle of vintage is empty, i will not throw it away. i will keep it always, just so i can occasionally open it and sniff the ghost of something hauntingly perfect.
TJ67 – :
This is really interesting.
At first spray it’s a heavy, overpowering “perfume” and my reaction was very “oh nooooooo, get it off”
I persevered and maybe a half hour in the “perfume” settled into a heavy rose, too dense, almost suffocating, at which point I lost interest and did the dishes.
Now, it’s a refined and very ladylike floral. The rose is still there, but it’s settled into my skin. It’s somehow very 1950’s, small gloves and hat boxes. There’s a sense of formality and no doubt it’s still a “perfume,” but I like it much better.
I don’t really get any spring flowers until the end, but I’m pleased there was no indole headache lying in wait. If I think about rose when I sniff my hand, I smell rose. If I think about daffodils, I get daffodils. It’s a neat trick because it smells like neither and both.
sansanechsan – :
*first impression review*
Oh my, so confused about this one. On the first spray, it’s divine-most perfect jonquil ever made (mayyybe after TF jonquil fragrance). However, the orange blossom then takes center stage. It’s not that I hate orange blossom, but I was hoping for more jonquil. But then, as it starts to really dry down, it gets this incredible spicy-floral accord that is wonderfully retro. The top 3 notes (jonquil, tuberose, and jasmine).
In a way, this reminds me of Fracas. Different notes obviously, but they have a similar feel.
Sexy? Oh yes. But also very refined. This is a truly well blended perfume (as are all the Carons I’ve tried). This is an elegant femme fatale perfume. And no, I don’t think that NN smells anything like TF JdN.
My only real complaint is that the heart/middle notes lack the warmth and spice of the other stages, it just smells dusty and floral to me. Ironically, applying more seems to help with this issue.
Overall, highly recommend. It might not be everyones’ cup of tea, but it’s very hard to not at least appreciate.
When I use up my sample (which I’m sure I will), I’ll write another review. So far this one looks like it may be a winner, but we’ll see. All my favorite fragrances were somewhat challenging at first 😉
Update: I decided that I disliked this because of the smoky grapiness, as others have mentioned, and the next day, I decided that I loved it enough to immediately order a full bottle for the same exact reason. Smoky grapes. Sounds strange, right? It is. Strange in the best way possible, and a testament to how great being strange can be. It’s not hard to “understand” Narcisse Noir, and I still maintain that it has the same spirit as Fracas, but it’s unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before, and yet still very easy to wear. I get the florals of course, but the grapey incense predominates. I never thought grapey incense could be so appealing, but I guess it’s always the weirdos that win your heart.
nomid7878 – :
I have a bottle that I bought in St. Thomas the early 80s and when I think to spritz some on, it seems to have retained the same grapey, smokey scent I remember. Definitely a scent for someone who wants to be different, not the usual perfume wearer. The person who likes Narcisse Noir would probably be drawn to forgotten scents llke Jolie Madame or Vivara.
RRusa – :
You try classics as a vintage enthusiast, with much anticipation and a small amount of trepidation praying you dont get smitten with something so unavailable….Vintage edt review.
Lasting over 7 hours on me, this opens with jasmine and jonquils cast their spell and command attention. Rose rises up to keep you enthralled guiding you into the musky sandalwood, civet sexy drydown. Love at first spray, it fit my chemistry like a glove, and i could smell its presence all day. Its definitely one of the femme fatale scents that starts as a head turner, grabs you by the throat in the middle and makes you surrender with the growling animalics. Gorgeous, classic, and really nothing out there comes quite close to compare.Beautiful sexy scent.
vintage parfum:
A richer dark jonquil casts her spell. Similar to edt, only richer. Jonquil note stays at the forefront.
Vintage edt version in gold spray canister:
The opening neroli is a bit bitter with the jonquil. Its still the Narcisse Noir of later formulations but this from the 50s is a slightly spicier and dryer.I cant begin to tell you that the scent is so realistic, like nothing else I have experienced in fragrances. The animalic nuance flows like as if the animal was right in the room with me and the same with the florals and spicy sandalwood. Its been sealed thru the years and hasnt degraded at all. After coming accross this version of NN..all I can say is modern synthetic perfumary cant hold a candle to this example of expert french perfumary. Bollicks to the IFRA. This is the way to go.
Note: serge lutens fleurs d citronner vintage version echoes NN minus the jonquil and heavy syrupy body. For a daytime version give lutens a whirl.
spen – :
I have a vintage version. A white and yellow flower bomb with a hint of incense, not listed. So black and so flowery at the same time and it is an original combo. I like daffodils, I like Montaigne, but this is a night version of Montaigne. I like it very much.
k0303 – :
sweet floral that reminds of another cologne, maybe Apple Blossom or orange blossom, even a little Noczema on the dry down; it opens very very sweet blossom but becomes more subdued; I would not call this powdery or soapy. I have the vintage EDT.
Vadim62 – :
I have a vintage version of this and whoever said it reminds them of sitting on a beach in the 1920..its definitely that. It has that light sunscreen scent (something I love) and the distinct hint of something dark. I feel like I should be wearing beach pajamas and a large hat smoking clove cigarettes on a veranda in Spain somewhere. It goes wonderfully with my 20s inspired dresses. 🙂
SGFlow – :
Review for the modern version:
Narcisse Noir opens with orange flower and jasmine, very floral, with some bitterness of petitgrain. The scent starts to change and narcissus notes appear and the scent becomes slightly smoky, sometimes even dusty. I still smell jasmine and some orange flower as well. Now some soapy aldehydes show up, prickly and fizzy around the daffodils, together with a hint of rose. The scent now becomes smoky and a bit dark and the daffodils get stronger, sweet and smoky on a bed of classic rose petals.
Sillage is moderate on me, longevity long.
For something that is called Narcisse Noir, the noir lived up to expectations, the narcisse not so much. They are present, but overall this scent is a fresh orange blossom & jasmine scent with bits of daffodil on me. I love how dark and smoky the scent is, the rose is late to the party, as usual, but makes the daffodil accord complete.
Dmitry_Altay – :
I have a newer formulation and it doesn’t smells like what others have described. My reformulated version is a light, soapy, orange, jasmine with some vetiver in the background. It’s not bad but it’s not something I’d be inclined to really use again. Maybe my expectations were too high after reading the reviews for everyone’s vintage bottle, leading me to have this idea that my bottle of Narcisse Noir would still retain some of the original dark, sensual intrigue to it. Instead I feel it’s more of a fall/summer scent that you could wear for an evening out, though it’s not sexy, swanky, mysterious, or seductive. It’s just a nice fragrance, but a little too mundane for me even as a skin scent. One day I would like to smell the vintage Narcisse Noir.
koloskov – :
(This review is for the newest version of the parfum.)
On my skin, Narcisse Noir smells like a beach party with suntan lotion and cigarette smoke. It reminds me of flappers in stripey bathing suits, laughing together, running up and down the sandy bank, and feeling independence. On a more personal level, it reminds me of being a young goth cutting class and going to the ocean with my friends in high school–laying on the beach putting sunscreen on, and sneaking cigarettes in order to be “bad”.
That’s why I love this perfume so much–just when you think it’s gone over to sunnyville, the tendrils of smoke come out and give it an intriguing somber edge.
It represents the sunny light of teenage memories mixed with the lingering, nostalgic pain of events that can never be relived. That’s why I love it so much.
romaa23 – :
This review is for vintage parfum and Eau de toilette. Everyone who has reviewed this has pretty much summed up Narcisse Noir from every angle, so all I have to say is that the vintage Narcisse Noir parfum is heavy, oily and dense, overripe florals with the underlying note of thick incense like nag champa and a hint of civet. It’s strange and off-putting in a good way…sinister even. I wouldn’t be surprised if the inspiration for Lancome’s Magie Noir came from Narcisse Noir as at some point during the dry down, I keep thinking I smell Magie Noire. In my opinion, the real skankiness comes from the edt concentration: floral indoles right out of the bottle and I love it! However, the EDT lays closer to the skin and doesn’t last very long. In some ways I enjoy the EDT’s indoles more than the big incense note of the parfum. Whenever, I wear Narcisse Noir I always layer the parfum and EDT to get both. I don’t dare try the reformulated version as these two have such big personalities that I know anything else would be a huge disappointment.
Infamous – :
This smells like the inside of an India Export Shop — mostly Nag Champa, the unburned stuff that smells like sweet fruit and flowers. The narcissus/white floral top is lovely, but paired with a sticky-sweet orange juice note and loads of dusty sandalwood that make it a bit more polarizing. It’s interesting, but also cramped and musty. There’s something repellent-attractive/love-hate about it. I don’t think I’d like it if someone hugged me smelling like this, but to imagine smelling like this and doing the hugging seems like a glorious power trip.
а89153207373 – :
Feeling sick of Winter? Tired of the cold and snow? Cabin feverish? Get thee a bottle, decant, or big sample of Caron Narcisse Noir. Trust me on this.
For a while, NN will make you feel as if you’re a child again, at Easter or Passover… dressed up for a change, but you sneak out into the yard and inhale the narcissus growing there. Yes, it’s finally Spring!
After a bit, that powdery, pollen sneaks up on you, and you start to feel a bit giddy. Yes, there’s chocolate bunnies waiting inside, but whoa… now this scent is getting more grown-up by the second! Jasmine and musk… forget the bunnies for a while. Inhale deeply, and feel alive again. The Sun is shining, and you feel wonderful; I’m wearing this great Caron today, and I do.
romario7397 – :
This review is based on a decant. Jasmine and orange blossom with a hint of sandalwood is all I get on my skin. It’s very reminiscent of vintage BaV (EdC) minus the funkiness. Unfortunately, projection and longevity are below average on my skin. Short but sweet.
muv018InsuffBooni – :
I’ve been wearing this every so often for a few weeks and it seems it’s not love, for me.
But I’d love to try the vintage. There’s lots to like about this reformulation – the pretty narcisse and orange blossom, but there’s something about it that’s a litttle too soapy for me, and its not a soap I like, sadly.
It’s a soapiness I’d expect to find in a mediocre hotel sink – you know, one of those little bars of white soap wrapped in paper – the ones you wouldn’t bother to steal as a souvenir!
Yet, for some reason it retains its pollen-like dusky orange/yellow warmth on clothes. On my skin it became soapy and clean after an hour, but some remained on the sleeve of a woolen jumper and it smells nicer, I can imagine its richer facets in original form
Could be skin chemistry too, but usually I suit orange blossom.
Think I’ll seek the vintage at some stage..
rolf2001 – :
I received a decant of the modern EDT and I adore it. When I put it on I felt like I was being hugged. After about a half hour it mellowed into an icy, calm, sophisticated scent that will be about me and not about “him.”
Sandalwood and narcissus seem to combine into a different, recognizable flower: the nicotiana, or flower of the tobacco plant.
navuhodonosor90 – :
My Grandmother started me on my love of perfume! When I was a little girl she only wore Caron’s Narcissus Noir and Nuit de Noel! My Gram always shared her perfume with me. I always got dabs behind my ears. She never ever used anything but the pure parfum! This scent is indredible.
FreddyLumix – :
I was able to get a sample of vintage. Upon first spray it was a choking cloud of powder and I thought it was going to be a loud dated powder monster but after about 30 minutes, the powder all but dissipated and what was left was an elegant mature classy white floral that’s deep, not bright or shrieking, and was backed by a wonderfully warm (but not spicy)base. It is a beautiful timeless floral and it’s a shame that it was reformulated beyond recognition because it was a work of perfume artistry.
Shram79 – :
I didn’t get any of the notes listed and am wondering if it was the wrong sample. This was aweful, to the extreme! It smelt like industrial heavy… something! Ive never smelled anything like this ever. I prefer to wait out the myriad of notes to the drydown but it gave me an instant headache so I had to scrub, and scrub and finally used eye makeup remover an scrubbed some more! I applied a different scent but it has left an imprint on my brain!
I usually love Caron but wow, way off on this one. It must be the original NN. Definitely not for me.
udin230382 – :
Nice daffodil once you get past the opening. This is one of those scents that smells vastly different on your skin than it does in the bottle. I almost didn’t try it on because it stank so bad in the bottle. Very animalistic in a bad way.
On my skin though, it was magic. Very floral and pretty. It dried down to a sweet nice animalistic scent that lasted most of the day. I put it on in the morning and could still smell it when i woke up the next day. Very nice day scent, but it stinks badly until it dries.
This is for the vintage EDC.
Broalalet – :
This is absolutely INCREDIBLE guys!! I have never had such a visceral reaction to a fragrance before, by gawd, it’s incredible! Sweetness and SEX, incense and flowers, dark and lush and FERAL, joyful and devastatingly gorgeous, it really is DANGEROUSLY beautiful!
It’s almost candied in its sweetness, but not a modern chemical-candy-sweet. This is some kind of evil magic potion, maybe bees taste this kind of sweetness of flowers when they drink their nectar? The daffodils and jasmine are so lush and beautiful, like hundreds of diamonds shimmering and MELTING in the sun, and they are really heartbreaking against the animalic furriness that deeply purrs and purrs like a big wild cat… It’s like flowers having sex! And as feral as it is, it smoothly maintains a fierce sort of supreme elegance! Incredible!
There is no pink pepper in sight — the spice comes from the beautiful soft incense, which is floating, buoyant, dazzling, beams of light shining through the smoke. This puts all other “Noir”s to shame. Narcisse Noir is IT — THIS is carnal darkness!
UNBELIEVABLE!
shahmay – :
My review will be very pale in comparison to others here, but I must add my comments, this is so spellbinding! I am new to Caron fragrances; I recently stumbled across a “vintage” bottle of NN in the EDT form, it was pre-owned but barely used. I’m confused about the labels on the bottles, there seem to be white ones or black ones, but this one is blue (a darker blue, not navy blue) with the outline of a woman wearing green sleeve cuffs and a green hat. I can’t seem to find out when this particular label was used, and I don’t know how “vintage” this is, as a result. If anyone could tell me which decade this particular label is from, I’d be so grateful. I wore it for the first time today, and it is like nothing else I’ve ever worn, ever. At first, since I know very little about this fragrance, I was afraid that it might not be a vintage because when I sprayed it on it was very light and sunny, all orange blossoms and sunshine, and I thought “oh, this will completely evaporate in about an hour”. And then the diva came out, lol! After a few minutes I still got orange blossom but then a dark undertone of something very sensual came out to join the flowers…the best way I can describe it is sort of an estrogen fueled “Gloria Swanson brought me here, so watch out now; I’m a woman watch me toss my hair, shoulders back, bust out, wearing my tightest dress and highest heels” kind of smell and vibe! It was pretty loud for an EDT and as I drove to school I was thinking “oh no, I hope I don’t make everyone in class sneeze”…After an hour or so, a very mysterious floral element awakened, something I’d never smelled before; it was so mysterious, in a dark, pristine, beautiful way. Then the incense came out, and seven hours after applying, I can still smell this around me but it isn’t loud. It’s not powdery and it’s not old lady, but it is definitely for a seasoned lady, one who is coming into middle age; she has paid her dues and is embracing her personal power kind of scent. This hasn’t faded at all, and it doesn’t overpower. I think this intoxicating floral element is the narcissus? I’ve never smelled narcissus before. The incense that is conversing with it is a soft and slightly spicy incense, a delicate blend that you would burn in your home at your personal altar; it is definitely not the church knock-you-to-your-knees-and-repent kind of incense! This is something I’d wear on days where I want to somehow tap into the power of the Universe for an answer to a question or for help in clarifying something or determining a goal to achieve or a path to take, or for making a statement. This is absolutely beautiful. This is indeed old school, but it is not old fashioned or old/dated. They don’t make anything like this anymore. And this is the eau de toilette! I can only imagine that the vintage perfume, in the bottle with the black narcissus cap, was a staggering beauty! I wish I knew which decade my bottle is from. I am so happy to have found this!
PS: I was just told that my bottle is around 15 years old, yay!
mosian – :
I’ve been very loyal to Patou fragrances for a very long time, but needing a change for the winter, I sampled “Narcisse Noir.” Can’t get enough of this haunting fragrance. No disecting here, I just LOVE it–plain and simple!
Update– Doesn’t have enough staying power…
joker4848 – :
This is for the EDT:
After reading lovingthealien’s review I think I have the reformulated version.
It started out with a punch of very sharp and SUPER soapy Jasmine and I think orange blossom. There was a hint of incense but overall a very sharp white floral opening. Not pleasant, kinda generic.
After the warm up, the Narcissus/Daffodil stepped forward. The scent wasn’t razor sharp anymore and became Lovely. It was still pretty soapy.
I never really got much of the musk, sandalwood, or vetiver. Maybe the barest hint of sandalwood.
Edit: I have really learned to love the heart of this, something about it reminds me of the heart/drydown of CoCo mademoiselle. That’s a good thing. I think it’s the balance of the Jasmine, Orange blossom and Rose that make them both sing.
The opening is still WAY too soapy for me. Some describe it as powdery but I don’t get that.
martkr – :
This is my opinion of the EDP. NN is CLASSIC: Survived the test of time in that they’re still making it. People say that the original was dark and melancholy, so maybe the reformulation has been a positive change for me to enjoy it. SUNNY and BRIGHT: I mean look at all those Daffodils, Oranges, and White Flowers, and OPTIMISTIC: Daffodils tough it out over the winter to reward us in the Spring. I step into my own Monet Garden every April…It’s really beautiful, with hundreds of Daffodils and Tulips, but until then I’ll wear my NARCISSE NOIR as it makes me fell Happy and Positive and to remind me that Spring is just “around the corner”.
Hordegul – :
I don’t do indole. Don’t know why I sampled this, oh yes, I remember, everyone said it was wonderful, and I thought “millions of perfumistas can’t be wrong”. Sorry. I get no narcissus from this, just a freshly visited cat litter box. For me, it couldn’t get any more indolic. Nothing personal, just not my pot of porcelain.
serges191 – :
The back-and-forth here seems to be confusion resulting from reformulation and several different iterations of this beautiful classic. Indeed, Luca Turin is correct about this fragrance – the new version is a pretty orange blossom. There is a hint of the original in the heart, but it definitely misses the incense heft and animalic darkness that characterized the original.
The new one opens up with orange blossom and a bright, sunny sambac jasmine. The heart has a lovely rosey daffodil accord, and the drydown is sultry and musky. It smells sophisticated, but it doesn’t feel totally realized. Something about it is a bit too simplistic.
The original fragrance is not nearly as simple. A huge opening in the form of a blast of gorgeous, smoky incense, really indolic jasmine, orange blossom, and a lovely green accord. The heart is indescribable. A slightly sour, but pleasantly so, woody floral unlike any I have smelled before or since. It’s hard to say for sure what it is exactly that I’m smelling, but it’s unbelievable. A big animalic accord is present, and the whole thing smells like fur, daffodils, jasmine, blood oranges, and incense. The “noir” is definitely present.
Ironically, the vintage version actually smells far more modern.
alekodunje – :
This is quite heavy while floral and citrus at the same time. On first spray, it reminds me EXACTLY of that enormous wall of scent that greets you when going into a head shop filled with incense. In fact the picture in my head of the woman who wears this is a gypsy fortune teller: Black clothes, big silk scarves, red lips, heavy perfume. The incensy vibe of sandalwood is here, with an enormous fruity floral projection. This is not today’s fruity floral, this is old-school.
lexus200 – :
Many years ago, a dear friend from college used this perfum. It’s aroma was divine. Everyone complimented her and asked her the name of the fragrance she wore. Then I made a big mistake… I wanted to copy her, so I bought a bottle. I tried it on and… it smelled very different on myself. To be honest, it was not an aroma, it was a hideous stench, similar to paint thinner. It was so intense that it triggered a terrible migraine.
Simply, my chemistry was not suitable for this wonderful perfume.
I decided to give it to my friend, who was very happy to have it. As soon as she had the bottle of Narcisse Noir, she opened it and put it on and viola!!!, there it was, the incomparable and lovely fragrance that everyone loved everytime she wore it.
Simply, it’s not for everyone and sadly, it was not meant for me…
rtyhgfvbn – :
I received my first bottle of Narcisse Noir as a gift from my grandmother at age 14. I fell in love with this perfume! I used it for special occassions (dinners, dates, dances, etc). I used it for over 30 years until I could not find it anymore. A few years ago I found it online and ordered one bottle. Even though it is the same perfume, it does not last as long as the perfume back then in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I love the orange and sandalwood notes. It goes great with my chemistry.
I wish the company would market it in the original bottle with the black flower top and the black and gold box.
This perfume last a long time.
prilalsippets – :
When I was in my early 20s I found a 20s/30s presentation bottle still unopened in a thrift store for $7. It still had it’s wax seal and gold charm thing.
It was a black crystal bottle. I opened it, and it was heavenly! It was perfect for dinner and dancing. It lasted me over a year. It was a romantic and feminine perfume, perfect with evening out clothes! I have so many good memories of Narcisse Noir. I still have the bottle and box tucked away in a drawer.
ZoolJin – :
Not to disr