Noir Marine by Phaedon

Egyptian Peppermint, Tobacco leaves and Resins.

The peppermint blast from Noir Marine is striking. It's more peppermint than a mentholated accord, but it certainly gets your attention. Like a cool breeze brushing by you, Noir Marine's salutation is almost certain to satisfy mint lovers.

The concept ( according to Luckyscent ) is to shift gears from cool to neutral and then to warm. Peppermint, Tobacco as the neutral and onward to warm resins. The Peppermint worked like a charm on me. I'm not a lover of the note, but I do have renditions I like. Noir Marine implements a bracing rendition, but it's very good nonetheless.

The problem that arises for me is the disparaging decline in the transition to the middle accord of tobacco. There's a bit too much contrast and a discrepancy of "presence" following the opening.

The idea of bridging three accords in this manner fascinates me. I'd be enthralled if it worked effectively. The Peppermint is a very sharp and a tangible first impression. It may stand to reason that there would be a letdown of sorts following an opening like that. Even so, the mid and base are simply tuned too low for me to appreciate fully. The opening may have raised my "tolerance" a bit too high and the result is an unappreciated heart and base. In the end, the reasons I find Noir Marine lacking are neither here nor there.

The tobacco accord suffers the most from my apparent olfactory fatigue. By the time the resiny base arrives, I enjoy the way it smells and it reminds me ( for whatever reason ) of autumn. It's still too low for my liking and conclude after my wearings that the attenuation needs tweaking in this scent. The heart and base deserve a volume increase so it can be felt.

In spite of my review being tantamount to describing a fragrant, premature ejaculation, I still like Noir Marine, but wouldn't consider a purchase unless they bumped it up a notch.

Sillage is good in the top accord, but lacking otherwise. Longevity is about 3 hours with 2 of those relegated to being a close scent. Noir Marine smells very good, but because of these shortcomings, a sample wear is definitely recommended. Perhaps it will work with more presence on your skin than it did mine. A neutral rating from Aromi for Phaedon's Noir Marine.