Skip to main content

Noir by Christian Lacroix

Image
By
Ginger, Saffron.
Cardamom, Orris Root.
White Cedar, Vetiver, Musk.

Noir by Christian Lacroix is an Avon product. That, in itself, made me hesitant to try this. I personally don't care for Avon creations ( for my own reasons ), but I do like Tomorrow for Men.

Once I saw that Saffron was listed in the accords, I was persuaded to pick up some samples. Sadly, I am genuinely disappointed in its implementation. If your definition of "Noir" is "Bleak", then this release comes somewhat close. Overall, it smells better than your average Avon fragrance, but innocuous masculines have a way of aggravating me.

The dominating note on my skin, through the majority of the wearings, is that of a slightly dirty musk. I prefer sensual musk renditions as opposed to this. I suppose the tuning of musk, orris and vetiver in Noir are simply not to my liking.

The first 2 minutes or so are promising. I enjoyed the opening that simulated what I can describe as spicy fruit. The musk wasted no time in inserting itself and Noir started losing me after 5 minutes. The earthy elements at work here are too bland, too generic and if I sound like a snob, sue me. I like what I like.

Yes, I gambled ( once again ) on some samples and came up on the short end of the stick. It could have been worse. I have had high end niche disappoint more than this. It matters not to me what house or the cost. If something is good, then it's good and worth recommending a sample wear. On the other hand, when something isn't up to snuff, I need to inform or else what's the point of having a review blog?

The extended drydown affords me a more pleasant experience, but it's much too little and far too late to salvage these wearings. Some of you out there may actually like this fragrance, so all I can do is tell you that a blind buy is not an intelligent decision. Sample this first and don't think it's good bang for the buck because Lacroix concocted this. I think it's a mess, but then again, I'm an opinionated snob.........

Sillage is average at best and longevity is approximately 4 hours on me. If this had the staying power of most Bogart scents, I'd be one, unhappy camper looking for a scrubbing sponge.
Labels:

Comments

  1. eula_wJuly 10, 2012 at 9:41 PM

    I'm not a fan of them either. I've heard a lot of bad things about them.
    pheromones attract women

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Newport by Caswell Massey

By
Bergamot, Mandarin, Lemon, Lavender, Geranium, Muguet, Rose, Ambergris, Cedar, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Musk. After wearing Newport by Caswell Massey a few times and then reading what others had to say about this recent formulation, I found some of the opinions harsh. I have no way to compare it to the heralded vintage formula, nor can I use memory as I've never tried the original. Enter the current version. I do agree with some reviews that this rendition does not bring about the sense of beach and salt, but there's a long line of fragrances that fail to represent their depictions. However, Newport isn't so far off the mark that it's a complete misrepresentation. I can imagine wearing Newport ( or something similar ) in a beach setting. It smells classic due to the way Citrus, Lavender and Geranium are implemented. It's assuredly retro, but it seems to have that intangible I like that keeps me sniffing. Newport, at least on my skin, is top heavy in the sens...
3 comments
Read more

Black Suede by Avon

By
Nutmeg, Clove, Amber, Musk, Moss, Wood Notes. Yes.........I am reviewing one of the Rodney Dangerfield's of fragrance. Black Suede has been gracing medicine cabinets, for better or worse, since 1980 my friends. If you're expecting me to inform you ( like others may have already ) that Black Suede is a nasty scrubber, you will be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're expecting a glowing review claiming it's a diamond in the rough, you won't hear that from me either. I will say though that Black Suede doesn't deserve the hate it's received and most of that is due to snobbery aimed at Avon products in general. I kid you not when I state that a close relative to this fragrance is Cacharel Pour L'Homme. The array of spice in both ensure comparison, but the "smoother" of the two is Black Suede due to its implementation of Amber. While wearing Black Suede, one can detect a hint of "drugstore". That quality doesn't manife...
1 comment
Read more

Lanvin L'Homme

By shamu1
Lord knows the world has enough fresh woody citrus fragrances.  It's a hackneyed genre of masculine perfume, having been done to death by countless designer firms cranking these things out since the 1990s, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.  Lanvin L'Homme, released in 1997, is one of the early woody citrus releases, but it (along with Essenza di Zegna) stands out because it's one of the best.  That may sound like it's not saying much, but Lanvin L'Homme really is excellent. I won't get into a long treatise about all of the notes contained in this and how they evolve.  Lanvin L'Homme is sparkling, spicy, woody, transparent and dry.  What I love about this scent is how brilliantly it uses vetiver - the vetiver gives Lanvin L'Homme a woody, dry and somewhat bitter smell, but it also manages to create an effect of sustaining the citrus top notes for several hours.  This results in a fragrance that smells fresh and cheerful from beginning ...
Post a Comment
Read more