Datura Noir (2001)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Tuberose is tricky. In Serge Lutens DATURA NOIR, it is very, very thick, in large part, I believe, due to the marked coconut note. Coconut is also tricky, and tends to overwhelm in more than minuscule doses. To my nose, this combination of tuberose and coconut is simply too heavy-handed. I love the tuberose in FRACAS and CARNAL FLOWER, but combined with the coconut cream in this composition, it seems dense and impenetrable, like a blob of, well, yes, I hate to admit it: suntan lotion!

My objection to this scent is not grounded in a general abhorrence of tropical tuberose compositions. Believe it or not, I number among the tiny faction of true believers in and fervent devotees of Guerlain MAHORA. Why do I regard MAHORA as a masterpiece (Guerlain's final chef-d'oeuvre, may that once illustrious house rest in peace...) and DATURA NOIR as something of a flop? Perhaps it is the sheer weight of the later which drags it down, preventing any significant development on my skin. MAHORA, in contrast, unfurls in delightful layers over the course of its trajectory from opening to drydown. I truly love MAHORA (which many people detest), and yet I would never wear DATURA NOIR, even if I had a bottle lying around.

I have seen no comparisons by anyone of DATURA NOIR to MAHORA but would be very interested to know what those who adore DATURA NOIR think of the Guerlain perfume (launched in 2000, one year before SL DN...). My suspicion is that anyone who loves DATURA NOIR would also love MAHORA, though I obviously serve as a refutation of the converse claim! (-: And it seems pretty clear to me that anyone who hates MAHORA is unlikely to think highly of DATURA NOIR.

The moral of this story: no one who lacks infinite liquid assets should buy niche perfume scent unsniffed!

6th October, 2011.

Datura noir, as well as cleared up by my respectful predecessors, is a tropical mix of citrus, flowers ( the hallucinogen Datura and above all the voluptuous tuberose performing a starring role), with a white nutty-vanillic gourmand accord of balsams, heliotrope, almond and coconut. It's a sort of edible floral concoction sophisticated and lush. The link of citrus, some spices (cinnamon?) and almond produces a sort of apricot taste.  A touch of smoke over shadows the juice enhancing the darkness while the dry down is utterly smoothed by a cloud of musk. The gourmand notes are well dosed without overstating the starring floral soul of the fragrance. The strong floral presence, the balsams, the musk and the tropical beat reminds me slightly A la nuit but in here the link tuberose-osmanthus-datura takes the place of the Queen jasmine mastering in  A la Nuit. A lush and multifaceted fragrance perfect for a romantic summer night in the course of a regal party in a seventeenth century palace. Longevity and sillage are unfortunately faint on my skin.

11th September, 2011.

Datura Noir~the princess of the tropical gourmand. She starts w/ a lot of white flower authority and then she becomes quite undisciplined in her actions.

When you meet her you are dazzled by the osmanthus and tuberuese that come out to greet you. Stunning, heady, intoxicating. After getting to know each other a bit you start to notice she has a touch of vanille running down her chin. And then....wait a minute......is that almond on her lip? Indeed it is. She also has a thimble full of myrrhe in her hair. Everytime she moves something unexpected releases into the air!

No she's not the queen~she doesn't have the tenacity. After you've discovered all of her secrets she gets a little tired and takes off for a nap.

What you're left with is the combination of gourmand myrrhe w/a hint of white flowers in the background. Exotic white flowers teasing as they peak out from the veil of vanille amande.

Datura Noir is an intimate knock out and one that I always set aside for summer. She needs to eminate off of bare skin rather than a thick sweater. She's much too sexy to be kept under wraps.

7th July, 2011.

From Fragrantica: "Datura Noir by Serge Lutens is a Oriental Vanilla fragrance for women. Datura Noir was launched in 2001. The nose behind this fragrance is Christopher Sheldrake. The fragrance features coconut, tuberose, tonka bean, almond, lemon blossom, mandarin orange, musk, chinese osmanthus, heliotrope and myrrh."

Kinda smells like a rich, glamorous middle-aged woman cooking something delicious in a posh kitchen; I mean that in a good way. I especially love how the musk and myrrh play with the tonka bean and almond in a perfect balance.

5th June, 2011.

The first couple of minutes of Datura Noir plunged me headfirst into a gorgeous bouquet of the sorts of white flowers that release their scent after dark (jasmine et al). Really great quality ingredients in evidence here.

What follows for me is a warm almost doughy almond biscuit scent that blends with the buttery facet of tuberose and wears close to my skin, remarkably quiet, with a touch of tropical foliage in the background... if I could hold on to this stage, this fragrance would get 5 stars from me for being remarkable, sexy, comforting and totally addictive.

Sadly, I pulled my wrist from my nose in disgust as I got, all too soon, a cheap-smelling drydown of boring white flowers. Maybe it blends well with the fresh, nutty scent of my shea body butter though, or maybe it's the fragrance itself that expands and improves after a while, but eventually it settled into a coconut-floral, still dull up close, but throwing delightful sweet jasmine breezes into the air around me.

Frustrating, as I'd love to have a bottle on hand for the rich joy of the heady opening and that weird, calming, seductive phase in the middle... This does seem to be a shapeshifter of a fragrance, so perhaps I should try it a few more times to see whether it gives up anything else before judging it's drydown too harshly.

29th April, 2011.

This would be great for a Brazillian beauty with a naughty streak. It will invite intense admiration from the opposite sex, if not outright groping. It smells more like Spring Break than Salem witches or pychotropic shamans, which is why I didn't buy it. The tuberose and heliotrope are prominent. To my nose, latex condoms, rum and cokes and sex-stained bed sheets. To really pull this off, wear it with white eyelet lace, or people will just assume you don't shower after lovemaking.

29th December, 2010.