New York (1989)
by Parfums de Nicolaï

Jack of all trades, master of none.

A classy citrus-vetiver oriental that morphs between different phases while still retaining its elegant (and very powdery) character. Very well-done, but the different phases it goes through feel familiar, orthodox, and conventional.

I find this to be a fuller citrus than Eau Sauvage and find it very similar in texture to Bijan Men's "powdery" drydown. Very mature. Great drydown of oak moss and light smokey vetiver.

This scent seems based on reflection. Many people have completed me on the pleasantness of it. It works for many, who may be unconsciously gratefully you wore it, but not for me. That doesn't strike down it's technical merits though.

The opening is sharp, I was immediately concerned this was going to go the way of a standard department store frag. Indeed if I would have whiffed this at Dillards I would have been instantly turned off.

It quickly cools down to a warm sweet woods. It's classy and non-synthetic, a bit of powdery throwback to yester-era. There is a bit of spice but not enough to declare it an important note. That sweetness though...that's the reflection. For me it's the whiff of something amiss in Mexico. Spilled sugar on a dirty floor. It's a bit cloying. Some childhood neighborhoods smell like that though; a tinge of sweetness in the air when the wind first shifts in the fall and you aren't accustomed to it. You noticed it and forgot about it until now.

Not for me, but plenty good for others. Worth a sample, you may just fall in love.

ideal for businessmen who go to Paris to cheat on their wives. after they had a stupid evening at the Crazy Horse they move on to Moulin Rouge and so on and so forth.

first of all, the fragrance is not very original (I get a lot of comments like, 'oh, you are wearing Egoiste again', or 'is that Eau Sauvage'), smells like so many fragrances out there, it's boring and dull.

secondly, it has nothing to do w/ NY.

finally, I have to concur with a couple of reviewers who mentioned three stages and a good dry down. it really does change through time and the dry down is nice, but nice is simply not enough.

Patricia de Nicolai is one of my favorite perfume artists. It is largely because of New York that I hold her in such high esteem. To me New York is Nicolai's homage to her Guerlain heritage. It is very Guerlainesque. Although they are very different fragrances to New York, I smell a tip of the hat to both Mouchoir de Monsieur and Habit Rouge. When she first launched New York Nicolai described it simply as a masculine oriental. And what an oriental it is! With its lavender/citrus opening New York begins its harmonious but complex spicy/resinous/woody symphony. It lasts a good long time, and it smells sublime! One of my top ten favorite masculine scents, New York is Nicolai's Tour de Force.

I'm a fan of PdN's line of colognes. After that experience and the raves about New York, I thought for sure this would be a winner.

It's not. New York is pretty much like every other department store frag out there. Combined in one scent.

Think of the last time you were in a room of older women at a semi-formal/formal event.

That scent is New York.

It's not bad, it's not awful, it has quality ingredients. It just isnt' distinguished.