Harmatan Noir 11
by Parfumerie Generale

This one a dry woody concoction with a light dusty, earthy touch. one could smell hints of burnt wood as well, maybe its the Amber. overall, it's manages to keep ones interest. its definitely not the kinds which would impress immediately...but couple of wears into it and i could imagine it would grow on you.

Harmatan Noir, opening with citrus, is an aromatic and airy scent that revolves around mint, woods, and black tea with faint notes of fruits and flowers. Very decent and competent, though longevity could be much better than this.

Very boring.

Great story behind it and nice list of notes, but the scent is just big, massive piece of boredom. Its like a grey cloud over some depsessing industrial city full of tired, pale suicidal people.

Smell of nothingness.

It's different, I'll say that. Contentwise, it doesn't hold much interest for me. The whole fragrance seems to be an exercise in airiness. The mint is the dominant note. It is layered over open, ozonic notes and what I can only describe as faint, dry florals. It may even be a bit salty or marine. At any rate, it's unique and should be tried; but it will be clear to you immediately if this is your genre or not.

Harmatan Noir begins as a rich, very smoky tea scent, heavily spiced, and sweetened by berries and perhaps cassis. The smoky fruit and tea accord rests on a foundation of powdery cedar whose dry aspect offsets the sweet berries nicely. Like Olivia Giacobetti’s otherwise much different Idole de Lubin, Harmatan Noir manages to be at once mysteriously dark and transparent. If forced to guess, I’d attribute this effect in Harmatan Noir to a tart lemon note and a very carefully integrated dab of mint.

The spiced fruit outlasts the tea, which is unfortunate, since the fruity accord is more pedestrian than the fabulous sweet smoke of the first half hour. Harmatan Noir continues for another hour or two as a spicy, jammy fruit composition over a woody base, before trailing off into a woody-musky drydown. While it’s an attractive and distinctive scent, especially toward the start, the longevity is very, very disappointing. I’d like it much better if its opening accords persisted for another hour before the more conventional fruit pie phase set in, but as it is I find the olfactory experience a letdown.

Green, herbal and lemony. Not as dry as Homme de Gres since it's got a lemon that's like the sweetened lemon of AoS Lemon EdT. This one is feels like it's brooding. Nice but try it first. It might be suitable.