Nuit de Tubereuse (2010)
by L'Artisan Parfumeur

Oh, this one does not work for me at all. I've tried several times now, and can only come up with a collision. Creamy thick hothouse floral meets arid, dirty no mans land. It is as if all the humid air was sucked out of the hothouse, and you are left with no oxygen to breath, and no respite.

And it lasts a long time.

4th October, 2011.

I recently discovered that tuberose is one of my favourite floral notes, though not always an easy one to wear. Duchaufour’s take on tuberose leaves me a bit puzzled- I love its spiciness, its earthiness, its somehow metallic undertone, its fruity facets and the leanness of the flower itself, devoided of the opulence, creaminess and carnality of most tuberose scents. I find it, as most of BD fragrances, clever, cerebral and smart. But, as it also often happens with some of them, in the drydown something highly synthetic and cold arises, an aloofness that detatches the scent from my skin and make me feel it a bit… alien. In conclusion I admire it more than I like to wear it, so I give it neutral.

8th May, 2011.

Sexy but subtle with decent lasting power. Since "Fracas" is too high-pitched for me, this is like the wearable version. It makes me feel like a femme fatale.

9th April, 2011.

I enjoy this one and, happily, don't get the astringency some wearers complain of. It stays a peppery, spicy tuberose without the overwhelming BWF punch. A beauty!

14th October, 2010.

The top notes come on with almost an assault of dry peppery astringency, before they fade to reveal a fruity-floral pinkness of tuberose very closely akin to that in Nasomatto's Narcotic Venus and Michael Kors for women. However, this is a very brief respite before a curiously dry, fizzy, almost acrid woodiness lurches forward, gaining in intensity minute-by-minute at the expense of anything floral. The flowers drowned in a woody tsunami, in fact, and at times I smelled an almost disconcerting barbecue-like quality before the drydown lead to something leaner, paler, and if possible, even more arid. It's complex and multi-faceted, but very unpleasant; odd, but not good odd.

Like fragrances like Bois d'Ombrie, Sienna L'Hiver, and Dzonhka? Wish someone would marry that type of accord to a tropical floral? Then this fragrance is what you've been waiting for. If, however, you're like me, and find Bertrand Duchaufour's signature to be something akin to harsh woody vinegar, then your chances of loving Nuit are fairly remote.

Points for originality and longevity, but this is not what I want on my skin.

7th September, 2010.

Over the past couple of years Bertrand Duchaufour has ventured beyond the incense-heavy style he’s been associated with in the wake of Avignon, Timbuktu, Dzongkha, Jubilation XXV, and the early releases in the Eau d’Italie line. I’ve been taken with some of the resultant floral compositions, including Amaranthine, Magnolia Romana, and Fleur de Liane, so it was with much pleasure that I looked forward to Nuit de Tubéreuse. I was particularly curious to see how Duchaufour would handle this most lush, heady, and voluptuous of white flowers, especially after his success with the grand tropical bouquet of Amaranthine.

I expected the treatment of tuberose to be novel, and my expectations were borne out by Nuit de Tubéreuse’s dusty cardamom, pepper and angelica top notes, which associate in an unprecedented way with the tuberose that wells up to join them. The result renders tuberose soapy rather than fleshy, and much drier and leaner than I am accustomed to. It’s only after this promising introduction has had time to settle and dissipate that disappointment first sets in. The curiously dry tuberose persists as the spices recede, but what slides in to replace them is a harsh, overtly chemical artificial wood note that feels like sawdust being shoved up my nose. It’s an effect that’s ruined many a masculine drydown for me, and while it’s novel and unexpected in a white floral context, it’s no more pleasant. As a background element, the pseudo-wood might have effectively reinforced the dry austerity that Duchaufour plays against his tuberose, but set to the fore, as here, it overwhelms the entire composition.

On a hopeful note, I may well be overly sensitive to Nuit de Tubéreuse’s woody aromachemical. In that case, more resilient noses may not object to it here. If you enjoy tuberose or admire Duchaufour’s work, I recommend trying Nuit de Tubéreuse. It’s a new and interesting approach to a familiar ingredient, though your regard for it may depend on how you perceive its woody base note.

26th August, 2010. (Last Edited: 28th December, 2010.)