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Narcisse Noir, Caron

post #1 of 30
10/28/05 at 1:32am
Thread Starter 
What's it like? Has it a similar? What are your feelings about it?

Val
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post #2 of 30
10/28/05 at 6:05am
I love Narcisse Noir! IMO there are no substitutes or smell-a-likes.
It's a bigger-than-life, Old World Oriental. Gorgeous evening scent. Get the parfum extrait!

Notes:
top: orange blossom, bergamot, petitgrain, lemon
heart: rose, jasmine, jonquil
base: Persian black narcissus, musk, civet, sandalwood
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post #3 of 30
10/28/05 at 6:28am
Thread Starter 
Thanks!

I'm interested in this perfume, however, I can't decide if I should buy a decant. It's always the same with me: I want to discover this and that scent, and yes also this one... it's endless!

Val
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post #4 of 30
10/28/05 at 8:58am
  • JAG
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I'm with Tig in that it is a beautiful fragrance and similar to nothing else. Parfum1 has the Edt and the parfum at $25.95 and $54.95 respectively, plus a 10% off coupon. I have yet to meet a Caron I didn't love, but Narcisse Noir is particularly lovely.

http://www.parfum1.com/perfume.asp

JAG
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post #5 of 30
10/28/05 at 10:46am
I love the parfum but cannot wear the EdT, somehow the orange blossom transforms to a very distinct note of BO on me. Same thing happened with SL´Fleur d´Orange and Boudoir.
But the parfum.. big time sexy in a very elegant way
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post #6 of 30
10/28/05 at 11:25am
Absolutely beautiful scent, although on me its drydown blossoms into a giant white flower rather than oriental. Since I love giant white flowers, NN and I get along very nicely. I agree with Tiggy - it's perfect for an evening on the town, and I've even been known to wear it to bed.
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post #7 of 30
10/28/05 at 7:01pm
I like the EdT version just fine, but I ended up giving my bottle away.
Even though I know it's primarily an orange-flower scent, it always seemed
to turn to Grape Kool-Ade on me. The parfum is a different story: those same lush
floral notes, but with more obvious sandalwood and civet in the basenotes, which
seem to make it more 'three-dimensional', somehow. A really gorgeous scent.
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post #8 of 30
10/29/05 at 1:42am
I am another fan but it is the parfum you should really try.
When I first test NN it was the edt and I have to say not that impressed.
The parfum is a total diva. Rich orange blossom and the wildness of civet.
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post #9 of 30
10/30/05 at 3:27pm
Val,
Narcisse Noir is very unique scent. Incensy base with an orange blossom heart.
I don't recommend the EDT, it doesn't last long at all on my skin.
Never tried the parfum, but I am sure it is worth hunting for.
It used to be available on parfum1 but now I can't see it anymore.
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post #10 of 30
10/30/05 at 5:11pm
I love both the parfum and the edt. The edt has a bitterness to it, that I am pervert enough to love and do not quite find in the parfum. The parfum is deeper but not darker - more round and less floral, but it's the same scent, no doubt.
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post #11 of 30
11/1/05 at 6:19am
Sorry, it is actually there in parfum1.com. You just need to scroll down a LOT and than you'll find it.
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post #12 of 30
4/22/11 at 6:16pm
I am trying out the EDT and the parfum on this, and wanted a fresh update of opinions on this old thread.

I love indolic jasmine and orange blossom and these look promising. (I am also sampling Sl Fleurs d'Oranger, so please comment on this, too.)

Thank you in advance for any input and advice.
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post #13 of 30
4/22/11 at 6:58pm
I tried the EDT and it was a letdown. After a promising, somewhat dark start, it becomes a standard clean floral. Nothing noir whatsoever. I have not tried the parfum, but from what was said in another thread, it seems to have been also reformulated in a similar fashion. Of course, if one is looking for a clean floral, this may be it. (But then, there's always Nocturnes for total cleanliness.)

cacio
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post #14 of 30
4/22/11 at 7:27pm
Tried parfum and loved it.
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post #15 of 30
4/22/11 at 11:37pm
well, compared to Fleurs d'Oranger, Narcisse Noir may come accross as 'noir-ish', but yes, what cacio said. FdO does not work for me, but I love to smell it on others. It's all about how your skin gets along with the cumin in this, I think.
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post #16 of 30
4/23/11 at 12:32am
FdO unfortunately turns into oranges on me. Not orange blossom which I like, but your actual oranges you eat. I hate the smell of oranges in products. Will eat the real thing though.

No idea what the modern Narcisse Noir is like, but suspect the edt is still the same watery run of the mill I tested long ago.
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post #17 of 30
4/23/11 at 9:07am
I adore Narcisse Noir - both the EDT and the extrait. It's so unique and narcotic ,to me.
It's orange blossom and incense - slightly sweet and smokey . The EDT is much the same on me but less sweet. In general , Narcisse Noir on me is like smokey tarry orange blossom ,with incense. I will always love this .

This is for the current versions of both the EDT and extrait. The Narcisse Noir that is sold in the EU is somewhat better than in the US. I believe it's the alcohol used - correct me if I am wrong but this is my feeling.
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post #18 of 30
4/25/11 at 1:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mimi Gardenia View Post

I adore Narcisse Noir - both the EDT and the extrait. It's so unique and narcotic ,to me.
It's orange blossom and incense - slightly sweet and smokey . The EDT is much the same on me but less sweet. In general , Narcisse Noir on me is like smokey tarry orange blossom ,with incense. I will always love this .

This is for the current versions of both the EDT and extrait. The Narcisse Noir that is sold in the EU is somewhat better than in the US. I believe it's the alcohol used - correct me if I am wrong but this is my feeling.

Yes, i love Narcisse noir EDT and parfum...i own edt ,love it ,too........
sweet like honey-ed orange blossoms with incense-y edge.
EU's is better than US's?Hmmm.....never thought of it I'd like to try a US's sample to tell the truth
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post #19 of 30
10/16/11 at 11:44pm
Another bump for this thread...
I happened to snatch a vintage extrait of Narcisse Noir recently. I nearly fainted when I saw the beautiful black lacquered box and the beautiful flacon with its black narcissus stopper (both in stunning condition!). I sampled the current extrait twice (from the TPC) and was quite 'meh'... neither very noir nor anything special. Now, this vintage jus is truly something... an extremely haunting, beguiling and 'strange' (in the best sense) accord that was surprisingly very little sweet IMO! Amazingly, it is soon a skin scent on me with very faint, delicious and mysterious whiffs that reached my nose. Longevity was moderate only. I was rather puzzled (I expected the grande diva sillage fragrance) and the reviews here did not really help, so it took some reading on MakeupAlley to realize I am on line with some other reviewers there. I am tempted to invest in the new extrait soon to compare them again. The vintage jus here (not very old and/or in perfectly fresh condition for its age) is very special and unique and I am VERY HAPPY to have it. MY femme fatale would wear En Avion or Tabac Blond and not Narcisse Noir. I do not know how to put it... Narcisse Noir won't let you go when you come near as it is very lascivious (a bit like a spider ), but it is not something like a smack in your face in passing.
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post #20 of 30
10/17/11 at 1:23am
I am surprised Larimar the vintage doesn't have the screaming diva civet? Mine which is early 00s(well I bought it then but it could be late 90s), has it and then some.
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post #21 of 30
10/17/11 at 1:33am
donna, I think it has civet in it... but then, I often have difficulties in detecting it as a singular note as many perfumes smell 'perfect' to me, although they are 'dirty' to others... Also, my skin usually presents fragrances in their most 'beautiful', i.e. 'clean' way. It is just the 'screaming' that is not there... I first wondered what jus I had gotten, but two MakeupAlley reviews ensured me I was 'right'. Do you know when they stopped doing the black lacquered box deluxe presentation for Narcisse Noir?
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post #22 of 30
10/17/11 at 6:09am
There seems to be more civet in the extrait. I also don' think there was as much in earlier formulations.
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post #23 of 30
10/17/11 at 6:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Larimar View Post

donna, I think it has civet in it... but then, I often have difficulties in detecting it as a singular note as many perfumes smell 'perfect' to me, although they are 'dirty' to others... Also, my skin usually presents fragrances in their most 'beautiful', i.e. 'clean' way. It is just the 'screaming' that is not there... I first wondered what jus I had gotten, but two MakeupAlley reviews ensured me I was 'right'. Do you know when they stopped doing the black lacquered box deluxe presentation for Narcisse Noir?

Sorry no. My Caron book shows the 1911 version and it is in the black lacquered box. No later photos of NN but others in the same style of box from the early 1980s, so it was still used then.
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post #24 of 30
10/17/11 at 8:09am
So we can assume that Larimar won't be donning a columnar gown and ruin men's lives even with the old one? That's what the LT book says vintage Narcisse Noir should do, which doesn't necessarily mean he perceived it as a big diva thing.

cacio
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post #25 of 30
10/17/11 at 8:53am
Haha, cacio! I'd go out and ruin lives with the current En Avion extrait (sprayed).
Narcisse Noir, as I perceive it, is more 'erotic' than 'sex fatal'. You come close and then you are beguiled by Narcisse Noir and it may not let you go. It truly is a very unique accord. There is nothing like it.
Thanks donna! I assume mine is early 1980s then.
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post #26 of 30
10/17/11 at 9:17am
Are you ready for your close up Larimar?

It was Gloria's signature.
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post #27 of 30
10/17/11 at 9:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by donna255 View Post

Are you ready for your close up Larimar?

It was Gloria's signature.

So, bring her in then!

The civet is clearly there... I'm wearing it again today on one wrist and Narcisse Blanc (from a sample) on the other. However soon redux on me, still. I think -like some reviewers on MakeupAlley - that Blanc is strongly related to the vintage Noir minus the lascivious sweetness plus a stale undertone. I wonder what a mix or layering of today's Noir and Blanc would produce. Am very tempted to check out myself.
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post #28 of 30
10/17/11 at 4:03pm
I have the edt and love it. On my skin it smells quite powdery and has no strong civet note, just really beautiful orange blossoms and wisps of incense. On paper the orange blossom is much more apparent and greener too-- so is the civet although I wouldn't say the civet is strong.
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post #29 of 30
10/17/11 at 5:59pm
I love NN! I have only the edt, but even at that concentration it is so golden, rich, and perfumey. Yum!!!
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post #30 of 30
12/3/11 at 12:58pm
For those who can't get the original extrait (the best!) or don't like the smidgen of civit, you might try Profumum-Neroli as a pretty close runner-up. An earthy, high quality orange blossom that blows my doors off. But don't freak out if it's not your thing, just my opinion.
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