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Cologne Noire by Van Cleef and Arpels

post #1 of 17
11/6/09 at 1:56pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

Has anyone of you got sight of and perhaps smelled "Cologne Noire" by Van Cleef & Arpels? It seems to be part of a range of new (and expensive) scents available in "exclusive shops" since September.
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post #2 of 17
11/6/09 at 2:11pm
YES . . . . I was gifted with 3 complete sample sets by my Saks SA when I fell in luv with and purchased Orchidee Vanille. You've prompted some test time of this one over the weekend.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Luis View Post

Hi,

Has anyone of you got sight of and perhaps smelled "Cologne Noire" by Van Cleef & Arpels? It seems to be part of a range of new (and expensive) scents available in "exclusive shops" since September.
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post #3 of 17
11/6/09 at 2:17pm
It is bizarre that I just sampled this last night. It is a light creamy cedar. It was similar to Kenzo Tokyo, but slightly more airy. I will try it again tonight. It seemed to wear very close to the skin, but I enjoyed it.
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post #4 of 17
11/6/09 at 3:55pm
A reapplication of Cologne Noire on the left and Kenzo Tokyo on the right revealed:

More floral Topnotes on Cologne Noire, and a more peppery drydown. They both share an
airy cedar that is allows for a very versatile use. I wear Tokyo in summer or winter, and I
think that Cologne Noire would be suitable for any season as well. I love cedar scents, and
I found it much lighter than (my favorite cedar) Jaisalmer, but a decent composition nonetheless.

For the price, however, I would recommend Tokyo and Lalique Equus. You could easily get both of
them for less money than Cologne Noire.
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post #5 of 17
11/6/09 at 5:47pm
Interesting that you have a comparison with Kenzo Tokyo.
NOW, I want to compare it to 06130 Zéro Six Cent-Trente Cedre.

It's true that Cologne Noire comes across kind of peppery in the drydown but it also has a
fairly sharp cedar 'tinge' as well. While it's true that freshly cut cedar is fairly sharp as well, it looses the sharpness pretty quickly when left to the open air to dissipate.

To my nose, this is where the cedar note of VCA's and the real thing begin to part ways.
That isn't a bad thing, it just doesn't have smoothness to me. Still beats the pants off Encre Noir tho.

For me, 06130's Cedre dries into a smoother, 'cleaner', more palatable, more layerable note.

Neither are like true cedar, however, the VCA does get pretty close to a cedar stump, split open which has begun to decompose. That may be 'REAL' enough for some.
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post #6 of 17
11/7/09 at 8:19am
A cedar prominent fragrance named Cologne Noire?

Does the scent share any of the atypical eaux cologne structure (citrus? oakmoss?)? Does it smell 'dark'?
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post #7 of 17
11/7/09 at 10:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

A cedar prominent fragrance named Cologne Noire?

Does the scent share any of the atypical eaux cologne structure (citrus? oakmoss?)? Does it smell 'dark'?

I don't particularly pickup on a really prominent citrus note and it has been said that there is a 'dark rose' included in the formulation. IF a rose is there it's pretty well hidden.

I also don't discern any real oakmoss tint to it either. True oakmoss in and of itself & alone kinda rocks my world so I feel pretty sure I would pick that up right away.

To answer you question - I personally wouldn't classify it as being particularly 'dark' as cedar tends to be more 'heavy' (for lack of a better word) on me if that makes any sense.

It could be that the lily lightens it up a little but ultimately it ends up as a musky cedar to my nose.
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post #8 of 17
3/9/12 at 1:19am
Ran across a sample of this, so reviving this thread as there are also no reviews.

The cedar is not nearly as prominent as in many other woody fragrances until late in the drydown. I would not call it a "cedar fragrance" by any stretch. It certainly has a lovely green citrus eau de cologne top accord that burns off quickly. The heart is dry, floral, and synthetic. I definitely detect a rose accord of some type and a touch of dihydromyrcenol. It's not dissimilar to Monsieur Leonard at this point as the florals are heavily sharpened by bitter herbs and dry cardomom. I don't get a lot of moss.

"Dark" and "black" seem to be bandied about a lot . . . usually meaning something is heavy and sweet as far as I can tell. It's not that, but it is definitely full of notes that last longer than the usual light cologne components.
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post #9 of 17
3/9/12 at 6:31am
IMO the best in their exclusive line.
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post #10 of 17
3/9/12 at 8:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hednic View Post

IMO the best in their exclusive line.

I agree ! If I were to buy one - it would be Cologne Noire . I loved it best. It stood out from the rest, for me. ( Yeah , V C & A 's Gardenia Petales didn't cut it with me , I'm afraid ! )
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post #11 of 17
9/4/12 at 6:45am
I didn't realize that this scent was done by Marc Buxton. I have a sample that was gifted to me...I think I'm going to wear it today and repost my thoughts later.
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post #12 of 17
9/4/12 at 7:53am
Uninteresting spicy-peppery Eau De Cologne with remarkable woody undertones. Smells like if a Diptyque or a early Comme Des Garcons had received "the-modern-designer-treatment" and then had been brutally tamed down. Absolutely forgettable.

Yes, porobably the best of the line yet not enough for me...
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post #13 of 17
9/4/12 at 8:38am
I'm with Alfarom although I haven't smelled this one. I don't have much faith in VC&A's thrusts up-market; they attempted it in the past with Midnight in Paris (pleasant, but an also-ran) and Faerie (forgetable) which debuted (on the shelf at least) at a very high price (EDPs were in the Montale/Annick Goutal/CDG range) and delivered nothing for it aside from their sensational bottles. I'll stick with my cheapie-but-goodie powerhouses, Tzar and Pour Homme, and pick up exclusives from a house with more practise. I really hope this isn't the way foreward for every house with half a dozen scents to their name though, to put every half-decent new release into insanely overpriced exclusive lines and put out nothing but dreck otherwise. Seems to be what Guerlain is doing, at least. Bleh.
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post #14 of 17
9/4/12 at 10:28am
A fairly mediocre Eau de Cologne. Nothing worth owning IMO.
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post #15 of 17
9/4/12 at 10:31am
I really liked this Cologne Noire, but I won't buy it because I don't need another citrus cologne, I've already found my lovely one from the family.
And I also love Bois d'Iris from Collection Extraordinaire of which I own a bottle.
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post #16 of 17
9/4/12 at 10:57am
good, but unforgettable...
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post #17 of 17
9/4/12 at 3:43pm
I chickened out this morning, and didn't give it a full wearing but I did decant the vial into a plastic atomizer so I could spray it one and always when I do this, I am left with a little tiny amount at the very bottom of the vial which it's sort of impossible to 'shake' into the plastic vial, so I dabbed this tiny amount on my left arm this morning while I did my morning routines and yes...I do get the peppery-Iso-e-Super-cedar-freshness that's mentioned, but I also get a bit of a headache from it, and as I said it was just the tiniest amount of juice. Weird.

It seems like on my next full wearing, I'm going to have to go easy on the trigger. This might have something in it I'm sensitive to.
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