Luckyscent
Fragrance X
Indiescents
First in Fragrance
99Perfume
ExcelsisUSA
Parfum1
My Photo
Name:
Location: New York, NY
© Copyright 2005-2011 Perfume-Smellin' Things
All rights reserved
Custom Search

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Nuit de Tubereuse by L’Artisan Parfumeur : Cyborg Love (and a prize draw)

By Marla

I move a little slowly when it comes to modern culture. I only just viewed Bjork’s haunting short film, “All is Full of Love” a week ago, and I was testing some of L’Artisan Parfumeur’s new “Nuit de Tubereuse” at the same time. I loved the icy tenderness of the film, and it seems to me that Bjork’s commentaries on modern communication and communion continue and expand Laurie Anderson’s multi-faceted musings on the same subjects. The images of twin cyborgs passionately embracing is both frightening and compelling. So how does this new perfume by Bertrand Duchaufour ally with cyborg love?

I hate tuberose absolute. I hate tuberose perfumes. I find them revolting. I love sniffing the actual flower, however, as it has a sort of attraction/repulsion gumbo of scent molecules that is quite intoxicating in a garden, out in the fresh air and sunshine. But in a perfume? Eek. I never want to smell like that.

“Nuit de Tubereuse” is a departure from the usual in that it basically abandons lactones and indoles. Its sharp, nose-searing opening is neon and electric rather than tropical, rotting, and indolent. It smells cold, alien, and strange. Yes, it’s floral, tuberose and orange blossom are there, but perversely so, as if a computer geek had composed binary flowers for a decoration in his holo-lab. There’s no distinctive drydown per se, though there are shifts in orientation over the hours. But, like holograms, these various facets remain unnatural, and thoroughly otherworldly. Longevity and sillage are both impressive. There is no doubt in my mind what the two cyborgs in Bjork’s film smell like, and it’s both attractive and frightening to me. If you would like to try it for yourself, please leave a comment, I’ll pick a winner at random and send a sample. The draw is closed.

(Full disclosure: I received my “Nuit de Tubereuse” from L’Artisan Parfumeur as a gift.)

Labels: , , ,

74 Comments:

Anonymous Heather B said...

Oh I would love to try this, enter me in your draw. That Bjork film sounds oddly compelling.

12:42 PM EDT  
Blogger Aimée L'Ondée said...

I like Bjork sometimes, but Laurie Anderson is one of my heroes! I haven't heard of that film, but I'd like to check it out now. Thanks for the review. I'd also love to try some Nuit de Tubereuse. Please enter me in the draw--thank you!

12:55 PM EDT  
Anonymous chris g said...

I have a love/hate relationship with tuberose! Please enter me in the draw...I might hate it or I might love it!!!

12:59 PM EDT  
Blogger carmencanada /Grain de Musc said...

It's so strange how impressions can vary depending on what you're immersed in at the time... I love tuberose, love the absolute, and love the novel interpretation of the note by Bertrand Duchaufour because it truly does bring a new interpretation to the genre. But unnatural isn't something that would have crossed my mind, at least not in the sense of cybernetics. I get a lot of whiffs of natural things in there, fruit, earth, sap. But I agree it's some sort of mutant.
No need to enter me in the draw, I already have some!

1:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Tamara said...

Well I adore Fracas but unfortunately it is the only tuberose I have ever tried.
So please put me in the draw so I can broaden my horizens.

1:22 PM EDT  
Blogger violetnoir said...

I would love to try this. Thank you for your kind offering to all of us!

Hugs!

1:25 PM EDT  
Blogger queen_cupcake said...

Thanks for this post--I will look for Cyborg Love. I have always admired Laurie Anderson's work, but don't know much of Bjork...

I'm intensely curious about "Nuit de Tubereurse", please enter me in the draw. Thank you!

1:34 PM EDT  
Anonymous Cathy said...

Please enter me in the draw -- although after reading your description, I'm a little scared of this scent!

1:44 PM EDT  
Blogger Julia said...

Love the song, the video and your review! I've been dying to try Nuit de Tuberose since I first read about it. Please enter me in the draw.

2:01 PM EDT  
Blogger Katherine said...

I am a Bjork lover, and I haven't seen the All Is Full of Love film! Thanks for mentioning it, I'll have to check that out. I've also been dying to try Nuit de Tubereuse, so I hope I win the draw! I like tuberose but I don't like the overkill of Fracas- Carnal Flower is about exactly right for me. Carnal Flower's green facets are like an astrigency that cuts through the "fattiness" of tuberose. I'm hoping that NdT operates in a similar way. Thanks for a very interesting review!

2:40 PM EDT  
Anonymous Fernando said...

I'm very curious about this one, so please include me in the draw.

3:33 PM EDT  
Blogger Tara said...

I adore Tuberose, in all of its variations, but I particularly like the icy cold menthol of something like Tubereuse Criminelle.

I have never seen a Bjork movie, but now I think I must. Can you watch it on youtube.com? Thanks..

Please enter me in the drawing.

3:33 PM EDT  
Blogger StyleSpy said...

I. Am. Dying. To try. This. Love tuberose in all its forms.

3:37 PM EDT  
Blogger Six' said...

Cyborg tuberose?

Color me... even more intrigued than I already was.
Please enter me in the draw, thank you!

3:54 PM EDT  
Blogger Ľubaša said...

I would like to try it too because of L Artisan Parfumeur is hardly to find in our stores. thanks
lubaska dot k at gmail dot com

4:08 PM EDT  
Blogger Olivia said...

Ohh! This is sooo intriguing. Now I'm even more fascinated and curious than before!! Thanks for the descriptive review - I'd love to be entered into the drawing, please!

5:10 PM EDT  
Blogger Karin said...

Okaaaaaay. This sounds really strange! But I'll try it. Thanks for the draw, Marla!

5:17 PM EDT  
Blogger Unknown said...

I love tuberose, and have been very excited about this fragrance. It's interesting to see the different takes reviewers are having on this.
Please enter me in the draw! Thanks!

5:37 PM EDT  
Blogger trhoades said...

Hey Marla - I'd love to smell Nuit de Tubereuse. So while it may not smell like tuberose, NdT brings a similar reaction?

5:54 PM EDT  
Blogger La Bonne Vivante said...

sounds interesting to me...Please add me to the draw, and thanks for an intriguing post!

6:39 PM EDT  
Blogger KAG said...

I would love to try this, too -- please enter me!

8:41 PM EDT  
Blogger Norma said...

Bjork is just fabulous, I'm going to have to chase that film down!

Please enter me in the draw. I'm a little nervous as Fracas and I don't get along, but maybe the tendency for L'Artisan to be very light on me would be a plus for tuberose?

9:44 PM EDT  
Anonymous Claudia0219 said...

This sounds intriguing...i would love to try this one, please enter me.

11:50 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, Aimee, Tara, and Carmencanada!
Laurie Anderson has been a hero of mine since I saw her first performances when I was a teen, so I'm glad to meet a fellow fan! Tara, you can see the film on Youtube. Carmencanada, I'd read your earlier review, and yeah, I got something totally different from this! The intentionally synthetic, "neon" effect really amplifies on my skin, but I tried it on a man, and it seems more natural on him, though a little too feminine for the guys! ;-)
The longevity is beyond impressive at this point. 36 hours and a shower later, and I can still smell it on my hand. -Marla

12:29 AM EDT  
Blogger arch.memory said...

I always thought I hated tuberose, until I tried Histoire de Parfums Tubereuse I "Capricieuse". But then I guess I loved it because I think of it more as an iris-saffron perfume, rather than tuberose. And it sounds like it took the opposite route to this, going all animalic rather than cyborg. But I live Duchaufour's work (I think between L'Artisan and L'eau d'Italie, he's the perfumer I own most perfumes by). And I'd love to smell what he'd done with this one; so please count me in!

12:35 AM EDT  
Blogger Janet said...

Wow. Now it need to see Cyborh Love while wearing Nuit de Tubereuse. Please enter me in the draw.

12:48 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I would love to try a sample! Thanks for offering the giveaway. I missed sniffing this at Sniffa, somehow. I do love the "original" Artisan Tubereuse, and I am not an out and out tuberose lover. Some seem just too weird. Fracas is fine; Miller Harris's tuberose is sickly sweet on me. One of the Histories seemed quite lovely when I smelled it (2?). And the By Kilian tuberose (its name is slipping my mind, since it sounds like many of the others) is probably to die for.


Thanks,
Laura M

2:17 AM EDT  
Blogger Solander said...

I adore Carnal Flower, so your description of Nuit de Tubereuse as an artificial tuberose approximation for tuberose-haters scares me a bit, nevertheless I'd love to try it!

2:26 AM EDT  
Blogger DWR said...

I remember absolutely loving the "All is Full of Love" video. Bring on the cyborg love -- I'd love to have a sample.

2:29 AM EDT  
Blogger Furriner said...

I would love to give it a try!

2:36 AM EDT  
Blogger Klara said...

I love Carnal Flower and my mum has only one perfume right now and it's L'artisan's La Chasse aux papillons, where tuberose is added just a little bit, like a spice. I would really like to try Nuit de Tubereuse so please enter me in the draw. Thank you!

3:19 AM EDT  
Blogger womo531 said...

Someone needs to hunt down a bottle and do a split =) Please enter me in the draw~

3:35 AM EDT  
Blogger Unknown said...

hi...would love to be entered in the draw...thank you very much. I write scripts, do movies and I cannot work without scents...easy peasy Demeter things to evoke murder, thrills, love, sex, giggles...so you can imagine what your review did to me - it's 3 am & suddenly my mind is wizzing along: new fragrances to evoke new writing. Interestingly I have on the back burner a rite of passage/coming of age cyber romance...and my Demeter has failed me to date...sooo..would eagerly love to get my hands on nuit de tubereuse.

On another note - and hat off to you - I had not actually codified my requirement for scent when I write (& now realize that it is an imperative). Since it's a scene at a time where could I get samples of fragrances? this is just intruiging - I have always thought samples rather silly, useless but now I can see I could really use a huge variety: a dab for one suspenseful scene, another dab for romance...

They would have to be more evocative than wearable (as you so rather brilliantly discuss your love/hate with tuberrose)...I will look at Ebay anon, but is there a better place for fragrance samples alone? And, whilst asking - a source where I could see what scents evoke what - since that is what I would be looking for rather than wearability. Strangely I am looking for a new personal fragrance (a sad, sad thing, but mine has gone the way of so many & been discontinued & simply cannot/won't pay $800 for an old bottle)and realized that I have requirements for fragrances in both these separate arenas in my life.

what a mind opening jolt your blog has been - THNX

4:54 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, Robyn,
Thanks for your comment, and my best wishes for your writing endeavors! As far as samples go, it depends on where you live. For US Internet, Luckyscent and Perfumed Court, Posh Peasant, ebay. As far as what a scent might evoke, you can see that Carmencanada and I had completely different takes on NdT, and that's fairly common, actually. So reading the blogs and sampling like crazy, live or via the Internet, is the only way to build up a collection of scents that work to evoke different scenes and moods, it's the core of the perfume collector's passion, I think, and hey, it's cheaper than collecting gemstones or Picassos!
-Marla

5:01 AM EDT  
Blogger Martin said...

I would love to be a part of that sample draw.

But I wouldn't call that Björk's short film really, since the man behind it is Chris Cunningham. A genious all on his own (as Björk is). Nice mention though!

5:50 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chris Cunningham, I'm going to have to check out his other work! Thanks for the tip,
Marla

6:07 AM EDT  
Blogger JAntoinette said...

After reading the differing opinions of Nuit de Tubereuse floating around the blogosphere, I am more intrigued than ever to try it. I do enjoy me some tuberose and I'm always fascinated by the varied interpretations that surface (just when I start to think I know my tuberoses!).

6:36 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I would love this! Tuberose is my favorite flower scent!

Melanie Smellony

6:37 AM EDT  
Anonymous Marte said...

I would love to try this, please enter me in the draw. Thank you!

7:13 AM EDT  
Blogger Lorelie said...

I'd love to give it a whirl! Thanx for the drawing.

7:30 AM EDT  
Anonymous sybil said...

I'll try anything once...please enter me in the drawing!

7:58 AM EDT  
Blogger Sue said...

Great music video, and I'd love to try a perfume that reminds you of it!

Please enter me in the draw - thanks!

8:44 AM EDT  
Blogger Proximity said...

This is something my robot lovin' heart could never resist ... sign me up, and please enter me in the draw!

9:09 AM EDT  
Blogger lovethescents said...

You make this sound absolutely intriguing! I must try this now!

Please enter me in the draw :-)

Thank you!

9:32 AM EDT  
Anonymous maria said...

While waiting for Nuit de Tubereuse (I really hope for a tuberose scent, normally I can't wear them) I insist of trying what I have around (Tubereuse Criminelle, Fracas, Beyond Love). Today I even went ahead and tried after long Tuberose Gardenia of Estee Lauder (not too much tuberose in there, though).
So I hope to try Nuit soon! Enter me in the draw, please!

9:38 AM EDT  
Blogger Dixie said...

I would love to be entered in the draw-thank you!

9:59 AM EDT  
Anonymous Marian said...

Jean LaPorte's buttery "Tubereuse" is one of the few tuberose scents I enjoy; it would be fun to compare it to Duchaufour's nocturnal vision. However no need to enter me in the draw- there's a l'Artisan counter nearby.

10:16 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I would love a sample! Please enter me in the drawing : )

10:38 AM EDT  
Blogger Unknown said...

I like some of her music...odd little thing she is. I am also love/hate with tuberose. I would love to sample! please enter me!!!

10:52 AM EDT  
Blogger Luna*)Rosa said...

Night and Tuberose, my two passions. And receiving a sample from you, eternally grateful. Please enter me in the draw, thank you for the chance.

11:07 AM EDT  
Blogger Unknown said...

I heart tuberose! I would love to give this a try! Please enter me in your draw. Need to check out that video, too!

11:54 AM EDT  
Anonymous dleep said...

I love tuberose and I would love to be entered in the drawing. Thank you.

12:08 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you! I will look for the film, and please do enter me in the drawing. mary

12:29 PM EDT  
Blogger Katie Puckrik said...

Marla, what a beautifully expressed impression of NdT! I agree with your analysis of tuberose's too-muchness, although I actually do enjoy tuberose's overripe borderline-putridness.

When I smelled NdT at Sniff, I got a different impression from your cyber-tuberose. As it got going on my skin, it put me in mind a bit of L'Artisan's Safran Troublant, with its spicy, almost-nutty kick of creaminess. But I'm with you in that the retchtastic indoles are held in check here.

12:46 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, Katie!
Thanks for your comments. I was really happy to find a "less-is-more" tuberose in NdT. I don't know why certain of its notes go nuclear on my skin (longevity 48 hours and counting!), they are certainly the notes that give it a holographic, shimmery quality. I'd be interested if anyone else out there has the same experience with it (Nahema did something like this with me, also.)
-Marla

1:28 PM EDT  
Blogger Balutakat said...

I'm so glad you made that leap from Laurie Anderson to Bjork - two of my favorites. Like you I also find tuberose revolting, and the word "gumbo" made me smile because when I try to describe scents I love/hate I often use the city of New Orleans "tropical flowers/sewer/yesterday's Cuban cigar/rum/old books."

Please enter me in the draw, I'm ready for that love/hate feeling again.

1:32 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, Katherine!
Yes, I think New Orleans and Miami (my home city) have similar "scent-scapes"! Gumbo is definitely the word....
-Marla

2:05 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

please enter me in the draw
dremybluz@aol.com

2:17 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

please enter me in the draw
dremybluz@aol.com

2:18 PM EDT  
Blogger Mervat said...

You have ignited my interest in 'Nuit de Tubereurse'. If you post to Australia, I would love to go into the draw.

Thanks!

2:31 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Love Australia, no post problem at all, you're in the drawing!
-Marla

2:43 PM EDT  
Blogger HollyGX said...

I love tuberose - Fracas is one of my all time faves. Would love to be entered in the draw. Thanks :)

4:13 PM EDT  
Blogger Luna*)Rosa said...

Oh my, I went and placed an order at Velvet and Sweet Pea's Purrfumery.Couldn't resist...sigh

4:45 PM EDT  
Blogger Jenny S said...

I love L'Artisan's original Tubereuse fragrance, so I'd like to try the new one... Your comparison to that amazing video makes it even more intriguing :)

4:59 PM EDT  
Blogger Isa said...

I'm not a Bjork fan but that short film is so good! One of my favourite clips.

I'm looking forward to trying Nuit de Tubereuse. Your description is intriguing and I wonder if I will like that weird tuberose, since it's a love/hate note to me (I can't stand Carolina Herrera or Fracas, but I love Carnal Flower, Iris Nobile, La Chasse aux papillons...).

Please, enter me in the draw! Thank you :)

5:34 PM EDT  
Blogger Unknown said...

I love that Bjork video. I'm a little tuberose-phobic myself. Would love a chance to try this one, though. Please enter me into your drawing!

7:03 PM EDT  
Blogger Unknown said...

I would love to try this, please enter me in the draw!

8:52 PM EDT  
Blogger froggy said...

hello, wow just got excited to know L'artisan produced the new stuff. interesting to read the article, yes i feel its kind of weird to Wear tubereuse on skin. but..mmm id like to smell it, so curious how it d smell like. i love the smell of frangipani, tubereuse...something so strong and unforgettable.. let me join in the draw..thank you!

2:31 AM EDT  
Anonymous Gisela said...

Still looking for a tuberose I can wear - I would love to try this one.

2:56 AM EDT  
Blogger Laurinha said...

No dry-down, cyborgs and holograms?!? I MUST try this flower! Pick me, please!

10:03 AM EDT  
Blogger Veroushka said...

I had no real compulsion to try this... until your review. That Bjork video is one of my favourites, and now I really want to smell this one!

4:45 PM EDT  
Blogger Gator Grad said...

Hm, I think I want to try this, even though I'm afraid of many of the buttery tuberoses out there. I'd like to check it out, and winning a sample is just about the only that's going to happen, since there are no boutiques that carry L'Artisan anywhere near me!

4:54 PM EDT  
Blogger cornlily said...

This sounds fascinating. Bad can be good! Please enter me in draw.

11:06 AM EDT  
Blogger orchidfae said...

I would love to try this! I too usually can't tolerate tuberose on my skin, but I want to give it a fair chance!

11:50 PM EDT  

Post a Comment

<< Home