In Which I Nearly Have an Opinion (L'Artisan Parfumeur Nuit de Tubereuse)
 By Marina Steve (to Patrick about some fabric samples): You have an opinion yet? Patrick: Nope! Nothing! Keep trying to have an opinion but nothing happens in my head. (...) Steve: Well? Jeff: I nearly had an opinion about that one. Steve: What was it? Jeff: It's got a lot of lines. Steve: OK. What do you think about that? Jeff: I don't know. Coupling, Season 2, Her Best Friend's Bottom I don't often suffer from a lack of opinions when it comes to perfume. And I basically invariably "get" Duchaufours work. So I can't really explain why I "keep trying to have an opinion" about Nuit de Tubereuse "but nothing happens in my head." Here is what I've been able to scrape up: - It is Strange-but-Wearable, which is one of the qualities in fragrance that creates perfume fanatics out of regular people. Have it not been for a couple of L'Artisans and Lutenses way back when, I probably wouldn't have been doing what I do now. (Have it not been for a couple of timeless and impeccable Chanels and Guerlains, I wouldn't have been doing what I do either, classic perfection is after all as fascinating as contemporary/niche oddness...but I digress). The fragrance is a rather bizarre-yet-harmonious, jolie laide mix of tuberose, mango and rubber, a unique take on tuberose ...And so, as Robin said, "Nuit de Tubéreuse is exactly the sort of perfume that keeps me blogging." - It is a unique, but true take on tuberose. Both the fruity (in this case, mango instead of the usual coconut, but this is where uniqueness comes into play) and the rubbery facets of tuberose are highlighted to perfection. - It is a vivid perfume, I see it in color, which for me, as a visual person, is a big deal. To be precise, I see it as hot pink. - It is a very "Duchaufour" fragrance, which is a plus in and of itself, and also I appreciate when a perfumer's signature is perceptible in his or her work. All that extravagant, exuberant, pink voluptuousness rests on Duchaufour's trademark dry, earthy-resinous base. The contrast of the two is very appealing; I like a good contrast in perfume. -It is different enough from L'Artisan's old Tubereuse, which is all tuberose and no quirks (speaking of classic perfection...) to justify having both in the line. There is also La Chasse Aux Papillons Extreme, but one tends to forget about that one. That said...I still don't really know what I think about all that...I missed a chance to wear the scent in the heat of summer, which is when big florals bloom on me, so maybe I'll form an opinion next year. What do you think of Nuit de Tubereuse? Available wherever L'Artisan is sold, $115.00-$155.00. Image source, L'Artisa Parfumeur. Labels: Bertrand Duchaufour, L'Artisan Parfumeur, tuberose |
posted by Marina |
6:00 AM
42 Comments:
I haven't tried it yet, but from the reviews I believe I will like it a lot (as I'm a fan of both BD and tuberose). :)
Unfortunately, I *do* have an opinion about L'Artisan Nuit de Tubereuse. I totally expected to love this perfume since I've always been a tuberose fan. The love didn't happen. In fact, I think I uttered something like, "oh, gag" when I tried it---the disappointment was nearly overwhelming! It reminded me of L'Artisan Timbuktu, which is not one of my favorite L'Artisans. Perhaps I'll try Nuit in cold weather to see if any love happens. Enjoyed your review. Thank you.
I haven't tried it yet, but a hot pink fragrance sounds like a challenge for this beige/black/white loving girl ;)
I'll be sure to try it soon, I love most Duchaufour creations, but I don't usually like Tuberose. I'm curious...
I bought a large bottle of it if that says anything! I like it much better than his Amaranthine and the tuberose I tried along with NdT - Vamp à NY. But do I LOVE it? I agree with everything you said, and I obviously considered it FBW, but is it an HG? Don't think so. It's very nice, though. And interesting enough to make it attractive.
The thing for me is that it is not much of a tuberose. It does not have the qualities that define this flower for me. So, once I stopped looking for a definite tuberose in it, it appealed to me as an earthy, unique floral.
Well, I'm an interesting case (in my own mind, lol), in that I HATE tuberose. Really aggressively, actively dislike it when it has even the slightest prominence in a fragrance.
I tried NdT because it's BD, and I'm a fan-girl.
My sample turned into a 15mL decant faster than you can say "tuberose?", and when I drain that, a FB is in my future. It's my go-to "lift my spirits" perfume.
I see NdT as vividly green! ;)
I liked it. Not that I'd want to wear it, or even have a decant to take out and sniff (as I do with Tuby Crim). It's for me like going on a blind date with someone your friends set you up with who on paper should be perfect but you just don't "click" with. I just wasn't that into it.
I tried NdT five times last summer in a concerted bid to "get" this scent, but to no avail. It had that well documented Juicy Fruit opening, a sort of an herbal orangey menthol thing going on, and - long story short - it would not be the least conducive imho to getting jiggy in a Paris hotel on a hot summer night. I could see a possible role for it as a sinus decongestant and that is about it. And I speak as a huge fan of much of BD's other work!
Ines,
That's what I thought too. :) And I do like it, its just...I don't know...
M,
Lovely to see you here! I definitely see where Timbuktu might come in there, in the base for sure.
B,
I will be looking forward your review!
Karin,
Definitely nice and interesting. And you know what, it should be good enough, I mean, nice and interesting don't happen that often.
V,
I expected BD's tuberose, a different take on it. And that's what I got, so I don't know why I am so on the fence.
deeHowe,
green! How interesting. I wonder why, is it that the green of the tropical feel...or? I am intrigued!!
Tom,
what a great analogy. Exactly. On paper, the date is exactly your type etc. In reality...you just...don't know...
Vanessa,
LOL
And why do we try so hard, eh? A norm...um, a non perfume person would give up on the first sniff and never get it another thought :)
I thought it was great, and I'm not a BD fangirl. I do think you should retry it in the summer. My first love is Carnal Flower, but I enjoyed this completely different take.
March,
I definitely will, in summer and many times before :) Can't give up.
I really wanted to like it, got a nice decant, but it didn't ring my bell. Then, I read a romantic piece on another blog about a French woman wearing this at her wedding and I had to try it again. Still, nothing. Wore it in heat - wouldn't touch it in the cool weather. I'll try again next summer just because I have more left...
Lang,
You too prefer scents like that in warm/hot weather?
Well, I had an early bottle, which I'm told smells different than later ones, but mine had a mind-bending opening note that seemed a very deliberate synthetic slap to get the wearer's attention. Then it settled into an interesting "alien floral", not tuberose at all, and then there was a drydown that was a little sweet and a little spiky; it lasted over 3 days and 2 showers! I think my bottle may have been unique. It was definitely a different floriental! But I prefer Duchaufour's "Flora Bella" for his best alien floral, and "Amaranthine" for a natural jungle-type floral.
-Marla
Wow, that sounds unique, Marla. And I've yet to smell Amaranthine.
M, you know what I think about this one!
But I will say that I went through a sample and a decant trying to make up my mind before I converted wholeheartedly. It was one of those, "I don't know if I like this odd thing, must spray again. And again. And again...And, hey! Where did my decant go?" kind of things.
Marina,
I smell "green," for the un-ripe mango, which smells really vegetal to me! At first it weirded me out, but I couldn't stop smelling myself... which, as we all know, leads to love. ;)
Alyssa,
so maybe that's what will happen to me too!
deeHowe,
I see now, and even see how it would smell green that way, yep!
I *did* try it once, with another perfume person, a seasoned nose who professed her strong appreciation for it. ("Lovely," did she call it?) So it was with a little trepidation I sprayed...was expecting something both more complex and more understandable than what I got, if that makes sense...I remember having my head cocked slightly to the side for half an hour, waiting for something to "turn" either for the worse or the better. It never did, but was never bad, and when I wasn't puzzled, I was thinking "pretty."
So I guess you could say I've taken the first step on the path to an opinion. ;)
S,
the first step is the hardest! :))
Well, I liked it a lot,but it's not true love, which was kind of a surprise, what with my tuberose fixation. I guess I don't think of it a a tuberose scent, since it has so much else going on. I guess I was expecting something else.
I do like BD's other L' Artisan fragrances, especially Dzongkha and Al Oudh, and I also "get" his style (I hope!) but it just did not mesh with me like other tuberose perfumes usually do. I am still a Carnal Flower girl.
It's easy to imagine the mango and floral notes holding hands, but the only rubbery tuberose I've liked is Criminelle. I am an admirer of Duchafour, tough, so I'll have to take this one for a spin.
I tried this and adored it. When I went back to get a bottle, I tried it again to be sure and was completely unimpressed. Happy I didn't buy it. I should probably try it again at some point.
Marina, I know just what you mean about your opinion being an ungraspable thing, even to yourself. NdT is a bit of a head-scratcher for a few different reasons, not least because of the disconnect between the mystery implied by the name and the sunniness of the actual scent. I find it green and sprightly and sweet and a little kooky.
And I have a funny little issue with NdT: whenever I've gone all gung-ho with it, spraying liberally in the heat of summer as I pride myself on the perfect match of scent and season, I've ended up in a really bad mood! I don't know whether to blame NdT or outside agents, but it does make me reluctant to keep wearing it.
Funny, it is the closest thing to a signature scent ever. It is odd, yet so wearable. Floral, luminous, green..to me it feels like a second skin...definitely FBw, but for me it is a hot weather scent only!
ALl that said, it is really odd, as i love woods, powders, heavier type fragrances.
Donna,
I thought it would be one true love too...well, maybe it's the kind that is not from the 1st sniff, and might still happen :)
Sthurdhee,
You never know, you should try!
Tama,
funny how that happens, happened to me so many times, with perfumes
Katie,
Green for you too? Pink for me, but agree that it is too bright for the nuit name
hongkongmom,
I am so glad and envious! :)
Marina: Yes, I prefer a big floral in the warm weather - up to a point - which is to say, not in hot weather. I know it's a bit "much," but they really bloom for me when the sun hits my skin. In cool weather, they just don't seem to work. Except, perhaps Joy. I should give it a try this week and see what happens. That one might just work in the cool weather - I think the indoles really help the case and I didn't really catch any in NdT.
Lang,
basically no indoles on me either, here
dear marina,
I'll begin from the lesser aspect, but the very definitive one: purchase.
the fear of not finishing a bottle made me buy a small one, but then I had to buy a second one Tel Aviv had the most torrid summer of all, and that summer didn't seem to come to an end, and - apart from a few hours of rain - it is still relatively hot in this shores.
I became addicted - for a while - to the elegant and odd aspects of this creation by Duchafour. The sensational shift from coconut to mango, and the wise use of roots and minearals make it slightly mysterious but continuously luminous.It gets compliments too.
Is this an "opinion"? Not in structure, not in style. But it is a statement of allegiance. With a husky voice, it sings praise to light.
Fabiana,
how beautifully put: With a husky voice, it sings praise to light!!
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