Noir by Night

A very special fragrance

This may be the most underrated frag on Fragrantica. I got it because I wanted to experience the note of Dreamwood. There are only 2 "for men" and 20 unisex frags with that note, and this is one of the best. Its a creamier sandalwood. Woody aquatics is the only fragrance group that I only have a single example of (this one). 5 of 5.

This fragrance feels more like a beach scent to me than most perfumes that advertise themselves as such. Not a tropical beach with flowers and sun-tan lotion, but a true salty-marine smell layered over dry, smoky driftwood. With the incense, it brings to mind a dark, meditative ritual by the sea. The opening of this fragrance is wonderfully unique and salty, with a strong note of dry sandalwood. The coriander and mate add a subtle herbaceous citrus note to the mix, while the incense creeps in over time to gradually blanket the scene in fragrant smoke. Unfortunately on me, the scent did go off at one point: about 30-45 minutes into the drydown, it suddenly took on an abrasive cleanser type smell, similar to Ajax and other powdered cleaning products. It honestly kind of ruined the fragrance for a while. Thankfully that smell disappeared after maybe half an hour, at which point it settled into a lovely seaside incense. If not for that low point, I'd have rated this 4 stars easily. I'd like to give it a few more wears to see if that experience was an anomaly: I did notice that the smell went off while I was in a very cold room, so temperature might be a factor. The rest of the wear was good enough and interesting enough that I'd still like to keep this one.