Spotlight Fragrance: January: Bond No. 9 New Haarlem and Dior Eau Noire

[maxman]

I finally made it over the border today.
I've got my samples now. I'll give them an try tomorrow.
From what I can smell of them, I think I'm going to like both of them.

 

[conroygc]

I finally got around to wearing the Eau Noire today. I can't really say anything that hasn't been said...Coffee, vanilla, small hints of anise and possibly clove or other spices. It's a nice scent, but I won't be ordering more.

 

[BillC]

So I've had the Eau Niore on for about 12 hours now. It's still hanging in there and still easily recognizable. As it starts to disappear the vanilla is letting the immortelle start to show through a little bit again. I'm still a bit up in the air about smelling like curry, but it has definitely grown on me throughout the day. One of my daughters was in my lap with her head buried in my chest tonight and didn't complain about the curry smell - so it can't be too offputting to others

 

[The Knize]

I am so happy to see this project get off to such a great start.

These are high quality scents. I assume they are great gourmands and are excellent examples of gourmands. I say "assume" because gourmands are just not my favs. Very happy to try things of this quality, though.

I promised earlier to write more about Eau Noire, but I do not think I have anything to add. I will let those that are into these scents comment on them. What they say will be much more valuable.

Gourmand is an absolutely legit and important category of scent. As noble and important as any! It is a great category to start with for this project!

 

[maxman]

My first try with New Haarlem is....
I really like this scent. The coffee notes off the top are strong!
At the same time there is a syrupy sweet smell, almost a little like maple to me.
Then comes the vanilla and something spicy. This phase I like the most.
It has such a nice middle and seems to last on me a good while.

I imagine this fragrance as a night out with friends. Hitting the town in style.
A little loud and noisy. Hopping into a cab with no destination in mind.
"Where ya goin'?" says the cabbie. We all laugh. "Take us where the good times are" your best mate says.
"and step on it" I say.

Off we go, looking our best. Prada and Versace accompany us this night.
We end up at an upscale bar, the kind that has no sign on the building.
A loaded handshake secures us a prime seat. We came to see and be seen.
The night carries on, a small jazz ensemble sits in the corner playing upbeat yet silky smooth music.

There is much laughter, and all is well. We carry on until the wee hours of the morning....

 

[rearviewmirror]

Marc, your friends are a lot nicer then mine! If I wore NH out, they'd ask me why I smelled like dessert!

 

[maxman]

Marc, your friends are a lot nicer then mine! If I wore NH out, they'd ask me why I smelled like dessert!

Lol. These guys and ladies are cool. Too cool to actually exist. Sigh....

 

[rearviewmirror]

Lol. These guys and ladies are cool. Too cool to actually exist. Sigh....

We're here for you, and will accept whatever frag you decide to wear

 

[erickson]

The top hits you with pure essence of fenugreek, very sweet, much like maple syrup which is characteristic of fenugreek. Within 30 minutes this sweetness rapidly drops off and pepper comes forward in a big way while the fenugreek still lingers. I am a lover of pepper in my fragrances and must say I appreciate this drydown far more than the opening. I also get a little chili powder in the background and combined with the pepper is almost enough to make you forget the fenugreek which is a good thing.

An interesting fragrance, but I cannot find any compelling reason I would ever want to smell like fenugreek. Especially after the lasting impression this herb has made on me.

A while back, I was big into East Indian cooking and my pantry was filled with a large assortment of herbs and spices which I would bring home from the local Indian grocery. The aroma given off from the dried fenugreek leaves stood out amongst all the other herbs and spices the moment I brought it home. At first I kind of liked this sweet smell of maple syrup, but the aroma seemed to intensify as time passed and soon spread beyond the pantry and to other rooms of my home. The aroma which at first I admired soon became nauseating to the point where it was one day gathered up and properly disposed of, never to return...or so I thought until now, when it snuck into my home disguised in the form of a fragrance called Dior Eau Noir.

 

[erickson]

New Haarlem is similar to several other coffee frags including Rochas Man, Michael Jordan Legend, A*men Pure Coffee and J'ose Eisenberg. I think I like New Haarlem better, but I understand there is an EDP version of J'ose which I have not yet tried.

I will probably never buy any more New Haarlem though for in addition to my 2.5ml and 10ml decants of this frag, I already own a 100ml bottle each of Pure Coffee and J'ose which should last the rest of my life for as often as I get a chance to use these gourmands.

 

[maxman]

Dior Eau Noir today. Hmmm. What to say about this one?
For me it opens with a faint coffee smell, very much in the background.
I'm hit with pepper almost immediately. Not in a bad way, but very spicy.
A little sweet too. Unfortunately I catch a little something that smells musty, like grandma's basement/attic.
I'm not sold on this one. I would wear it only under certain circumstances...what those are, I don't really know.

If I'm doing a peppery fragrance (erickson, listen up) then I'm doing Marc Jacobs Bang. That is the most peppery fragrance (but in a good way) I've ever smelled.

Of course, the drydown hasn't happened yet on my Eau Noir. Maybe it'll impress me yet.

EDIT: OK we've hit the drydown and it is sweet (read: sugary). Now I get the coffee scents. Still just OK in my book.

 

[conroygc]

I love New Haarlem! Reminds me of sitting in a coffee house with freshly roasted beans and espresso flowing, then a pretty gal in a white dress walks by and you catch a lovely vanilla note.

 

[ShaveThis]

First let me say thanks to the B&B vendors on getting these scents out. Rick, Garry have come through and I'm putting in an order with Archerfire for March.

So far I've tried Dior Eau Noir and New Haarlem once each. My impressions are limited in two ways. First, I've only tried them once, second, I'm new to this and my scent vocabulary sucks.

Being new I've gravitated around 'safe' conventional mostly English house scents. These two are a far cry from that to say the least! Reading descriptions on Basenotes I didn't think I would like these at all, but wanted to keep up with the spotlight thread and give them all a try. Well, turns out I like them both and have gotten one or two comments to the positive at work. I seem to recognize all the attributes that are listed in this thread and with that I don't think I would lay either on too thick. This is potent stuff here (at least for work). I do find them similar with the same notes but some notes are more pronounced in each one.

I'm very happy I've tried these and thanks to Rick for sending. Garry's should be here any day and I'm about to put in an order with Archerfire for March.
This spotlight idea is really broadening my scope on scents. Thanks maxman! (I think this was your idea)

Thanks everyone!

 

[ShaveThis]

I love New Haarlem! Reminds me of sitting in a coffee house with freshly roasted beans and espresso flowing, then a pretty gal in a white dress walks by and you catch a lovely vanilla note.

Well said!

 

[mdevine]

Having given both of January's fragrances a fair try, it's becoming clear to me that, for the most part, gourmands aren't my favorite class of scents to wear. While I. Enjoy vanilla as a base note, most of the other gourmand scents just don't do it for me. I enjoyed the coffee in the New Haarlem more than the spices and curry of Eau Noire. I think that they will both end up as things I will rarely reach for, just like A*men and L'Anarchiste which I put in the same category.

Mike

 

[Bravado13]

New Haarlem, while there's no denying its quality juice and completely delicious, it ultimately just smells like I never wiped off the maple syrup that accidently fell off my french toast and landed on my face and clothes. Its got such a literal food like quality that Im afraid it comes off more like that then an actual fragrance. Bear in mind, this is coming from some one who adores gouramnds but I enjoy well balanced gourmands that give you the essence of the eatible notes but still like a fragrance. That said, oddly enough, I actually think rochas man does a better job at accomplishing that then New Haarlem and a hell of a lot cheaper price but you do get what you pay for and there's no denying New Haarlem is the better quality juice.

 

[conroygc]

I loved the New Haarlem so much that I went scouting about on the internet looking to purchase a bottle.



I didn't realize it was such expensive juice! Even the candle is $95. I think I'm going to have to save my pennies for a while before I splurge on a full bottle.

 

[maxman]

I loved the New Haarlem so much that I went scouting about on the internet looking to purchase a bottle.



I didn't realize it was such expensive juice! Even the candle is $95. I think I'm going to have to save my pennies for a while before I splurge on a full bottle.

Join their facebook page and they'll send you a code for %15 off from their website.
Every bit helps!