Seductive Noir

I ordered two new Montale gourmands, and three Guerlains and threw this in the cart for $20 because I heard good things. Then I was trying the Montales and this one all at once with my husband and he asked me which was my favorite and I said Cafe Intense for me, (I love a dark, brooding, rose - its the same one in Cafe Rose and Atomic Rose and Infini Rose), Guess SN for going out, and Chocolate Greedy for going to bed (with him)." Chocolate Greedy is kinda like if Choco Musk was an expensive dark chocolate with mandarin oranges and a hit of coffee instead of a linear powdery Tootsie Roll that lasted and projected like a Montale (until you wash it off) instead of ghosting after 3 hours (tops) like a $8 perfume like Choco Musk does - which I love for the 3 hours I can smell it on me...but I gave the rest of my bottle to my 4 year old after I got Chocolate Greedy and it smells perfect on her clothes. Really like a baby girl should smell not a 30 year old married mother. Choc Greedy of course smells and performs amazing like all Montales do. BUT I asked my husband which one was his favorite and he said, "Oh definitely the one you said you'd wear for going out (GSN)." Lol my husband is 35. GSN does smell BEAUTIFULLY crafted. But be warned kids, it does smell like a perfume - not like you spilled a couple of the ingredients for your cake. I haven't got my Guerlains in the mail yet so I can't compare it to them yet side by side and don't trust my memory of how it smelled when I first smelled MG a while ago to give an amazing comparison breakdown but Ill come back when I do get them and compare it to all 3 MGs. I ordered Mon Guerlain EDP, the Intense flanker, and the Sparkling Bouquet flanker so if this smells anything like any of those then my husband is going to be one happy man. I DID hear the Mon Guerlains were "wifey" scents. Rumors confirmed. This was my husbands favorite, so IF this smells like the MG EDP, and considering the votes, it must smell like it at least a little bit, "wifey" scents indeed...which I consider the highest compliment from a man for a women's perfume. I'd wear this in all weather's and seasons. It's not "too" anything. It's lovely. And who and how is someone smelling Barbisol shaving cream? That isn't the perfume that's your upper lip.

I'm wearing Seductive Noir EDT the day after I wore Mon Guerlain EDP, and indeed they are very similar, although it would do a disservice to the wonderful nose Laurent Le Guernec to call Seductive Noir a dupe of the Wasser/Jelk composition. Sometimes very similar ideas arrive to people independently, and all the best perfumes in history (that we know of anyway) are responses to or revisions of other fragrances. Just as all literature is intertextual, perfumes cannot exist in a vacuum, untrammeled by cultural associations and the influence of other minds. So I suppose if you want to get all fancy about it, SN and MG are in conversation with each other and with our personal or cultural associations--many people are going to describe both perfumes as masculine or reminiscent of shaving cream because of the fougère-like qualities of this perfume, more specifically the lavender-tonka or sage-tonka accord that defines these perfumes and makes them recognizable (and in this way most like each other). Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely, also created by Le Guernec, shares this barbershop vibe and is, not coincidentally, also often described as masculine. But my associations with lavender and sage are wider than those attached to conventional gender norms. When I smell SN on myself, I think of expensive soaps and spices from Provence, and, yeah, sure, OK, hugging my grandpa, maybe a little, but that's a loving scent memory, not a way of saying that SN exudes butchness. A friend once described SN as smelling like birthday cake with blown-out candles and never mentioned the sage (or the subversion of gender norms) at all.

I've seen this fragrance at retailers and have always skipped it because the box looked cheap. Recently, I've seen lots of reviewers touting this as a hidden cheapie gem, and after picking up 1 oz at Ross for $12.99 I have to agree! It opens with an herbal smell, I think it smells a bit like fresh sage, not the dried herb that you cook with. As it dries down, it becomes sweeter and softer, but it still keeps that herbaceous note at the top. I have never tried Mon Guerlain, so I can't speak to their similarities, but I would describe this as a soft, round, cozy, herbal, sweet fragrance. I can see the comparison to old-school shaving cream--If I think "Barbasol" and sniff this, I totally get that vibe. But if I just keep an open mind, I can enjoy the perfume for its soft, scent. I do think this is a unisex fragrance--the herbalness is a bit more masculine, but the soft sweetness is a bit more feminine. I think it could go either way. I also think this could be worn in any season--it's soft and cozy for fall/winter, but I think the herbal aspect would maybe come across as fresh during the spring and summer. I do think this is a daytime scent because I don't really consider it "seductive," and it is not at all "noir." I get moderate longevity (~5 hours) and fairly intimate sillage (unless I really overspray). I also got the matching body spray, so I like to spray the perfume on my skin and the body spray on my clothes.

Guess Seductive Noir…you are indeed seductive. This fragrance opens with a banging burst of sage, bergamot and peony. Talk about an introduction. That initial whiff is juicy, spicy and delicious. From my first sniff, I knew I was gonna be hooked. As this fragrance develops the iris, jasmine sambac and lily of the valley appear. This floral combination makes this perfume smell even yummier. Then there’s vanilla, hatian vetiver and velvet in the dry down and they’re perfectly blended. Guess Seductive Noir is a winner. I’m blown away at how gorgeous and beautiful it really is. Seductive Noir did what Seductive Red and Guess Seductive couldn’t do because Seductive Noir is actually sexy. I tip my hat to the nose behind this bottle of juice. Guess did its thing with this one. The sillage is great. The longevity is good and it’s affordable. I’d wear this sexy little number in any season.

Before we start, I have to admit I am a big fan of Guess' Seduction line. My first perfume I ever bought was the original Seductive, and I still have a few sprays left of it. I used to think that was fancy back then, saving it only for dates and stuff. A lot of years passed and I bought Red, which I really like because sometimes you just need a cheap, creechy scent. Yesterday I bought Noir, expecting the same thing. I mean, I like it but I expected it to be much stronger. I went out that night, but after a few minutes it just seemed to be gone? This might be a great, inoffense office scent. Hope my new colleagues think the same. I hope I'm not anosmic for it.