Nez A Nez: Overview
Nez a Nez is a niche perfume house in Paris that I just recently got acquainted with and am delighted to share with you my brief impressions of their 10 scents here.
Bouche Baie: a rich fruity floral with the notes of black currant, blackberry, Maracuja, orange blossom, jasmine, cherry, peach, coconut juice, vanilla, almond, and honey. Toothache-inducing sweet for my taste and too saturated with fruits but nicely done nonetheless.
Fôret de Bécharré: a slightly masculine in effect first but quickly transforms to a nice scent with the notes of grapefruit, licorice, hazelnut, cedar, cinnamon, amber, leather, vanilla. A soft citrusy licorice blend in top notes with a hazy-woody drydown and just a hint of leather. Quite wearable but lacking some “oomph”.
Marron Chic: a gourmand scent with the notes of citrus, kumquat, orange blossom, iris, Karo Karounde, violet, cocoa flower, benzoin, labdanum, vetiver, cocoa beans. Brown is my favorite color, and this is a very brown scent in character. I think this is my favorite of the line. It’s a soft, slightly powdery/dusty iris-cocoa blend that gets accentuated by vetiver and just a hint of incense in the drydown.
Bal Musqué: a skanky musk (March, this is for you!) Oh wait, it’s not even a predominantly musk scent! Huh. Bergamot, licorice, cinnamon, cherry kernel, magnolia, rose, benzoin, leather, Tolu balsam, vanilla, musk. Something went wrong here. I’m getting some kind of stinky musk-cherry-rose combo that gets more balsamic and leathery as it dries down but the stink doesn’t go away, and I’m finding it difficut to like.
Rosier Ardent: not a bad rose! I like my rose spicy or woody, and this is exactly it - cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, rose, patchouli, vetiver, cedar, resins. I’m getting mostly cumin and rose that’s not too heavy or offensive. Just a nice, sort of hazy rose.
Atelier D’Artiste: rum, cognac, black grape, cade, patchouli, vetiver, raspberry, tobacco, coffee, vanilla. Yum! The notes sound smack-your-lips delicious! This is my second favorite. I’m picking up on rum, vetiver, tobacco, and some patchouli wth coffee and vanilla in the drydown. It’s a dense quality scent that dries down almost smoky. I also smell some skank - some kind of a sweaty feet note? Or maybe it’s just deodorant-free armpits. I like it! A very appropriate name, too.
1001 Figues: almond, fig leaves, fig, coconut, tuberose, amber, Gelee royale, black vanilla. I’m getting something that smells like figs and cilantro. I know cilantro is not an official note here but I swear I smell it. Then it turns into a syrupy sweet coconut juice with lush tuberose and some other fruity note that makes it smell way too heavy, once again, for my taste. There’s a nice crispy green note here, though, that’s quite appealing but not prominent enough to qualify it as a fig scent, as in Philosykos by Diptyque or Premier Figuer by L’Artisan.
Figues & Garçons: another fig! And boys! An herbal, grassy fig, with the notes of fig leaves, fresh herbs, petit grain, fig, kiwi, cedar, sandalwood, musk. If it wasn’t for this juicy kiwi note, I’d like it more. I also get tons of sweetness here.
Vanithé: verbena, rosemary, Earl Grey tea, jasmine tea, cedar, Gaiac wood, vanilla absolute, benzoin, honey, tonka beans. First of all, I’m not friends with verbena, and rosemary is a casual acquaintance that I only see accompanied with others, so not too hopeful here at first but it’s actually a nice blend of herbs and Earl Grey and jasmine tea but sort of too sweet again. This sweet note must be the common note that’s used in all Nez a Nez creations. It could have been a nice tea scent, instead of a syrup. Sigh.
Ambre a Sade: whoa! If there was ever a fruity amber, this is it. Once again, syrupy sweet, with some skank (what is it?) - an overall milky quality (the caramel, no doubt). Smells so edible I want to lick my wrist! The notes are: blackberry, strawberry, caramel, raspberry, cedar, cinnamon, amber, tonka beans, black vanilla, patchouli, Russian leather. Wait a minute, there’s leather here? That must be what gives it a skanky quality, although it’s more animalic-stinky. As it dries down, it smells kind of odd and borderline unattractive but I still find myself drawn to this milky/fruity amber. I think this is another winner.
For other reviews, please check Helene’s impressions here. She’s also planning to post an interview with the shop’s owners soon. You can also find more information on the line at their online shop. They ship to the U.S., and there’s a sample program.
Image source: www.nezanez.net
23 comments August 13th, 2006