Thursday 18 December 2008

Nuit De Noel



Caron Nuit De Noel is my favourite Christmas scent of all (so far, if my Guerlain Winter Delices sample ever arrives it might have competition!).

I had very little experience of the Caron house when the name Nuit de Noel led me to seek it out. I was immediately impressed with the beautiful bottles and the all round design and presentation of the house; their products have a very classic but not old fashioned look, to me. I wanted to like Mughuet De Bonheur because Ian Fleming writes that James Bond likes it on women but sadly it didn't work for me.

Nuit de Noel on the other hand was a revelation! I have read others say and I completely agree that it does share *something* with one of my beloved scents, L'Heure Bleu by Guerlain. Nuit de Noel has the same essence of a precious time in it's scent without, to my nose, being old fashioned. In fact I think it's probably slightly more accessible than LB if you are someone who finds an old lady note in lots of scents.

Nuit de Noel is exceptionally well blended and, although this is something that is often said about fragrances with some warmth, it really does feel like wearing a luxurious cape around you.

I was, probably quite naively, expecting a much more 'standard' Christmas scent, pine needles and mulling spices and that kind of thing but actually what you get is much more the scent of serene contentment after night fall on Christmas eve. It has the most beautiful powdered dry down I think I have come across. The Perfumed court says the notes for this are: rose, jasmine, ylang ylang, oakmoss, sandalwood and vetiver but they are so well blended, or I am so on a Christmas and scent high, that I can only detect sublime oakmoss and, which is not unlike the oakmoss of Mitsouko.

I actually save this scent to wear during advent. It would be totally wearable throughout the winter as it doesn't scream Christmas but I quite like to keep it as a special festive treat.

Picture originally from the Scented Salamander

7 comments:

ScentScelf said...

Ah! Karma...I posted elsewhere today that I had a sample of Nuit de Noel I have been saving for this time of year. It's a modern version; we'll see how that goes--I've not tried it before! I do have a swab that visited the inside of a vintage bottle...still fragrant half a year later...

ScentScelf said...

Ah! Karma...I posted elsewhere today that I had a sample of Nuit de Noel I have been saving for this time of year. It's a modern version; we'll see how that goes--I've not tried it before! I do have a swab that visited the inside of a vintage bottle...still fragrant half a year later...

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Hmmm, you've got me thinking now- what scent to wear on Christmas day? This one is a contender...

Rose said...

Hi Scentscelf, karma indeed. It's such a great name. I hope you enjoy wearing it (mine isn't vintage either but I still like it!)

Rose said...

Hi Daily, I find what to wear on Christmas Day tricky too! I am hoping santa might bring some new things but really I have ended up wearing NDN the last few years and really enjoyed it.

Not long until the big day now!

Anonymous said...

Well, I've ordered a small decant of Nuit de Noel in the parfum. I've never sniffed it but I enjoyed your review. We'll see...

Rose said...

Hi Kathleen, I'm very glad you liked the review and hope you like the juice too! Have a very happy Christmas!