Sensuous Noir Estēe Lauder (2010)

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7.7 / 10 241 Ratings

Sensuous Noir is a popular perfume by Estēe Lauder for women and was released in 2010. The scent is woody-spicy. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.

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Top Notes	Jasmine, Queen-of-the-night, Rose, Rose oil, Black pepper
Heart Notes	Crème Noir accord, Kencur, Melted woods, Patchouli
Base Notes	Amber, Benzoin, Honey, Vanilla

Ratings

Scent

7.7 (241 Ratings)

Longevity

8.4 (170 Ratings)

Sillage

7.3 (148 Ratings)

Bottle

6.9 (156 Ratings)

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 27.04.2020.

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Reviews

02/11/2020

8
Scent 7
Longevity 7
Sillage 8
Bottle

Rosaviola

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Rosaviola

Top Review 12

Under the cover of the dark night the queen blooms

For almost five years no comment has been written about Sensuous Noir by Estee Lauder.
Since I have had the fragrance for more than 2 years now, I am writing a comment on this fragrance today.

Right after spraying I hear the flower of the Queen of the Night. I know the scent from Dior Addict but here it is a bit more delicate. Also my mother has this cactus under her cate collection. Unfortunately the queen of the night usually blooms when I am not visiting her. This type of cateen blooms only one night a year. A shot of black pepper spices up the white cactus blossom. Lilies blend in and so does the rose. The fragrance never becomes too flowery. A woody undertone always resonates throughout the fragrance and patchouli can also hold its own. There is also something smoky about it that must come from the benzoin. In the summer this can get even more hairy and is a bit too much for me. I like Sensuos Noir best in winter, because I am a bit sensitive to smoky scents and easily get headaches from them.
Nevertheless I like the scent very much, even if I prefer to wear it in winter.

The sillage and durability are quite good and the smooth front and cross-ribbed violet bottle with the high-quality looking cap also offers something for the eye.

Sensuous Noir is a dark, slightly smoky scent that is certainly not for everyone. I can't imagine it in ladies too young, but I can imagine it in men. My husband has already worn it, it suits him very well and therefore I feel it is rather unisex. He never gets too cute either. So even men can dare here.

10 Replies

12/15/2018

10
Scent

Greenfaerie
73 Reviews

Greenfaerie

Magical, delicious woods

In all my years of wearing perfume, I never smelled a woody perfume that was as intensely gooey as this one. Just makes me think of the color amber mixed with conifer forest. It's sweet as if it were pine sap candy. I can practically feel the bracing wind brushing against my shoulders. It truly smells dark green.

Edited to add that I'm baffled by the reviewer below me who didn't get good sillage from this. Was it reformulated or is it just chemistry? If it was reformulated, I don't want to purchase a backup bottle like I was planning to do! My original bottle is potent--far more potent than just about any Lutens creation. I also do compare this to his Filles because they are both piney and sweet. I find them interchangeable, sort of like if one doesn't work for you, the other one will, and they have the same feel.

07/13/2017

7.5
Scent 5
Longevity 5
Sillage 5
Bottle

Oriane
100 Reviews

Oriane

Helpful Review 3

Quite Nice But Nothing Extraordinary

I have been familiar with Estee Lauder classic fragrances for decades now, but I am unfamiliar with the newer ones such as Sensuous, Sensuous Nude, Sensuous Noir, etc. As Sensuous Noir has been discontinued, I decided to purchase a bottle of it as I love Orientals, and I love deep, dark, sensual fragrances.

My first thought upon initial application was "this is very light for a fragrance called 'Sensuous Noir.'" I expected something of an Oriental bomb along the lines of Chanel Coco or Shalimar to name but two legendary Orientals. My second thought turned to the notes. I do detect a lovely pine note, but I hasten to add that SN is in no way a copy of Lutens Fille en Aiguilles as some reviewers have suggested. They both share a pine note, but the resemblance begins and ends there. I also detect a good bit of well mannered patchouli, so if you fear patchouli in general, you need not fear the patchouli in SN. Aside from the pine and patchouli notes, I can detect a very mild mannered oud and a smidgen each of both warm amber and sweetly resinous benzoin mainly in the deeper dry down. There also seems to be a shy, sweet frankincense note in SN. I cannot distinctly pick out any of the other notes.

Overall SN is a quite nice fragrance. It is both gentle and warm, and softly sweet. It could be worn both day and night. Projection and sillage are moderate at best, so I believe it could be worn in an office environment without offending anyone. Longevity is also moderate at best. It wears close to the skin on me, and it is readily detectable for three to four hours. I think it would be perceived as sensuous and feminine on a woman, but I also think a man could wear it, too.

All in all, SN is a quite lovely fragrance, but there is absolutely nothing about it that makes it "extraordinary" or "legendary" in the way that Chanel Coco is both extraordinary and legendary (in my opinion), and I am somewhat disappointed in this fact as Estee Lauder has produced one of my most beloved fragrances of all times, Private Collection, as well as another much admired fragrance, Cinnabar. SN does not compare with these two classic Estee Lauder fragrances, but for anyone who likes SN's notes and who prefers a relatively light fragrance that is unlikely to offend bystanders, then SN could be for her/him. I truly do like it, and I am happy to have it in my collection.

As for the value to price ratio, I feel SN is over priced at $69 for a 50ml bottle just as Lutens Fille en Aiguilles is over priced at $150 a bottle. Even at half the price, I feel SN is still a bit overpriced for my money. There are several vintage chemist shop Oriental fragrances that are equally as impressive SN, e.g. vintage Ciara, Chantilly, and Emeraude. I also have some vintage Avon fragrances that I find equally as impressive as SN, e.g. Rare Rubies, Timeless, Charisma, and Rare Gold to name a few. As for performance, once again my chemist shop, Avon, and even some of my B&BW fragrances perform every bit as well as SN for a much lower price point. I wanted SN to be deeper, richer, and to have better performance, but I can say the same of many contemporary fragrances, including many that retail for far more than SN.

In the end, I can say that SN is a very pleasant fragrance indeed, but it is not the stuff of which legends are made, and for those who insist upon comparing it to Lutens Fille en Aiguilles, I think the Lutens is more impressive even if more expensive, but Fille en Aiguilles also has moderate performance at best. Test before you buy if at all possible. If you enjoy this type of fragrance, and if you love these notes, I think you will like SN very much indeed. Just do not expect SN to be in the same league as Chanel Coco, Guerlain Shalimar, Piguet Alameda, or Chanel Allure Sensuelle.

Fragrance: 7/10
Projection: 5/10
Sillage: 5/10
Longevity: 5/10

05/08/2012

9
Scent 7.5
Longevity

DeGe53
23 Reviews

DeGe53

Very helpful Review 6

Just in time for Christmas....

... Dezember 2010 Estée came out with this well-beeing gift. I like Sensuous. This one I like even better.

Where some companies - and not only the smaller ones - fail at their attempt to introduce sexy new products and may it be only by showing lascivious spots on TV, Ms. Lauder beams understatement but with finesse.

The modest bottle, an eyecatcher solely through form and colour, speaks for itself. You don't have to glitter and sparkle to be sexy. Sensuous is never overloaded. It's New York, Boston, East Coat (as we in Germany know it from TV!!). No Hollywood bling. And that's the scent. Starting warm and substantial without being overpowering. Not to spicy, not to woody, powdery-warm throughout, thanks to lily and rose.

I also noticed there is no jumping and jerking in the development of the scent. Everything flows, like thick maple-sirup. But the impression is not to sweet as could be expected from the vanilla in the base.

After hours a warm aura remains around you. The creators of the scent I owe a big thank you for leaving out musk. It could have spoiled everything. But now we have a fluffy-warm note which catapults the well-being factor way high in the cold season.

03/24/2012

8
Scent 7.5
Longevity 7.5
Sillage

Missk
1165 Reviews

Missk

Helpful Review 7

Winter signature

I am gradually becoming obsessed with this fragrance. It is the first time I've found myself fond of a new release in a relatively long time.

Sensuous Noir is as the name implies; sensual and dark. It has such a beautiful aura, being smooth, slightly smokey and quite earthy.

I love patchouli in my fragrances, however for some, Sensuous Noir could be your worst nightmare. The earthy patchouli is quite dominant along with the pepper, spices, woods, pine and vanilla.

I am struck by how unique this fragrance is, I never would have expected it to be this amazing. Towards the drydown this fragrance becomes quite 'incensey', resembling the scent of those small stores which sell everything from tie-dye dresses, dragon pendants, witchcraft books and exotic incense.

I like the somewhat gothic undertones in this fragrance, although I am everything opposite to being a goth. Dark, smokey fragrances, like Sensuous Noir intrigue me and make me feel incredibly sexy, yet approachable.

Sensuous Noir's lasting power is fairly good, as is the sillage while not overpowering, can certainly be noticed. It's a pity that my country is now going into Summer. I would have loved to wear this in the chilly Winter weather we have here.

2 Replies

01/22/2012

9
Scent 7.5
Longevity 5
Sillage 5
Bottle

Callas
53 Reviews

Callas

Helpful Review 2

Not only at night

Yes, this is completely my taste.
It seems the sun and it is beautifully cold. Sensuous Noir fits wonderfully there.

The smell is warm and inviting. It immediately gets peppery, flowery and already soon the woody piece rates follow. Defy the vanilla not too sweetly. Wonderful.

The fitting companion for walks on cold winter's days. An additional little antifreeze. ;-)

01/05/2012

5
Scent

Sophi
50 Reviews

Sophi

Helpful Review 3

Woody Oriental Dream

Woodsy spice honey-sweet oriental!
There should be honey in it as the original has ....yes,definitely sweet but the original is more floral ,here the woods and spices meet the sweetness of honey without any intense florals mixed with exception of jasmine ...
deep,sensual mystical,it is so close to shiseido's original feminite du bois..