So Nude Costume National 2012 Eau de Parfum

So Nude (Eau de Parfum) by Costume National

Bottle Design:
Ennio Capasa

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6.7 / 10 86 Ratings

A perfume by Costume National for women, released in 2012. The scent is floral-spicy. It is being marketed by Beauty San.

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Main accords

Floral

Spicy

Woody

Powdery

Sweet

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Neroli

Cardamom

Cumin

Heart Notes

Tuberose

Ylang-ylang

Damask rose

Base Notes

Sandalwood

Virginia cedar

Patchouli

Perfumer

Dominique Ropion

Ratings

Scent

6.786 Ratings

Longevity

7.366 Ratings

Sillage

6.262 Ratings

Bottle

5.478 Ratings

Value for money

6.514 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 06/08/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

So Nude Eau de Toilette

Good Life Woman Eau de Parfum

Eau Mohéli

Moments Eau de Toilette

Plein Soleil Eau de Parfum

Reviews

4 in-depth fragrance descriptions

10/14/2024

6
Pricing 6
Bottle 6
Sillage 7
Longevity 7
Scent

Missk
1357 Reviews

Missk

1

Warm Skin and Coconutty Tuberose

It's not everyday that you smell a woody tuberose fragrance. So Nude by Costume National is less focused on the white floral aspects, and more zoned into the creamy and sheer qualities of this popular flower.

A knowledgeable sales assistant was the one to introduce me to So Nude. I had been looking for a feminine woods scent, and was surprised when she led me to the Costume National counter. I already own and love Costume National 21, however I was dubious that So Nude could live up to the expectations.

I am naturally quite taken with So Nude. This fragrance is unique and inoffensive, soft like a skin-scent but not in a bland sense of the word. It smells rather woodsy on the skin with a dominant cedar accord, paired with some subtle spices like cardamom and caraway.

The tuberose note in So Nude is creamy and clean. As I mentioned previously, this fragrance does not resemble a fresh, white floral bouquet. Instead it smells like warm skin, with a hint of coconutty lotion.

So Nude is not my favourite fragrance from the house of Costume National, but it is one of the stand-outs. I think it could easily be unisex, especially with such a bold cedar note. I am also pleased to say that So Nude's longevity was excellent, lasting a good twelve hours on my skin. I recommend.

Original review written: April 2013.

10/09/2024

8
Pricing 7
Bottle 7
Sillage 7
Longevity 7.5
Scent

An6543
5 Reviews

An6543

1

Strangely addictive

This fragrance wasn't a love at first sniff for me. I'm usually not a fan of banana-like accords in fragrances, and that put me off at first. However, I decided to give my decant a fair chance and wore it in the evening a few times. And boy, did I change my mind! Now I love wearing this to bed as a comforting, creamy yet tropical floral scent.

This fragrance isn't particularly complex, making it great for bedtime. I must admit that the name of this perfume is a bit misleading. To me, there's nothing skin-like or "your skin but better" about this fragrance. It definitely smells like florals, and no one will be tricked into thinking that this is what you smell like naturally lol. If that's what you're looking for, then this isn't that scent profile.

However, to me it's a very pleasant creamy tropical floral. It opens with a bit of neroli and quite a prominent ylang-ylang/banana scent. However, in the mid and dry down it becomes more creamy and the sandalwood becomes more prominent. I also don't get too much of the tuberose here in the dry down, in that it's not overly prominent in the composition to the point that it sticks out as the star ingredient. Overall, I would say it morphs from being more tropical-feeling to more 'clean' shampoo smelling scent.

There is something a bit youthful and almost juvenile about this fragrance, which is perhaps what put me off initially. The opening can be a bit strong, and it almost feels like you're sticking your face into a bunch of slightly overripe tropical flowers and fruits, though not to the point that I would call it indolic. However, it quickly becomes more balanced.

I find this perfect for bedtime, but I think it would also work great as a summer evening scent or a holiday scent. If you like clean-smelling tropical fragrances give this a try, it might surprise you like it did me.

You can often find bottles at around half price on eBay and/or discounters, and at that price I think it's great value.

02/05/2013

Chickenpotpi
8 Reviews

Chickenpotpi

Very helpful Review 6

Pretty, sheer tuberose

Because I love tuberose my review is going to be slanted. Yes you get tuberose up front. Its not loud, at least I don't think so. Its not like fracas loud, or beyond love loud, this is a much softer and less of a diva tuberose. Its not what I call green though. You get tuberose petals, but not big heavy ones. They've dialed it down quite a bit. Certainly, its sheer as you can make it with still smelling it.

Longevity, well...It goes to a skin scent on me about the first 1-2 hours in. However it doesn't mean that you can't smell it, you can, it just means its not in your face all the time.

Sillage, smellable from arms length when you put it on, goes down to hovering just about the skin pretty quickly. Minimal to no trail, so a good perfume for office environments.

I quite liked it a lot. I plenty of tuberose perfumes that work for what I want, so this one isn't likely at the top of my want list, but I certainly found it agreeable and lovely, just not terribly unique.

If I were looking for a sheer tuberose, this would fit the bill.

Worth testing for those who are curious.

09/23/2012

7.5
Sillage 10
Longevity 6
Scent

Sherapop
1239 Reviews

Sherapop

3

Complex Opening, Costume National Drydown

I received a generous carded sample of Costume National SO NUDE and a bunch of other nice samples along with an order I placed with a real person at Barneys. Note to sample-hungry perfumistas: full-service, high-end brick-and-mortar establishments are the only way to go. True, you generally pay MSRP for whatever you buy there, but the perks are sometimes worth it! Plus there's something nice and nostalgic about the notion of full service, isn't there?

So how is SO NUDE? First off, it opens with a very detectable tuberose note in a kind of cacophony of florals and spices. The tuberose then steps back a bit, making room for a yummy (and also very detectable) cardamom note. At this point, for me, it's love. However, my usual Costume National reservations begin as the perfume approaches drydown. It's the base.

I like when a house uses a readily identifiable base--it serves as a sort of fingerprint on all of their works. Lots of them do this: Yves Rocher, Lush, Elizabeth Arden (have you noticed how Badgley Mischka, Britney Spears, Juicy Couture, and other EA-produced designer and celebrity perfumes share the same base?), L'Artisan Parfumeur, the list goes on and on, and Costume National definitely numbers among them.

I own two perfumes from this house: SCENT GLOSS and SCENT SHEER, and I very much prefer the former, because the latter is basically all base all the time. As niche as this house may seem to be, they use a very synthetic musky base which does not always appeal to me. In the case of SO NUDE, the opening and mid-stages have been dressed up, but as the perfume unfurls, it eventually leaves behind the tell-tale Costume National base, which has great longevity but eventually starts to get on my nerves.

All in all, if you like this house, you might like SO NUDE. I'm not sure, because the big tuberose is going to be too much for those who really enjoy SCENT SHEER. It's definitely worth a sniff, no doubt about that. Much more complex than I surmised from the name and the marketing campaign...