Sensuous Noir Estēe Lauder 2010

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7.5 / 10 267 Ratings

A popular perfume by Estēe Lauder for women, released in 2010. The scent is woody-spicy. The longevity is above-average. The production was apparently discontinued.

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Main accords

Woody

Spicy

Oriental

Sweet

Floral

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Rose

Black pepper

Queen-of-the-night

Heart Notes

Patchouli Melted Woods NaturePrint®

Crème noir

Lily

Base Notes

Benzoin

Honey

Amber

Vanilla

Ratings

Scent

7.5267 Ratings

Longevity

8.2195 Ratings

Sillage

7.4176 Ratings

Bottle

6.9178 Ratings

Value for money

7.810 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 17.12.2023.

Reviews

10 in-depth fragrance descriptions

02/11/2020

8
Bottle 7
Sillage 7
Longevity 8
Scent

Rosaviola
75 Reviews

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Rosaviola

Top Review 14

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.

02/01/2021

10
Pricing 8
Bottle 9
Sillage 10
Longevity 9.5
Scent

Manogi
83 Reviews

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Manogi

Very helpful Review 11

Simply beautiful

I got half a bottle of this fragrance from @Julia142. And it was worth it.

"Sensuous Noir is just beautiful. While it is so not what I normally like. He is for my taste contrary to the fragrance description rather sweet, floral and somewhat gourmandig. But these scents were composed here in a way that appeals to me a lot. It is round and very easy to wear. No aspect is too dominant, but they play together wonderfully.

But then the fragrance description is not quite wrong. Because there is something else. Right from the start, the black pepper makes itself very noticeable. And I love black pepper. This gives the fragrance an interesting twist that makes it seem not only sweet.

And then there is indeed a subtle woody note. It is not very noticeable, but it also fits perfectly into the interplay and makes "Sensuous Noir" special.

For the price, "Sensuous Noir" is definitely worth a sniff. And not only for ladies. Also the gentlemen of creation can wear the well, I think. I will buy it in any case, if the bottle is empty.

12/23/2020

7
Pricing 8
Bottle 6
Sillage 8
Longevity 7.5
Scent

Calypso
8 Reviews

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Calypso

Very helpful Review 9

A dark honey night

Yes, I know, actually it is idle to write a comment about a discontinued fragrance, but just see it as an obituary.
After I already own the normal Sensuous for some time and like it sometimes more, sometimes less (the woody notes are nice and creamy, but sometimes also quite synthetic), I now wanted to get to know the dark sister of the perfume. Of course - how could it be otherwise - the perfume had long since been discontinued (I often feel this way when I come across something interesting while researching). Nevertheless, my hunting instinct was aroused and so I got hold of a restflakon.

At the first spray, a short, heavy but velvety rose scent comes to me, like looking up at a window where a lady in a velvet dress has just scurried past before you even get to see her properly.
Maybe it's the queen of the night, too? I have indeed once as a teenager with my aunt, a passionate botanist, a real queen of the night smell, but could not say that I recognize the fragrance here.

After that, the "melted woods" (melted woods) are washed up and wash in their olfactory wave also a dark, juicy patchouli. For a moment, I even think I detect an oud note, but it's probably that wood-patchouli combo that's now fused with the rose notes of the beginning.
And then suddenly a surge of honey douses these notes, lingering for a bit, but then dissolving into the whole.
What remains is a dark, sensual, aromatic fragrance, which with niche names and marketing would certainly find many fans again today ;)

05/08/2012

7.5
Longevity 9
Scent

DeGe53
25 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.

07/13/2017

8
Pricing 8
Bottle 5
Sillage 5
Longevity 7.5
Scent

Oriane
133 Reviews

Oriane

Helpful Review 5

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

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