Collection Extraordinaire - Cologne Noire Van Cleef & Arpels 2009

Collection Extraordinaire - Cologne Noire by Van Cleef & Arpels

Bottle Design Carré Basset

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6.2 / 10 70 Ratings

A perfume by Van Cleef & Arpels for women and men, released in 2009. The scent is woody-fresh. It was last marketed by Inter Parfums.
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Main accords

Woody

Fresh

Spicy

Citrus

Smoky

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Bitter orange

Mandarin orange

Neroli

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Ginger

Black pepper

Base Notes

Cardamom

Woods

Perfumer

Mark Buxton

Ratings

Scent

6.270 Ratings

Longevity

5.054 Ratings

Sillage

4.650 Ratings

Bottle

7.557 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 31.05.2023.

Reviews

3 in-depth fragrance descriptions

05/04/2018

MasterLi
375 Reviews

MasterLi

Helpful Review 2

Spicy, Fresh & Peppery...

I like this one. I have smelt this kind of smell before though. The use of ginger and black pepper together is not new, and has been done before. I think it is a nice mix, although in my experience the house of Comme des Garçons does black pepper the best. I can't say the longevity is the greatest, although it lasts a few hours initially, but dries down fast. It seems like a fragrance that is light in some aspects, so I think it's limited in where it can be worn and when. I think this would be great in Spring in particular and during the change of the seasons. I get the cardamom and bergamot and orange, these all add a freshness when combined with the pepper and ginger. For me, I don't find this too different from what exists out there and I think that because of that I would only recommend it if you love it after trying it first. Still this house (and the Collection Extraordinaire line) are very good but it's just worth trying out on skin first.

12/09/2012

7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 5
Scent

Sherapop
1239 Reviews

Sherapop

3

Woody Incense--but is it niche?

I have sniffed my way through my vial of Van Cleef & Arpels COLOGNE NOIRE, and I must say that my opinion of this fragrance has not deviated in the least from my initial whiff: this smells to me like a mainstream designer woody incense cologne. I am confused as to why this would be marketed in niche-esque or niche-oid packaging except for the obvious purpose of commanding a niche price.

I usually avoid commenting on such mundanities, but I am struck in this case by the similarity of COLOGNE NOIRE to several recent middling men's offerings. It's not overly masculine and could certainly be worn by women, if they wanted a simple woody incense scent. But that is the question. There is no complexity or development or depth to this fragrance: it's just incense and woodiness and the usual solvent suspects.

I would compare the quality of this composition to something in the D&G Anthology series. Needless to say, I will not be acquiring a bottle.

01/17/2012

SystemeD
58 Reviews

SystemeD

2

Cool Spices

Cologne Noire opens with bergamot, ginger, cardamom, and pepper.

The pepper lingers into the heart, where it blends with neroli, and then orange.

The drydown is less peppery and more woody, with a waft of incense.

While there are similarities to Penhaligon's Malabah and Penhaligon's Elixir in the spices here (no cinnamon here, though), the distinguishing thing about Cologne Noire is its quality of coolness rather than warmth -- a very interesting thing to find in a spicy aromatic.

Try this for an experience of refreshingly "cool" spices. It is of very high quality, and long-lasting for a traditional cologne.