Datura Noir Serge Lutens for women

No perfume smells like this one. On my skin this is luxurious sun lotion with tuberose. I get a camphor note, then tuberose, coconut and almonds, camphor again, sweet heliotrope, almonds, vanilla... I tend to like slightly sweet perfumes but to love this one, you need to like gourmand scents. All in all unique and elegant like most Lutens creations

Sherapop I am a lover of both Mahora AND Datura Noir. I do find SL easier to wear. I feel the tuberose in Mahora and Fracas is a very true tuberose, whilst the SL is more coverd by the coconut which on me settles down quickly to almond base. Fracas pinches the olfacory bulbs and challenges whilst Mahora is more a gentle creamy slap in the face. I find that SL frags give off small wafts of fragrance that are slightly diffrent every time (I thinkit depends on my temp) and the other two are more linear on my skin. I always wear my frags over my heart,not on my wrist.

Tuberose is tricky. In Serge Lutens DATURA NOIR, it is very, very thick, in large part, I believe, due to the marked coconut note. Coconut is also tricky, and tends to overwhelm in more than minuscule doses. To my nose, this combination of tuberose and coconut is simply too heavy-handed. I love the tuberose in FRACAS and CARNAL FLOWER, but combined with the coconut cream in this composition, it seems dense and impenetrable, like a blob of, well, yes, I hate to admit it: suntan lotion!

My objection to this scent is not grounded in a general abhorrence of tropical tuberose compositions. Believe it or not, I number among the tiny faction of true believers in and fervent devotees of Guerlain MAHORA. Why do I regard MAHORA as a masterpiece (Guerlain's final chef-d'oeuvre, may that once illustrious house rest in peace...) and DATURA NOIR as something of a flop? Perhaps it is the sheer weight of the later which drags it down, preventing any significant development on my skin. MAHORA, in contrast, unfurls in delightful layers over the course of its trajectory from opening to drydown. I truly love MAHORA (which many people detest), and yet I would never wear DATURA NOIR, even if I had a bottle lying around.

I have seen no comparisons by anyone of DATURA NOIR to MAHORA but would be very interested to know what those who adore DATURA NOIR think of the Guerlain perfume (launched in 2000, one year before SL DN...). My suspicion is that anyone who loves DATURA NOIR would also love MAHORA, though I obviously serve as a refutation of the converse claim! (-: And it seems pretty clear to me that anyone who hates MAHORA is unlikely to think highly of DATURA NOIR.

The moral of this story: no one who lacks infinite liquid assets should buy niche perfume scent unsniffed!

thatbrownelf gives a perfect description of Datura Noir. It is a weird but wonderful fragrance that reminds me of Indian saris for some reason, with their kaleidoscope of vivid color and pattern, sparkling with metallic embroidery. DN is a peacock of a fragrance compared to some of my more conservative fumes, and I wear it when I'm in an extroverted mood. I look at it as the wild child of the Lutens line.

It might just be the suggestive power of the name, but DN does have a narcotic quality about it to me. It is as voluptuous as a vintage perfume, yet young and modern. Great sillage and longevity.

A previous reviewer called Datura Noir a tropical oriental, and I firmly believe that description's spot-on. Juicy coconut and heady tuberose combine in a thick, luscious harmony that never veers into the suntan lotion smell that coconut tends to create. Almond and tonka prop up the fragrance, adding just enough sweetness to add a bit of lightness without it Datura Noir going gourmand. Despite all these heavy notes Datura Noir never goes headache-inducing, which I suspect is coming from the lemon flower in just the right proportions giving a bit of freshness to an otherwise heady perfume.

Datura Noir would be the perfect spring/summer oriental for those who normally love heavy hitters but don't want to bowl people over with their perfume when the weather is hot and humid.

Reading previous reviews, I was very excited about this perfume as I love a nice gourmand, especially with the notes that have been described here.
Unfortunately, all I got was tuberose. And I despise tuberose. Perhaps there were a couple other notes peaking out here and there, but they were all overwhelmed by the tuberose.
I actually had to scrub it off my wrist with Dawn soap.

Powerful personality of a perfume.

Sì, è originale e ben fatto, come quasi tutti i Lutens. Ma a me continua a dare di bianco, di saponoso, si gourmand. Non comprendo il noir dove sia...forse un mio errore...comunque ottimo sillage; ma, non è il mio tipo!!

I love this scent. It is my favorite of the SL, and if I have to pick, my signature scent. It smells sweet and spicy and original.

I cannot describe my first impression when I got to know Serge Lutens fragrances. I was completely hypnotized! It was like I would be suddenly transported to another world. I decided I would not leave the store without buying at least one. I would preferably buy some or all at once, but the prices brought me back to reality and I had to choose one to start with… now I know many of SL perfumes, and Datura Noir is still one of my favorites. It starts absolutely beautiful, with sweet flowers, and then comes the coconut and almond, it remains sweet all the time, and after couple of hours it becomes a very nice enchanting white flower. The staying power is very good, and even after washing my hair in the next morning I still could identify one gentle, beautiful flower caressing my neck. Simply fantastic!

initially i just got coconut, but as others have said before me, a 'tanning lotion' kind of coconut. pleasant but not outstanding. now i am just left with almond (after only 30 mins) and a 'in my lipstick almond oil' kind of almond. ultimately it just smells like a almond/cocoa body butter on me and as 'nice' as that is, it's not nice enough.

Absolutely gorgeous, frivolous tropical composition which conjures up images of rubbing coconut sun oil on hot skin under the shade of a beautiful flowering plant (Datura!). I really like this one and would buy it tomorrow if I could afford it!!

It's quite "almondish" , but not too much, which is a good thing . It smells VERY like Yves Rocher's "Monoï" , it's still too expensive even it smells very good .

Datura Noir~the princess of the tropical gourmand. She starts w/a lot of white flower authority and then begins to become quite undisciplined in her actions.

When you meet her you are dazzled by the osmanthus and tuberose that come out to greet you. Stunning. Heady. Intoxicating. After getting to know each other a bit you start to notice that she has a touch of vanille running down her chin. And then......wait a minute.....is that almond on her lip? Indeed it is. She also has a thimble full of myrrhe in her hair. Everytime she moves something unexpected releases into the air.

No she's not the queen~she doesn't have the tenacity. After you've discovered all of her secrets she gets a little tired and takes off for a nap.

What you're left w/is the soft combination of gourmand myrrhe w/a hint of white flowers in the background. Exotic white flowers teasing as they peak out from behind the veil of vanille amande.

Datura Noir is an intimate knock out and one that I always set aside for summer.She needs to eminate off of bare skin rather than a thick sweater.She's much too sexy to be kept under wraps.

At first a well-behaved, romantic white floral, then turned into Tide detergent, or drug store body wash on my skin.

My favourite Serge Lutens scent, and the only one that seems to suit me! On me, the initial sweet note comes from the vanilla, then there's the enduring osmanthus, datura and rose notes which really shine, hitting the right balance of sultriness and elegance. Sillage is good but not overpowering, and the overall effect and is a lovely complex scent that can't quite be defined.

I love orental vanilla, gourmand fragrances and everything what has vanilla inside.
But i didn't find any vanilla in Datura Noir. And i think it's unnecessary in this beautiful floral composition.
The uniqueness of this perfume is purfectly balanced tuberose, heliotrope and osmanthus.
My first impresion was : oh, it's only flowers, but later i felt woody notes with strange sweetness. Thanks Fragrantica for a help, cos now i know that was myyrh. Very interesting and good choice, cos it gives warm and intimate scient.
I am pleasantly surprised very very good sillage and longevity ( 6-8 h.) of Datura Noir.
One more beautiful work by Serge Lutens. Garden of dreams on your skin. It's enough fwe drops and you will hear compliments how deliciuos you smell all day.

IMO this is a BIG FLORAL. I don't get any of the gourmand notes, just pure tuberose, osmanthus and heliotrope. I only used a little of my sample and it just about knocked my socks off with its strength, plus it lasted all night on me. If you love these floral notes this is the Serge Lutens for you. I'm not a lover of big florals, unfortunately. This does not have any of SL's usual complexity really, it's just very loud and sweet.

And I finally have it, again. This is truly wonderful: lush yellow flowers,blooming on a great hot summer night, intoxicating the air around them.
Sillage and lasting power are huge of course:) and I love it.

I really want to adore this because I'm enchanted with the datura flower lore. This is kind of all over the place though. It is a sweet candy-like almond with lots of apricot and dark vanilla with too sweet coconut emerging from time to time. This doesn't dry down the way fragrances typically do and that aspect combined with the super sweet notes make it seem overpriced at $120. From time to time it turns really pretty and soft and intoxicating, especially when the tuberose emerges and meets with the vanilla. Unfortunately, the awesomeness isn't consistent. I'm quite confused with this scent and seem to have a love/dislike affair with it.

back then i thought iiew! and got rid of my sample.. now that i took some more sniffs and got used to it
i love and i have to say that i like it even more then hypnotic poison! i like unusual vanilla's and hp seems to be a little mainstream to me..
*sigh* i guess lavanilla wasn't really my vanilla holy grail ;p still love it though but datura is one that i just (again) got to have

I have two words for this: Hypnotic Poison.

If I didn’t have Hypnotic Poison by Dior, I would have been en extase. Obviously I am one of those that like HP.

Basically, if you love the tuberose- coconut- almond- vanilla combination in HP , you are going to be in love with Datura Noir. It has the same notes but more mature and rounded. If HP is stronger and heady, this one is more relaxed.

Surprisingly the myrrh is not a bad choice (instead of sandalwood In HP). It helps the tonka bean note to be more glorious and less ordinary (especially of you are bored of the common vanilla tone).

The dry down is softer coconut- tonka –almond with a musk touch and stays close to the skin. More of a linear evolution thou, precisely same notes from the beginning to the end. I still can feel the tuberose lingering… contrasting to HP that has a more pronounce vanillic dry down.

Original or not, still deliciously beautiful.

8.5/10

I can see the same coconut -vanilla reminiscence in Crystal Noir … but a different quality.

Penetratingly sweet white flower scent at first spray, like a power blast of tuberose and ylang ylang. Mercifully, this becomes softer and more subdued as it develops. At drydown, Datura Noir actually morphs into a fairly gentle fragrance.

I definitely pick up on the coconut and almond, which nicely balance the florals. Still, with the white flowers plus the candy-like almond aroma,this almost crosses the border into cloying for me. I'm a fan of white florals, but this is a bit to sweet for my taste.

I could see this being magical for some, though.

I'm so sad...I was nearly obsessed with this one, I cannot wait to try it! it happened this morning: well, on my skin there was only tuberose,loud and old fashioned. coconut? almond? heliotrope? where are they?? sweet tuberose on me, like the original poison but less cloying and sweet.

well to me it smelled like hot toffee :(
quite gourmant...too bad MY chemestry cant lift up the other notes!

Imaginary datura(?), tuberose glory.
It was the tuberose that actually took over the composition on my wrist.
Impressive, femminine, expensive. Not sure if it is its high price that makes it so "hard-to-get"-desirable. Not so sure. But then again who am I to judge Lutens...
If I had such an amount of euros to spend on perfume I would probably get it. What can I say. Desirable.

On me smells clearly almond and myrrh. Sometimes i get something like lavender, but i suppose it depends on the day. I must say that i expected more from a Serges Lutens perfume. It didn't suit me. Sometimes is nauseating. I think it's elements don't combine well with each other. I felt like i chose the wrong Lutens perfume for me. Staying power is good, you should use it with caution. 10/10/09

Yes, it's realy eatable scent. Coconut biscuit with sweet almond filling. Realy nice, gourmand scent. But for me it's to much eatable for wearing.

Datura noir is a truly gourmand fragrance which opens with a sweet edible smell of coconuts and almonds. Later I can smell the note of jasmine even though it is not in the pyramid of notes. And then the surprise! After like 10 minutes it smells exactly like Versace crystal noir on my skin. Very strange.

The staying power is very good.

Datura plants are amazing things, they always remind me of twisted lilies, flowers half melted in some arcane experiments, and I love their back story in myth and legend...so I had to try Datura Noir.

The top notes confused me completely, the notes seemed very disparate from each other for the first ten seconds or so, I couldn't pull out a theme at all.

It settled very quickly, and on my skin became a thin and rather elegant jasmine, with a barely detectable tuberose/lemon flower undertone. Hard to pin down. A strange thing about this perfume, on my skin it closes in the heat, subdued on my wrist. Then outside in the cold air, a gust of air would suddenly blow my way and I would catch a breath of flowers on the wind, subtle but memorable. Lovely, but for now I am not besotted. I will try again in the spring.

Wonderful daturaplants are one of my favourites in a garden, huge highly fragrant trumpet shaped flowers that will pour their strong aroma at nights. So this one was must to test. And Datura noir do smell little like real daturas, but not exactly. There's definetly some coconut and tuberose precense.

This is truly exotic scent. This one gives me instantly deja-vu of some tropical paradise at night, big leaves glossing after furious rain, crickets and frogs having their loud play and strong, heady mixed flower scent pouring over in velvety night. The moment you want to capture forever in your mind and cherish when everyday life seems little too busy.

Serge Lutens is one of my absolute favorites. I have Ambre Sultan, Louve, and Datura Noir. Love all of them. So unique. I'd buy them all if it wasn't that they are so expensive. Guess their worth the price, especially if you don't want to smell like everyone else. Datura Noir is a lovely gourmand, though in a grown up way. No candy floss here. You just can't stop smelling yourself.