I should start by stating that as much as I like Tuberose as a note (in a way), I find it very difficult to wear a lot of tuberose-heavy perfumes, especially those that emphasise its heady, fleshy, tropical, vamp-like qualities. I know its meant to be the age of genderlessness in perfume, but even today, for a man wearing something like that in public, particularly in an office environment, could be disastrous, to say the least.
I came to Nuit De Tuberose quite late, only first trying it a good six months after it was released, and since then I have tried it occasionally. However since L'Artisan was stocked locally in my town, I've worn it more often and am rapidly learning to appreciate this cerebral take on tuberose. I interprete Nuit De Tuberose as a hologram, or even negative, of tuberose. I suppose what I mean is that when I smell Nuit De Tuberose, my senses tell me that tuberose as a note is there, but in some way it is represented inversely. It's almost as if tuberose has been deconstructed, some parts stripped away (its more obviously fleshy and tropical/coconut/creamy attributes) and then put back together again to reveal something altogether more mysterious and lean, yet still tuberose. So taking the imagery of a negative, I can still see the picture of the subject matter, provided I concentrate and squint and 'hold it up to the light', but it is other-worldly.
The notes for Nuit De Tuberose include pink berries, cardamom, clove, pepper, tuberose, orange blossom, ylang ylang, rose, mango, angelica, sandalwood, pallisander, musk, benzoin and styrax. This is where I am coming from with my negative analogy - the notes tell me that this is a tropical, tuberose perfume, packed full of florals, yet when one sprays and wears this on skin it comes across spicy (not surprising, considering all the spice notes listed) and dries down to quite a resinous, almost incense-like note (again, perhaps not that surprising considering the resins listed). But its the way the floral notes are represented that to my mind make this perfume genius. They combine in a way that I personally have never encountered before, making tuberose seem almost masculine, quite a feat.
I wouldn't say that Nuit De Tuberose is an easy perfume to wear and get to know. I think its rewards reveal themselves slowly, with numerous wearings, but I've come to love this perfume. While I wouldn't say Nuit De Tuberose is masculine, it is the most masculine-friendly tuberose perfume I know of.
Image credit - http://spacenk.scene7.com/
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