Mona di Orio - Nuit Noire (old and new version)

Picture: Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket
Oil on canvas 1875
by James Abbott MacNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Wikimedia commons

Nuit Noire is, just as Lux, reviewd recently, one of the earliest fragrances created by Mona di Orio and has been withdrown from the market for some years. Now it has re-appered in the Signature collection. According to information from the house of Mona di Orio, no changes in the composition either of Lux nor Nuit Noire is done in the reissued fragrances.

Nuit Noire reveals its true self right from the start: Already the introducing accords are dirty, animalic, obscure floral oriental with a wiff from the stable, a mysterious and dangerous magic potion. I detect, or at least imagine I detect, citrus in the new version, which probably faded a bit in my original bottle where the opening is less sparkling, a subdued, dark orangeblossom/tubereuse, spices which are quiet, with a texture and color as darkbrown silkvelvet. There are also notes of ambery leather, a furry animalic, civet styled note combined with a bit sweet and slight animalic almost fuggy musky note, not the vegetal musk or clean musky note which are more common in contemporary perfumes. Expect from the short wiff of citrus in the very beginning there is not much that differs when comparing the old and new version. I precieve the basenotes of the new one as a tad lighter, this is just a nuance and maybe it depends on how much was applied on each wrist from the beginnig and how much is washed off during the day etc.

Picture: Nuit Noire (new bottle)
Photo: PR Parfums Mona di Orio (c)

Nuit Noire is a fragrance in the same vein as Caron Nuit de Noël and  Jean Desprez Bal à Versailles but softer, more polished and not as old fashioned even if retro styled. I can imagine a mature and elegant woman wearing this a very dark night in late autumn. It's intriguing with all facets that appears during the relatively linear dry down. Nuit Noire has close sillage and good longevity, traces are left after 24h. A fragrance for evening/night in autumn /winter or for daytime cold days, adding some everyday drama. A classic in the typical elegant, well made and timeless style of Mona di Orio.

Rating: 5

Notes: Orange blossom, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, tuberose, sandalwood, cedar, clove. amber, musk, tonka, leather