Ninon

[edenssixthday]

Smoky honey musk, tobacco leaf, lavender, golden amber, Damask rose, hay, orris root, white sandalwood, and bourbon vanilla.

Ninon - My first thought is that this is a really perfumey scent. It's very strong on the honey musk, tobacco leaf, amber, and orris root. I don't smell the lavender at all (thankfully!). The rose is very subtle and the sandalwood gives it a bit of dryness that's nicely balanced by the sweetness of the vanilla. It's an expensive, heady, glamorous scent. It's got a hint of plastic about it, which is probably the way the honey musk is working with my skin chemistry, or maybe the type of vanilla. It's very, very pretty but not really my cup of tea. It's very strong and a little bit goes a very long way.

[gniwle]

This is gorgeous. In the bottle I get a lot of masculine lavender (the almost salty, herbal kind of smell lavender has when you sniff the plant) and then the hay and amber. This is freaking beautiful! If I was the type who got multiple bottles instead of a ton of different ones, this would be one to hoard.

 

Someone mentioned that it smells like Chergui, and yeah. This is spot on in the bottle. I was trying to figure it out too, and then I was like OH WOW when I read Beatrice33's review.

[skyelyric]

Very strong, but very lovely...I have a hard time picking out notes here. On me though, this is Inez's older, more flamboyant cousin.

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is a lush wave of flowery vanilla and musk, like the fanciest soap ever (I mean that as a compliment). After a moment, the sandalwood sneaks in, not dissipating the fancy soapness of the scent, but grounding it and lending it even more complexity. That said, I was hoping for a little more honey musk, or perhaps for one of the florals to stand out. This ends up being flowery sandalwood on me--pretty, but not quite what I'd wanted.

[Wwindy]

Smoky sweet lavender with lots of interesting depth. I'd say it's in the middle of the spectrum between Dolce Stil Nuovo (purer, gentler, more ethereal) and Love & Pain (stronger, sharper tobacco and lavender). As others have noted, this is definitely lush and perfume-y -- it reminds me of some of the big 80s-era perfumes I used to like, especially Bijan with the honey-vanilla-musk aspect. I think I would have liked a little more amber and musk and a little less lavender, though.

 

ETA: Now that this has had a little time to settle... ZOMG*thud*HolyCow!!! The musky smokiness has come forward and the lavender has calmed down a bit, and the whole blend has clearly somehow melded itself into its full potential of rich sexy gorgeousness, with subtle hints of sensual wickedness in the background. (I still can't pinpoint any rose, and am not sorry about that either). This is incredible -- I can't stop sniffing myself. Whoo! Moral of the story, if you don't love Ninon right off the bat, give her some time to work her wiles on you...

Edited May 20, 2011 by Wwindy

[Schmoozy]

Absolutely stunning. Sweet vanilla and lavender combines with honey, dry sandalwood and orris root with hints of powdry amber. Surprisingly the rose is nowhere to be found, which kind of saddens me. I was hoping to catch whiffs of it. I can't describe how much I adore this, and will definitely be ordering more bottles. I love how soft, and close it sticks to my skin.

[theseagrows]

damn, i really thought this was going to work on me! as far as i know, these notes generally do well on me, the only one that i was unsure of was the hay, but i don't think i can even smell the hay in this. on my skin, this is a metallic-sandalwood-musk. i don't get much sweetness from the vanilla or honey at all. i don't get any rose at all. this is very dry and not at all what i expected. on my skin chemistry

[sihaya09]

I got absolutely no lavender. I got alllll amber, smoky honey, and something that smells like copal? DELISH.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Yup, there's that smokey musk and tobacco leaf. Yum.

 

Wet: Smokey honey musk and lavender.

 

The dry-down: The smokey honey musk is still present, and also the tobacco leaf. Alas, the orris root has come on strongly. There's also hints of hay, rose, and vanilla, but that dratted orris is just ruining this, and the amber is going all to powder, too. I wanted to adore this because of the smokey honey musk, a note that I love.

[Blood onmy hands]

Ninon is a definite wow fragrance on me. It changes a lot over the hours, morphing beautifully, and is strong and long lasting (I put it on last night and can still smell hints of it over 12 hours later). It's just beautiful all the way through <3. It reminds me of three of my favorite perfumes - bpal's TKO at first (but better), Dior Addict in its middle stages, and Reminiscence Paris's Essence after about 3 hours.

 

I'm not a big fan of tobacco, bpal's amber usually turns to baby powder on my skin, hay is unpleasantly dry, masculine and dusty, honey is often cloying, rose is overpowering, and on and on. I didn't think that this fragrance would work on me at all. But it is amazing. The lavender is like a fantastic, cool, lavender cologne, but the honey and vanilla give it an awesome punch of sweetness that's intense, but not cloying. It's like a slightly more cool, rich, cologney TKO with more of a sexy sweetness instead of a foodie, innocent sweetness. Then, as it dries down, the intense vanilla sweetness and cool, dark, night time feel of the lavender smells so much like Dior's Addict on me that I got confused and thought I was wearing Addict a couple times. Sweet, gorgeous vanilla. Over time, more of the warm, slightly spicy amber comes out, smelling resinous and exotic.

 

The vanilla in this really sings on my skin in a gorgeous way. A smooth, night time vanilla with exotic, resinous touches and a polished lavender cologne startup.

 

I wasn't expecting to like Ninon, but this might be my favorite Courtesan. I really adore Kitty and Lola as well, though, and like Virginia and Celeste. Lovely ladies <3.

[Cheri]

I just got Ninon today and had to try a drop right away. When I smelled it I thought of Oisin, although they don't have any notes in common that I'm aware of. I love the lavender in this. It's light, fresh, sexy, and really pretty. It smells sofisticated. It sort of reminds me of Yvaine's lavender. I'm happy I got some before it's gone.

[Victory]

I love honey and honey musk, and liked the rest of the notes well enough, so Ninon was kind of a no-brainer for me. And this is a really nice blend, but it's nothing like what I expected. In the bottle, there was a spicy note, almost like cinnamon, although clearly not. Maybe it was the smoke. There was also a really, really familiar note that I finally recognized- the hay! I absolutely love Hay Moon, so I was really happy to smell the hay note again. On my skin, the hay is predominant with the lavender slowing asserting itself. After the perfume's dried, it's like the hay and the lavender are one note. I smell my wrist once and smell the hay, then again and smell the lavender, then again and smell both. The lavender is a very herbal sort; it makes me think of the lavender in Saint-Germain. Yes, there is a lavender cologne feel. I don't smell any honey musk (very disappointed) or any of the other notes, although the amber may very well be supporting the lavender and hay. I'm very much hoping that as Ninon ages, the other notes show up more. It's good now, but if the honey and the other notes came to the party, it could be great.

[AliBabble]

I love Ninon - an instant love. It reminds me in tone of Black Lace, maybe because of the tobacco and vanilla...not quite as deep and rich, but with the same cologne-y feel...also On Darkness, because of the rich lavendar, which is also deep and potent....but lighter than that one too...also I agree w/ the Dolce stil Nuovo comparison, though it's maybe stronger than that one...all of those are favorites of mine, so I'm glad to have another one from the same camp...this one is super addicting to me...it's got that rich, deep perfuminess which is sultry, and smoky and reminds me of slinking around at night in a long elegant dress, though I would totally wear this during the day too...super feminine and classy/classic. The hay note comes out more as it dries, and just feels very natural and earthy. love it!

[stellans]

Sigh. Once again, amber has ruined a potentially wonderful scent for me, though aided and abetted quite handily by the tobacco leaf. Icky plastic-y powder. That's what Ninon smells like on my skin.

[ami226]

On the skin: A sweet honey musky ambery scent with florals. This is fantastic! A golden floral. Hmmmmmm, the floral is a bit headachy though. Very very lovely still.

 

The headachiness fades a little as time goes on. Still a lovely scent that I really like, but I don't think I would wear it often at all. I think this decant will be staying with me though!

[porcelina]

aside from the damask rose, there are no "iffy" notes here- i have high hopes for ninon!

 

the first thing i notice is the hay and amber, reminding me of hay moon (which i happen to have 3 bottles of...)- the overall scent is dry and golden. as it dries, the rose comes out and sweetens everything, but does not overpower or turn this into a floral perfume, and the honey musk makes a gorgeous base for the earthier notes.

 

the final dry-down is quite sweet. to me, this is a more feminine, perfumey version of hay moon.

[crebbsgirl]

Smoky sweet lavender on my skin. I was worried about the rose, but it never appears on my skin. I really like this!

[Geminirubyshoes]

This has IMMENSE staying power! Probably my favorite out of the Courtesans'...I thought Celeste was for a while but my skin just eats that right up.

 

On me when this is wet it is almost all lavender and tobacco with just a touch of musk..it''s a little bit traditional cologne-y if you will. But the drydown brings out the smoky honey musk and amber....mmmmmmm. I get no rose out of this, which I am glad because I prefer it just the way it is. Love, love, love!

[mermaidsdream]

Holy Sugary-Flowery-Baby Powder Batman!

 

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I picked up this decent, because WOW (aha - I think it was that the musk, tobacco, amber, sandalwood, and vanilla would work out okay on me, because they're notes that usually DO work out well on me). All I get is sugary baby powder. I will NOT be keeping this one.

Edited May 5, 2013 by mermaidsdream

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Soft haziness from the honey musk with a backing of lavender

 

Wet on me - Sweet soft lavender just a hint of tobacco flower

 

Dry on me - Washing powder and clean linen

 

Overall - Something in this blend doesn't appear to work with my skin chemistry

[Monster]

When I first apply Ninon, she's nearly all lavender to my nose. As it dries, the lavender slowly and gently fades allowing the other notes to develop. The first note to appear is the honey musk and hay. This is sweet, herbal and dry all at the same time. The amber and orris give this a dusty quality. The longer it's on my skin, the more the lavender disappears, which is good since lavender and I have a history of not always getting along.

 

Ninon dries into an herbal-kissed honey musk on my skin and is absolutely lovely. After reading the reviews, I decided I needed to track down a bottle…and I'm really glad I did! It's unlike any BPAL I have in my collection and despite lavender being a major player, it works incredibly well with the other notes and never doesn't overpower.

 

Love!

[bulletslc]

Ninon is lovely. She, appropriately, smells like expensive French perfume to me. The seamlessness of the blend reminds me of OLLA Eve;each note blending with the others. Initially on my skin she is lavender and hay, not something I find too extraordinary, but about fifteen minutes after application the warm notes suddenly blossom. Ninon dries down to a sensual glowing scent. Another reviewer stated that Ninon is a close to the skin perfume, and I agree. .I keep huffing my wrists like crazy! Big winner for me.

 

Edit*This has become one of my very favorites. I wear Ninon when I want to feel powerful yet sexy. Complex but accessible. So much love!

 

Edit**Ninon has been my favorite perfume for about two years now.

Edited August 15, 2016 by Bulletslc

[t_for_tau]

The label on this is trashed, but I can *just* make out the decanter's writing; took me a while to work out what it said! It's one of the 2011s which are my nemesis, but I'll try it anyway...

 

In the vial: aquatic aftershave. Huh.

 

Wet: incense & women's perfume! Concentrating more I can smell a wet kind of rose, the smokiness of the honey musk, faint violet from the orris, and something herbaceous which I can't work out - oh, it's the lavender! It just smells like fresh-cut sappy lavender rather than dry. Right now this is a very classy, sophisticated lady's perfume based around musk, amber, lavender, rose & a touch of incense. Sadly I was hoping for honey-tobacco-sandalwood-vanilla, so... :/ It"s a heavy, heady kind of scent with a hint of night garden freshness.

 

 

Dry: well, this a classy scent with a great balance of rich, dry & wet notes, but it's just not for me. It's just a bit too on the "classic ladies' perfume" spectrum. It's complex and interesting and layered (is that a hint of anise coming out now? - lots of little moments like that as the different notes sift through - but not on me.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Sweet and perfumey, in a way I very much like. The hay and smoky honey come through really nicely. The lavender gives it a nice herbal, classic quality, but I think the tobacco keeps it from going into "sleepy scent" territory. This is so so pretty! The hay is almost peppery, which I am quite enjoying. I feel like this is a late summer scent. The hay and lavender combo make me want to (foolishly) run through fields in the sunshine. You know the song Fields of Gold? This scent feels like that song. Romantic, wistful, classic. I am loving it.

 

 

Dry: Bah! So sad! This went off on me. I tried it in two different spots, and both times the hay note turned this way too dry and grassy eventually. No honey, no amber. Ahh, I am just now seeing the orris. That explains it. Orris almost always does horrible, powdery things to my skin. Baaad. Too bad, this had a ton of promise! I am sure it's gorgeous on those who don't have orris issues.

[Jenjin]

This was included in a package that just arrived. I have tried it before and did a hard pass, but thought I would post a quick review. I LOVE this just after application. WOW! It's so lovely and wonderful. After a few minutes something happens to it on me. It seriously TURNS into something just a little mildewy. It could be the Orris or the honey musk, not sure but what was glorious golden vanilla has gone bathroom pee-pee sour.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Jenjin