Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Scent on Canvas Noir de Mars: fragrance review

Noir de Mars, named after the iron oxide (PBk11) used in painting, is aptly referenced given the collection of new niche brand Scent on Canvas, hailing from Barcelona, Spain, is inspired by the chromatic nuances of pigments. Much like the pigment, which is a neutral, refined and dense black, blacker than carbon black, the fragrance of Noir de Mars is a thick and complex composition conceived by perfumer Jordi Fernadez, who utilizes note de jour i.e. oud/aoudh in a context that can please lovers of more traditional approaches: namely, it fuses the bitterish and musty nuance of the oud note into the ruggedly handsome bookends of oakmoss and leather. The result? A wonderfully nuanced, deep, individual fragrance that thankfully doesn't recall that cardinal sin of oud scents, "the Band-Aid note".

Pierre Soulages 1963 Huile sur toile, centre Pompidou via


The scent of Noir de Mars leans more masculine than the rest of the Scent on Canvas collection as its name, mythologically laced, would suggest (and is indeed pegged as that by the company), yet offering a transitory unisex for women who do not like traditionally feminine compositions but like to challenge perceived perceptions. Needless to add Noir de Mars is something that most men would feel manly to wear. Its Laotian oud exotic impressions, leather notes and oakmoss bitterness reads as somber, quiet, a person of few words but plenty of charisma. The spicy woody halo speaks on its own. Noir de Mars is modern in the sense that oud scents are very “now”, but at the same time it avoids some of the pitfalls of following a trend too closely, thanks to a cluster of oriental references (cypriol, myrrh, Haitian amyris etc). This one needs more time to open up so the experience of the parfum should be given a leisurely amount of time to unfold its magic.

Notes for Noir de Mars by Scent on Canvas:
Top: Laotian oud, gaiacwood, sandalwood, cyperus sclariosus
Heart: gurjum balsam (dipterocarpus), leather, myrrh
Base: Haitian amyris, amber


Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Scent on Canvas Brun Sicilien


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10 comments:

  1. nofixedstars16:13

    sounds intriguing to me. i often wear "men's" perfumes, alone or layered. i'd like to see a full listing of the notes in this one...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown06:17

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  3. Perfumeshrine09:35

    NFS,

    adding a list of official notes pronto! (the ones I mention are the dominant ones, these make up the character of the fragrance).

    ReplyDelete
  4. Perfumeshrine09:35

    Advertising spam is not allowed and will be deleted mercilessly. if you want to advertise, do so openly and pay for it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. KKinDK14:53

    I think I actually like a lot of scents marketed as masculine more than the ones marketed as feminine. I really want to try this and just realized it comes with the sample set that I just ordered so that I could smell Brun Sicilien. So excited, this sounds great!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Perfumeshrine12:45

    KK,

    I think you will be pleased.
    NdM is tougher in its way, BS is a very fetching floral leather, I think the whole line is interesting: Ochre Dore and Rose Opera are sure to have their fans too (In fact I do like them as well, prefer OD over the two)

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  7. Unknown15:34

    Well I've been wearing this all day and it does need time to open up. It's a manly fragrance for sure in a camping in the woods with a bonfire way. very nice

    ReplyDelete
  8. mals8614:06

    This one was very ashy on me, with a heavy burnt note.

    But I was surprised to like Brun Sicilien as much as I do - you're right, it's quite floral.

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  9. Perfumeshrine15:45

    Thanks Melvin!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Perfumeshrine15:45

    M,

    it's a campfire note indeed you're catching.
    Glad you liked the BS, it's very nice isn't it?

    ReplyDelete

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