New Perfume Review: Laboratorio Olfattivo Nerotic (Roberto Drago/Cécile Zarokian) + Film Noir Draw

ellaraines1940s

Ella Raines, 1940s

Nerotic, the newest fragrance from Laboratorio Olfattivo and the first in the Laboratorio in Nero” line, is a reel of dark notes, an olfactory film noir: shadowy, oblique, invoking all of its moniker’s implications: blackness, seduction, strangeness. Composed by Cécile Zarokian under the Creative Direction of Roberto Drago, Nerotic, (named one of Cafleurebon’s Best at Pitti 2016), is a Philip Marlow hero and heroine rolled into one: neurotic and erotic, hard-edged and purring, a high pitch of bright fruit and sharp spice against a blurred backdrop of tar and smoke.

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Joseph Cotton in The Third Man, 1949

Nerotic’s first moments are like those skewed Dutch angles in The Third Man: a nighttime tilt-a-whirl flinging a dense mineral note against a bitter citric slash of bergamot and grapefruit. The effect is a little unsettling. I recognize amber, but it does not smell like the warm resin I am accustomed to. It is hardboiled, a tough guy in a square-shouldered suit – dry, half opaque, like smelling the inside of petrified wood.

billybobthorntoninthefilmthemanwhowasntthere2001

Billy Bob Thornton in the film The Man Who Wasn't There, 2001

As the perfume heats on the skin in the next few minutes, the mineral outlines color in, and Nerotic’s amber taking on some of its familiar warmth while soapy green coriander is just detectable. In another few minutes, the notes separate out a bit more, revealing a secret: the dry mineral effect is created by interplay of citrus, peppery geranium and weathered cedar jumping on and off the amber.

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Joan Bennett in the film Scarlet Street, 1945

A strangely incorporeal second stage, in stark contrast to the hard-boiled opening, takes over. Nerotic’s off-key opening starts to dissipate into the smudgy edges of smoke, like a femme fatale obscured by fog. Nerotic softens, losing its angular profile, and ducks into murky shadows against alley walls, steam rising from obscure city streets. Wet smoke mingles with tarriness that is slightly sweet, like a just-smoked cigarillo stubbed out on rainy pavement.

gloriagrahameandglennfordinthebigheat1953

Gloria Grahame and Glenn Ford in The Big Heat, 1953

The dry down slows down to a different tempo. The blaring trumpet of the opening shifts to the low strings of a double bass. Nerotic becomes darkly erotic, leaving its asphalt and soot for an interior shot, a late night rendezvous. The smoke remains but mingles with dusty saffron and soft, worn leather — a joe’s jazz club or a broad’s hotel room. An undercurrent of unidentifiable sweetness plants a kiss and then is gone.

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The Big Shoot, photo by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair, Mar 2007

Nerotic takes me to place where dames in trouble seek trench-coated men with a past. Where black stilettos clatter on a wet city street as steam rises from manholes. Nerotic is dark, provocative, addictive, edgy, noir.

Lauryn Beer, Editor

Notes: Bergamot, grapefruit, red fruits, geranium, coriander, saffron, woody dry ambery accord, sandal, leather accord, smoky notes. Longevity and sillage are exceptional.

Disclaimer: I received my sample from Laboratorio Olfattivo – many thanks. My opinions are my own.

Editor’s Note:  2014 Patchouliful and  2013 Kashnoir are also signed by Mme. Zarokian. 2016 was a particularly good year for the House with the debuts of Nun and MyLo (Luca Maffei)

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Nerotic, photo Laboratorio Olfativvo

Thanks to the generosity of Laboratorio Olfativvo, we have a 100 ml bottle of Nerotic for a registered reader in the US, Canada or Europe. To be eligible please leave a comment with what appeals to you about Nerotic based on Lauryn’s review, where you live if you have a favorite Laboratorio Olfattivo fragrance or  and if you have a favorite film noir. Draw closes 12/24/2016.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume

 

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43 comments

  • I love the notes, the name and Lauryn”s description. Nerotic sounds realy unusual. Thank you for thi chance to try!

    Kiss Me Deadly is my favorite noir movie. (EU)

  • Very interesting and nice review. I have never had a chance to try any of Laboratorio Olfattivo fragrance. Nerotic sounds very unique and wonderful. I would very like to win. I have not favorite film noir. Thank you for the chance. I live in Europe.

  • I like that Lauryn compares this to film noir. I get a very distinctive vibe which I find very intriguing. I’m not familiar with Laboratorio Olfattivo, but this sounds like a great entre to a company unknown to me. Thanks for the draw. I live in the USA.

  • Noir is my middle name… Farewell, My Lovely, with Robert Mitchum, one of my favourite noir movies… Kashnoir, Alkemi, Cozumel, for me the best Laboratorio Olfactivo perfumes… Nerotic… Neves had it, already missing it…

  • baroness_octothorpe says:

    Sounds intriguing–definitely not the “same old, same old”. Love the pics, too! Thanks for the draw–I’m in the USA.

  • I remember reading the review here for patchouliful and MyLo. Kashmir and daimiris have back up bottles. I loved reading this review because it took on the quality of a real Film noir script. Film noir is The Big Sleep with bogey and Bacall
    USA reader.

  • Kashnoir is my favorite from the line. This one sounds interesting and dark. I like the spy-like inferences. I am in the USA. Thanks for the review.

  • One of the intriguing things about Nerotic is that it is so hard to describe. Even reading the whole review made it difficult for me to determine what to expect. It has asphalt, it is oriental, it is even soapy. It has been made by Cecile Zarokian so that also adds to its appeal. I have not tried anything from Laboratorio Olfattivo yet. Thanks for the generous draw. I am in the US.

  • Great release by Lab Olfattivo, nice bottle and nice name. In that pun is synthesized a world of images, movie and literary references seasoned with a pinch of humor like eroticism à la hitchcock.
    I like the review references to the American cinema of the years 40/50, I find it very appropriate. It is a fantastic period in film production in Hollywood and crime fiction offers magnificent examples, one for all: Sunset Boulevard.
    I really appreciate the work and the professional development of Mme. Zarokian and fragrance with a dark side so Nerotic sound perfect to me.
    I live in EU.
    Thanks so much!

  • The description is captivating and words like dry mineral, genarium, cedar, smoke, leather are music to my ears. Would like to try it for myself!
    Didn’t have the chance to smell anything from the brand. I live in Europe and thanks for the draw!

  • The second stage of the fragrance sounds so intriguing as it evokes shadows, fog, obscure city streets. That is what film noir is to me. My favorite film of this genre is “In a Lonely Place.”
    I have never tried anything from this line, but I looked over the fragrances on the website, and Cozumel sounds very good to me.
    I live in the USA.

  • I love the name and loved looking at the noir photos. I haven’t smelled an LO fragrance yet to have a favorite. As for film noir, if you haven’t seen “Out of the Past”…seek it out. USA

  • I like Olfattivo, they have a great line.
    Interesting name and a great bottle. My favorite film noir is “Double Indemnity”, closely followed by “The big sleep”. I am in Europe. Thank you!

  • Following the description of Nerotic I would expect a masculine fragrance. But since Nerotic is described as dark and erotic, provocative, addictive and edgy, it is my wish to try it and since I love leather notes in fragrances I believe that I would like it a lot. I am in EU. Never tried any of brand scents.

  • This combination of both “neurotic” and “erotic” elevates my mind ! Moreover, I love Cécile Zarokians’s works very often : Tango, Epic Woman and Kashnoir (also by Laboratorio Olfattivo). I would love to win the Nerotic perfume, I’m sure it’s amazing again!
    I am in Europe. Many thanks for the draw!

  • I just love smokey, mysterious scents, so I’d love to try this one. Lauryn perfectly captured the moody quality of film noir with this review. My favourite film noirs are Blade Runner and Miller’s Crossing — more recent than the original wave, but so masterfully done.I live in Canada, thank you so much.

  • Hootlia — I am a huge fan of Blade Runner and Miller’s Crossing, myself (nearly put a BR photo in the mix). Although for pure, classic Noir, it is hard to beat Max Ophuls “The Reckless Moment” with James Mason and that ultimate Noir femme, Joan Bennett.

  • “Nerotic is dark, provocative, addictive, edgy, noir.” Is that so much to ask? Why do so many perfumes with Noir in their name fall short? I’m drawing a blank on a favorite film noir, although The Third Man and Blade Runner are both great choices. I’m in the US, and I have yet to try any Laboratorio Olfattivo fragrances.

  • I liked very much the way Lauryn associates Nerotic perfume to film noir. I find this association rather intriguing. I also loved the notes and the bottle which introduces you to a smell that certainly is alluring, mysterious, sensuous and with a hint of danger like an intriguingly thrilling film noir should be!
    Favorite film noir “Notorious” with Kary Grand and Ingrind Bergmann.
    I’m not familiar with any perfume from Laboratorio Olfattivo House, but Nerotic has definitely caught my “nostrils” attention!
    Thank you for the lovely review and generous draw as well! I am a registered reader living in EU.

  • concertslover says:

    So its a plain jet black bottle and the first picture above the woman looks like a ninja…hooked lol… Darkly erotic…like a spy meets vampire scene, almost dangerous. They need to get a producer and designer a movie with the themes that the fragrance suggests. 50 shades?? Thanks
    In USA

  • Neurotic is dark, provocative, addictive, edgy, noir.” Is that so much to ask? Why do so many perfumes with Noir in their name fall short? Like Coco Noir…not really noir. Woiuld love to try a noir fragrance. Is”Casablanca” noir, love that film. Thanks for the draw.

  • Thanks for the beautiful review! The scent sounds like my kind of perfume,
    I haven’t tried anything from this brand.
    (EU)

  • The promise of “an olfactory film noir: shadowy, oblique, invoking all of its moniker’s implications: blackness, seduction, strangeness” won my heart. I’d love to try this mysterious composition. Thank you for the draw, I live in the EU.

  • I am interested in the “tarriness” of Nerotic. Sounds like something I wouldn’t like at first sniff, but with which I would fall in love a little bit later. Thank you for the review Lauryn. I live in Europe.

  • I have never tried any Laboratorio Olfattivo perfumes before which only increases my curiosity.
    Black is my favorite color and I wear black almost all the time. I am always looking for fragrances that would match my dark cothing style and Nerotic sounds like a really good candidate. I am in Europe, thanks!

  • I like the idea of a “film noir”, I would like to smell one inspired on Marlene Dietrich or Ernst Lubitch….
    I have never tried any Laboratorio Olfattivo….but interested on the concept of this one.
    I am in Europe.

  • What I found most evocative is the description of a dry amber that smells like the inside of petrified wood. I collect petrified wood pieces and don’t like my ambers too warm! My favourite film noir by far is The Third Man and my favourite LO perfume is Daimiris. I live in the EU, many thanks for the generous draw.

  • Salim Khattak says:

    I liked very much the way Lauryn associates Nerotic perfume to film noir. I find this association rather exciting. I also like the notes and the pot which introduces you to a smell that certainly is alluring, strange, and sensuous and with a hint of peril like an intriguingly thrilling film noir be supposed!

  • Sounds like a fragrance I would adore. I love the vivid resume of the review: “Nerotic takes me to place where dames in trouble seek trench-coated men with a past. Where black stilettos clatter on a wet city street as steam rises from manholes”. As for the favorite film noir, I think I would pick Alphaville.

    Thank you for the exciting review. I live in Europe.

  • cinnamon tree says:

    I love Alambar and Kashnoir, which are both very “noir” and androgynous in my perception. This is why I am so fond of them. I hope Nerotic will join them in being one of my favorite dark fragrances.

    While I am not a huge fan of film noir, I love black and white vintage photos you’ve chosen. So beautiful!

    I live in the EU. Thank you for the draw.

  • My favorite Laboratorio Olfattivo scent is Daimiris which belongs to a totally different category of scents. But red fruits and dry ambery wood sound perfect and I believe I would love Nerotic. Thanks for the draw. Greetings from Norway!

  • Sounds so dark and nostalgic… I look forward to try Nerotic because I’m recently drawn to dark scents.
    My favorite fragrances from this house are Patchouliful and Decou Vert.
    Thank you for the draw, I live in the EU.

  • A favorite film noir… I think it would be Double Indemnity. What a joy it would be to discover a fragrance which would make me feel like I am one of the characters!

    (EU)

  • I love how dark and seductive this fragrance sounds. It seems like a definite head turner! Thanks for the draw and I’m in Canada!

  • Hikmat Sher Afridi says:

    Thanks for such a fascinating review. The notes are impressive & appealing. Cecile Zarokian being a nose is sufficient for attraction of the Nerotic perfume by Laboratorio Olfattivo. This dark, mysterious, hypnotic, erotic and addictive looks dynamic & nostalgic. Never tried any of Laboratorio Olfativvo till today,
    Thanks to the generosity of Laboratorio Olfativvo and Cafleurebon for the opportunity to participate by letting me my US based address in the draw,

  • A very poetic description, great work Lauryn!
    I haven’t tried any from this line, Thank you аor the draw and Merry Christmas! (EU)

  • There are evenings when I love watching some old and well-known film noir, sipping tea and just enjoy the atmosphere, but I don’t have a specific fragrance for these evenings. Nerotic sounds like a perfect scent for such ocassions.

    My favorite LO fragrance is Daimiris. Thank you for the draw. I live in Poland, EU.

  • Nerotic sounds interesting: mysterious, dark and romantic perfume for a brave and mysterious woman (which I am not, but sometimes would like to be). Love the choice of pictures illustrating the review!

    Thank you for so dark and inspiring draw. My favorite fragrance from Laboratorio Olfattivo is Rosamunda. EU.

  • What a fabulous review: “a reel of dark notes, an olfactory film noir: shadowy, oblique, invoking all of its moniker’s implications: blackness, seduction, strangeness”… “Nerotic, (named one of Cafleurebon’s Best at Pitti 2016), is a Philip Marlow hero and heroine rolled into one: neurotic and erotic, hard-edged and purring, a high pitch of bright fruit and sharp spice against a blurred backdrop of tar and smoke”. Sounds almost too fascinating to be wearable!

    My favorite scent from this house is Kashnoir. I live in EU. Thank you so much for the draw.

  • I am a fan of film noir, my favorite one is The Reckless Moment. I think this fragrance matches film noir perfectly (and this lovely black bottle…) and I’d love to have it in my collection. I live in Europe, thank you for the draw.

  • What a great review! I felt like I was reading a Raymond Chandler novel! (‘Nerotic softens, losing its angular profile, and ducks into murky shadows against alley walls, steam rising from obscure city streets. Wet smoke mingles with tarriness that is slightly sweet, like a just-smoked cigarillo stubbed out on rainy pavement.’ – I love it, Lauryn!).

    As for the fragrance, descriptions of ‘tarriness’ and ‘asphalt and soot’ have me completely sold. I’d love to try it! The black bottle is also very alluring. I have two Laboratorio Olfattivo scents on my Christmas list this year – Daimiris and Nirmal. Now I may have to add another!

    Thank you so much for the review and draw! I’m in the US.