I'm taking a little holiday break from daily blogging, so I thought I might run some old fragrance reviews that readers of this blog may have missed.
Notes: tangerine, honey, apricot, orange flower, chile pepper, cinnamon, patchouli, solar notes, vanilla, musk, cistus, patchouli"Noel au Balcon" or "Christmas at the Balcony" is a festive holiday tradition, as street performances, musicians, magicians, Santa, and a Christmas parade invade the town of Deauville, France in the last week of December. But of course, perfumers Etat Libre d'Orange can't seem to let go of their puerile side. Their idea of a balcony is a woman's bosom and decolletage, so the name is just yet another cutesy play on words.
Despite that, the fragrance is a lovely spicy scent, rich and warm, and very Christmassy. I believe it's marketed as a man's fragrance but it's very unisex. Noel au Balcon opens with a very soft honeyed citrus mingled with orange blossom and lots of cinnamon. It reminds me of the cinnamon- and vanilla-scented Mexican drink, horchata, but with musk and floral tones. I find it to be quite a wonderful fragrance.
This scent was originally a French Sephora exclusive, and they would not ship to the US, but now LuckyScent carries it. Yay for LuckyScent!
