Club de Nuit Intense for Women
Armaf (2013)

Club de Nuit Intense by Armaf (2013) is often considered to be a clone of Noir de Noir by Tom Ford (2007), and maybe that was the intent, considering the rest of the Club de Nuit range; but I feel it is also significantly different enough in execution to not be redundant alongside. The primary facets of Noir de Noir feature a deep, chocolatey patchouli smoothed over with vanilla and saffron, a touch of synthetic agarwood material (since Western brands at any price point seldom want to spend on real oud), and a Turkish rose floating over top. As essentially a gourmand rose/patchouli/oud fragrance appropriately "Westernized" for the delicate sensibilities of the haute bourgeois, Noir de Noir became a surefire success, and one of Tom Ford's best-selling Private Blend fragrances, giving the brand little reason to bring it down into their lower-cost main lines. The alternative, which ironically comes right from the Middle East, is a bit more plasticene, synthetic, and devoid of what little darkness the "real deal" has; but also bear in mind that actual Middle Eastern shoppers buying Western brands buy them because they're markedly different, so it only makes sense for this gulf clone to push the slider even further west, for a sort of occidental take on the usual oriental exoticism Western buyers enjoy with French-origin adaptations.

All of this amounts to little more than a hill of beans if the reason you're buying this is for a cheaper alternative to the massively-overpriced Tom Ford scent, in which case you may be a tad disappointed at the perceived lack of accuracy in the duplication. However, I rather enjoy what's here, as everything seems smoother, less powdery, and more prominent in the dosing of rose than with the US-based Tom Ford scent. The opening is a bit different, with the rose leading the way and not the saffron, and that rose stays around much, much longer into the finish than the Tom Ford fragrance this seeks to supplant. Furthermore, a twist of violet and caraway make this a bit drier in the heart phase, the vanilla is less cloying here than in the Tom Ford because of it too, and a slight metallic sparkle of geranium (used of course, to cut the real rose oil for cost in that old-school way, rather than just using a synthetic rose molecule). Nutmeg and a bit of black pepper replace the ruggedness of oakmoss found in the Tom Ford, while amber is the wildcard note here, moving Club de Nuit Intense slightly further towards proper Middle Eastern perfumery despite its attempts to out-Western an originally Western fragrance. Performance is slap-bang strong, but I expect no less from this house. Something like this is also best worn in cold.

Best of all, this will likely set you back a whole zero less for a bottle, as Tom Ford Private Blend fragrances go into the hundreds, and sometimes only for 50ml. Meanwhile, Armaf only wants between $30-$60 depending on seller, and you get an eau de parfum at twice the quantity of 100ml, for a tenth of the price on average. Thus, with very little qualitative difference between Club de Nuit Intense and Noir de Noir, it seems almost ludicrous not to buy this one instead, so long as you can enjoy the clear stylistic deviations found in the profile of the scent itself, Of course, people who already own Noir de Noir can also explore this scent as a more-rosy and slightly smoother flanker of sorts, since the differences allow for that; but if you absolutely must have an exact one-for-one clone of Noir de Noir, this is not it. Unlike Club de Nuit Intense Man by Armaf (2015), which does its damndest to be a high street perfume equivalent of early smoke-filled Creed Aventus (2010), Club de Nuit Intense (now called Club de Nuit Intense Woman to differentiate) is a much more-liberal take on this specific rose and oud DNA. Like the Tom Ford, I also find this fairly unisex for lovers of the genre; so regardless of what tackle you're working with below the belt, this is a safe one to explore for lovers of the genre. Thumbs up

Rose de Nuit...

I do like this fragrance. It has a great rose-patchouli combination. I do get the "dark" and "gothic" aspects, and the saffron, nutmeg and agarwood that add the the mystery here.

This is the first fragrance I've tried from Armaf and I can see the quality is decent. I find the projection and power is good too. It lasts for a long time, which is great. The drydown is long and settles to a faintly sweet amber and patchouli combination. I like it and I think it's versatile and could be worn in the cooler seasons and even on warmer nights too.

I had no reference point before trying this fragrance, so I don't have anything to compare it to. However I do know that the rose & patchouli combination is a well known trend in perfumery (almost as popular as rose and oud is these days!) so I have seen this before in other fragrances, and I still think this is great. Great for nights and dressed up occasions, great on a man or woman, and good on performance, projection and longevity. A good and well smelling fragrance for the price. Give it a try if you like dark rose fragrances.

I feel the same way about this one as I do Noir de Noir for the opening in that it is roses, powder and feminine. The difference with Club de Nuit Intense is that drydown doesn't evolve as much, stays very linear. Because of that, it also stays in the mature lady smell for me, which I cannot pull off.

Projection and longevity are great, lasts all day and night.

This comes off as a powdery scent, to me. It is a lovely, feminine perfume. The rose does not smell artificial. It blends perfectly with the saffron, amber, pepper, geranium, and violet. I detect no oud; only patchouli.

Romantic, sensual, and mysterious. Long-lasting on the skin and on clothing.

The bottle and cap are somewhat clunky.

Smells just like Noir de Noir by Tom Ford. The only difference is the drydown. I don't get that smooth chocolate and vanilla drydown. A damn good clone though.