Cabaret Nocturne is one of the inaugural fragrances launched by Swedish indie line V/SITEUR in 2020. It was inspired by a night spent at Pensão Amor, the lively nightclub in the red-light district of Lisbon that used to be a brothel.

It opens with a nose-tingling note of gin. Boozy, botanical and fresh, it opens the nose for what comes next. Pink pepper is piquant and heats things up. A note of fresh, juicy orange keeps things lively. The booze, the heat and the freshness bring out a note of tuberose. Perfumer Cécile Zarokian knows her way around a white floral, and the tuberose here is stunning! It’s opulent, heady, fleshy and tinged with green, but when Zarokian envelopes it in notes of sweet tobacco, it swells and sways for ages. But what I like most about it is how it evolves over time. As the opening notes fade and the evening wears on, the tuberose shifts gears. The drinks are diluted, the dancers are sweaty, and the tuberose sweetens a little and transitions into something decadent, animalic, and sultry. A note of cumin suggests the smell of sweaty skin as powdery notes appear. It smells like make-up that’s melted by body heat that’s mingled with the tuberose. A whiff of smoke joins the mix and gives the tuberose yet another dimension that beckons you to lean in. When sandalwood appears, it’s creamy, sensual and soft enough to let the tuberose shine. The drydown is seductive, without being dirty or crude, so that Cabaret Nocturne is elegant and refined.

 Notes: gin accord, pink pepper, orange, tuberose, tobacco, animalic notes powdery notes, cumin, smoke and sandalwood. and animalistic notes.