While I love the English language, German has some great words, the title of this post is one of them. Angstgegner means most feared opponent and jasmine is surely my most feared opponent when it comes to perfume.
But facing one’s enemies is a very freeing experience, and since I made my peace with jasmine, my life is that much more fragrant.
Nuda was created by Alessandro Gualtieri and includes jasmine. (That is all that is apparent at least, since Nasomatto makes a point of not revealing a notes list.)
“Nuda is the latest creation in Alessandro Gualtieri’s project Nasomatto. The fragrance invites you to undergo the unexpected tranquility of giving up oneself without concern for boundary, and to sense the hazy intuition of a depth that undoes distance. It’s a result of a quest to find a vanishing point in nature, the translucence of our senses, nude desire.”
– from the Nasomatto website
Nuda is described as a very indolic jasmine, but my experience is that on me it turns sweet and rich, but not in the least overripe, animalic or fecal, it is positively delicious.
The jasmine in Nuda is not the fresh morning, dew-kissed variety, but the night-flowering, heavy and sweet one, designed to reel in bees and on a woman it is designed to reel in admirers. Nuda is seductive, but not in an overt, vulgar kind of way. I find Nuda to be elegant and restrained, especially in the light of many reviewers saying it is a jasmine bomb.
After a more vocal start, sillage shrinks back and the perfume wears close to the skin and stays for at least eight hours on me.
Nuda is a perfume where the color of the juice itself for once, is exactly the color I smell synesthetically.
Nuda is nothing to be afraid of, my former Angstgegner has turned into a friend whose warm embrace brings out my soft, womanly side.
Nuda even inspires me to reign in the shrieking harpy in me (often brought out lately by the men in my life) and instead take a deep breath, relax and tell myself that all is well, all is well, all manner of things are well.
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I agree with you – I recently sniffed this and expected something really over the top. But it was a gentle, lovely, feminine jasmine. I can take the crazy jasmine bombs. But to me, this is not one.
It is quite lovely though. I think I read somewhere that they are discontinuing it?? 😦
I’m glad we agree on Nuda’s comparative delicacy.
I heard that it would be discontinued because of the impossibility to keep the jasmine quality stable. Time to stock up, I’d say…
Oh my, Jasmin was my angstgegner for a looong time – and then, suddenly, we clicked. I don’t know why, I didn’t force it (o.k., I have to admit, it was an overly lovely jasmin in Roja Dove’s Danger). I only tried Nuda once, but it wasn’t that big indolic jasmin-monster/sex-machine on me either. And BTW, I like those strange little bottles from Nasomatto…
Roja Dove can bring anyone into the jasmine camp, his Grassois jasmine is amazing!
I tried this a looong time ago when I first fell down the rabbit hole, I really liked it back then but refused to pay such a high price for some perfume (how things have changed, that would be considered cheap now compared to some recent purchases) I tried it again a few months back and guess what, I thought it was only ok on me but would rather use my money to buy other perfumes over this one.
Still, it might be worth buying a bottle in case it is discontinued as I will most probably need it once that has happened. 🙂
The covet factor shoots up immensely once something is discontinued. 😉
Oh I am delighted you like this one! This is the jasmine that made me reconsider my stance on jasmine as a whole. While I am still not a fan of the soft dewy version, the warm golden evening version has drawn me in – and this version I find completely beguiling. It does open with a powerful (and a little scary) indolic blast on me, but it softens gently over the first 10 minutes and then it is sweet and golden. I am off on holiday next week and this is to be my evening scent…
Warm and golden it is indeed! You’ll smell fantastic on your vacation! 🙂
Jasmine has never quite been an angstgegner (what a great word!) for me but I can’t take it too sweet. Nuda is no where near the cloying A La Nuit so I’m surprised it has a reputation as a jasmine bomb.
Hard to think of any other jasmine until I try Grand Bal though!
Grand Bal is finally in London! Since I still haven’t smelled it, I can’t wait!
So many say that Nuda is so massively indolic, hefty, whopping etc., I just don’t see it…
Grand Bal is awesome (just weighing in with my two cents here) 😀
I fear the worst, I can’t afford another huge Dior bottle!
I know that feeling. I have three on my list! Stupid, beautiful Dior.
It sounds nice. My local niche perfumery carries Nosomatto line and I love those bottles but they’re really expensive for 30ml of liquid pleasure
They are extrait concentration, which makes the price understandable. A little gies a long way with Nasomatto.
Oh I believe that. Maybe I’ll go for one of them to try.
My old angstgegner was tuberose, until I discovered Calice Becker’s work, and AG’s Songes. Oh, yeah, and Vamp a’ NY, which I think is gone now, but was a lot of fun. Now I can handle a little tuberose from time to time. The great thing about jasmine is that it is a powerful antidepressant; in recent tests, wearing jasmine perfume was just as effective as taking an SSRI for mild depression. I’d much rather wear jasmine when feeling a little blue than take a pill.
Maybe that is why I unconciously crave it? My body knows what is good for it at that time of the year. 😉
Speaking of tuberose and Calice Becker? Do you like Beyond Love? My husband (uncharacteristically) adores it, and so do I.
Ah, Beyond Love is a great love of mine! That was really my gateway tuberose.
It’s really gorgeous, I think I’ll wear it tonight.
Birgit, your review is absolutely spot-on. I’ve never been a jasmine fan either, but Nuda could make a jasmine lover out of anyone. So sad to hear they are discontinuing it, and I wish now that I had a bottle, but I’m done spending for the year, so this one will just be one I dream about from time to time. 🙂
I’ll be sure to send you a little bit.
Some dreams should come true, at least in small quantities. 😉
Oh, that’s very kind and generous of you, but you hold onto it. I know how small those bottles are – and the nice thing about Perfume Land is that even the discontinued gems can still be found at the decanting sites. I’m actually glad to hear that Nasomatto prefers to retire this little beauty rather than reformulate it since, as you know, reformulations often feel like a betrayal of the original.
I agree, it is better to retire than reformulate in most cases.
And btw, I really fell in love with something you sent me a while ago, that I let languish in my drawer for too long: Montale Intense Tiaré, such a happy little thing! Thank you again!
You’re welcome! It boggles the mind to think that this little darling came from Montale. Wonder who was working there that day? 😀
Haha, very true! It’s the only Montale I’ve liked so far. 🙂
Nasomatto to me is a tale of two jasmines – both gorgeous. The first, which lasts for the about a quarter of an hour on me, is overtly indolic, heady, and even animalic – just like Joy parfum. And then it softens down to exactly what you describe: a lovely soft skin-scenty jasmine, with golden evening tones that stay close to the body.
How sad that it’s to be discontinued! I may have to go the whole hog and buy a FB; where Joy was just a bit too much for me, Nuda, for all its uni-note simplicity, is a pleasure to wear.
Nuda’s simplicity is a lovely thing indeed. Joy is too complicated for me (most of the time).
Nasomatto Nuda is gorgeous and my favorite out of the whole line. I am saddened and distressed to hear that it is going to be discontinued!
You’re right: it just shot to the top of my covet list now!
I only tried Narcotic Venus (tuberose), the others just seem too much of a good thing for me, even from looking at them. 😉
Nuda is lovely, I hope you find a bottle.
Me too! It’s always hard when good things don’t last forever.
I have an OK relashionship with jasmine: I like it but it’s definitely not one of my most favorite dominant notes in perfumery. At some point I’ll approach Nasomatto (I think I saw it at Barney’s) but so this brand is completely new to me.
Approach Nuda fast, since it is being discontinued, it is worth a sniff as an example of a warm and golden jasmine. There are not so many of these out there.
Can’t wait to smell it!
Love the bottle design for it… Do you keep your perfume bottles because they look so good? :o)
If I ever used up a bottle, I’d be sure to keep it! 😉
This blog post inspired me to get in on Andrea’s Une Voix Noire split. I struggle with white florals, but I don’t want to struggle. I want to make peace with them and perhaps even love one or two of them. And another thing: I haven’t been succesful in any way, shape or form in a recent aspect of life pertaining to a certain male (arrrgghh etc. etc.), so what to do: Turn to fragrance and conquer new territory right there as well as wear all the good stuff day after day after day. So there! 🙂
So there. 🙂
I’m glad this post inspired you to try something new (I’m in on Andrea’s split too).
I hope your foray in to the world of white florals will be sucessful and the same goes for any encounters with a certain male.
Hugs.
The certain male is so not in the picture anymore – onwards towards new failures – I need variety! 😀 I expect quite a bit more from my white florals adventure 😉 I used to hate rose notes in fragrances and patchouli was never my strong suit, but I’ve changed my mind on those, so why not white floras as well.
Onwards and upwards then!
Your rose exploration was indeed successful, I’m sure the new frontiers of white floral (and appreciative male) will be just the same! 🙂
Nuda is a beaut. I agree that it’s totally not an indole bomb, it’s hot, sweet and tropical. Beautiful.
It’s gorgeous indeed! Did you hear it is being discontinued? 😦
NO?! Aw man, now I have to decide whether I can live without it or not! *pouts*
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