House of James: Berlin NYE

Berlin NYE is a perfume by House of James and is inspired by a New Year’s Eve that perfumer Justin spent in Berlin.  It is a sweet fragrance with a twist:

• the first second or two is a sweet fruity vanilla opening
• which soon morphs into a sweet shampoo and hairspray (reminds me of the  90’s!)
• there is an “electric vanilla” note in it which definitely gives the sweetness an ‘edge’

Its actually pretty hard to describe that sweetness, but it’s almost like a candy sweetness, but thats overlaid with something darker and maybe a little hint of “dirty”. Despite the candied sweetness, which morphs a little into more of a boozy note with those darker elements, this is not an innocent fragrance. There is definitely an adult theme running through this. Kind of like the drugs, sex and rock’n’roll theme.

The sweetness is meant to be boozy – a sweet liquor.- and I get that, but I also get that vanilla hairspray mingled with perfume and leather and skin kind of vibe as well, so its super interesting.

When I first smelled this I said it smelled like a woman wearing a pink ballerina dress, black leather jacket and black ankle boots. Maybe some torn stockings, deliberately mussy hair and bold smudgey makeup.  If I go one step further, she is walking down a cobblestoned street that is wet from recent rain, late at night. Perhaps she is on her way home after a night clubbing because this fragrance definitely has that party/clubby vibe.

It is very grungy-cool, and at first I wasn’t sure if I liked it but the more I smelled it on my skin, the more I wanted to smell it. I ended up buying a 10ml atomiser. Although I am not a clubber or party girl so I have no idea when I might wear it. I have a feeling it might be inclined to wear it in the winter when my black leather jacket makes another appearance.

I feel like I would wear this maybe in similar circumstances to Guerlain’s Black Perfecto from the La Petite Robe Noire. Although BP definitely has a more restrained grown up edge to it, whereas Berline NYE seems to straddle the border between rebellious teenager and young adult on the cusp of making their own way in the world.

I feel this is definitely more of a cold evening scent, and I can see it being more popular amongst women than men. Either way, whoever wears it will, as far as I’m aware, smell quite unique!

Sweet innocence, parried with a darker booziness equates to a surprisingly sexy and addictive scent.

Top Notes: Pink Peppercorn & Electric Vanilla
Middle Notes: Fig & Vanilla Sandalwood
Base Notes: Amber, Balsam with Civet (Synthetic)

You can also see my review of this fragrance on my YouTube channel: