40 Days and 40 Nights Of Fragrance Notes:Tuberose

The tuberose, with her silvery light,
That in the gardens of Malay
Is call'd the Mistress of the Night,
So like a bride, scented and bright;
She comes out when the sun's away.
- Thomas Moore,
Lalla Rookh--Light of the Harem

The best description of the tuberose note is from Luca Turin in Perfumes The Guide. It is located in his review for By Kilian's Beyond Love. Page 92 for the fragonerds.

"Not only is the smell of tuberose flowers wonderful, it isn't even, properly speaking, floral in the clean, vegetal sense of floral fragrances. Tuberoses smell of butter, rubber, leather, blood, and heaven knows what else".

Tuberose is strong, sweet, exotic, illicit, tenacious and heady. It is a slightly rubbery, loud, creamy white floral that has a Dr Pepper vibe. It is simply glorious.
The tuberose is a night blooming plant. Tuberose has a mistress of the night kind of reputation.
My favorite tuberose fragrance is Frederic Malle's Carnal Flower.
I have gushed about this fume on this blog before.

"This summer I fell very hard for Frederic Malle's Carnal Flower. This Malle has the highest amount of natural tuberose absolute in any fragrance. I am a girl that shys away from Fracas and any other tuberose based fragrances. They are too loud for me. Carnal Flower manages to be a loud whisper. No baseball bat impact for me! It has wonderful sillage and the dry down is gorgeous. Like a lush jungle. It was beyond perfect for this summer".

A legendary tuberose perfume is Fracas by Robert Piguet. This is a buttery tuberose with a soapy dry down. It was worn by Marilyn Monroe.
Michael by Michael Kors is the holy grail scent of my boss. It smells like power. The tuberose is strong in this juice. The sillage wafts through the office. It can breed fear.
By Kilian's Beyond Love is a greenish tuberose with a dollop of coconut. Slightly tropical with a camphorous (band aid) opening. Pilar & Lucy's Tiptoeing Through Chambers Of The Moon is a candied tuberose. Almost sugary. Serge Luten's Tuberose Criminelle starts out with an opening of gasoline and ends with just buttery heaven.
But those first few minutes are rough.
It will make you shudder and give up.
Be patient.
True heartbreakingly loveliness soldiers on through that opening!

Tuberose Fragrances

The Best: Frederic Malle's Carnal Flower
The Legends: Fracas, Creed's Tubereuse Indiana, Serge Lutens Tuberose Criminelle
Others:
L'Artisan Nuit de Tubereuse
Michael by Michael Kors
Diptyque Do San
By Kilian Beyond Love
Marc Jacobs
Pilar & Lucy Tiptoeing Through Chambers Of The Moon
Etat Libre Vierges et Toreros
Parfums Del Rae Amoureuse
Annick Goutal Tubereuse
Keiko Mecheri Tuberose
Toykomilk French Kiss
Miller Harris Noix de Tubereuse
Comme des Garcons Daphne

Dish in the comments on your favorite Tuberose fragrances.

Reviewer: Annie
Credit: Annie
Graphic Credit: Melanie Parker
Disclosure: All products mentioned have been purchases or sample vials scored at stores or through Makeupalley.
By Kilian's Beyond Love sample vial was provided by Bergdorf Goodman.
Luca Turin quote from Perfumes The Guide. This book is by Tania " Tbone" Sanchez and Mr T. I love this dynamic duo.