Club de Nuit Intense for Men
Armaf (2015)

The thing about Aventus clones and acolytes is that it's really quite difficult to nail what makes the original Aventus so memorable and masculine. Club de Nuit Intense is a (much) cheaper and more synthetic product, but there are some obvious positives as well: it smells more fresh and as such it's a much more versatile fragrance. It's noncommittal approach towards the citrus in the top notes means that it's not hamstrung as a daytime or summer scent; you can wear this just about any time you like. Its sportier nature, common to most Armaf fragrances, means that it's reserved enough to wear in professional settings while being playful enough to impress during a night on the town.

Club de Nuit Intense doesn't smell bad, of course, it's copying a great smelling fragrance. It turns bitter wood quick, the bitterness is what last the longest. I get no leather. Smells just like ambroxan and "a synthetic molecule reminiscent of patchouli with a hint of pepper and fine agarwood". There's a lot of smart cost-control measures in this fragrance that keep it fairly inexpensive while maintaining a very high level of quality. Truly a fragrance for those who love the medium. Some might be quick to brush Club de Nuit Intense off as yet another "I Can't Believe It's Not Aventus!" situation, but I think this one's worth your time if you don't have the cash to throw at a bottle of the real stuff. Don’t let anyone crap over your choice just because they feel it’s “too popular!” I can’t stand pick me folk like that!! You like what you like for goodness sake and if it’s a popular scent that’s actually even better because it’s even easier to get hold of!!

(This review is for the EDP, which is the most recommended of the line according to my research. )

This fragrance is the endgame for me. Now that I have this bottle in my collection, and it's $45 for 200mL with beastmode projection and longevity and mass-appealing and perfect and... you get the idea. If it's super hot outside I spray on Eau Givree, if it's cold I spray on Most Wanted Parfum or maybe Code Absolu if I must leave the house, and when the weather is nice I spray on CDNIM EDP. Seriously, since I got this bottle and a backup I don't touch any of the other bottles in my collection, like at all. After just a month I've made a serious dent in this bottle more than anything I've owned for years. Every other bottle I own sits under the sink and this bottle on the counter for daily wear. Two on each side of my neck and one spray on each inside of the elbow gets me performance from when I leave for work to when I get back home. "But what about l'aventure or SNOI??" I don't care. "But what about the ugly bottle?" Don't care.

There's nothing new to say about this fragrance. Go to Dillard's. Ask for an associate to give you two close, good sprays of Aventus on the back of your clean hand. See if you like it. See if your lady likes it. This is the same thing. Do not obsess over batches. This stuff is ridiculously long lasting, strongly projecting, and amazing smelling.

Would I take it over my beloved Sauvage EDT? I think the citrusy black pepper still beats the smokey pineapple bergamot, but the sillage of CDNIM is undoubtedly better. Whereas sauvage tends to give people headaches and have a sort of bland musky citrus sillage, CDNIM is more smokey and fruity. BUT... 200mL of this is 1/4 the price, so I'll say CDNIM EDP wins on value proposition also. God I can NOT GET ENOUGH OF THIS. I wish I could return everything else in my collection except the bottles I named in this review (I also would keep YSL l'homme and LNDL if I ever get a woman to stay with me, but that will never happen so they shall remain unsprayed I guess) and buy more of this to hide in safe locations. I might need to buy another bottle after updating this review. I'm also curious about the Parfum versions, but for now I'm overjoyed with this.

EDT Review: I bought a bottle of the EDT on sale on Amazon since the 100ml bottle can go on planes. I have to say it's not bad but very disappointing compared to the EDP. The EDT feels like they stripped out a lot of the complexity of the EDP and you're left with a cheaper green-pineapple smokiness, like from the pineapple leaves if that makes sense. For only $16 I'm not mad and it's definitely the best value travel fragrance I have and slaps the likes of Jimmy Choo Blue, but the EDP is easily a 9.75/10 while the EDT is a 6.5/10. And the price per mL is about the same for both!

Apart from the harsh opening, it smells a lot like aventus, even a bit smokier than the current aventus. longevity also great. Id wear this over aventus, only downside is the synthetic opening.

8/10

I’m not really sure what I feel about Armaf CDNIM, except that it’s affordable and smells amazingly good. It’s not in the “must haves” part of my collection, or the bottle I would grab if the house were on fire, but I still really like the hefty black bottle with the rhinestones (that weighs nearly as much as I do), and see myself wearing it to a club on a hot sultry night in Muscat with a lot of too loud music—or just to an informal occasion anywhere where I don’t necessarily want to be noticed but might want to stand out. Now, I love a homemade pesto with hand-grated Parmesan, but I’ll also admit on occasion to craving Pop-Tarts, Cheetos, and Jim Beam vs. some single malt Scotch. CDNIM is a guilty pleasure and for $30 I try not to over-analyze it. The birch in the mid and basenotes can come on suddenly stronger in the drydown (particularly in the heat), so beware of over-applying, lest those around you be overcome with your sillage. But with a light hand, this is awesome. I’d love to see an ingredients list. But then again…

After reading and watching many reviews, I decided to blindly buy this fragrance. I had no idea what it would smell like, but for the price I figured that if I really didn’t want to wear it I’d just give it away. I am absolutely SHOCKED by how awesome this smells!! I did not find the lemon opening to be as cloying or artificial as some have described. It’s definitely heavy citrus on first application, but quickly morphs into a much deeper currant with really lovely patchouli/smoky undertones. This is definitely a masculine scent, no doubt about it, which is awesome if you are like me and don’t want to smell like every other guy out there wearing heavy water inspired creations. If you’ve been on the fence, buy it! A 6.8oz monster bottle is about $50 on Amazon, and two squirts is plenty.

A 2022 batch of CDNIM smells nearly identical to my 2016-2017 batch of Aventus, especially in the drydown. The opening is slightly different in quality, but the mid and base are very close. As others have pointed out, this is a clone of the smokier batches. It strays away from the fruity/lively pineapple-y batches, which I prefer, but this is unbeatable at its price.

If you want a variation of Aventus, go with Cedrat Boise, but if you want a shockingly similar scent, go with CDNIM. Performance on me is good, and I have no complaints.

This is closer to Aventus than Sillage is to Silver Mountain Water or Milestone is to Millesime Imperial, and those clones are already close to their original.