Fortis Liquides Imaginaires 2011

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7.9 / 10 335 Ratings

A popular perfume by Liquides Imaginaires for women and men, released in 2011. The scent is woody-spicy. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Woody

Spicy

Resinous

Oriental

Smoky

Fragrance Notes

Gaiac wood Cumin

Cumin

Oud

Sandalwood Musk

Musk

Saffron

Cedar

Vanilla

Perfumer

Sonia Constant

Ratings

Scent

7.9335 Ratings

Longevity

8.3272 Ratings

Sillage

7.6274 Ratings

Bottle

8.2265 Ratings

Value for money

7.0114 Ratings

Submitted by Apicius, last update on 08/28/2025.

Interesting Facts

The scent was first released in 2011 as a limited edition without mentioning the ingredients. Since 2013 it is regularly available as part of the trilogy Eaux Delàs.

The fragrance is part of the Les Eaux Delà collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Black Afgano Extrait de Parfum

Cuirs

Black Oud Extrait de Parfum

Capua

Laylati

Black Hashish

Reviews

8 in-depth fragrance descriptions

05/02/2014

7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 10
Scent

ScentFan
334 Reviews

ScentFan

6

Applause!

I turned my husband into a perfumisto by sticking great scents under his nose. He promptly acquired about 15 wonderful perfumes then announced he was done -- until this weekend when I had him smell Fortis. His eyes lit up. He sniffed and sniffed then made me promise to send him a link so he could buy it. I'm going to have to buy it, too.

Fortis is a simply outstanding fragrance.

I've never smelled cypriol (i.e., papyrus, ordering a sample right now), so can't be sure what it's contributing to this magical blend of woods, sultry spices, musks, vetiver and vanilla, the latter two not overdone, but lending their accents. Amyris must be adding the mildly resinous note.

All I know for sure is that this perfume is a swoon-inducer. It's agreeably light, rather than heavy, no doubt due to the lack of incense. The woods are rendered so well they're almost sweet. It doesn't shout like the nevertheless fabulous Norma Kamali Incense, but sits quietly on the skin, projecting enough to be known but not to drive anyone away.

In a world of often copycat so-so perfumes, Fortis is a beautiful, beautiful accomplishment.

p.s. Since posting this I read comparisons of Fortis with Nasomatto's Black Afgano and since I have a sample handy, I compared them. Yes, they're both lovely woods, but IMO Fortis surpasses Black Afgano in beauty by quite a lot, the lack of incense making it accessible to both women and men. Black Afgano projects a bit more after drydown, but that's it.

p.p.s I do have cypriol, a woody, leathery, smoky note from the root of an Indian sedge plant. It contributes beautifully to Fortis's top note.

Update 12/27/14
Fortis arrived a few days ago and doesn't disappoint. I've already worn it twice, just swooning.

09/01/2022

9
Pricing 9
Bottle 8
Sillage 9
Longevity 9
Scent

BobbyGee
230 Reviews

BobbyGee

Helpful Review 5

Liquides Imaginaires / Fortis

Fortis ... yum. The fragrance, which of the 'niche and more expensive' fragrances I have known, long-lasting and may be considered clones of Black Afgano, is the closest to Black Afgano.
For me, the only difference in smell is that it is a little less smoky and a little sweeter (but not sweet, sweet or fruity). Besides - veeeeery similar (95%).
There is another difference than the scent of Black Afgano - the price !!!
Calculated for 1 ml - it is simply cheaper and a bottle of 100 ml, so taking into account the durability of about 12 hours - for me no.1.
I write that No.1, despite the fact that the BA fragrance is unique, beautiful, addictive and it was the first.
I have conducted the tests several times hand in hand and supports the opinion that if I had to buy and splash about these addictive fragrances, beautiful, incredibly deep, and I had to choose only one - I would choose FORTIS.Ciao Alessandro Gualtieri. Mi dispiace.

05/20/2025

ClaireV
958 Reviews

ClaireV

3

That Black Afgano DNA....

I don’t come to the Black Afgano DNA with any particular history or feeling, so can honestly say I understand its broad appeal. You have to place it in the proper context. It was probably a new shape in the air at the time. Instead of offering boys suede or incense or ambergris or sandalwood or spice, it bundles all of those things up in one vaguely dark-ish, sweet, smooth mass and calls it a day. These days, that kind of DNA has been done to death, so perfumes like Fortis and Black Afgano have lost the element of surprise.

To me, Fortis smells gummy and formless, with a generic herbal-smoke note for a bit of roughage. This reflects the rise of cypriol as a wondrous material that, while derived from an Indian plant, manages to smell like one of those strangely plush, pleasant-smelling chemicals that spill out of the vents at a carpet factory, so deeply unnatural but also good (fuel, petrol, glue, putty). The greyish suede-sandal accord is pumped with so much saffron, cumin, pepper, and other spices that at times, it even approaches the general territory of Black Cashmere by Donna Karan, which I always think of a block of ebony wood that is perfectly glossy and ergonomically smooth, quietly emanating silky ribbons of spice. I think Red Aoud by Montale is also a distant cousin.

There is something almost obnoxiously buttery underpinning the mass, which makes me feel a tiny bit nauseous, which is the point at which the perfume starts to unravel into its constituent parts, which are of course powered by aromachemicals I tend to find either too ‘scratchy’ or too fake-creamy – Ambroxan, Amberwood, suederol, Cashmeran, Javanol, etc. To its credit, though some of the scent’s chemical under-structure is eventually exposed, it still holds together in (mostly) one vaguely sweet, incensey, ambery, sueded-sandalwoody mass. This is a highly processed food product rather than the raw food my gut prefers, so even though technically-speaking, it is a decent example of a distinct style or time period in perfumery, I don’t ever want to wear it again.

01/20/2019

10
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 9
Scent

Meggi
212 Reviews

Translated Show original

Meggi

Top Review 35

Let's show how quiet it is!

Singing in the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory is an unforgettable experience for a young chorister. But also our performance in the smaller Rachmaninow-Saal remained in my bright memory: Various choirs, mainly local, presented a short programme of four or five pieces. And we're in the middle. Those who know Russian choirs will have hardly overheard that there is value placed on force. Interpretational subtleties or our local ideal of a "mixing" of voices to a common one are pushed into the background.

The beginning was made by a group of monks and offered drone and impressive euphony. My dear Mr. Singing Club - after that we would not have wanted to perform. The second, however, was an ensemble that put an excessive strain on the idea of force. Solo tenor and bass had the qualities of a class I circular saw and typhon respectively, and the rest of the troop held to the best of their ability with.

There's no point in yelling at them as teenagers. So (not for the first time on our trip to Russia...) our choir leader issued the motto: "Let's show how quiet it is!"

Fortis now shows us how quiet - and nuanced - Black Afgano goes.

As a prelude, so to speak, after a brief Black-Afgano antidote at the beginning, the fragrance is initially rather spicy. Nice cumin, warm and border sweaty. After half an hour I smell more of the "black" again, specifically the sweet, thick and lacquered, but not so aggressive here. The dark, thickened wood note that reigns today is much more discreet and dignified than with the Nasomatto. I could imagine that (artificial?) sandalwood plays a role in this impression and ask for correction if necessary.

In the course of time this and that float in hints. At noon, for instance, a slightly hot note, like paprika powder. Just a little pinch that brings in a new nuance and prevents boredom. The wood shows - in impeccable "piano", of course - carefully a medical-ougth side.

In the afternoon, a few gentle, animalistic aspects finally come into play. Ambra is plausible, there is an idea of single-mindedness that refers to Patchouli, perhaps even to Castoreum. But it's all just swabs. In the evening we could also speak of AmbER, with sandalwood and vanilla shining undoubtedly. Musk, I can guess. But our striking wood - and with it the closeness to Black Afgano - are consistently present in a leitmotif manner.

Conclusion: Although I don't know what to do with a lot of the pyramid information about Fortis, he seems to me, despite his superficial resemblance to the Nasomatto, richer in aromas and nuances and thus ultimately more relaxed and confident. In addition, the endurance of the "black" may at some point be perceived as an energizing penetrance. Fortis, on the other hand, gradually fades after seven or eight hours, and that was enough. A candidate for the wish list.

12/09/2019

9
Bottle 8
Sillage 8
Longevity 9
Scent

Yharnam79
65 Reviews

Translated Show original

Yharnam79

Top Review 28

EARTH(nd)

Actually, I don't know why I haven't written this commentary for so long. Since I entered the niche fragrance world and smelled Fortis for the first time a few years ago in the Hamburg Hofparfumerie, this fragrance shaman is one of the most interesting and also the best fragrance experiences I have made so far.
I will refrain from referring to the existing resemblance to Black Afgano. This is present - at least in the top note. The same - or better: it is also similar in its beginnings, stercus and Babylon - in the top note or in the first perception. That alone would be enough to at least arouse my interest.
Fortis, however, is undoubtedly deeper, more serious and more demanding. And incredibly nuanced. And Fortis comes up with pretty much everything that can be described as "strong" or seems to be strong. The supertopic "earth" can be found in every facet.
Just like "earth" the words: earthy, balsamic-smoky, dark, mysterious, sacral, morbid and (in a conspicuous contrast) alive come to my mind. Alive, because besides all the darkness and crushing power of the earth aromas, it is precisely this power that subliminally and almost meditatively passes over to the senses of the wearer.

The top note is dominated by cumin and oudiger sweet. Saffron and incense then add something like chocolate marzipan. No sweet marzipan. Rather even bitter.
The fragrance wafts through all kinds of earthy nuances - from brown dirty and wet earth, trees and mouldy, musty forest soil to resins, wood and smouldering fire. Smoke and always on the dark side. Oud plays a role from the very beginning and constantly adds sweetness, so that the fragrance shines again and again in its darkness. Also Patchouli, pretty tough Patchouli arrives with me.
Also the musk I perceive for my part after a few hours very well. The Animalik or rather noble dirtiness fits here like ass on bucket.

Despite its really enormous fragrance strength, Fortis is not a loud fragrance. He is the veiled monk whose power penetrates from inside to outside. The shaman who smokes various woods, herbs and aromas on the ritual fire, the body smeared with earth and symbolized. It is the only standing and smouldering tree that has just been struck by lightning. The incense that wafts through the chapel in the most secluded monastery is rife with choral prayer chants tearing up the silence. It is the smell of nature, man and animal. Of religious and shamanic rituals.
Fortis is not just a scent that you just test or perceive. It demands attention and a moment of pause to comprehend it.

A good 4 to 5 years should have been my first test now, and I still stand by the fact that Fortis is not only extremely special but also one of the most interesting, complicated and undoubtedly best scents I have ever smelt and possessed

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