Agar de Noir Areej Le Doré 2020

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8.4 / 10 119 Ratings

A popular limited perfume by Areej Le Doré for women and men, released in 2020. The scent is spicy-woody. Projection and longevity are above-average. The production was apparently discontinued.
Limited

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Main accords

Spicy

Woody

Oriental

Resinous

Floral

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Arnica

Cardamom

Calamus Calumba

Gaiac wood

Hawthorn

Heart Notes

Laotian oud

Indian oud Violet

Violet

Coffee

Ambergris

Saffron

Base Notes

Benzoin

Labdanum

Tonka bean

Peru balsam

Videos

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Ratings

Scent

8.4119 Ratings

Longevity

8.9109 Ratings

Sillage

8.1110 Ratings

Bottle

9.2106 Ratings

Value for money

7.460 Ratings

Submitted by NikEy, last update on 07/21/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance was part of the collection 6th Collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Oud Luwak Extrait de Parfum

Russian Oud Extrait de Parfum

Café Ambre Noir

Khanjar

Russian Oud II

Leder 6

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions

06/11/2025

8
Pricing 10
Bottle 8
Sillage 8
Longevity 9.5
Scent

Majid114
112 Reviews

Majid114

1

Oud / Coffee / Chocolate

Agar De Noir is a perfume that develops in its aesthetics around an accord of 'Chocolate Agarwood and Smoky Coffee that instantly refers to the previous compositions of the House, I refer to, Russian Oud and Oud Luwak, and also to a lesser extent to Oud Zhen. Even my fear was that it would be redundancy for me to bring it to the collection, but despite some similarities this did not happen.
In Agar De Noir, a mix of 3 types of 'oud has been used, there are also sweet and spicy elements and the absolute of various ingredients: A Natural Accord of Absolutes that has been woven from Arabica Coffee, Saffron, Indonesian 'Oud and a fabulous sweet and sour saline Ambergris. We also have a Violet Absolute, which is a very surprising and eccentric plant combination in this composition. The most natural and realistic dusty Violet foliage I've ever felt.

With the addition of more 'ouds from Laos and India, the latter reduced in my perception, and with this blend of 'ouds that constitute the main pillar of the composition brings the famous aspect of aged wet wood. But also multifaceted, with veneers: dense, viscous, resinous, dark; and with a deeply woody, smoky, animalic and slightly chocolatey profile. Nothing corral/fecal or controversial, sometimes you can feel a slight dirt, but these are nuances that are an interesting change and nothing compared to, for example, Oud De Burgas, where the 'oud itself becomes so "barn" that sometimes for a user unfamiliar with these types it can cause strangeness.

In Agar De Noir the fragrance is composed of Resins, Balms, Aromatic Spiced Herbs and even an unusual and exotic note of Arnica that warm up the entire composition. Agar De Noir, like its predecessors mentioned at the beginning, has weight, is dark, mysterious, and certainly not an easy scent. For most users, it will take several sessions of use to fully understand and appreciate it. On a scale of 'difficulties' of the 'ouds Areej Le Dore that I quoted above, I would classify Agar De Noir as more difficult than Russian Oud, but easier than Oud Zhen and Oud Luwak which are even more similar. Delicious fragrance that calls for mild temperatures. Very good performance!

05/25/2023

EnomisCVD
138 Reviews

EnomisCVD

2

Spicy and floral coffee oud

Cardamom and something green in the opening.
Then, coffee (bitter) and lots of good oud (not at all difficult in my opinion).
Still spicy, but with some floral appeal later (violet).
Really great composition by Russian Adam with the beloved Areej Le dorè DNA.
I hope that Adam will make something like the older creations in the future.

11/23/2024

8
Pricing 10
Bottle 8
Sillage 10
Longevity 9
Scent

Nik88
30 Reviews

Nik88

1

A Journey Into Mystery with a Touch of Coffee

Agar de Noir by Areej Le Doré is unlike anything I’ve ever tried. From the very first spray, it pulls you into a world of deep, mysterious notes, but what really caught me by surprise was the coffee accord. It’s not your typical sweet or creamy coffee—it’s rich, roasted, and adds this warm, almost grounding element to the opening. I couldn’t stop sniffing my wrist!

As the fragrance develops, the oud starts to shine. But let me tell you, this isn’t a harsh or medicinal oud. It’s smooth, velvety, and beautifully balanced with leather, spices, and some resinous touches. There’s also this smoky vibe that adds so much depth—it feels like sitting by a glowing fire on a chilly night, with a cup of dark coffee in hand.

The drydown is where it gets really magical. There’s a soft amber sweetness and a hint of musk that tie everything together, but the coffee and oud still linger in the background, keeping the whole experience so unique and addictive.

This stuff lasts forever—easily over 10 hours on my skin.
Projection: Strong but not overpowering. It has presence, but in a refined, elegant way.
When to wear it: Definitely for evenings or special occasions. It’s bold, intriguing, and honestly, not for everyone. But if you’re into deep, complex fragrances, this is a must-try.

Agar de Noir is more than just a fragrance; it’s an experience. The way the oud, coffee, and smoky resins blend together is pure artistry. If you’re looking for something bold and unforgettable, I can’t recommend it enough.

06/03/2025

ClaireV
958 Reviews

ClaireV

1

An oudified Jolie Madame

Agar de Noir (can’t you just feel Luca Turin squirming?) is the oud in the 2020 collection and is quite the departure for Russian Adam for two reasons. First, although the oud is the real deal, it does not smell like any one particular terroir or style of oud (as opposed to Antiquity, which smelled almost entirely of the beautiful Cambodi oud oil used) but rather presents as a generalized picture of ‘oudiness’ that’s been cleaned up for public consumption. So, you get the characteristic smell of damp, fermenting wood chips and the dusty scent of old wood varnish, but not the shriekingly sour hay and leather highnotes of a Hindi, or the hyper-treacly stickiness of a Trat, or the wolf-fur wooliness and ambergris-saltiness of a Chinese oud. The oud is there merely as a signpost planted in the scent to suck you deep into the shadows, where the equally dusty darkness of ground coffee is waiting, deepening the gloom.

The opening reminds me more of Borneo 1834 (Serge Lutens) than any of the other Areej Le Dore oud-dominated fragrances, due to that ‘brown’ dustiness; Oud Luwak also used coffee as a note, but it felt much more like an oud-focused affair than Agar de Noir, which feels more floral. It does share with Oud Luwak that dark, airy elegance of structure – like an expensive bar of chocolate that makes a satisfyingly clean ‘snap’ noise when you break it. The gloom of these brown notes has been lifted by the chalky brightness of violets, which create a sort of pastel-colored clearing in the Agar de Noir forest. I like the civilizing effect the violets exert on the oud: they add an unexpected foppish lightness that could be read, in some lights, as ‘dandified’. This tangy, balmy oud-and-violet accord makes what is essentially a floral leather sort of thing – like Jolie Madame (Balmain) with an oudy twist.

The second way in which I find Agar de Noir a departure is in its overall lightness of feel. The light-on-dark, violet-on-oud-leather thing is super elegant while it lasts but after two hours, the show is essentially over, save for the cinder toffee-like sweetness of the labdanum that brings up the rear.

The labdanum persists for hours beyond this, of course – it is a traditional basenote for a reason and has been the finish of choice for Russian Adam in all his oud blends after Oud Zen. But compared to Russian Oud and Oud Piccante, the labdanum absolute used here is of a much lighter weight – a judicious smear of incensey, golden toffee, but unencumbered by the sheep fat unctuousness of the labdanum in Oud Piccante or the chocolatey amberiness in Russian Oud. Personally, this ‘middle’ weight of labdanum suits me just fine; Oud Piccante is too savory-fatty for my tastes, and Russian Oud too gourmand. Agar de Noir is lighter, shorter, more attenuated, and is all the better for it. However, oud heads who want their oud to be perceptible past the third hour mark, Agar de Noir might be one sacrifice too far in the name of elegance.

For anyone not already inducted into the Areej Le Doré oud hall of fame mentioned here, just picture an oudified Jolie Madame and you’re on the right track. I think this would also be a particularly friendly oud for beginners, and because of its soft, ‘thin’ floral mien that restrains the brutishness of the oud, it may also be a better pick for women. Dark, dapper, and mysterious in a Victorian gentle-person kind of way, Agar de Noir is my pick of the Areej ouds, barring Oud Zen, which was similarly minimalist and ‘legible’.

07/21/2025

6
Pricing 8
Bottle 6
Sillage 9
Longevity 8
Scent

Goatedfrags
13 Reviews

Goatedfrags

1

Violet coffee

For me, it starts off with smooth and slightly roasted coffee. The coffee is not overpowering though, but rather discreet. The scent is supported by some toffee sweetness coming from the resins (labdanum, benzoin, peru balsam) and tonka bean. The ouds here aren’t fecal or barnyard at all, they are dark, resinous and slightly chocolatey. This is not a heavy composition by any means though, as the violet note gives this fragrance a beautiful lift and velvetiness. Some people say they get ammoniac when they smell it, but fortunately, I’m not one of them

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