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Helpful Review
Black Water or Black Licorice?
Speaking of oddball concoctions, here is one that I love and is among my most worn perfumes and one that I somehow never got around to reviewing.
The one and only Eau Noire. It is worth mentioning that there were three iterations of this fragrance, originally composed by Kurkdijan in 2004, then slightly tweaked by Demachy when Dior launched its "La Collection Couturier" in 2010, and it was later reformulated yet again by its original creator. I happen to prefer the early Demachy version over both the Kurkdijans, as I find it to strike the perfect balance between Fougere and Oriental. The original "Cologne" was heavier on spices and fresher, while the latest version steers more into the dry-smoked woods territory and tones down the blast of spices and heavy licorice. That being said, I have to give credit to Kurkdijan for creating such a unique and memorable fragrance. He is no doubt one of, if not the most overrated nose in the industry, but he outdid himself when he created Eau Noire. Despite my love for Absolue Pour Le Soir, I think Eau Noire is the best thing he has ever done, and for my taste, the best thing that ever came out of the house of Christian Dior.
What makes this perfume so exquisite is how it takes the most incompatible accords and blends them into something that not only works but manages to entice, inspire, and be completely original. Who could have ever imagined putting together greens, lavender, thyme, fenugreek, coffee, black licorice, vanilla, and wood? These are the most prevalent notes and accords to my nose. I don't get the people who call out Immortelle as one of the major players in here. As hard as I struggle to fathom that, I can't. I'd say fenugreek is to blame for the "curry/maple" feel in Eau Noire, and people get confused or regurgitate what others say. Eau Noire doesn't display the usual facets of Immortelle. But that's just my opinion.
The perfume is built of two halves, the Fougere and the Oriental, linked by this most peculiar accord of Black Licorice. The latter is not your licorice root nor the star anise, but an actual "confectionary licorice" accord. Indeed, like those dark-hued candies you might have tried at least once as a kid. If you didn't, you've missed out. I happen to love them and naturally, adore their showcase in Eau Noire. It is strong, and if you don't like that flavor, you can safely avoid this fragrance. It's omnipresent and connects the two parts of the composition.
It starts as a green, spicy fougere, with a strong display of thyme and perhaps myrtle, lavender, and green-wet grass. This part lasts for a good while before you start to pick up the Oriental elements underneath - the vanilla, the coffee, and the smoked woods that give off a "faux" leather impression at times. The coffee note is another major player in Eau Noire, and while I struggle with it in most compositions, I thoroughly enjoy how it is showcased here - think of a caffe latte, not the beans or the black coffee accord. The more it goes down into the base, the more of the woods, vanilla, and latte accord come to the forefront, but the green aspects, the fenugreek, the licorice, and the lavender hold their ground, albeit in the background. I believe the combination of fenugreek and vanilla helps to create the "maple syrup" impression that surfaces later in the development. And even after many hours, when Eau Noire finally settles down as a proper Oriental perfume, you can still sense the juicy and tart green aspects and the licorice cutting through the fuming woods and the steaming latte.
Eau Noire is one of those "love-it-or-hate-it" perfumes with no in-betweens. The one thing, however, that cannot be contested is how exquisite and iconic an olfactory work it is. Technically flawless, a seamless blend of all those notes that don't belong together yet works like a finely tuned musical instrument without ever feeling jarring, while creatively original with no resemblance, played by a musician that nowadays is in his hour of fame but worst moment of creativity, for the few ears longing for good music, the type that stirs emotions.
IG:@memory.of.scents
The one and only Eau Noire. It is worth mentioning that there were three iterations of this fragrance, originally composed by Kurkdijan in 2004, then slightly tweaked by Demachy when Dior launched its "La Collection Couturier" in 2010, and it was later reformulated yet again by its original creator. I happen to prefer the early Demachy version over both the Kurkdijans, as I find it to strike the perfect balance between Fougere and Oriental. The original "Cologne" was heavier on spices and fresher, while the latest version steers more into the dry-smoked woods territory and tones down the blast of spices and heavy licorice. That being said, I have to give credit to Kurkdijan for creating such a unique and memorable fragrance. He is no doubt one of, if not the most overrated nose in the industry, but he outdid himself when he created Eau Noire. Despite my love for Absolue Pour Le Soir, I think Eau Noire is the best thing he has ever done, and for my taste, the best thing that ever came out of the house of Christian Dior.
What makes this perfume so exquisite is how it takes the most incompatible accords and blends them into something that not only works but manages to entice, inspire, and be completely original. Who could have ever imagined putting together greens, lavender, thyme, fenugreek, coffee, black licorice, vanilla, and wood? These are the most prevalent notes and accords to my nose. I don't get the people who call out Immortelle as one of the major players in here. As hard as I struggle to fathom that, I can't. I'd say fenugreek is to blame for the "curry/maple" feel in Eau Noire, and people get confused or regurgitate what others say. Eau Noire doesn't display the usual facets of Immortelle. But that's just my opinion.
The perfume is built of two halves, the Fougere and the Oriental, linked by this most peculiar accord of Black Licorice. The latter is not your licorice root nor the star anise, but an actual "confectionary licorice" accord. Indeed, like those dark-hued candies you might have tried at least once as a kid. If you didn't, you've missed out. I happen to love them and naturally, adore their showcase in Eau Noire. It is strong, and if you don't like that flavor, you can safely avoid this fragrance. It's omnipresent and connects the two parts of the composition.
It starts as a green, spicy fougere, with a strong display of thyme and perhaps myrtle, lavender, and green-wet grass. This part lasts for a good while before you start to pick up the Oriental elements underneath - the vanilla, the coffee, and the smoked woods that give off a "faux" leather impression at times. The coffee note is another major player in Eau Noire, and while I struggle with it in most compositions, I thoroughly enjoy how it is showcased here - think of a caffe latte, not the beans or the black coffee accord. The more it goes down into the base, the more of the woods, vanilla, and latte accord come to the forefront, but the green aspects, the fenugreek, the licorice, and the lavender hold their ground, albeit in the background. I believe the combination of fenugreek and vanilla helps to create the "maple syrup" impression that surfaces later in the development. And even after many hours, when Eau Noire finally settles down as a proper Oriental perfume, you can still sense the juicy and tart green aspects and the licorice cutting through the fuming woods and the steaming latte.
Eau Noire is one of those "love-it-or-hate-it" perfumes with no in-betweens. The one thing, however, that cannot be contested is how exquisite and iconic an olfactory work it is. Technically flawless, a seamless blend of all those notes that don't belong together yet works like a finely tuned musical instrument without ever feeling jarring, while creatively original with no resemblance, played by a musician that nowadays is in his hour of fame but worst moment of creativity, for the few ears longing for good music, the type that stirs emotions.
IG:@memory.of.scents