Noir Epices Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle 2000

Noir Epices by Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle

Bottle Design Frederic Malle

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7.6 / 10 287 Ratings

A popular perfume by Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle for women and men, released in 2000. The scent is spicy-woody. The longevity is above-average. It is being marketed by Estēe Lauder Companies.
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Main accords

Spicy

Woody

Floral

Oriental

Fruity

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Orange

Geranium

Heart Notes

Clove

Nutmeg

Cinnamon

Pepper

Base Notes

Patchouli

Sandalwood

Perfumer

Michel Roudnitska

Ratings

Scent

7.6287 Ratings

Longevity

8.1220 Ratings

Sillage

7.0213 Ratings

Bottle

7.7210 Ratings

Value for money

6.551 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 03/27/2025.

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Reviews

15 in-depth fragrance descriptions

01/26/2021

4
Pricing 10
Bottle 8
Sillage 8
Longevity 9
Scent

VanAllan
21 Reviews

VanAllan

Top Review 8

Formal orange peel...

A strange name choice for a very uncommon scent that debutes with a peppery orange rind combined with the fresh-aromatic side of clove and nutmeg. Here it is more a metallic-aldehydic than a woody-spicy type. Rose stem is also present along top spices, but it soon gets envelopped in a sweet touch of cinnamon and geranium, everything packed over the scent's evolution in a distant woody-earthy-sweet background (ubiquitous Malle's patchouli, creamy sandalwood and cedarwood).
What I realised over the first wearings is that I never smelled this combination before and took for granted Mr. Malle's own declaration about this scent being 'one of the most enigmatic scent of our collection'. It is an original creation, I give him that.
More so, in this great formal Roudnitska creation, the dusty orange peel never really goes off, it gets intensified in the middle by the aromatic fresh spices and then slightly changed by the creamy woody notes.
Very strong presence in the first 3 hrs., it mellows just a bit at the 4th hour mark, but overall it performs very good in terms of projection and longevity. My humble rank 9/10, recommended to both genres for its unicity and performances.

12/07/2015

ColinM
516 Reviews

ColinM

4

Please, NO!

Noir Epices effortlessly fills the last spot on my personal chart of Malle’s fragrances - I mean the worst spot. The bottom of the barrel. I don’t get the “black” and ultimately I don’t even get the “spices” that much as well, or not as I would assume at least. I don’t want my spices laid on a corpse, and instead that’s basically how Noir Epices smells. “Carnal”, overdosed nuances of metallic rose-geranium and a nondescript sultry musky note blended with a ridicolously loud concoction of spices and waxy floral-citrus notes, finally infused with a really bizarre and discomforting sort of sugary-watery vein, almost musty and milky. Sounds messy, eh? That’s how it smells, too. It’s loud, vile, ultimately a bit cheap as well, as besides being cacophonously blended, the materials don’t really seem that top-notch either. As hours pass it gets a bit better as it tames down a little at least, becoming slightly sweeter and smoother, but still remaining basically the same awkward and screechy mishmash of musk, soap, wax, spices, expired citronellol candles and blood-stained rusty metal bars. I’m genuinely sorry to sound so tight-butted and unable of getting the magic here, but I find this blatantly atrocious on every level.

4/10

09/11/2014

8
Bottle 8
Sillage 8
Longevity 8.5
Scent

Mujo
54 Reviews

Mujo

Helpful Review 6

Highly addictive

I had to test this fragrance a few times, 4 times to be exactly, to find out how I felt exactly about Noir Epices. The first test it reminded me of Chanel no. 5 and Amouage Gold, the second time I became aware of the spiciness and smelled mostly nutmeg and cloves, the third time I got the orange and rose and from the fourth test I finally smelled a spicy rose. Every time after that I perceive this lovely noir spicy rose and I really really adore it. There is just a tiny sweetness in this fragrance and it's perfect. I suspect this fragrance to be highly addictive, because I don't want to be without it anymore.

This scent is often perceived as masculine. I disagree with this wholeheartedly, in my opinion this is absolutely a feminine fragrance. Well, a man can wear it of course and it will smell wonderful, but still I find it more feminine. After checking out the Frederic Malle website and seeing a video in which Michel Roudnitska explaining the process of creation I found out that it was actually created for women.

A very nicely done fragrance. A masterpiece in my humble opinion.

12/26/2015

MasterLi
375 Reviews

MasterLi

Helpful Review 4

Christmas Spice!

This is one which I find so interesting! It reminds me a lot of the other Malle perfume Geranium pour Monsieur, in that it has cloves, cinnamon and geranium. Here the addition is also orange peel and black pepper. It is such a spicy floral mix. I can detect all spices and no sweetness. I think Roudnitska could've added some vanilla in the base, but he didn't want to... and that is what makes this one so different. It's loud, it's bold, and it's somewhat unique.

So it doesn't follow the myriad of oriental compositions by having a citrus top, spicy middle, and woody base. Here, the vanilla and any hint of sweetness is absent, so instead we get deep and pungent aromatic spices, with the dried orange zest and the minty, prominent geranium. I do like it a lot. It actually reminds me a lot of some kind of very aromatic pot-pourri, but it's also more than that, it's also an expertly crafted perfume.

I see this as a one-of-a-kind perfume that may not be on everyone's buy list, but it should be tested and experienced first. Quite unique!

04/18/2022

10
Pricing 10
Bottle 10
Sillage 10
Longevity 10
Scent

FilipMurray
18 Reviews

FilipMurray

Helpful Review 4

Noir Epices - Black Spices

Black Spices indeed.

Noir Epices is one of Frederic Malle's pioneers. It was published back in 2000 with the first line-up of the EDPFM collection.
It is interesting that along with Noir Epices from Michel Roudnitska, Le Parfum De Therese made by his father Edmond Roudnitska (made for his wife and Michel's mother - Therese) also came out in the same line-up.

Old school perfume made with the idea of being and remaining old school. I believe that this fragrance could be the "old lady smell" for newcomers of our dear hobby, as well as for the audience that did not try too many Frederic Malle fragrances or niche in general.

The opening is based on a very realistic sweet orange. Kind of more syrupy and bitter-sweet than a fresh orange as we can find in summer/citrus fragrances. In addition to a strong dose of orange, there is a good amount of black pepper, cinnamon and a lot of slightly animal cloves. There is also a gentle touch of geranium to soothe the blow of black spices.

Throughout its life, this perfume has a thick creamy, slightly bitter note of nutmeg, which in some moments actually gives the impression of a regular full-fat walnut.
After 30-60 minutes, we'll have a well rounded fragrance full of spices, orange, with calming geranium on a woody base of sandalwood and a modest dose of patchouli.

It's a very interesting experience, never linear and never boring to follow from start to finish and special enough so that people will always ask you what it is...

It's unisex, do not be afraid to wear it!

I have to mention that I managed to get an older/vintage bottle of Noir Epices (80% formula) from the time before FM was sold to Estee Lauder, so my version is not reformulated, and the spices are a bit stronger because IFRA approved them back then, especially cinnamon and cloves. I have also tried a new version several times, which is almost identical after 45-60 minutes. The main difference is in that stronger and more animalic opening. Don't worry about the production date of the bottle - every bottle is great and the performance is the same.
Same IFRA regulations back in 2015/2016 toned down Musc Ravageur (some would say destroyed, although that is not true) because of musk, cinnamon and cloves bans.

Longevity is great, as with most FM perfumes. 12h + on my skin, then a couple of more as a skin scent.
The projection is solid... it's around you all the time. I'm pretty happy with how it works under all conditions. Although you can link Noir Epices with a mulled wine, and therefore with the winter - it works great on hotter days because of orange and geranium. It's great for all seasons and for almost all occasions.

Noir Epices personally knocked me off my feet when it was over 30° Celsius while I was with my wife in Paris, and because of that, in my book - Noir Epices is for nice weather, good days and even better memories.

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