Encre Noire Lalique 2006 Eau de Toilette

Encre Noire (Eau de Toilette) by Lalique

Bottle Design:
Lalique

See Prices

More

We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

See Prices

Ranked 43 in Men's Perfume

7.7 / 10 3300 Ratings

A popular perfume by Lalique for men, released in 2006. The scent is woody-earthy. It is being marketed by Lalique Group / Art & Fragrance.
Pronunciation

More

We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

Main accords

Woody

Earthy

Smoky

Spicy

Green

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Cypress

Vetiveryl acetate

Heart Notes

Bourbon vetiver

Haitian vetiver

Base Notes

Cashmere wood Musk

Musk

Perfumer

Nathalie Lorson

Ratings

Scent

7.73300 Ratings

Longevity

7.82885 Ratings

Sillage

7.22850 Ratings

Bottle

8.12865 Ratings

Value for money

9.01725 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 07/29/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Encre Noire Eau de Parfum

Encre Noire Sport

Sycomore (2008) Eau de Toilette

Encre Noire à L'Extrême

Cannabis Intense

Dark Aoud

Reviews

151 in-depth fragrance descriptions

04/26/2021

10
Pricing 8
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 8.5
Scent

HugoMontez
80 Reviews

HugoMontez

Top Review 17

Vetiver for everyone!

There's 3 Vetiver variations used in perfumery. Bourbon (the most high quality one, with green, woody and hazelnut aspects), Haitian (perhaps the most used and with more smoke nuances) and Javanese (a very woody and smoky variation). Nathalie Lorson picked Haitian and, allegedly, Bourbon, and created one of the most beautiful clean and woody vetivers around.

We all know that the most known Vetiver based scent is the 59 novel Vetiver by Guerlain. A great green vetiver with tobacco and some spices undertones and, overall, a crisp and natural feeling.

Lalique picked Nathalie Lorson and let her create a fresh woody fragrance with ink as a concept. Very interesting specially for 2006, when Sport flankers were a thing. She was able to put out a fantastic creation around vetiver.

The bitter green opening of cypress is fenomenal and immediately evokes wet soil in a forest. As it dries down, the vetiver takes control. It's very woody and slightly smoky. I would guess that is more haitian variation than Bourbon one.
The overall feeling is very fresh, woody and slightly smoky. I never became overpowering or offensive. It's very masculine, upscaled and office friendly and long lasting (!) thanks to the highly dose of Iso E Super (45% allegedly). The drydown shows a more subtle vetiver and a amped up Iso E super and Cashmere wood. Both give a modern woody trail with musky undertones.

The price for this one is excellent, specially online, as you all know. 100ml for less than 30€. Crazy!

If you love woody fragrances or want to smell a great woody Vetiver based scent, go buy yourself a bottle, please. If you love perfumery in general, this is a classic and a must have for Fragheads. Lalique could only have this beauty for sale and i would be OK with that. Just keep producing this gem, please!

4/5

07/15/2012

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

Top Review 8

Iso-E Super composition

Encre Noire is a nicely composed vetiver that I don't wear any more. It has balance and treats the vetiver honestly, focusing on the woody/cedar tones. It has a well-defined linear feel. You know, it's the sort of linear fragrance that rotates through its range of notes rather than simply having one tone, only louder at the beginning.

But I don't wear it. Along with a few other perfumes from its general era it has come to read as a treatise on Iso-E Super. So many perfumes started seeming like they shared the same trajectory, the same qualities or tones. Suspicious, I bought some Iso-E Super. Bingo. Mystery solved.

It wouldn't be so bad if these perfumes simply had a note or range of notes in common. The problem is that Iso-E Super is known more for its qualities and the olfactory textures it imparts rather than how it smells (although there's that, too.) Worst case scenario for Encre Noire is that I just don't want to wear it any more. A better case for me, but possibly worse for the producers, are those perfumes that I had admired but would no longer consider buying. Examples: l'Artisan's Timbuktu or Ormonde Jayne Woman. Somewhere in between are the fragrances that I never wanted but now recognize as simply belonging to the Iso-E Super genre, eg. Terre d'Hermes.

The above perfumes do all share that woody, turpentine/cedar scent of Iso-E Super, but it is the pervasiveness, that seeping quality, the almost ultrasonic background tone that turns me off. The code-word for this characteristic in perfume criticism is "radiant" and I now cringe when I read the word.

I own a few a few other Iso-E Super-heavy scents (Lutens's Feminite du Bois, CDG's 2 Man) and enjoy them, so it can't be just the aromachemical alone that bothers me. Perhaps a particular use of it. Poor Encre Noire. It's certainly not the worst use of Iso-E Super, maybe just one of the more egregious, and likely just the last straw.

03/22/2022

10
Pricing 9
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 8
Scent

GeorgeReid
37 Reviews

GeorgeReid

Top Review 10

A Leisurely and Thoughtful Hike After the Rainstorm

When looking for affordable fragrances with a unique smell, one comes up in conversations frequently; Lalique’s Encre Noire.

Despite people saying not to do it as the scent is not for everyone, I bought it on a blind buy in preparation to review it.

While I agree that the fragrance is not for everyone, I like it.
----

Encre Noire reminds me of the fresh and earthy smell while hiking outside after a rainstorm. For people who live in the United States or Canada, this also reminds me of the Pacific Northwest. Think of cities like Portland, Vancouver, and Seattle.

The opening note of cypress hits the nose with a crisp freshness that reminds me of wet grass and damp earth, while the heart note of vetiver blends in an earthy element that is relaxing with a hint of saltiness that reminds me somewhat of the ocean. The base note of wood and musk blends in with the vetiver to create a fragrance that makes it feel cozy and content.

Encre Noire is a masculine scent, but I can see women easily wearing it as well.
----

I appreciate the black bottle of Encre Noire.

Yes, the design is a straightforward black bottle, but it can easily blend in the background as a desk accessory in the office, or as a shelf adornment with modern furniture anywhere in the home.

Also, the black bottle is quite functional; in addition to a solid spray, it minimizes the chances of light altering the fragrance. (However, one should still store bottles in a cool, dark, and dry place with low humidity.)

----

Encre Noire has above average performance. It has moderate projection, which is noticeable in walking range during the first few hours. However, it will not announce someone’s presence as they enter a room.

Encre Noire shines with longevity. The scent is detectable for up to ten hours, which is amazing. It can easily last most social scenarios with one spray.

----

Socially, Encre Noire is useable as a casual daily fragrance, especially during the mild weather of spring and autumn. It can also be a date night if you know that your date or significant other loves calming scents, or is into outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, or biking.

Encre Noire is a mixed bag as a fragrance for attention-seeking. On one hand, it stands out from the typical fragrances one would expect. However, it is more subdued and does not announce your presence, and not everyone is a fan of earthy scents.

On the negative side, I will vehemently state that it should be a crime against humanity to use Encre Noire as a gym or sports fragrance, especially for anyone with body odor issues. An earthy smell combined with body odor can create a stench that is reminiscent of fecal matter. For the same reasons, Encre Noire is not a pleasant summer or tropical climate fragrance.

That said, Encre Noire is incredible as a leisure or an evening fragrance before going to sleep, because of the calming smell that is relaxing and great for meditation. Likewise, for the same reason, this will also shine in a business environment that is stressful (provided the stress does not make the wearer sweat profusely).

----

Overall, Lalique’s Encre Noire is a great fragrance that stands out, especially when compared with other fragrances at an affordable price point.

Yet, anyone considering buying the fragrance must know it is situational and not for everyone. For instance, Encre Noire is not for someone who wants to announce their presence, or dislikes earthy scents. Also, anyone who possesses issues with body odor must know that this fragrance can actively make it worse.

However, for someone that wants a fragrance that has a quiet and calming presence for leisure, meditation, or simply diving deep into thought, Encre Noire is an absolute steal.

08/12/2015

ColinM
516 Reviews

ColinM

Top Review 8

Solid dark vetiver

One of the most solid contemporary mainstream fragrances which doesn’t really need my (or anyone else’s) endorsement. It is extremely popular, but finally for a good reason: because it is unmistakably, undeniably really good for the price. If you’re on a budget and you want a good vetiver for even the most sophisticated situation, I can’t think of anything better than Encre Noire. Most of others in the same price range couldn’t really compete with this. A dark and crisp smoky vetiver, as much synthetic as able to disguise it under a genius “inky”, wet-paint look – it has some cheap nuances indeed, but none will notice them. There is cypress, there is Nathalie Lorson’s trademark love for clean, angular, futuristic dusty-woody shapes, and there’s a ton of vetiver and Iso E. You can easily guess what to expect, dark oily woods with a really pleasant sort of “transparent” texture which is able to keep the darkness, but without any thickness or heaviness. Which is probably one of the key strengths of this perfume – it’s dark, but an easy-going, versatile, even “bright” kind of dark (compare this to Jovoy’s Private Label to get my point about dark vetivers). A classy, cleverly modern crowdpleaser good for all seasons. If it was just a bit more persistent though... well anyway, recommended!

7,5-8/10

11/03/2014

7.5
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 9
Scent

MasterLi
375 Reviews

MasterLi

Top Review 8

The "Silky" Vetiver...

Encre Noir by Lalique is not an easy one to write about, as it's very complex and mysterious...

Basically this is a fragrance which focuses on Vetiver, from top to bottom... using every aspect of the root in it's composition. It can be linear (it's about Vetiver), but it can also be complex, as it explores the many facets of this wonderful plant.

It's name means "Black Ink", and I think this description fits it very well, with even the heavy dark glass bottle made to look like an inkpot (Lalique actually used a design of an old inkpot from 1913 in their glass design). The smell is dark and smoky in the beginning, with a sharp blast of vetiver root which still feels like it's covered in dirt or mud. It smells very much like the soil at the bottom of a dark, damp forest. It's very mysterious. Then the woody quality comes through... with Iso-E-Super and Cashmeran, a synthetic woody-musky molecule that gives a silky, "sheer" quality to the composition.

In short, this sometimes smells like trees, sometimes like earth of dirt, and other times like wet ink or wet paint. It's really unlike anything else I have smelled. That being said, it strikes me as a "formal" fragrance, for someone who is dressed very well (could be male or female), and who is confident and relaxed (and in control). It also has a smooth quality that smells fantastic on skin. I like it very much, and I find it intriguing in many ways...

This is a fragrance for someone who has an appreciation for fragrances... an "experienced" nose. I think most people will have a mixed reaction to it. But if you keep an open mind (and have experience with many fragrances) then you will appreciate this one a lot. In a word, I have never found that the word "black" fits a fragrance as well as this one. Like the darkest, blackest ink. Smooth, smoky, sultry... like pure mystery! One to try for sure. It smells like nothing else, and the price is fantastic compared with the high quality. Definitely one to try!

More reviews