Encre Noire pour Elle Lalique 2009

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7.3 / 10 292 Ratings

A perfume by Lalique for women, released in 2009. The scent is floral-powdery. It was last marketed by Lalique Group / Art & Fragrance.
Pronunciation

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Main accords

Floral

Powdery

Woody

Fresh

Spicy

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Ambrette

Freesia

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Turkish rose

Kephalis

Osmanthus

Sunflower

Base Notes

White musk

Cedarwood

Vetiver

Perfumer

Christine Nagel

Ratings

Scent

7.3292 Ratings

Longevity

7.3226 Ratings

Sillage

6.1207 Ratings

Bottle

7.8208 Ratings

Value for money

7.813 Ratings

Submitted by Seglein, last update on 03/23/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

360° Black for Women

Dange-Rose

Geisha Blanche Eau de Parfum

Rialto

Passiflora

Black Peony

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions

06/15/2013

7
Scent

Sleuth
30 Reviews

Sleuth

Very helpful Review 5

First impression

My first impression of Encre Noire Pour Elle: To my nose this perfume consists of approximately 40% rose, 30% musk, 20% vetiver and 10% other things. It has a 'serious' rose, but not a funeral rose, that is smoothed by pleasant musky notes. The smoothness reminds me of the smooth base in Jour d'Hermès and Voyage. The musky notes make it more feminine, but a guy can wear this fragrance.

Perhaps the best reason to read these reviews is to find out more about the vetiver. It is not like Guerlain's or Tom Ford's. But I smell the vetiver from Encre Noire Pour Homme, a relatively warm vetiver. Encre Noire Pour Elle has this vetiver in moderate-to-small amounts.

In the heart, a fruity osmanthus peeks out a little, making the composition more interesting. Summarized: Take, for example, one of the musky rose scents from Narciso Rodriguez. Well, Encre Noire Pour Elle is the more interesting, prettier sister of the Rodriguez perfume. Looking for a rose? Try this one.

07/15/2012

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

Very helpful Review 4

snow-blinding floral

If I were to give Encre Noire pour Elle a Sanchez/Turin-style two-word fly-by, it would be boozy detergent. Despite the apt but snipey sounding description, there are aspects of ENpE that I appreciate and like. Categorically it’s a musky, woody floral---an enormous field. In spite of the common pedigree, though, it’s clever. The various floral elements (rose, osmanthus, freesia) come together to strike one metallic note. The wood is cedar, and I suppose is a nod to the cedar-like vetiver of the original Encre Noire, but I don’t in fact smell vetiver. The musk sews it up. This is not a luscious, round, fruity or animalic musk. Not soft, not cuddly. It is glaringly bright, a bit harsh and utterly desiccates the florals. The dewy, fruity aspects of rose and osmanthus, and the delicate sweetness of freesia are obliterated by the musk. When magnified by the musk, the flowers become a floral eau de vie, giving that double-distilled, blanched feel.

A few points. 1) Unlike the original, ENpE does smell like ink. 2) Noire? This is so bright I see spots. 3) To make the first in a line a masculine but without a gender descriptor in the title is fine. Then to use the name of the original, adding “pour Elle” the same way one would add “light,” “fraiche,” or “sport" makes it a flanker. My issue, though, is that by extension, a woman is presented as a flanker to the universal-since-unnamed man. This boy/girl thing is only interesting if there is a twist---imagine the Rochas flanker Femme pour Lui.

12/25/2012

10
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 9
Scent

FloraMilena
47 Reviews

FloraMilena

Very helpful Review 5

Encre Noire Pour Elle

This is an absolute chiaroscuro masterpiece of scent. It brings to mind the whole of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, or Rembrandt’s1667 painting “The Jewish Bride,” or Gerrit van Honthorst’s 1625 painting “The Matchmaker,” as it blooms on my skin. On my skin, it is a magnificently balanced, opulent renaissance symphony in rose. The brilliant liquid gold citrus lights of bergamot, ambrette, and freesia swirl smoothly onto a lavish heart of an incredibly beautiful rose. A touch of spicy osmanthus, kephalis, and heliotrope continue to smoothly shade this deeply rich colored composition, blending the contrasting light and shadow into a seamless masterpiece, finally descending into a mysterious, tenderly subtle darkness of cedar, vetiver, and musk. It’s fascinating to note that the top of the chiaro effect is perfectly illustrated by the elegantly fanciful gold decorative script used to label the bottle as contrasted with the base scuro effect of the simple, spare blackness of the bottle. Many have been obsessed and commenting on the blackness of the glass bottle, criticizing that the juice inside as being not dark enough. Well I say it’s dark enough. Frankly it’s an example of shadowy dark perfection in a bottle. Not too dark. Not wallowing blindly in a vulgar miasma of overdone patchouli, excessive spices, woods, or animalic substances. On my skin this translates as inky black, velvet shadows with a few slender threads of golden light swirling throughout. Ultrafeminine, deeply rosey, woody, and rich with an elegant shot of musk. No overdone sickening sweetness. No overdone masculinity in the woodiness. Just a perfectly balanced contrast between darkness and light. Beautifully balanced for me. I have to admit, my skin picks up base notes, amplifies them, and tends to overwhelm with them. The base notes that give this scent it’s “shadow” are very prominent with my chemistry. I feel lucky…. And I love this one. If your skin is like mine, and cannot stand overly ripe tuberose, tropical tanning oil like gardenia, indolic jasmine, too much patchouli, too dark a musk, heavy handed civet or castoreum, or too much gourmand sweetness, this may work wonderfully for you. This is a deeply subtle and luxuriously complex scent. She never screams, there is no need. She smiles gently, caresses, then speaks softly, staying close to the skin. Although it is a dangerous smile...sometimes. It brings to mind the sober, iron hand of a bejeweled, voluptuous Medici queen swathed in a crimson velvet glove. Truly, a masterpiece. Gloria in excelsis Christine Nagel. Bravo Lalique.

01/05/2012

7.5
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 6
Scent

Sherapop
1239 Reviews

Sherapop

4

Adam's Rib

Although I do not believe that Lalique ENCRE NOIRE POUR ELLE is a bad fragrance, I also do not find it all that memorable. Part of the disappointment may derive from what I regard as the house's mistake of naming this creation as a flanker to the male version, ENCRE NOIRE, which does have a unique personality and develops through very distinct stages (whether one happens to like them or not...). In contrast, POUR ELLE seems a bit vague and linear, yet another somewhat thin, lightly woody floriental among hundreds. I find this composition wearable but inoffensive to the point of being forgettable.

While the original ENCRE NOIRE prominently features Iso Super E, the female version is said to contain Kephalis, a synthetic molecule whose acquaintance I have not made elsewhere (at least to my knowledge...). I wish that this composition contained more ambrette, which I do not detect at all. Instead, this seems to me like a somewhat generic, ever-so-slightly soapy (in the drydown) lightly woody rose.

Even the formerly beautiful bottle of the original ENCRE NOIRE has been marred by the over-the-top wedding invitation script used on this flanker. Kind of a sad metaphor on Adam's rib: an afterthought.

04/30/2012

7
Scent

Awesomeness
247 Reviews

Awesomeness

2

If you like SJP Lovely, try this ...

Encre Noire Pour Elle is not Black Ink. Instead, it's a boozy vetiver rose. ENPE opens quite soapy to my nose but doesn't stay there, but the soap comes back well into the wear. In the heart, ENPE reveals a rose in the heart which strikes a balance between classic and modern. The base is woody with a touch of musk.

Although I like this fragrance ALOT, there is something synthetic that I just can't shake off. I've been doing side-by-side tests lately, and ENPE is failing against other fragrances which seem smoother and more natural. As I pare down my collection, ENPE is not going to make the cut, I'm sad to say.

The bottle -- reminiscent of an ink well -- is unusual, chunky, & substantial. It's perfect for storing and maintaining a fragrance, although I'm not sure of why this references ink, other than it's an Encre Noire flanker, as Shera suggests. I purchased a manufacturer's tester ... it was perfect, included the top, but came in a generic box. For the price I paid, it's worth seeking these out on evilbay.

Overall, Encre Noire is a well-balanced, close-wearing, soft feminine fragrance. It smells like a high-quality fragrance as well. I highly recommend this one for sampling by rose lovers, if not blind buying. Those who like SJP Lovely and Narciso Rodriguez for Her will likely like ENPE as well.

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