Lumière Noire Femme (Eau de Parfum) by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

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Lumière Noire Femme Maison Francis Kurkdjian 2009 Eau de Parfum

7.6 / 10 171 Ratings

A popular perfume by Maison Francis Kurkdjian for women, released in 2009. The scent is floral-spicy. It was last marketed by LVMH.
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Main accords

Floral

Spicy

Oriental

Woody

Sweet

Fragrance Notes

Narcissus

Bulgarian rose

Indonesian patchouli Spices

Spices

Perfumer

Francis Kurkdjian

Ratings

Scent

7.6171 Ratings

Longevity

7.8128 Ratings

Sillage

7.1115 Ratings

Bottle

8.0127 Ratings

Value for money

6.918 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro · last update on 04/06/2025.

Source-backed & verified

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What the fragrance is similar to

Lumière Noire pour Femme Extrait de Parfum

African Rose

Rose Ikebana

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions

01/02/2014

10Scent

Kxnaiades
50 Reviews

Kxnaiades

Very helpful Review 7

a love story in a bottle

Heartbreaking. L'heure Bleue and Mitsouko always strike a melancholic note for me. Some scents thrill, some send shivers down my spine (yes I'm quite an emo person I suppose, or psychology would term me highly sensitive)but the first word that came to mind when I tried this on was heartbreaking. Why that word? I suppose it brought up emotions that would come from a wild crazy love that one instinctively knows cannot burn forever, the bittersweet ache that one has inside waiting for the inevitable end. For whatever reason, this scent made me feel that way. Anyway my search for the ultimate patchouli came to an end as well. I never thought this would be a contender, having tried from Angel to Noir Patchouli and beyond. However that's the first note that strikes me strongly and in a non medicinal way. The patchouli here is the chocolate aspect of patchouli, like in Coromandel but without being gourmand, which makes it the winner over Coromandel for me. Then a graceful non imposing, non stuffy nor musty rose dances in to join the patchouli. The rose here smells like in Brulere Rose. The spices here are so well-tempered, nothing acrid to the nose, nothing medicinal. Just an absolutely stunning beauty in a bottle that literally stunned me into silence. I suppose I didn't expect to fall in love, there are enough rose-patchouli combinations out there already. However, THIS one is different. Different from JHAG which for me it surpasses in terms of JHAG being more youthful and LNPF being more grown up but not boring. This is not as dark as A Portrait of A Lady, but the patchouli here is more chocolate than earthy.
I love Kurkdjian's work and I've never been disappointed. This goes on the much loved list, I've been sleeping in it and working in it for the past few days. I apologise for a dreamy and long review, I hope it makes sense or at least compels people to try this at least. Longevity and sillage are unquestionable. I got more than 12 hours on clothes and people around me said my scent remained a good hour after I left the room.

06/21/2016

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

Helpful Review 6

black light

Maison Francis Kurkdjian provides a number of entry points to the brand. It offers traditional products (perfume, papier d’Armenie, candles, body creams) and less expected ones (fabric softener, soap bubbles.) There is a deliberateness to much of the line that challenges the trend-chasing and slot-filling approach of many brands. His vision of a contemporary sensibility derives from an understanding of traditional methods and principles. The design of the brand is like Kurkdjian’s perfumes themselves: modern and classical, composed yet stylish, lavish but concise.

Kurkdjian has mentioned Guerlain as a model for his house but the line’s day-to-evening approach brings Hermès to mind. Hermès offers a fashionable cocoon from an unstylish world. My level skepticism of ‘lifestyle’ branding is stratospheric, but I’m persuaded by MFK.

MFK offers the daydream of a pleasantly scented life but manages to avoid Hermès’s pose of bored affluence. Laundry soap alludes to soap operas and the fiction of the bored housewife. Scented bubbles suggest designer-dressed children and an infusion of finery into the most remote corners of one’s life. The perfumes, though, hint at something more. Most perfume marketing matches a fantasy of inventiveness and distinction to tame, predictable perfumes, but MFK does the reverse. MFK’s subtle subversiveness is in the perfume, not the image. Absolue pour le Soir and Cologne pour le Soir are wolves in sheep’s marketing. The Amyrises satirize mainstream designer perfumes by creating idealized versions of them. The Lumières Noires poke at our nostalgia for the good-old days of the chypre. I might be able to resist the Maison’s sensibility but I fall for the perfumes.

Rose and patchouli aren’t an unexpected combination by any means and their pairing is a motif Kurkdjian has explored over the years, both in his own line and in commission work such as Rose Barbare for Guerlain and Lady Vengeance for Juliette Has a Gun. Coaxing something new out of well-worn materials is one of Kurkdjian’s strengths and Lumière Noire pour Femme demonstrates his knack for reshaping traditional forms and classical techniques to find a novel idea. He shifts the picture and rearranges olfactory clues. Pairing the refined floral and earthy patchouli is a well-understood method for adding richness to perfumes. Kurkdjian recreates the tone in an unexpected way with a clean patchouli and a dirty flower: narcissus. The dynamics are recognizable, but the reframing shifts the perspective and creates a new view.

Lumière Noire pour Femme highlights Kurkdjian’s ability to make perfumes that balance composure and abandon. Grain de Musc called Lumière Noire pour Femme a “bodice-ripper” yet it is also mink-smooth and lusciously lipsticky. It is composed at a glance but uninhibited on closer inspection. It hints at indecency but is never indelicate.

Kurkdjian’s style of subversion is highly mannered. He covers new ideas under a blanket of propriety. The precision of Lumière Noire pour Femme’s composition leaves no seems showing and reveals Kurkdjian’s strategy for subversion. No disruption, no distortion. More a seduction.

01/20/2012

8Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Sherapop
1240 Reviews

Sherapop

Very helpful Review 3

La Perla Meets Narcisse Noir

LUMIERE NOIRE POUR FEMME is my first foray into the house of Francis Kurkdjian, and it is a felicitous one! This perfume is one example of what may be my current favorite genre: floral chypre, of which LA PERLA and La Prairie LIFE THREADS PLATINUM are two other scrumptious examples. The patchouli is less prominent in this composition than in most other representatives of this genre.

In LUMIERE NOIRE, the new twist on the rose-patchouli floral chypre is the addition of narcissus, a flower also beloved to me, and the result is magnificent. Like other reviewers, I do not find this perfume dirty, nor do I find it very spicy. To my nose, LUMIERE NOIRE is a beautiful modern chypre with enough depth and darkness to add a touch of mystery.

Think LA PERLA meets NARCISSE NOIR, and you'll get something of the idea.

02/12/2014

9Scent 5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Fanny
67 Reviews

Fanny

3

Black and White

Lumière Noire is all about Light and its Effects: a necessity for existence, yet it will create shadows in every shade of grey.
Very bright, it shines on the first buds in spring, full of promise for a lush and lusty life.
Without a doubt this is a wonderful yet very twisted blessing from the sky.
Life with LN is good, pure and dirty.

Sillage: medium
Longevity: medium

06/10/2016

10Scent 9Longevity 7Sillage

Caecilie
31 Reviews

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Caecilie

Top Review 21

Indescribably feminine!

It is interesting how differently fragrances can affect people, as I see that this scent has not been received very well so far.
Honestly, I have been searching for a scent like this for a long time, one that is floral, clear, not piercing, warm and profound, yet not too oriental, and simply elegantly and femininely suitable for everyday wear. For me, this is Lumière Noire pour Femme, which I am fortunate enough to test extensively thanks to the decant from a generous Parfumo member.
As soon as I had the scent sprayed on a test strip in one of the upscale perfumeries downtown last week, I realized within seconds: Oh, this is great! A clear yet pleasantly soft rose immediately wafted into my nose, enveloped in a profound, floral-spicy-elegant aura. I quickly had the scent applied to my wrist, which for me as an allergy sufferer is an almost impulsive action. (Of course, I had checked the ingredient list beforehand to ensure there was no Coumarin or Oakmoss, to which I am allergic.)
On my other wrist, I had "À la Rose" from the same perfumer sprayed for comparison and then left the store. On my way from the Fressgass to the Hauptwache, I couldn't shake off the scent from my left wrist. "Lumière Noire" unfolded more and more beautifully for me with each passing minute:
The rose is joined by cumin, which develops on me like musk, making the scent more sensual, earthy, and soft. Fortunately, I hardly perceive the pimento, as I smell no sharpness; instead, patchouli and daffodil blend in organically and unobtrusively, and jasmine reaches my nose, even though it is not listed. Through the interplay of the individual notes, an interesting dark veil gradually settles over this floral composition, making the scent mysterious and elegant. The fragrance somewhat reminds me of Lalique's "Encre Noire pour Elle," only Kurkdjian's "Lumière Noire" smells much more natural, less sweet, and softer to my nose. Oh yes, and the "À la Rose" on my right wrist can just pack it up....
After my extensive city stroll, I treated myself to a salad with grilled salmon strips at my favorite lunch restaurant and kept smelling my left wrist even while eating, although the food was very delicious...
The longevity for me is about 6-8 hours, and I would describe the sillage as medium strong.
A charming scent that is simply a dream for me as a lover of floral, not too sweet fragrances with depth! Highly recommended for feminine women in their prime!
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Addendum: Although I have already received some very nice responses to my text, I must now add a note of caution. When I applied a bit more of the perfume today out of excitement, i.e., also sprayed some on my clothing, the scent shifted a bit more towards the heavy-sweet side. Perhaps it is due to the warm weather, but after this experience, "Lumière Noire" remains an interesting scent for me, but it is no longer a candidate for purchase. What a pity.
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APPENDIX: My addendum was perhaps just a fleeting impression of the day, which I must revise, as I have now worn "Lumière Noire" several more times over the past few days, including partially on my clothing - and - voila - it smells blissfully again!
Perhaps it was indeed the weather that made it seem too sweet to me that day, which was extremely sultry-warm-humid.
And I am so incredibly happy about this wonderful modern chypre scent, which simply smells warm-floral-feminine and "très parisienne" on me! In the drydown, I even catch a hint of powdery leather, which reminds me of Paloma Picasso's "Mon Parfum" and completely dismisses the suspicion of too much sweetness.
I have a birthday coming up soon.......

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