Bulgarian rose
Spices
Indonesian patchouli
Mugwort
07/15/2012
jtd
484 Reviews
jtd
Helpful Review
5
walk it back
Let’s go in reverse, because I’d like to end on a positive note. Lumière Noire pour Homme winds up a tidy, sweet musky rose. If you like it, you’ll recognize that it comes from thoughtfully designed succinctness. If you don’t, it’s a bit matter-of-fact. I won’t say that this fragrance loses steam or loses track, but it loses me. To Francis Kurkdjian’s credit, the ride from the beginning to the end is wonderfully designed, and like a well worded short sentence. One idea, clearly stated, perfectly understood. It’s just that everything I love about this fragrance is up front and fades by the quick-to-arrive drydown.
But, oh, that beginning. There are countless patchouli roses out there. This ain’t like any of them. The rose smells like wine, the patchouli smells mineral, and the cumin smells like cumin. This cumin is not a replacement for animal-based ingredients. Not that pouty-growl, wanna-be animalic cumin. It smells like freshly ground roasted seeds and perfectly inflects the rose/patchouli pairing. The three pieces together feel like hot, dusty sandpaper, and smell like temptation. I smell this opening and think, this could be a solution to the chypre/oakmoss dilemma that’s haunting us. This accord is that good.
I just wish I could run LNpH in reverse. But unfulfilled expectation is classic disappointment.
To hell with my disappointment. Thumbs up for that opening accord.
But, oh, that beginning. There are countless patchouli roses out there. This ain’t like any of them. The rose smells like wine, the patchouli smells mineral, and the cumin smells like cumin. This cumin is not a replacement for animal-based ingredients. Not that pouty-growl, wanna-be animalic cumin. It smells like freshly ground roasted seeds and perfectly inflects the rose/patchouli pairing. The three pieces together feel like hot, dusty sandpaper, and smell like temptation. I smell this opening and think, this could be a solution to the chypre/oakmoss dilemma that’s haunting us. This accord is that good.
I just wish I could run LNpH in reverse. But unfulfilled expectation is classic disappointment.
To hell with my disappointment. Thumbs up for that opening accord.
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