Black amber
Sandalwood
Tonka bean
05/22/2025
ClaireV
969 Reviews
ClaireV
1
Gets better the longer you wear it
Aroma M made its reputation on Geisha Noire, and it is easy to see why. The secret to Geisha Noire is that it gets better the longer you wear it, making it the inverse of most modern fragrances, which hit you with all the glory in the first hour or so but peter out by the time you get home and unbox your new purchase. Thankfully, because Aroma M perfumes are not sold in department stores, there is no urgency to sell you on its topnotes. Most Aroma M perfumes, therefore, take their time to hit their stride.
And true to form, Geisha Noire is a perfume that demands you wait a little for your satisfaction. The topnotes are bright but leaden, an undissolved lump of golden resin that hisses on the skin like a scalded cat. The resin accord is piercingly sharp, like lemon rind without any citrus high notes, reminding me a bit of elemi resin. There is also a sherbety, turbo-charged fizz to the texture that smells the way Refresher bars taste. Not a bad smell, you understand – just massively unrefined.
But give Geisha Noire the courtesy of wearing it for a full day and a strange thing happens. The lump of resin begins to dissolve, liquefying into distinct pools of amber, creamy sandalwood, tonka, and salty ambergris. It smells like antique gold velvet, its flavor miles deep and radiating in every direction. It is also an intensely powdery scent, connecting it to its progenitor Shalimar in firm brushstrokes that might not agree with everyone. But what makes Geisha Noire special, and what marks it out as more than just another Shalimar clone, is its balance between burned sugar and salty driftwood (ambergris). Geisha Noire is at its very best at the end of the day when its salty-sweet amber has melted into the heat of your skin, forming a veritable forcefield of radiant, gold-tipped sweetness. A true my-skin-but-better kind of scent.
And true to form, Geisha Noire is a perfume that demands you wait a little for your satisfaction. The topnotes are bright but leaden, an undissolved lump of golden resin that hisses on the skin like a scalded cat. The resin accord is piercingly sharp, like lemon rind without any citrus high notes, reminding me a bit of elemi resin. There is also a sherbety, turbo-charged fizz to the texture that smells the way Refresher bars taste. Not a bad smell, you understand – just massively unrefined.
But give Geisha Noire the courtesy of wearing it for a full day and a strange thing happens. The lump of resin begins to dissolve, liquefying into distinct pools of amber, creamy sandalwood, tonka, and salty ambergris. It smells like antique gold velvet, its flavor miles deep and radiating in every direction. It is also an intensely powdery scent, connecting it to its progenitor Shalimar in firm brushstrokes that might not agree with everyone. But what makes Geisha Noire special, and what marks it out as more than just another Shalimar clone, is its balance between burned sugar and salty driftwood (ambergris). Geisha Noire is at its very best at the end of the day when its salty-sweet amber has melted into the heat of your skin, forming a veritable forcefield of radiant, gold-tipped sweetness. A true my-skin-but-better kind of scent.
Przeginia
