Magie Noire (1978)
by Lancôme

The Queen of perfumes in my view and, like Climat, an example of how good Lancome used to be before all this new fangled Hypnose-type stuff. I wore this from my teens up til a few years ago. The only reason I stopped wearing it was because a horrible bitchy woman from work who used to liberally douse herself in horrendous 'sexy' power perfumes used to wear it and it completely put me off it! But putting that aside, I do regret giving that last bottle I had away and think I will buy this again soon, it's clever, magical, truly sexy and leaves a beautiful trail. This is not for tweenies or for those who dig the modern perfumes, it's an old-fashioned and traditionally feminine evening perfume and I don't think every woman can carry it off. It's definitely one for the slightly strange Phoebe from friends types, a bit different, a bit strange, a bit hippy, mysterious and truly sexy.

Woodsy, bittersweet & not at all safe or wishy-washy. A scent for evenings only... at least for me, and the name suggests that it's not intended as an 'office' fragrance. Although it's definitely spicy, I'm not sure about the oriental category... it's certainly not heavy & sweet like Opium or Coco.

A riveting/sensual/mysterious/melancholy fragrance. A true oriental scent. Think sandalwood/incense/musk/civet with the allure of deep rose
thrown in. This is an intense fragrance and not for the faint of heart. None of that lame fruit salad-ozonic-fresh-floral-air freshener stuff. This is fragrance with a capital F. A scent befitting a femme fatale.

About 10 years ago, a darling coworker of my mom's gave her a LARGE bottle of Magie Noire. This coworker loved to give people gifts, and to bake them incredible Lithuanian pastries. It seemed that everything that she gave was perfectly tailored to the person, and that the gifts took real time, effort, and money. Also, she gave these gifts with joy. Anyway, Mom had never sniffed great fragrance before and she was enchanted with this gift of Magie Noire. Mom calls it "the black bottle" and compares every other fragrance to it, as in, "This is nice, but it's not the black bottle..."
The other day I got some samples of very pricey perfumes in a department store promo. I was amazed that these samples smelled almost identical to room freshener or cheap hairspray. In other words, they couldn't begin to touch "the black bottle." Magie Noire is lovely, rich, rare, and it remains the standard to me. And to Mom :)

Have Magie Noir been reformulated? I don´t recognise it from the late 70:s and early 80:s, when I deeply loved it, and finnished two 100 mL bottles. I don´t like it at all today, to my really great surprice!

Or is it me geting older, and having a different skin-chemisrty?

Nothing makes me want to wretch more than Magie Noire. It is what I consider one of the most hideous scents. I am not a fan of most of Lancome's scents and this one is my least favorite. When anyone is wearing, I have to get away from them. Even in small doses, this perfume is the most sickening I have ever smelled. To my senses, it is equivalent to the scent of poison...literally. Ick.