Noir Epices (2000)
by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle

I love the orange & rose top notes. Nutmeg and cinnamon are warm & spicy making it, for me anyway, a winter fragrance.

21st November, 2011.

Scent begins with a severe orange opening; some warm spices create backdrop. A fruity accord, almost like cherry cordial, begins oozing unhappily out of the mix. Just when I thought I couldn’t take anymore, a rose note came at me, like a louche drunk crashing a Constant Comment tea party.

Rose never leaves the party, instead plopping down on a divan and snoring loudly. Nutmeg and cinnamon have a quiet conversation nearby. After an hour or two, some woods arrive, but by then it’s too late. Sadly, the party drags on and on and on…Oh Noir Epices, my high hopes have been dashed.

4th November, 2011.

The aldehydic fragrance in object is a woody-oriental that seems to get the heritage of some sumptuous spicy-oriental of the past like Youth Dew (but this one is finally less vanillic and ambery), Magie Noir and the legendary Mitsouko (but less fruity-hesperidic, mossy and earthy). The appalling aldehydic chord of citrus, rose-geranium, spices and patchouli grounds in a while a sort of dreadful and vintage aura around, an aura of mystery that is not properly dark in my olfactory vocabulary but that conjures on me the atmosphere of some claustrophobic attics of old buildings in the down town, full of objects, chandeliers and tapestries. The fragrance starts spicy and ends the same in an olfactory structure that makes the spices (mostly cinnamon and black pepper) whirling around the link of geranium-rose, orange in the first stage, than around sandalwood and overall patchouli. In order to preserve a touch of modernity i suppose there isn't bergamot in the top despite i perceive its proper hint of retro'. The fragrance is dry, dusty and almost incensey with nuances of orange, cinnamon and rose under my nose, the sweetness is moderate, it's the indolic mildness of rose-geranium and nutmeg, the mild touch of sandalwood. The link of geranium, cedarwood and patchouli impresses restrained severity to the juice that is finally bold, unisex and misty with the florals soared by aldehydes. Another great concoction for us.

9th October, 2011. (Last Edited: 22nd December, 2011.)

Too spicy, too gatecrasher. If you appreciate sublety, this is not your perfume.

28th September, 2011.

The breathy bitterness in the opening reminds me of so many antiquated dandified fragrances from the past. It seems like a modern take on quite a classic theme. What does feel more modern is the later use of spices in a rather collaborative manner. It is never cluttered, and feels temperate and comforting, retaining a subtle bitterness throughout. My only slight reservation is that at times it feels a little contrived, but it is a minor criticism for an otherwise impressive fragrance.

9th April, 2011.

adore the rich intensity of this and the way the scent develops over the course of the day.
I think it a sensational dramatic and mysterious scent.

31st March, 2011. (Last Edited: 3rd June, 2011.)