Reviews of Encre Noir (2006)
by Lalique

Removed by user.
Removed by user.

...the Vetiver is this is not the vetiver we are so used to...plus this scent is very damp, earthy, rustic, "WOODY"...and at the same time - dry...i liked the way Nthny described the vetiver in this one..i think he said, it smells like underwater vetivers...how apt, thts exactly how vetiver plucked from the base of a dense swamp in middle of africa would smell like IMHO. very unique and yes, a company needs to have guts to release a scent like this one.

Encre Noir was love at first whiff. Encre Noir opens up with that bit of "green" from the Hatian Vetiver but you soon notice the licorice yielding a dark, inky, metallic texture that adds depth and mystery to the composition. There is a slight suggestion of spice, but rather it is the earthiness of the Vetiver Bourbon that quickly fades and supports Encre Noir's complexity. The Musk and Cashmere Wood adds sophistication and "Manly" overtones. As a whole, this is indeed a dark, brooding, inky fragrance that has instantly won me over. It is complex, yet smooth. Dark while mysterious. It conjures up several scenarios to mind. A must in any serious wardrobe and a fragrance that can be worn for any occasion and season. Finally, a Lalique that I don't want to be without!

for me the most interesting fragrance for men at the moment!
beautiful composition - ink, powder, woods! a dream!
try it...
if you like writing with your 'mont blanc'-pen, you're going to love this one!

Not an easy scent –complex, spicy and woody, without the balance or sweetness that would make it all friendly.

It is fairly intense and strong, which is brilliantly mirrored in the name and bottle. Notice how most of the reviews here unconsciously reference the bottle: “dark” “inky” and “black” come up again and again. I would say this deserves a gold medal for the matching of name, scent, and bottle, as they all seem to reference each other and together the whole is more than the sum of the parts.


You have to be careful where you wear this one because it is bold and strong. It won’t be liked by everyone, but everyone will notice it. It lasts well, although the spiciness fades and it becomes pleasantly woody in the end. The drydown is pleasant, but the early notes of boldness and spicy complexity are what you will remember.

As another compliment to the bottle, I should add the spray on this one is remarkably good. It is easily controllable, so you can squirt just a little or a lot, important in a scent as bold as this one. It also sprays a very fine mist, which is great for even application. I wonder why other manufacturers spend so much on the bottle but then attach an unwieldy spray nozzle.

I will join the group that was surprised by the scent after hearing the name and seeing the bottle. My initial impression was "smoke!" then... "grass... no, vetiver??" then... "encre noire? vetiver??" But so it is... and it's a very intriguing vetiver at that. The vetiver note in it reminds me of stems left in water too long. There's something a little "passed" about it in that rounded, odd way that something "on its way out" smells. But there's also the most fascinating impression of vetiver plucked from the ground-- fresh wet earth dripping from the roots. So with Encre Noire we have an expectation of something dark, inky, brooding, dangerous, refined. And we receive vetiver, at first sharp with a wisp of smoke, then calm, wilting, slightly muddy. To my nose it is a portrate of vetiver in its most natural state.

I like it very much. The first time i tried the edp and it's quite better than the edt i finally bought (more deep and the drydown it's fantastic, very long lasting, complex and appealing for me). However for the first two hour i also like the edt very much. The first minute it's fresh and "green", and i instantly like it. But it's the drydown that i prefer. After a few minutes it changes and remainds me the smell of a burning forest of resinous fir-woods. After 30 minutes it mixes up, and it remainds me of the ashes. After one hour it's not too pronounced but people around you still get a clean, and for me it's ok (i dont like very strong and coarse scents)
For me it's also quite sexy in a tenebrous and dark way.

Lalique’s Encre Noir is not at all what I expected, yet I like it. The name (‘black ink’) prepared me for something dark, perhaps brooding. The high-class vetiver ingredients led me to anticipate a substantial grassy vetiver element. This is fresh and crisp, light and yet quite interesting, with very subdued vetiver. It has a pleasant green-floral opening. There is a slight earthy/black soil note. Rumor has it that blackberry is another ingredient, and I believe it. During the first half hour I could detect just a hint of blackberry, not sweet-fruity but slightly tart. Eventually, light wood notes emerge, which I suppose are the cashmere wood but which remind me of the birch in Cartier’s Declaration. The wood almost has a lemony citrus aspect which is really intriguing. The white musk reminds me very much of Mugler’s Cologne and I’d say that the two fragrances are similar, except EN is greener and crisper. This is a very good daytime/ workplace scent, and would be refreshing in warm weather.

It reminds me a big fire in a mediterranean wood under the rain.
Warm, spicy and dark. An intense, rather refined fragrance.

I've nabbed some samples of this last week. I'm a woman and I've tried it on myself. I really like it.

As others have said, it's dark yet soft. I found it elegant and subtle at the same time. My nose did not detect the ink so much, as I'm unfamiliar with ink smells. I smell mainly wood in the initial spray and as it dried down, it smells rather "earthy". It lasted a long time, about 8 hours on me.

I think it is a really very unusual scent, it would be something I would wear in fall/winter with my black cashmere turtleneck sweater.

I tried this one because the bottle impressed me with its simplicity. The contents hit me with a strange, artificial but captivating top note. It reminds me of the smell if an ink blot or a piece of wood that has been heated to the point of carbonisation by electric heat! Not exactly woody but something darker and dangerous. So I bought it right there... Later I realised that this top note fades easily leaving middle and basenotes almost identical to L' Eau par Kenzo, which I also use, not so sweet though. Overall I love it but wish the top note lingered...