Encre Noire pour Elle (2009)
by Lalique

Although I do not believe that Lalique ENCRE NOIRE POUR ELLE is a bad fragrance, I also do not find it all that memorable. Part of the disappointment may derive from what I regard as the house's mistake of naming this creation as a flanker to the male version, ENCRE NOIRE, which does have a unique personality and develops through very distinct stages (whether one happens to like them or not...). In contrast, POUR ELLE seems a bit vague and linear, yet another somewhat thin, lightly woody floriental among hundreds. I find this composition wearable but inoffensive to the point of being forgettable.

While the original ENCRE NOIRE prominently features Iso Super E, the female version is said to contain Kephalis, a synthetic molecule whose acquaintance I have not made elsewhere (at least to my knowledge...). I wish that this composition contained more ambrette, which I do not detect at all. Instead, this seems to me like a somewhat generic, ever-so-slightly soapy (in the drydown) lightly woody rose.

Even the formerly beautiful bottle of the original ENCRE NOIRE has been marred by the over-the-top wedding invitation script used on this flanker. Kind of a sad metaphor on Adam's rib: an afterthought.

27th October, 2011.

Encre Noire Pour Elle is not Black Ink. Instead, it a woody rose. ENPE opens quite soapy to my nose but doesn't stay there. As it dries, it reveals a rose in the heart which strikes a balance between classic and modern. The base is woody with a touch of musk.

Overall, Encre Noire is a well-balanced, close-wearing, soft feminine fragrance. It smells like a high-quality fragrance as well - no plastic notes, no synthetic cast. I highly recommend this one for sampling by rose lovers, if not blind buying. Those who like SJP Lovely and Narciso Rodriguez for Her will likely like ENPE as well.

25th September, 2011.

If the name has you anticipating a more “feminine,” perhaps floral, variation on the delectably bitter, smoky vetiver of Encre Noire, I have to burst your bubble. This is nothing of the sort. Too bad – it would have a made a great fragrance.

What you get instead is an extremely dull, conventional soapy white floral fragrance; a kind if impoverished Ivoire with anything that might smell natural expunged. Chemical "freesia" top notes introduce a hyacinth and muguet reconstruction that would serve better as air-freshener than perfume. The drydown is a cheap-smelling soapy rose and woody amber concoction of so little interest or distinction that I can’t imagine an iota of thought (or money) went into its composition. It’s a shame Lalique chose to waste the cachet of “Encre Noire” on this junk. Daring women should wear the original instead.

2nd May, 2011. (Last Edited: 13rd July, 2011.)

If I were to give Encre Noire pour Elle a Sanchez/Turin-style two-word fly-by, it would be boozy detergent. Despite the apt but snipey sounding description, there are aspects of ENpE that I appreciate and like. Categorically it’s a musky, woody floral---an enormous field. In spite of the common pedigree, though, it is clever in concept and direct in execution. The various floral elements (rose, osmanthus, freesia) come together to strike one metallic note. The wood is cedar, and I suppose is a nod to the cedar-like vetiver of the original Encre Noire, but I don’t in fact smell vetiver. The musk sews it up. This is not a luscious, round, fruity or animalic musk. Not soft, not cuddly. It is glaringly bright, a bit harsh and acts as a dessicant to the florals. The dewy, fruity aspects of rose and osmanthus, and the delicate sweetness of freesia are obliterated by the musk. When magnified by the musk, the flowers become a floral eau de vie, giving that double-distilled, blanched feel.

A few points. 1) Unlike the original, ENpE does smell like ink. 2) Noire? This is so bright I see spots. 3) To make the first in a line a masculine but without a gender descriptor in the title is fine. Then to use the name of the original, adding “pour Elle” the same way one would add “light,” “fraiche,” or “sport" makes it a flanker. My issue, though, is that by extension, a woman is presented as a flanker to the universal-since-unnamed man. This boy/girl thing is only interesting if there is a twist---imagine the Rochas flanker Femme pour Lui.

18th February, 2011. (Last Edited: 19th February, 2011.)

I tried this accidentally. I find it very unique but not appealing. This scent strikes me as very depressing. Reminds of graveyard, funeral in autumn, empty, dark and pristine appartment.

22nd September, 2010.

Add some transparent florals (one of which is rose) over something like Mugler Cologne or Creed's Original Vetiver and you'd get the vetiver style that's in Lalique's Encre Noire pour Elle. This feels "cold" while the pour Homme version smells raather "warm". Good longevity and sillage.

17th July, 2010.