Encre Noire: Eau Hell No!

[Rüssel]

Some people like Encre Noire, some Dirty English, it's all good. Which one is more Beavis & Butthead is in the eye of the beholder.

[mumsy]

@Marquis... well, if you would like to......I'm ever so willing to take the hateful thing away for you.

[DanielPlainview]

I can tell you that vetiver is not a "fresh" smell to an average brazilian nose! (DanielPlainview?)

You're right, vetiver doesn't smell fresh to me. It is rooty and earthy.

[Jack Hunter]

I can relate with this one as after the smoky woody opening I get twelve hours of a pungent sour vetiver accord. I got rid of this as I found it very unpleasant.

[uhbhatti88]

Someone told me early on in my hobby to be wary of the very negative and very positive things people say about fragrance (and by extension others matters of taste)

Encre Noire is the tonal centre of what i like in perfume. It is reductionist yet detailed, smoky yet fresh, chemical yet smooth, wet and dry at the same time. It projects well, lasts well, doesn't break the bank, blends well on both clean and end-of-the-working-day skin and brings on a calm yet sharp mood (a sort of peircing silence)

I like it more than most fragrances out there today, yet not nearly as much as my favourites. It is not extreme in any sense of the word (there are far more extreme fragrances out there on any scale of measurement, be it chemical, stinky, poopy, clean, sillage, longevity, woodi- and smokiness, whatever)

I wear it to work in 90F+ weather in a sunny, dusty, hot and sweaty enviroment (and that too a hospital) and only as a point of personal reference it is cleaner than most of what i see/smell/touch during the entire day. To consider this mixture dirty is to live in a hygiene condition so superior to what I know that I have no idea what it would smell like, perhaps even beyond laundry-musk clean.

So while I understand OP's reaction, I feel that I cannot relate to it much, and as a result while OP may consistently dislike EN over time, I cannot apply his findings to any other time, place, or person. To each his/her own I guess.

[sarıpatates]

Your quest for "truth" is heavily biased.

[Dane77]

As for popular appeal, I validated my suspicions by having a couple of friends, male and female smell it, all found it highly objectionable with one commenting that it smells like compost. (...) I realize Encre Noire is widely acclaimed, but so was Beavis and Butthead do America and Titanic; to quote Kierkegaard "the crowd is untruth"

Your opinion is your opinion and you're entitled to it, but your argument contradicts itself. Why did you "validate your suspicions" by checking "popular appeal" if "the crowd is untruth"?! Is "popular appeal" not an indication of what "the crowd" likes?

[chopwet]

I love EN but it's something that I would never use more than a single spray of. I find it does justice to it's name: 'black ink'.

I love it because it reminds me of when I was younger and spent days at school spilling ink over myself while learning how to write in cursive with a fountain pen. It brings back memories of eating arroz negro (sp?) for the first time in Barcelona and that amazing experience of tasting the black squid ink.

[trex57]

I'm not a fan either. Your use of a "pull my finger" fragrance is freakin' priceless. Hilarious.


@chopwet, that second picture pretty much killed my appetite.

[Alain27]

I can't say that I love EN but I definitely like it and respect it . Many friends have complimented me on it right on the first day I wore it so that must be something .

[BrutalismX]

I love Encre Noir. This has been one of the few fragrances I get repeated compliments on. Its odd for sure though.

[OdilonRedon]

I don't know about Encre Noir but I could go for some arroz negro right now!

[bleedredandblue]

Sadly, I'll never get back the 60 seconds it took to read the OP. Lost me at the Kouros/SM comparison (I mean, really? You really find it the olfactory equivalent of those two fragrances? Find that so hard to believe...), stayed lost by referencing Bang as an, ahem, grit and balls masculine, then sealed it with the B&B/Titanic references, which are complete and utter nonsense, particularly when you make a comment about EN as conceptual fragrance art just a sentence later. (Then again, maybe Beavis and Butthead WAS conceptual art after all! All these years I was missing it!)

You don't like EN. Congrats. But that review was worse than rotting wood.

[Kaern]

Of all the fragrances to spit venom at, you choose Encre Noir, which to me is a fairly innocuous but rather nice vetiver. A mis-directed rant imo.

[badarun]

Encre Noir or any other vetiver are normally earthy and fresh, I like this frag, got no issues, definitely don't get any rotting wood / mulch when i wear this...

[DanielPlainview]

There is nothing rotting about Encre Noire. It is just dark woods put together.

[mtheory8]

Yes it reminds of black ink.

As a child, I use to write with an ink pen and thats the smell I get.

I don't like it one bit. I've worn it several times and can't get my self to accept it or even see why anyone would like it. I really wonder how many people force themselves to like it just so they can be in the special club of Encre Noire lovers.

[DaveStPaul]

I'm with Dane77, who said,

"Why did you "validate your suspicions" by checking "popular appeal" if "the crowd is untruth"?! Is "popular appeal" not an indication of what "the crowd" likes?"

You blew it by saying:

"I realize Encre Noire is widely acclaimed, but so was Beavis and Butthead do America and Titanic; to quote Kierkegaard "the crowd is untruth""

and then saying,

"As for popular appeal, I validated my suspicions by having a couple of friends, male and female smell it, all found it highly objectionable . . .".

Which is it, man!

All right, end of university logic lecture. Keep on ranting, though, brother. A good rant is a beautiful thing. It feels good to scorch some earth sometimes.

[ROBERTO]

My favourite vetiver scent. Dark and tenebrous. I love ENCRE NOIRE

[stevolution]

EN is very bitter. I was a little disappointed, but tit does better in cold weather.

[The Smelly Scientist]

I am very happy to have it in my collection

[MFfan310]

Encre Noire is probably the best blind buy that I have ever made.

So what if Encre Noire is 45% ISO E Super? Terre d'Hermés (which I also love) has 55%, and the ubiquitous Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce (which I will not wear because of my personal Abercrombie and Hollister boycott) has about the same level. ISO E Super or not, I love the smell, and others love it on me as well. While dark and different, it's also extremely versatile - it can be worn in virtually any temperature because of the vetiver dominance. And if you skip Neiman Marcus and search the discounters, you can get a 1.7 oz for about $40 shipped - a true bargain in the fragrance world.

Oh well... haters gotta hate.

[Vinrambo09]

I really cannot understand such opinions.

Its one thing not to like it but its another to write paragraph after paragraph bad mouthing a perfume.

Especially because you are very wrong in your opinion.

Given the stats (price, brand not being an actual perfumery, availability) it is an excellent perfume and an accolade among designer perfumes.

When I don't like something, I try to learn why and then in the end I simply say I disliked it for so and so reason. I don't condescend it and the people who enjoy it.

Totally agree! A 5 paragraph rant is not needed for what is a masterpiece fragrance . The OP does not like Kouros either , go figure lol.

[mtheory8]

Bad mouthing? Op gave an honest and quite entertaining "opinion" on the fragrance. You can disagree or agree.

If someone spent fine paragraphs praising a universally hated fragrance in the community, would it get the same response?

How hypocritical is it to come and say, op I don't agree, and your opinion is wrong.

Is this forum only accepting of positive reviews?

Some of the responses to the op really reflect the cult like attitude of the community in general toward these type of fragrances.

[noirdrakkar]

encre noire is very affordable, and even if it were double or triple it's price, it would still be an excellent deal.

however, it's not for younger people or warm weather, so it lacks wearability.

[Schilling]

@Marquis... well, if you would like to......I'm ever so willing to take the hateful thing away for you.

Me, too. I hate to see a fragrance make someone cranky. I really like Encre Noire, but I'm guessing you don't? You might want to check in to one of our "Free to a Good Home" threads. Find something more up your alley and put the Encre Noire up for adoption to someone who enjoys it. Win-win for all, and balance in the universe is restored.

[Palmolive]

EN is an fragrance that breaks rules. Normally when people are wearing something you can tell its ballpark, EN is playing a whole different game with rules most don't comprehend.



You need to be <this> mysterious to wear it.

[L'Homme Blanc Individuel]

There is a class of fragrances people buy, not because they are enjoyable, but because they want to see if they can get away with wearing them publicly, this is one of those fragrances.

You are absolutely, without a doubt, dead wrong, and I'll tell you why: You're making the mistake of assuming your taste is right and anyone who disagrees must be lying or have an agenda. And you're wrong.

You dislike Encre Noir. That's cool. I don't care for it either. But that's just you and me. Other people genuinely love the stuff. Who are either of us to question their taste?

As I said, I don't like Encre Noir and for quite a while I didn't even understand it. I ordered a sample because I'd read so much about it here on basenotes, and when the sample arrived, I was dumbfounded. I thought "What the heck is this?!?" I absolutely hated the stuff. Then I sampled more vetivers and suddenly, Encre Noir made sense. I still don't enjoy it, but I totally understand the appeal for others.

- - - Updated - - -

Riley: I actually don't mind Tom Ford's Grey Vetiver and Occitane's Vetyver is a nice Cyprus Vetyver I find quite wearable.im not anti-vetiver, I'm anti- filthy filthy chemical spill vetiver a la Encre Noire. I mean if I had a choice I wouldn't reach for a Vetiver as my staple fragrance, but I don't find them objectionable per se.

Interestingly, I don't mind Grey Vetiver either. I might even enjoy it. I suspect you and I have similar taste in vetivers in that we like them more on the bright side than the dark. Maybe. Guerlain's Vetiver Extreme is more of a halfway point between Grey Vetiver and Encre Noir.

Just out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on Michael Kors, Azzaro Visit and Terre D'Hermes? I find that each of these shares a note with Encre Noir - not the vetiver though - and I dislike them all for the same reason I dislike Encre Noir.

[MFfan310]

encre noire is very affordable, and even if it were double or triple it's price, it would still be an excellent deal.

however, it's not for younger people or warm weather, so it lacks wearability.

Agree on the first part: there's a reason why Neiman Marcus sells a lot of bottles of Encre Noire at $92 for a 1.7 oz and $125 for a 3.3 (when comparing it to discounter prices, it also explains why they are nicknamed Needless Markup).

Disagree on the second: I'm 26, can pull Encre Noire off just fine, and have gotten compliments on it as well.

Can't comment on the third part, as I got my bottle late last fall.

[dougczar]

I own it and love it. Not my favorite vetiver, but certainly in my top 10 vetiver fragrances.