Pure Noir

When I think of easy-yet-special rose fragrances, Anine Bing's Pure Noir fits to a tee. It's what forest sprites would wear as their crowd-pleasing scent, easy to love but a bit otherworldly. It's a mall scent for some hypothetical daydreamer who has only read about malls in a dusty history book. Papyrus and saffron are prominent, followed by a beautiful fresh rose. Labdanum provides a dusky powder that haunts the peripheries. And there's a hint of sweet liqueur. It's elements - woody, sweet, floral, spicy - are in perfect equilibrium. A perfect pop-culture take on the arcane. 2023 Edit: This is now being sold as a bigger bottle and at a lower price. I'd be curious to know if it was also reformulated.

Oh, this is gorgeous! To my nose, this smells like the Hotel Costes candle - one of my favorites. Anine Bing Pure Noir is lightly woody and effervescent with an undertone of sun dried roses. A whiff of this elixir feels like taking a sip of strong dark rum and coke. There's something bubbly and spicy in here. The bottle is also pleasing to the eye and has a magnetized cap that locks into place with a satisfying click.

I swear this is my favorite perfume ever. It has a perfect balance of rose, woods, spices and balsamic notes. There is nothing irritating, pure pleasure. Sexy, rich and warm, and also kind of gothic. It’s a love. Halfeti is close enough, but I do prefer Pure Noir.

Very similar to Penhaligon’s Halfeti, on my skin I really can‘t tell the difference. Spicy, woody, warm. The rose is soft in the background, barely distinguishable. Definitely unisex to my nose.

I do not want to kill the romantic mood of the previous comments but when I smell modern Amber-Musk mix (Group: MUSK, AMBER, ANIMALIC SMELLS; Ambroxan is one of them) I don't think of any woods (usually Amboxan = Cederwood, Sandalwood, Oakmoss, Amber, Musk), I just hate the entire composition all together. These mixes also give me more masculine vibe despite that they smell like menstrual blood sometimes. Meanwhile, there is another perfume of this brand called Rose Wood and I am head over heels in love with it. Anine Bing