ennui-noir

This feels like something a designer house should make-- it's a highly palatable, aromatic citrus vanilla. Main components are a beautiful soft lavender and rich clean patchouli. Heliotrope and vanilla add a marshmallow lightness that is grounded by the cedar and vetiver. The scent isn't polished like most designers, and in fact the ingredients almost feel gritty, but the vanilla makes it plush and velvety, softening the sharp herbal facets. It ends up being sweet as a lemon tart, somehow gourmand, herbaceous and woody all at once. These contrasting qualities make it difficult to describe, so by all means worth testing. The L'air Du Desert Marocain comparison is tempting, as it's a tart lavender, but where that perfume is dry, warm and spicy this one is cool, herbal and woody. I'll probably replace my LDDM with this, actually, since it's so much mellower and less spicy. As a color, I picture this scent being a pastel shade like lilac or mint green. The strident cologne accords lean masculine to some, but since this is very sweet and absolutely demolishes the likes of Mon Guerlain or Libre Intense, I'll wear it proudly. Weirdly enough the only thing I don't like is the concentration-- it starts out extremely strong and sharp, so I usually spray on my clothes to diffuse that a bit.

If this perfume were a place, it would be a windowless lair with black lacquered walls and a cavernous ball pit, filled exclusively with black foam balls. It's a moody playground for an audience of one. Lonely but joyful, playful but melancholy. And, above all, completely self-indulgent. While it doesn't smell synthetic per se, it does smell removed from anything natural. It turns vanilla and lavender into something abstract, with a texture that's so smooth, it's almost plastic. But that's the point. This is about a form of escapism so decadent and so inward, it doesn't even intersect with nature. It's about a self-indulgence that's so complete, it's closer to death than life. Or, to put it another way, Ennui Noir is the private room in your imagination that you retreat to whenever you want to avoid the responsibilities that come with life. Even as a part of you knows that avoidance is never the solution, another part of you (the Ennui Noir part) understands that that's part of the thrill. In a world where everything's measured in terms of productivity, competency, efficiency, maybe there's something beautiful, even poignant, about wasting your life away. Maybe, Ennui Noir whispers to you, it's even the ultimate form of luxury.

I wanted to avoid the notes for this, as I wanted it to sit with me until I identified it. This scent hit me like a punch. It is profound, lonely, cold, and devastating. It smells like the resolve you feel when life gives you one further knock, yet another disappointment or frustration. It smells like the fortitude that floods in from out of the blue, of a new disregard for what others think, and a determination to seek your own best interests. The colour is ultraviolet light. It is synthetic, though beautifully so. It is cold, with only a powdery element which could be perceived to be even lukewarm. It's all rather Serge Leutens. It's lavender! It took me several wears to identify it. I can't fathom how it was so difficult to pin down. The cedar in the middle of the pyramid becomes somewhat alien when paired with heliotrope, it keeps me thinking along the lines of tuberose, or even lily of the valley. It isn't a coquettish floral, it is like a cut flower found in a strange location, a flower used in some spell indoors. Gorgeous, vengeful, selfish. 10/10

Incredibly nostalgic scent for me. It reminds me of those edible necklaces made of sugar candy. The vanilla is the main star, but is more light and fresh than warm and sweet. Comforting without being nauseating. It's so different than the name suggests for me. I expected something austere and dark, this is the opposite. Rich, sweet, light. Pastel colors and crunchy sugar. The transition between spring to summer when you're a child, seen through the lens of memory. The cedar and vetiver notes bloom after dry-down, turning it into a slightly colder and less childhood-reminiscent scent. As a wood note fan, I find it gorgeous. The patchouli is present but as a support to the other notes. I am usually very sensitive and disgusted by this note, but here it is working beautifully. 9/10 would happily wear this, not enough my vibe to be a signature scent but a gorgeous fragrance nonetheless.

It leans rather feminine to me, however Ennui is not a girly-girl or a sophisticated lady, but a young woman with depth, grit, and some playfulness. The florals in the opening, juxtaposed by the earthier vetiver-vanilla base, are enchanting. While testing, I wrote "powdery berry bubblegum, dissolving into woody vanilla". I find this description hilarious because (even if it is not the most accurate one,) it is the complete opposite of a perfume I thought I would enjoy. Oh well. Filippo is a master magician. Update: Strong magic. Wore it out and never stopped smelling it on myself, even after a day. A little goes a very long way with this. I feel like it developed a different character depending on the weather - woodier during the colder months and more floral now in spring. Filippo, please take my money.