Essence de Noir

According to the notes breakdown I found on the official French Avenue website, the composition is quite different from the one currently listed on Fragrantica: Top Notes: Blackcurrant, Water Notes Heart Notes: Rose, Cyclamen, Narcissus, Jasmine Sambac Base Notes: Oud, Patchouli, Incense, Benzoin Looking at the note structure, it appears to be almost identical to Matière Noire by Louis Vuitton. I personally haven’t had the opportunity to smell Matière Noire itself, so I can’t comment on the similarity. However, if I had to describe the overall DNA, it actually kind of reminds me of Tom Ford Noir de Noir (a little bit, not an exact dupe) The difference is that instead of the chocolatey, vanillic richness that Noir de Noir develops in the drydown, Essence De Noir takes a darker route. The combination of oud, patchouli, and benzoin creates a drydown that feels spicier, earthier, and slightly skanky. The opening starts with a noticeable fruity touch from the blackcurrant before quickly revealing a very prominent rose accord. The rose+patchouli combination immediately reminded me of Noir de Noir for a brief moment. However, because of the oud in the base, it never develops that sweet, chocolate like character. Instead, the oud introduces a slightly skanky edge. Not animalic in the barnyard sense, but enough for some people to perceive it as slightly challenging. Overall, this is a rose, patchouli, and oud dominant fragrance. What makes it stand out is the addition of blackcurrant, which gives the opening a fresher and fruitier character than many fragrances in this style. As it reaches the drydown, the fragrance becomes noticeably more mature. The oud and benzoin push it toward a more classic and sophisticated direction, which some people might even describe as vintage. Fortunately, that maturity is exactly what makes it feel truly unisex. The oud keeps the rose from becoming overly jammy, sweet, or feminine, while also balancing the fruitiness of the blackcurrant. The result is a surprisingly balanced composition where the rose, fruitiness, and oud coexist without any single note overwhelming the others. If you enjoy darker rose fragrances such as Tom Ford Noir de Noir but would like something less "sweet" and more oud focused, Essence De Noir is definitely worth exploring especially considering its price point. It delivers a mature, elegant, and slightly mysterious rose+oud profile without feeling overly sweet or excessively animalic. 8.3/10

The notes here are wrong. I just got mine and the notes listed on the box are identical to Matiere Noire. It smells wonderful. I also have Jean Lowe Matiere and I think I like this one better, it seems like it's of a slightly higher quality than the MA. I'll do a side by side comparison after my bottle has had some time to sit and update for whoever is interested.

Smells really old after delivery, but then develops into this boozy, almost motor oil type of smell that's not very strong but stingy. It's a good fragrance, the rose and the benzoin stick out a lot, but I don't recommend it for inside use, especially all day. You lose the top notes after 2 hours too

I don’t like this on my skin, it’s not really my type of scent. It smells old, mature, and kind of vintage. I think it suits a woman more, not a young girl, but a mature woman, maybe 35+. I don’t know... it definitely gives off cougar/MILF vibes. Oh, and it also has a sharp patchouli note that’s kind of overpowering.

Notes are listed is not right, here the real notes. Top notes are Blackcurrant Syrup and Watery Notes Middle notes are Rose, Cyclamen, Narcissus and Jasmine Sambac Base notes are Agarwood (Oud), Patchouli, Incense and Benzoin.