L’Ange Noir

Dark Iris with Almond & Oily Sesame Tahini... My first impression was that this wasn't sweet enough - almost unsweetened, but as the vanilla has aged I feel the sweetness is just right to be able to appreciate the sesame. This only gets better with time, both in the bottle and on the skin. Opens with a burst of almond supported by multi-faceted bergamot & accented by pink-pepper, that deepens into the white-iris & sesame heart with powdery, sweet, nutty, aromatic & soft-violet tones. You do get a vintage lipstick-y vibe here amongst the rich & nutty sesame-almond. The sesame here leans to an oily tahini. This all rests on a base of tonka, ambrette & amber. Tonka here is of the of the soft vanilla & tobacco-blossom variety, helping to continue the powdery, vanillic facets, and ambrette helping to continue the seed-like nuttiness and soft florals. Amber here is in the background tying all the other notes together. Alongside all of this I also get a faintly smoky, near-ashy vibe coming perhaps from the spiciness of pink-pepper combining with the ambreete, near tobacco-blossom of tonka and other powdery facets. Overall I get an iris-almond-sesame scent, and while there is some sweetness this isn't overly sweet, with excellent performance. It's a love for me, but needs to sweeten more: Enjoy! Contrast to Lipstick On Maison Martin Margiela: These are different, but there are striking similarities with the vintage lipstick vibe. Lipstick On is sweeter and much more vanilla forward. L'Ange Noir outperforms. Update 01/29/25: Sprayed this on this morning, and was pleased to notice the almond coming more forward now in the opening. That transitions rather quickly into the vintage lipstick vibe of the heart with iris-sesame. In the air there's a nice blooming effect coming from the iris. The ambrette is a little more toned down now with that charred/charcoal vibe in the background. It's a little sweeter now too, but not a lot sweeter. Still a very dark vibe of a scent overall, and still a love.

I’ve owned this one for a couple years now and used up a couple of bottles. It’s not at all the type of scent I “think” I like but it’s a scent I love. It’s way too soft for my taste, but the nutty iris is so addictive. I owned a few iris scents over the years. This is my favorite one of them all. So much so, I decluttered most of the others. It’s mostly an airy iris with a really interesting nutty thing that took me awhile to recognize, but once I did, I realized it’s what makes this so special. Usually I dislike strong almond notes as they turn to play doh on me. No play doh here, not once. I get more toasted sesame. A subtle sweetness like the toasting of bread. Pure clean flowery iris without any soapy notes, without coming off too makeupy. That’s about it, but that’s enough. You will crave this the way you crave carbs. I find this scent pairs really well with leather. Going for a drive in a fancy car, wearing a pair of black leather pants with a silk blouse. It’s chic, dark, only slightly sweet, and cooler than everyone else in the room. If perfumes were Spice Girls, this would be Posh. Never smiling. Always looking flawless. Grown ass woman. It works well in all weather except scorching heat and sun, which burns it off. But it works on summer nights very well. It has a light floweriness that makes it feel pretty in the spring. Perfect in fall. Fancy in winter. It lasts on clothing for a few days. I can still slightly smell myself the next day. But sometimes this one hangs out really close to the skin and can be a bit fleeting. I still love it though. I wish there were more iris scents like this. I don’t know what I’m going to do once i can’t buy it anymore. This is so much better (and nothing like) the other angel/demon flankers in this line. Definitely shouldn’t have been discontinued.

Almond is one of my most favorite perfume notes,I love it in all it's variations,when I saw it's paired with iris and tonka in givenchy l'ange noir I immediately ordered it which was a great decision L'ange noir worthes every penny I paid for it.I agree that it has a niche-like quality,also I agree that it can be unisex.I usually don't like feminine perfumes with a masculine/unisex vibe but this is among exceptions.I love it! Almond is very prominent but this isn't a sweet almondy gourmand.on the contrary I find it somehow bitter.yes,there's tonka and amber giving it this balmy sweetness but all in all it's not a sweet perfume.I adore whatever note which makes a perfume delicious and at the same time bitter-ish or dark,such as licorice,myrrh,hazelnut,cocoa,cinnamon &...I believe sesame acts the same here.it gives this a pastry-like but not sweet deliciousness.the overall scent feels very dry and somehow cold when first sprayed but it becomes warmer and buttery as time passes.iris is easily detectable making it look like a far relative of Dior homme intense but I wished there was more iris here.vintage lipstick,face powder goes very well with this almondy bread thing but I feel sometimes the latter one overpowers iris and covers it L'ange noir is kind of dark without being pretentious.I find it comforting and a confidence booster and sometimes crave it but I don't wear it regularly.I need more sweetness,more florals for my regular perfumes so I often layer in with Armani code cashmere.the result is Devine.I also love it's layer with Dior homme intense and valentino uomo on my husband Longevity is very good.sillage is medium.it's bottle looks great Highly recommended

Blind bought L' Ange Noir based on the reviews here, since I love Dior Homme on my husband, hoping I would find its feminine equivalent. My expectations were met, even though I think I would prefer it to be just a tad sweeter - and that's a first for me, since I generally do not appreciate sweet fragrances. It does lean on the masculine side, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, what's not to love? Almond, sesame, iris, tonka... It's heavenly. At the beginning, I get a generous dose of pink pepper and an acidic quality, which apparently comes from bergamot. A few minutes later, the almond comes forward, providing a subtle sweetness. Sesame follows shortly after, creating a creamy combination which is to die for. However, it doesn't feel gourmand to my nose, as the iris, lingering in the background up till now, claims the spotlight along with ambrette, transforming the scent to a leathery, smoky aura. A soft, velvety cloud of tonka serves as a luxurious pillow for all these opulent notes to settle in. What I enjoy most is that leathery sense it evokes, even though it does not contain this particular note. At some point it smells like a leather vanity case, the only downside to me, and that is why I can't wait to layer it with vanilla perfumes. L' Ange Noir is mysterious, seductive and I daresay unique, in terms of female perfumes. Arrogant as it may sound, this is not a perfume for the faint of heart, nor for a damsel in distress. I doubt that it would satisfy people who crave Black Opium, La Vie e Belle, or Good Girl scents (pun intended). Definitely signature material for assertive, enigmatic women. PS. Try layering it with L' Interdit Intense. Divine.

This fragrance has A LOT of dislikes. I don't really understand why... it's actually pretty great as long as it's properly applied with a very light hand because it's STRONG. People adore MM "Lipstick On" which I also own and it is quite similar, yet they hate this. Perhaps it's the sesame note most people struggle with? Anyway, it's very lovely. Powdery, sweet, warm, and indeed Noir. I don't find the sesame off putting or overly intense. If anything it lends a slightly waxy, nutty, texture that's necessary to the overall effect. I love it! It's unpopular but I would definitely repurchase. It's much cheaper than Lipstick On so I recommend it to those who want that cosmetics note at a bit lower price. Let me be crystal clear: They are NOT identical Twins, but more like half sisters. I don't want anyone blind buying because someone on fragrantica said it was a dupe. It's not. But it does share some serious similarities in the dry down. L'ange Noir, like most Givenchy fragrances, lasts forever on me! I mean it goes the distance! My skin typically eats perfume quickly but most from this house stick around 8-12 hours and L'ange Noir proudly joins the ranks of its predecessors. Others have mentioned it is masculine... it is NOIR. Very dark. And some truly dark fragrances seem to come off that way to some people. I don't really think of gender in relation to fragrance though. So it would have to be pretty darn "classically masculine marketed cologne smelling" for me to agree on that point and this definitely doesn't smell like a cologne marketed towards men. Straight up manly? No. Unisex? Sure! But consider the source...I think everything is unisex! lol