Black Perfecto by La Petite Robe Noire

Just picked this up and thought it would be a great blind buy, since LPRN EDT was such a lucky untested purchase for me. Very happy to have taken the chance. Opens with a cherry almond blast, and I mean blast, with rose quickly joining in, and to me, they do kind of a dance, but not for long. The bones of LPRN are certainly there, but it is darker and thicker. It is a bit "cough syrup" but that's my unimaginative husband talking (and we did joke about how well it would disguise the smell of arsenic.... because I'm an imaginative wife). I know it's quite common to associate things, but it's a matter of perspective, and the cherry and cough syrup or cough drop equivalency is one I don't personally share. Let's call it a little boozy instead. This dissipates fast, at any rate, and only warrants this seeming disclaimer because it is such an instant turn-off for some people. I think it's beautiful. My favourite part though is when it gets to the deep, black cherry incense phase, smoky and still rosy with a burnt hint of licorice, but more faint leather, which for some people in the reviews is too burnt - I get that, but I love it. Patchouli seems more like a heart note, picking up here but then taking the incense with it as it dries down, and the black tea is nowhere in there for me, and not picking up much tonka, either, which is kind of a drag. But the skin scent is a lovely light cherry candy rose, surprisingly day-friendly and carefree after such a gothic little trip down Medicine Avenue to get to the Head Shop by midnight, LOL. And again, that journey can be very easily reframed as "new car driven by person with a bad cold crashes into a house full of hippies". Just depends what you're into ;) *For some reason, the bottle and scent remind me of Amy Winehouse, which isn't at all a bad thing - just odd. Maybe I'll listen to some of her music while wearing this in my pyjamas. I'm getting more new car than motorcycle, but overall I'm very pleased with this perfume, and understand the mixed reviews. Although a wonderful gamble for me, it probably wears very differently on everyone. It's deeply comforting right now as it's Easter Sunday but everything is closed and nobody has plans, and it's freezing rain here today, and there are few opportunities left to wear this before she gets packed away for next late fall & early winter. Trying before buying might be impossible because it is discontinued.

I love La Petite Robe Noire Black Perfecto and its hilariously long and redundant name, even though I think there are way too many flankers of Guerlain fragrances (or any other popular fragrance, by any other house). That said, this is magical, and surprisingly affordable for a Guerlain--the bottle is just as pretty, if not prettier, than my other Guerlain bouchon coeur bottles (because it's black and opaque), and I spent no more on a new 50-ml bottle from a trusted discounter's site than I have spent on inferior juice from inferior houses. The only minor drawback is that my husband wasn't nuts about it on a test strip--I think it might have been the assertive patchouli in the opening, which dies down markedly as the other notes emerge--but I think he'll feel differently about it on skin. When I saw comparisons to Lolita Lempicka, I got a little nervous because I own Lolitaland by LL and find the anise or licorice note a bit oppressive in that context--but LPRNBP is not really like that. It reminds me more of Lost Cherry, at least at the beginning, before it morphs into a beautiful cherry-rose-marzipan-leather chimera. There is a moment in the drydown while the cherry is transforming into the rose where LPRNBP even reminds me of my precious Nahéma, although the fragrances aren't that much alike otherwise. Guerlain, much like God and Dolly Parton, don't make no trash. I hope Guerlain doesn't discontinue this flanker (I haven't even tried the first La Petite Robe Noire). I wish there were a Guerlain store (rather than a mere counter at a department store) nearby so that I could sweet-talk the staff to send me home with samples of everything. Then I would probably beg them for a job so I could get an employee discount, and eventually my soul would be owned by the company store. I suppose it's probably for the best that I remain in my cow-town, hours and hours away from the land of Guerlain. Update: I'm seeing other reviews suggesting that this is being discontinued, perhaps in favor of the EDT. I hope not. This is such a beautiful fragrance--it deserves much more than a cumulative 3.98 or wherever it is at the moment--and it doesn't really smell like anything else in my collection. I was thinking about giving my BUB to a friend, but I don't think I can do that if there is a chance this will be discontinued.

Initial notes after spraying is cherry but it's a very different cherry scent from Tom Ford's Lost Cherry, Maison Alhambra's Lovely Cherie and Zara's Cherry Smoothie. Here the cherry and almond combo is laced with licorice. So you've got anise competing with and sweetening cherry's tartness. It's also pretty powdery. The result is a very artificial smelling cherry scent that briefly went into urinal cake territory a minute in before the powder emerged. 15 mins in, it's basically just cherry scented baby powder. Weird that whenever it gets hit with cold I can smell the sweetened cherry but when it gets hit with heat I only get powder. 55 mins in, the powder has dropped off significantly from just 5 mins prior. The cherry also seems to be going. 1hr 30 mins in the powder is still there but faint. The sweet cherry, surprisingly, is still very detectable. Tom Ford's, Maison Alhambra's and Zara's cherry accords only lasted an hour on me. Guerlain's seem to have staying power. 2 hrs in, there's no more powder. There's still some cherry but it's already giving way to rose. That's a pretty clever decision by Guerlain's in-house perfumer Thierry Wasser because the similarities in scent profile between the licorice sweetened cherry and rose result in making the transition seamless and imperceptible and tricking you into thinking the cherry scent is lasting forever. Bravo. 10 mins later and the transition to rose is complete. It's a sweet yet slightly tart rose. 4 hrs in. So far I haven't gotten any leather or black tea. If they were there, they're hidden deep in the background. I can imagine someone like Dita von Teese wearing this complete with matching cherry red lipstick and a fascination with 1930's cabaret. Can be worn to work in the morning but works better as an evening scent for going out. This also seems like it would work in any weather. 6 and a half hours in. The intensity of the rose has waned significantly. Otherwise no change. Seems like this frag will end as a rose. 7.5 hrs in the rose is starting to go, giving way to a heavy musk and tonka beans. 8 hrs in, musk slightly scented with rose. Very faint now. I need to have my nose touching the skin to smell it. I think it'll be gone soon. After 9 hrs it's just about gone.

Black Perfecto has a Bohemian quality that is out of this world extraordinary. I love Patchouli and it is here, though not in an extreme amount, mixed with the prominent Cherry, Leather and the most delightful Rose notes. Upon first spritz I get a bitterness that lasts for only a half a minute. I believe it to be the Black Tea and Sour Cherry top notes blasting me. The Leather and Patchouli are quite noticeable too at this stage and for Black Perfecto's entirety. As BP starts to develop I start smelling the creamy Almond and a slight Powdery note which I believe is the Tonka. The Rose comes in with these notes and it is as stunning as it is in LPRN. Then I pick up on some licorice which is not over the top but which adds a spicy dimension. The Musk is faint but it adds a sensuality that is soft and pretty. The dry down is very similar to LPRN. Black Perfecto has more of a sultry essence though due to the animalic Leather note. It is calming and uplifting yet there is an intrigue to this very well made juice. This is a sophisticated Greenwich Village interpretation of the color black not the biker babe type. I think of Bohemian types and Artists when I smell this. Personally I love it. The black bottle is gorgeouusss! I rarely talk about bottles because I believe the juice's integrity should be most talked about...but...this is just a stunner! It is tough looking yet it has that chic feminine look. Very classy! Very Guerlain! The longevity of this masterpiece is extremely long on me. I smell it after bathing after a full day of romping around. The sillage is huge for the first hour and then it is moderate. My love loves this on me and I do too! I give Black Perfecto a 10/10+++

Let me just add a disclaimer: I've never found a scent that didn't totally overwhelm and disgust me on the opening. There is no exception with Black Perfecto. On my skin, I immediately get hit with sickeningly sweet artificial licorice flanked by an indescribable faux floral that gives a "bathroom air freshener" vibe, an apt descriptor I've seen used for it before. Rose in general is hit-or-miss. I think it's an overused floral and not always the safest option when jasmine is so much more user-friendly. However, the dry-down is quick and incredibly appetizing. A sweet almond-cherry with the noticeable backdrop of leather. The licorice is still present I find, though it does begin to highlight the presence of other notes lightly. I do not detect any vanilla, which is a good thing for me considering that whenever a vanilla note is present, it's very hard to mix well without letting it overtake the entire scent profile. This is *not* a luxury Guerlain and it does smell like it, so keep that in mind. I find the La Petite Robe Noire line overall to aim for a more youthful, budget-tight audience. It isn't a sexy-mature scent by any means, but more like a playful-sexy. It's a very good thing that the latter is what I like, as I personally find most "mature" scents to be a bit samey. I wouldn't say it's entirely a safe blind buy, but I received a 1oz. bottle for around $25, so you really don't have much to lose only IF you like youthful scents. I'd wear this to a goth or industrial night at the local club.

This is for the EDP with the black label. There’s a similar bottle with a white label decorated with a rose and bee but that one’s the EDT version with rosewater and musk but no cherry and is more like baby powder. The black label EDP DEFINITELY has cherry. The first spray out of a brand new bottle is always a little weird and this one was horrifying cherry cough syrup. I remember thinking: Ugh, I *knew* I didn’t like cherry. But several more sprays over time and I decided I really did like cherry. I am ambivalent about most fruits but this cherry is well balanced and subtle. Even though the accord list has “sweet” at the top, this isn’t all that sweet. It’s a tart cherry, not the sweet cough candy one I’d feared nor even Nibs candy sweet: more like cherry bourbon alongside salty licorice and leather. No fluttery coy eyelashes on this one; it’s all black eyeliner and attitude. In fact, the cherry combined with almond and leather and patch smells a little bit like gasoline, but in a very good way. It reminds me of Lolita Lempicka but I like this better because I find LL has a hairspray astringency. LL is also much lighter in comparison. This feels warmer, almost like an incense perfume, and heavier though I wouldn’t call it a heavy scent at all. The rose is more supportive than apparent to me until the drydown where it shows up as a softer powdery floral with a hint of sweet leather and smoky licorice tea. Scent - 8/10 Longevity - 7/10 Projection - 7/10 Overall - 8/10

the bottle is one of my favorite bottle designs ever. the perfume itself starts sour, but give it time to dry down to its powdery, sweet unisex form. dark rose fragrance with cherry notes and to be honest, this seems more like la petite robe noire intense, and the intense version i feel smells more like it would be la petite robe noire black perfecto.... nevermind, upon smelling again the both, they're named appropriately 😆. this smells almost identical to the original except more dark with hints of leather and patchouli (not even looking at the notes, just going based on smell and i am by no means a notes expert however after having smelled perfume after perfume after perfume, leather and patchouli are easily detectable here) and less powdery but it's still pretty powdery. to me, this smells more masculine but the powdery notes keep it from smelling exclusively like a men's frag. however, this is not a girly or frilly perfume. it's dark and complex, not a safe blind buy, but very appealing to the right audience. this would be perfect for those who do not want the baby powdery type of scent present in lprn but they want something like it with a bit more of an edge. imagine less romantic and flirty, more passionate and sexy. i would not specify this as a rose perfume per se, the spicy notes are quite strong here and it's also quite earthy. i like it but it does not suit me, only the way i dress (most of the times) 😆😡💗🤍

I've never been attracted to La Petite Robe Noire and its flankers - there is something about the dress illustrations on the bottles that I find a tad too stereotypically feminine, too 'girly', a bit tacky. But, I saw this on sale, loved the look of the notes, loved the jet black bottle with the studs on the neck and went and blind bought it! My word, I am not disappointed: Guerlain nailed it. It's a dusky rose goddess! The first wafts are a black cherry jam and dusty rose, sweet and powdery. There's also the almond hitting you straight off the bat, which gives it a wonderful addictive depth - I couldn't stop pulling the collar of my jumper over my nose at this point, walking down the street, probably looking a bit deranged. After a while, the almond becomes a subtle praline background, and black leather comes forward - a subtle smoke, not as strong as in Shalimar, for example, but definitely a detectable Guerlainade at this point. The rose continues throughout, rich and luscious with the black cherry note singing alongside. I'm surprised how much I love this, since I've heard other Guerlainistas decry it for being populist, inauthentic, lacking in character, and such stuff. Nonsense in the case of Black Perfecto - it's a deep, dark beauty. I'm seriously impressed.

I'm a fan of the original LPRN EDP but was never much of a follower of perfumes. I've recently wandered down a rabbit hole while trying to figure out a perfume scent profile that works for me. Although I have seen some reviews saying that Black Perfecto and the original EDP are pretty similar, I was very curious about the leather and incense note in BP. I wasn't very willing to commit to a whole bottle of it just in case it smelt too much like the original, but none of physical stores in where I live carried it and was sad to find out that it had discontinued. It stayed on my mind while I explored other scents and eventually found a tester bottle sold online at a very discounted price. BP appears to open very similarly to the original LPRN EDP but with an added embrace of a leather jacket. As it dries down, I catch whiffs of the cherry and licorice just like the original, but upon sitting with it and pondering over it, a creamier, rosier scent comes through. I'm pretty sure that it's ironic to describe something as soft and edgy at the same time but that is exactly the texture that BP evokes in my mind. I enjoy it very much and wish I'd discovered it before it'd discontinued, so I will be going through this bottle very, very slowly!

Black perfecto starts off w/ a tart cherry note combined w/ almond but that quickly fades, and this becomes a leathery, sweet musky rose perfume. Very powdery soapy damask rose in this one. I am loving the black musk in this. It gives a darkness to the fragrance, but it isn't skull and crossbones dark, just a rose w/ an edge. If you are looking for a cherry fragrance Black Perfecto isn't it. It is more of a musky, leather rose perfume. Leans feminine but a man who loves roses can wear this. I bought a 1/2 ounce mini to give it a try, but I will be buying a bigger bottle. If you like rose this is a nice slightly darker take on a musky rose. Edit: 1/27/22 It is weird, but I am wearing this today and the cherry is coming through. The 1st time I wore it and tested it all I got was rose. The perfume must have settled in shipment. We have been having a lot of cold weather in the east right now and I think that has affected the perfume during shipment. I will have to let perfumes settle for 24 hours before testing from now on. There is still lots of rose, but this is a huge cherry fragrance. I am really liking it and glad because cherry was what I originally bought this for.

Jewelled Lip over Cherry-Chapstick & Black Roses... Opens with a Cherry-Chapstick cherry with rose & leather swelling through. There's a sugar-crystal texture in the opening that reminds me of a jewelled lip over Cherry-Chapstick, but almond & licorice melt the crystals into an icing sugar, and I agree with raconie below there's a rosewater turkish delight vibe here. It's quite sweet, but the cherries are more Cherry-Chapstick than cherry-pie, while the roses read as black-roses due to the leather & black-tea. The heart & basenotes take the Cherry-Chapstick vibe to new heights & depths, being sweeter and deeper than you thought Cherry Chapstick ought to be, before dropping the Cherry Chapstick vibe in favour of the black-roses. Well into the drydown, the almond-y black-roses start to really project - I love this stage - and there are reminders here of Aqua Allegoria Forte Rosa Rossa (likely due to the almond & rose combination). Performance is excellent. This is a nice twist on a cherry-rose scent. It's a love for me. Enjoy!

Omg what is this LPRN sorcery?? I've got a sample of the original and I love it so much. Then I saw this one and I was intrigued and scared a bit because of the leather note. Since it's discontinued I had to blind buy 30 ml bottle (together with eau fraiche). Cherry here is toned down a bit in comparison to original but still prominent and sweet. It is blended to perfection with rose. There is a period while you can smell liquorice too but it's not heavy, it's pleasant and not offputting( i don't like it usually). Almond is not the most detectable note ( I can't distinguish it in original either. For me, I'm on the hunt for that marzipan almond perfume) Leather is not masculine at all, it's soft and seductive. This is intoxicating more elegant version of original. If you are crazy about the original you have to have this too. If original was too girly for you you might still love this but try to sample it first. This is perfection and I'm on the hunt for bigger bottle since I want to have this for the rest of my life lol.

I ordered this blindly after hearing good reviews on YouTube. At first I was confused by it, didn’t know when to wear it, or if I even loved it? It took time for me to understand, but now that I do I love her! My nose is still learning how to interpret fragrance. Definitely ripe dark red cherry, leather jacket, and a voluptuous red rose. It’s strong, sexy, beautiful.. Dark. Seductive.. Hard to explain. Artistically crafted, definitely unique and not for the faint of heart. Lasting power is fantastic, 5ish hours on skin and days on clothes. Sillage is inoffensive but definitely present. If you walk by people will smell you! This is definitely a cold weather scent to me. Gothic and badass. It definitely fits my wardrobe as I wear mostly black. I’m so glad I have it and I would repurchase 🖤🥀

This is discontinued, but I was able to find a 100ml bottle for 50€ in a perfume/cosmetics store. It clearly had been there for a long while. There was no tester, but I remembered trying and liking this some years ago, so I bit the bullet. It’s fun how different noses and body chemistries work. This isn’t that sweet to me. I get the Lolita Lempicka comparisons, but it is not a dupe. This sourer than LL, which is sweeter and has vanilla and praline. There’s a medicinal tinge to BP, especially during the opening notes, but it’s not bad. I actually love this, just wish the licorice was more intense. I’m not surprised that BP got discontinued, since it’s not really a crowd pleaser. It’s my favorite from the LPRN line (I actually dislike the EDP). Such a shame it lasts for just a few hours!

Cherries dominate (which is what I was after as I love cherries!), but there's definitely also a pinch of rose, and a wee bit of leather and patchouli in the background. Few hours into the wear time and the creamy almond is also creeping up around me. I'm a sucker for licorice, and the notes say licorice, but I'm only getting the tiniest suggestion and that might be in my head! Reminds me a wee bit of Lolita Lempicka, but while I find that overpoweringly sweet, this one is less sugary (still just as fruity) and therefore, for me, a lot more likable and wearable. A real winner of a blind buy; I'm always delighted to find fruity scents that aren't overly sweet and young. Lasts impressively too, and the grown-up sour cherry makes this quite distinct from anything else in my collection.

I absolutely adore this. The first spray is a burst of cherry - almond, with a hint of leather (which I LOVE). Once it has settled into the skin, the rose really starts to shine through. The cherry, almond, and leather remain constant throughout the entirety of the fragrance. I don't really pick up on the licorice, but that's fine by me. I'm not really a fan of licorice in fragrances. This fragrance is lovely. If I were to describe myself as a fragrance, this would be it. My friends and family know me for always rocking a leather jacket in the fall/winter time. I'm dressed in black 90% of the time, and my style is definitely more on the edgy side. Black Perfecto is sweet, but also a little dark and spicy . . much like myself! A new fall signature, perhaps?

I’ve done a complete 180 on this fragrance! I blind bought this after watching a YouTuber rave about it. At first I was very disappointed and thought it was a near replica of Lolita Lempika, which I no longer get along with. However, I left it and came back to it after a few days and now I love it. A rich, dark, dusty cherry scent grounded by notes of licorice and tea. I do agree that the opening is a medicinal cherry, but this changes into a more realistic cherry. The rose is there too, but it does not overtake the fragrance, rather it plays nicely in the background. The leather is also there, but ever so slightly and adds depth. I get some powder as well. Definitely suited for evening wear and I find it to be quite sexy.

I'm glad I bought a BUB of this beautiful baby, inexplicably discontinued and tragically underrated, at least by Fragrantica voters. I get all the notes in a beautiful, well-balanced blend, except, possibly, Black Musk, which almost sounds like a kind of joke, to go along with the charmingly redundant theme ("black" and "noir" together = black on black, blacker than black?). But come on now, this is a white musk in a black leather jacket; there is nothing truly animalic about it. In fact, the leather jacket--adorable as it is--may well be pleather or vegan. Does it matter? This girl has read her Wilde, her Huysmans. She knows it's all fake, so fuckit. If that's all there is, my friends, then let's keep dancing.

Cherry liquor addiction I loved Back Perfecto Florale before I even liked this one. Found it online a couple of weeks ago, thought “oh well, why not? I am really warming up to LPRN line” and the reviews were quite appealing. Guerlain fanatic? Check. Perfume obsessed? Check. Need more cherry in my life? Check. Leather? Check. Oh, long story short: I love it! It starts like a delicious cherry liquor, turning more light and fruity-powdery as time passes by. I keep reapplying for the alcohol thrill. Addictive. The leather is there to differentiate it from the original LPRN, but it is not heavily featured. There is some red rose involved in the affair, but it doesn’t play the main role like it does in the Florale.

Perfect. Just like the name says. Sweet cherry with almond and a very slightly leathery touch, just to make it naughtier. Very sexy fragrance, for a rebel and young spirit. I want a leather jacket, to spray my bottle on it, and then wear it when meeting my boyfriend. Absolutely love this. It is gourmand, I would literally eat this perfume (haha), although the sweetness in this is very well balanced, it's not that overwhelming sweetness in other female fragrances. This scent is just perfect. The only thing I would comment is the longevity and projection, which I would've liked to be more lasting. But I generally get a 5 hour longevity and 2 hour sillage, which is also pretty decent. Great perfume. I love it.