L’Eau d’Issey Noir Absolu

I smell a lot of scents, and it's rare that a contemporary commercial perfume knocks my socks off. L’Eau d’Issey Noir Absolu does. Even from a whiff out of the bottle, my first thought was how high quality and natural the jasmine felt. Nevermind the creamy sandalwood/white flower beauty it becomes on skin. My first impression was of a deep night blooming Jasmine, heavy with natural Indoles. Miyake loves Indoles, even including them as an official note in his "Pleats Please" series. The Lily shows up soon, and the two flowers in tandem create a white floral bomb. Osmanthus is detectable later as its smoothness melds with the Amber and Sandal to create a sueded effect. The Lotus is likely in here to lighten things up a bit, for this perfume is in danger of being too heavy and flat without it, but it cannot be detected as an individual note. It's simply smothered! This bears nothing in common with the original, and is more in the vein of the Jasmine Noir series from Bulgari. Highly recommended in cool and dry climates. Use caution in heat, humidity, or close spaces. *official notes state only "woodsy notes", but this for sure has some decent Sandalwood in there. I cannot detect any other woods in particular.

It is EXACTLY how I want to smell like... fresh, calming, and feminine, in a light way... linear composition and long lasting... perfect minimalism!

A great option for those who don't like the delicate nature of the originals. This still smells like l'Eau d'Issey but I get a lovely warmth and depth from the added amber and woods. The sillage of this has a great lily quality to it. By and large my favourite bottle from this line too.

My first thoughts were, has L'eau D'Issey gone gothic? By the looks of the black, opaque bottle I was rather hoping it had. Unfortunately L'eau D'Issey has not gone darker, but it has in turn become much prettier. More floral and feminine to be exact. It tries its hardest to be a successful white floral and exceeds my expectations. L'eau D'Issey Noir Absolu, while linear throughout most of its composition, is a refreshing and slightly buttery blend of lily, lotus and jasmine. It has a surprisingly natural, non-synthetic feel which is reminiscent of the scent of a lightly misted bouquet of lillies. The aquatic quality which is so distinguishable in the original has all but vanished from this recent release. L'eau D'Issey Noir Absolu relies upon its floral, watery freshness to create the same sensation. I am much preferring this fragrance over the original. I guess the term 'noir' can be a little misleading. While I do find this fragrance a Winter alternative, it is in no way a darker, more mysterious fragrance. Instead it's more floral, less chemical and somewhat more refined. The ambery base is perhaps the only dark aspect to be found here.

I get high on this perfume... And it really stays on! Next day I can still enjoy it on my scarf if I wore one the night before. The perfume floats around me so I can smell it all the time. 2 splashes is enough. All my previous perfumes have disappeared from my nose within half an hour even if I splash like 5 times. Its a nuisance they made it as limited edition and so expensive! So I only wear it at a night out.