Kashnoir

Kashnoir was brought to life by perfumer Cècile Zarokian for Laboratorio Olfativo after embarking on an olfactory journey in search of essences from the exotic and forbidden East. Narcotic flowers, psychotropic herbs and intoxicating spices are paid homage with simple yet profound notes that display an engaging complexity. Lavender’s clean woody/floral aroma is lifted with fresh zests and cool sheer citrus, before being crowned with invigorating herbs. This coy and charming scent comes on demurely, drawing you in gently. As it warms and expands, passionate waves of plush orange blossom surround you in a soft fog of musky white flowers. A deep earthy rose rounds out the heart, as heliotrope dries it to a delightfully spiced affair. Here passions are stirred and furtive longing glances are exchanged. Drawing to an opulent finish, bathed as it is in a seductive and dangerous patchouli that resonates vapors of lasciviousness and smoldering sensuality, Kashnoir captivates me from the initial spritz. Cècile Zarokian combined shadowy vanilla and a slightly charred benzoin adding delicious sweetness to oriental warmth while "dimming the olfactory lights", a bit, to create an aura of sensual comfort. From its charming disposition to its full floral heart right through to its unapologetic and downright carnal finish, this 20% concentration EDP mesmerized and enchanted me to no end. The sturdy oriental base, along with the lively citric-dominated prelude, keep this very unisex. Richly textured and floral to the very end, this projects a very classy façade, fusing the heart of a sinner with the grace of a saint... Sillage: very good Longevity: great Overall: 4.25/5 This was (back in 2014) my first sniff of one of M Zarokian's works. She truly lived up to her own perfumed dream and the mission statement of Laboratorio Olfativo. Miles from anything even remotely "Black" or "Noir" by mass market standards, this takes old school oriental floral out on the town with a modern makeover and new niche attitude without sacrificing a week's pay. At $140 USD a bottle (MiN NY) this is top shelf quality for UNDER $3/ml: a veritable coup in the international niche market as both sillage, construction & longevity are all amazing! Notes: Lemon, bergamot, lavender, coriander, rose, orange blossom absolute, patchouli, benzoin, heliotrope & vanilla.

I have tried it yesterday and I have to say that this is another win of Laboratorio Olfattivo: thumbs up! I love this brand and highly recommend it to everyone whose tastes gravitate towards soft orientals. KASHNOIR, DAIMIRIS, ALAMBAR, ALKEMI are must tries for you people :) Firstly, I have to confess that I don't really get the name of the new LO perfume, I think it is misleading. There is nothing "noir" about it. It is rather Kashbeige of Kashwhite. Cashmere - yes, it is pretty much it: silky, fluffy, comfortable, elegant and expensive :) The perfume opens up with fresh and sweet citruses, like sweet lemon custard or like earl grey tea with sugar and lemon. The opening also has an aromatic quality, the lavender note is certainly there. After that I start to sense the most prominent note of KASHNOIR, at least to my nose: fresh, bright and sweet orange blossom! Spiced up by coriander and powdered by heliotrope. I also get a rose somewhere in the background. Soft patchouli and powdery benzoin are already tangible, too. The base is quite sweet and powdery, but never a straightforward vanilla. It's hard to describe, the composition is very complex and harmonious. I would say, the base is fresh, sweet and powdery, and a tad earthy: mainly vanilla, heliotrope, patchouli, and benzoine, and the orange blossom still on the forefront. The longevity is just right, and, according to a couple of complete strangers in the street, the sillage is "damn good" as well :) Overall is's a very naturally and expensive smelling, bright, feminine, classy perfume with a twist. A total winner for me, and one of my favorites from now on. Great work, Mme Zarokian!

This fragrance, composed by the great Cécile Zaraokian, is often compared to Shalimar. And the comparisons start with the name. 2 homophone words: Kashnoir, Shalimar. right? Is almost they want us to notice that. But to be honest, after wearing them for some time, you will find more differences than similarities. Despite the vanilla-bergamot combo, this is a completely different scent. A rose driven scent with more freshness to it. A bit tart and bitter in the opening, super fresh and refreshing, with some aromatics to make it unisex (I detect a shy orange blossom too) and, after 10-15min, the "pièce de résistance": A heliotrope note. I love heliotrope and this has a slightly Après L'Ondée EAU DE TOILETTE vibe. Don't get me wrong, the don't smell similar, but you find the heliotrope with that "fresh-powdery almond" effect, as you find it on the Guerlain one. Overall, a fresh rose scent with creamy-powdery-vanilla aura around. Super high quality and with a good price point. A good niche house btw. I find this brand very underrated but with some hits. This is one of them with good performance, very persistant but not super loud. A good bubble around you for 8-10h. I like to wear it during spring time or fall, specially on sunny days, where this powdery rose shines.

This is the scent Rudolph Valentino would wear! Actually I did smell this scent before Shalimar. I was given this as a test in a perfumery in Lodi, Italy and I loved it. Then trying to find something similar in regular shops (here in Sweden) was not easy. But Shalimar came up as a similar perfume. And they have similarities in the feeling of the perfume. That old, mystic oriental feel that I love. Being the person I am (for good and bad) I actually wrote to Cecile about the comparison between the two perfumes and she wrote "I guess you can find some ambery oriental notes in both of them, kind of Guerlinade. I'm happy you enjoy Kashnoir!" And I am happy to use it! It is sweet and perhaps not that manly perfume, at least not in a traditional way. For all women yes. But basically it's a perfume that you can just sit at home and smell and it will take you places. This is the perfume Rudolph Valentino would wear!

Kashnoir opens very heavy, with coriander, a hint of citrus and some small darker bits of lavender. It then becomes very powdery and softer, the notes sweeter with orange blossom and heliotrope. The scent softens to an extremely powdery and balmy scent. The drydown is a mix of heliotrope, orange blossom and coriander on a powdery vanilla patchouli resin base. The performance of this scent is awesome. It is long lasting on skin and even more on fabric. I spilled on my trainers while opening the dabber sample and they still smell lovely after two weeks. Sillage is heavy to enormous, so a little goes a long way. What a gorgeous scent, I love powders and this is a true winner. Will definitely buy a full bottle. The scent is quite earthy with sweet notes of orange blossom and heliotrope. Very enjoyable and I have received quite a few compliments wearing the sample. Great resinous sweet powder scent.

Tested this among other Laboratorio Olfattivo fragrances in their store during a recent trip in Turin. Fell in love and purchased instantly. Kashnoir is a silky, warm, honey-sweet, balsamic amber scent built around soft lavender, powdery heliotrope, rose and orange flower over thick vanilla, patchouli and benzoin base. It is rich, complex and nicely rounded. Super high quality fragrance with a great price point. Cheaper than most designer brands in 2023 but with better performance. LO is a great niche italian house! I find this brand very underrated judging how many fantastic fragrances they have in their portfolio, like Salina, Nektar, Baliflora and Vanagloria to name my absolute favourite ones. Kashnoir has really good performance, very persistent but not super loud. Creates a good bubble around me for 8 -10 hours. Like all LO fragrances, on clothing lasts for days, until I wash them.

This is where representation is falling apart. This beautiful balsamic, ethereal smell has nothing to do with average boring DNA "vanilla +lavender+whatever". Every single note and accord mentioned here on fragrantica is just not enough to fully grasp the very particular sensory experience that you can get from this smell (reading some David Hume highly encouraged). There's a poem by Yeats that somehow reminds me of this perfume: "Oil And Blood" IN tombs of gold and lapis lazuli Bodies of holy men and women exude Miraculous oil, odour of violet. But under heavy loads of trampled clay Lie bodies of the vampires full of blood; Their shrouds are bloody and their lips are wet.

So, I got a bottle of this recently. Yeah, this is basically Shalimar EdP. Except this seemed sweeter to me, and it may have better performance (don't quote me on that!). Supposedly this is a 20% concentration as well. I sold my bottle. Don't get me wrong, this is good stuff! It's just that I already own Shalimar EdP. Having said that... based on the smell, I may actually like this BETTER than my Shalimar (don't hurt me!). But, I have to stick to the OG Guerlain, know what I mean? Thumbs up! Definitely recommend if you're looking for something like Shalimar!

Hadassa's definition "very naturally and expensive smelling" is spot on! Amazing duality between warm, golden balsam and fresh, clean aromatics. Comforting benzoin and mellow vanilla are so intimately embraced they're nearly indistinguishable from one another. While freshly scrubbed lavender and orange blossom accord impart a beautiful and intriguing contrast. Not soapy, thanks to coriander seeds (funny thing, since coriander leaves notoriously smells soapy to some). An absolute love xxx

I personally think this does smell quite a lot like shalimar but I don't get nearly as much bergamot which I prefer. I do own both, but I am more likely to get rid of the shalimar I think than kashnoir. It's decently long lasting and has some projection. To me it's not something I would reach for in hot weather unless I was indoors in a high ac environment. Lovely for day or night unisex but might read to some as more feminine. A very lush fragrance cozy warm yet sexy.

One of those scents I reach when I want a comforting fragrance aura around me. It works differently in each season - the vanilla /benzoin dry down is apparent during winter but you can enjoy the complexity when temperature slightly goes up. This probably has the same treatment as UNUM’s Opus 1144 but this has a heady narcotic floral core (the “gothic” latter teeters to lemon meringue territory). Longevity is good for this understated brand.

I'm going to keep it very real - it smells like baby powder, on a baby. If you want to smell like that, go buy this EDP, it's long lasting and the sillage is eternal. People will turn heads or comment on it. As the smell is so hyper realistic I'm not sure if I want to buy it but I may well do so lol.

I have just received a bottle of Shalimar for Christmas, and now I can say that Kashnoir is a very good clone. It lacks the tabacco/smoke notes, and some other aspects, but it's a very good perfume and way cheaper than Guerlain. It lasts forever, by the way, and has decent sillage.

It smells so eventful, the patchouli is very apparent after 3 minutes of use and the vanilla and benzoin blend in so well. I would not daily-wear this, though its good buck for money and overall a good fragrance to have. Oh and definitely not a safe blindbuy

If Shalimar and L‘Heure Bleu have a child together, they will name her Kashnoir. This could have easily been a Guerlain perfume. Enough said.

It opens up with citrus and patchouli. After a while it becomes delightful sweet patchuli. Another fantastic art work from Cecile :)

Scrap my previous comment, ive genuinely become addicted to the benzoin vanilla smell.

Since I love Shalimar my interest in Kashnoir was sort of inevitable. I definitely get a BIG hit of resinous unctuous elemi on the opening. I was overwhelmed with the elemi! I was expecting the usual citrus notes. When the elemi eases off the gas then I get to enjoy the lavender, vanilla and heliotrope. What a lovely group of notes that work really well with the elemi. The neroli and lavender give a bit necessary kick although it is gentle. Finally the citrus notes, amber and patch become evident. I guess at this stage I see some similarity with Shalimar but that's as far as it goes. It is very pleasant at this stage as the elemi has faded significantly. I suspect my skin has amped the elemi as this has happened to me before. It's a shame that I would have to endure an hour before it transforms from ugly duckling to swan. Moderate silage but good longevity owing to the heavy dose of elemi.

A narcotic, honey-sweet, balsamic amber built around heliotrope, rose and orange flower over thick vanilla, patchouli and benzoin. Things start woody-floral in the opening where some welcome lavender and coriander temper the sweetness of the heliotrope and orange blossom. There's also a brief, juicy sun-burst of lemon before the patchouli comes through. Any perfume combining almond-like heliotrope with vanilla risks teetering into Play-Doh and Kashnoir walks the knife-edge for the first 30 minutes before falling back for its main accord: an intoxicating floral, borderline gourmand, balsamic amber. Unlike other reviewers I don’t find it especially natural but it is very smooth and polished with no abrasiveness, giving it a luxurious quality as it hovers above the skin. I love this one and it's perfect for cooler weather.

Una moderna combinazione di limone/fiori d'arancio/vaniglia molto classica e fresca. Fratellino giovane e scanzonato di Shalimar, la lavanda sorride e alleggerisce. La dolcezza è moderata dalla vena speziata del coriandolo (che non è comunque pesante come in Lei Mazzolari...) Dopo il guizzo speziato (timido) si espandono fiori spensierati. Profumo confortevole, simpatico, disimpegnato. Non da innamoramento ma da gradevole, rilassante compagnia. E la lavanda è da sempre sedativa e rilassante... Carino.