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.

A resinous-benz-patch-vanilla bomb that opens up with citrus (that disappears after a few minutes), which settles to become a sweet, balsamic resinous scent after some time. It's quite pleasant, and does kinda remind me of Coromandel (just a little). It's just not my kinda thing, unfortunately. So many of these LO scents were quite close, but also quite far from what I usually go for. With that said, your experience may differ. Definitely worth testing...

Received a 10ml decant through a subscription service. The opening definitely reminds me of Guerlain - both Shalimar and Habit Rouge but perhaps less leathery or animalic, with a powdery, almost Chanel-like twist instead. I'm kinda in awe, trying to convince myself that I do not need a full bottle. Performance seems alright. It doesn't fill the whole room (not necessarily what everyone wants) but it definitely projects. Overall a very solid scent.

The first 20 minutes are lovely. It smells like you’ve been sitting in your favourite artsy cafe for hours . Then coming home and still smelling like the cafe. Idk why, but I get a slight incense note, its probably the coriander. Sadly after a while it transforms into baby powder which I don’t really like that much. However the opening is lovely and comforting. I will probably consider getting a full bottle.

I purchased this fragrance as a Christmas present. It's a very warm and cozy scent that lasts up to 7 hours on my skin, the sillage isn't crazy but still good. I would say this is a very good unisex fragrance and also good for layering. Price point is really good tho i got 100 ml for around 100 bucks. Its a nice niche fragrance for ppl who lave cozy and warm (sometimes dark) leaning scents.

Amazing rich scent with a mix of spices and woody notes. I can definitely distinguish clove, nutmeg and pepper. At first it smells a bit like Coca-Cola but then more like a rum shot with lots of patchouli and balsam. Nice and powerful. Btw it doesn’t smell like Shalimar at all... maybe the dry down, but just a bit. Follow me on IG: scent.guide

Testing blind I get an ambery animalistic vibe with a cat-urine (Hawthorne bod) tone, and either a bit of brandy or cognac, maybe a hint of leather and vanilla, so when looking at the notes now it's probably the coriander that gives a certain funkiness to offset the other notes. Overall it has a warm amber appeal, but I'm not getting much in the way of the orange blossom whereas everything else is mingled together, with a dominant amber lead. The rose adding more of a powdered feel than rose, and while the scent is unisex to me it projects a more sophisticated adult woman. Longevity was okay pretty much gone without a trace after 6-7 hours.Enjoyable but gravitate towards others in the same vein that have more "Soul".

I can confirm previous comment that it does become powdery. Overall it's a nice scent, but it's just that, I don't see it in my collection and I don't feel that it's interesting enough. Unisex, but probably will be more beautiful on a woman. + Well-done + Pleasant - Not unique - Boring + Price is justified

It gives me Coca-Cola vibes, but very spicy and aromatic. The drydown is quite nice, but the opening and mid are very patchouli-heavy to my nose and I don't like patchouli. Overall I'd say it's nice, but I don't identify with it.

I Don`t know why but remind me of Francesca Bianchi Perfumes .

Very strong baby powder note. Really that's all I have to say.

this opens with a very fresh citrusy blend with an herbal lavender. The opening subsides pretty fast and you get right into the coriander and rose. The heart smells aromatic and slightly spiced with a prominent rose and sweet orange blossom. The dry down smells like....sweet baby powder? And after letting it sit for a while that baby powder turns very herbal bordering medicinal. This one was fine at first, just a meh scent but ever full dry down I hated it unfortunately.

I can't deny that the idea behind this fragrance is just overly captivating, as the creator wrote "Narcotics flowers, psychotropic herbs and haunted spices are the main ingredients of Kashnoir, the eleventh fragrance of Laboratorio Olfattivo, created after embarking on a long journey in search of the most forbidden and mysterious East. More than a fragrance, Kashnoir is a softly lethal drug, that obscures reason and stuns the senses. A powerful scent, which leads to oblivion, almost dangerous to the wearer." But, i just can't see this! i thought it would be animalic, and quite dark, and maybe sort of fruitti! but i just fell it's everywhere! It has heliotrope, elemi, vanilla, coriander, citrus, patchouli, roses, and lavendar, but it's just kind of a mess. It is kind of powdery and smells a bit near "vintage Shalimar" & it could be a great perfume, but not as how the creator described it or even wants it to be like. "Cécile Zarokian" is a fair perfumer as she created few of my likes like "Fêtes Persanes", & "Nuit Andalouse" but she didn't capture the scene the artist wants quite well! I see it as another fragranxce and not "the most forbidden and mysterious East". Edit (28th Feb 2020) Wearing it on skin makes it quite similar to vintage "Shalimar"! i still don't see what the owner wants this to smell like! If it's going to be "the most forbidden and mysterious East" i would go for the major oriental far east of beautiful Asia common notes (Lemon grass, orchids, exotic mild sweetness tropical fruits, cosmetic powder, humid, sunny notes, white floral, rancid heavy jasmines, and fresh air breeze) while "Kashnoir" is more of an European style lethal beauty which could be the scent of "Sévérine" of James Bond's "skyfall", or "Elektra King" in James Bond's "The World Is Not Enough", but as a seductive Asian beauty... No. After all, the blend is beautiful but didn't supported the owner's direction, and it is a great alternative for those who wants a vintage "Shalimar".

Disclaimer: If you don't like coriander, you should probably stay away from this fragrance. Kashnoir opens with a super classic citrus / bergamot / vanilla combo that immediately brings to mind of huge classics of the past. The fragrance is immediately joined by an hyper-green coriander note while a thick and powerful woody patch base starts lurking in the back. Kashnoir evolves from the sparkling opening to a darker oriental drydown in which vanilla, patch and resins are joined by smooth powdery facets while, slightly indolic white florals provide an old-fashioned vibe throughout. The overall effect is indeed pretty narcotic and heady. Bombastic, extremely long lasting and even slightly challenging. Probably not exactly my kind of fragrance yet very interesting nonetheless. Rating: 7/10

On the Ladies side of the unisex measure. Much like Charmin bath tissue (first impressions...) which is powder and marchiano cherry with a nice citrus stab at the opening. Heliotrop of a sort is there. I think the white floral is the deal breaker here, just a little off. Sillage 3/5 Longevity 3/5 the powder, heliotrop, marchiano cherry hang in there 5+ hours with one light spray on each arm. Not sweet

Shalimar Tea Kashnoir smell like a cup of tea (earl grey plus lemon) flavored with the mentioned Guerlain. Smell also a lot sweet incense opoponax heliotrope and vanilla it has that biscuit/cake taste. Nice but it seems unstable like chewed food. It is a bit disturbing. Remember me a bit an indian oil called Aphrodesia probably an ancient imitation of Shalimar.

I happen to enjoy Heliotrope when it's used properly. However, I can't say this is the case for Kashnoir. For one this fragrance is extremely sweet, quite sickening. I was expecting a fresher twist due to the lavender and the coriander but unfortunately this fragrance turned out to be a gourmand, which is a genre I'm not a fan of.

I get a first smell something similar to Byredo 1996. Theres a nice watrm oriental background but there’s something shouting from top notes. Like sweet lemony resin. Also it’s a bit powdery to my nose. Don’t know yet if i like ir or not, but it definitely has a attractive side.

Kashnoir is pleasant but a bit too soft and fuzzy for me. I’d rather reach for Habit Rouge EDT, with its sharp citrus and brighter, more dynamic character. Kashnoir just feels a bit too muted by comparison.

after 4h it reminds me of african Leather MEMO , but more resinous and sweet and less on spice side

Musc Ravageur and Roberto Cavalli Uomo immediately came to mind !

Very heavy on Patchouli, otherwise I'd like it.