Encre Noire Pour Elle

This is an absolute chiaroscuro masterpiece of scent. It brings to mind the whole of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, or Rembrandt’s1667 painting “The Jewish Bride,” or Gerrit van Honthorst’s 1625 painting “The Matchmaker,” as it blooms on my skin. On my skin, it is a magnificently balanced, opulent renaissance symphony in rose. The brilliant liquid gold citrus lights of bergamot, ambrette, and freesia swirl smoothly onto a lavish heart of an incredibly beautiful rose. A touch of spicy osmanthus, kephalis, and heliotrope continue to smoothly shade this deeply rich colored composition, blending the contrasting light and shadow into a seamless masterpiece, finally descending into a mysterious, tenderly subtle darkness of cedar, vetiver, and musk. It’s fascinating to note that the top of the chiaro effect is perfectly illustrated by the elegantly fanciful gold decorative script used to label the bottle as contrasted with the base scuro effect of the simple, spare blackness of the bottle. Many have been obsessed and commenting on the blackness of the glass bottle, criticizing that the juice inside as being not dark enough. Well I say it’s dark enough. Frankly it’s an example of shadowy dark perfection in a bottle. Not too dark. Not wallowing blindly in a vulgar miasma of overdone patchouli, excessive spices, woods, or animalic substances. On my skin this translates as inky black, velvet shadows with a few slender threads of golden light swirling throughout. Ultrafeminine, deeply rosey, woody, and rich with an elegant shot of musk. No overdone sickening sweetness. No overdone masculinity in the woodiness. Just a perfectly balanced contrast between darkness and light. Beautifully balanced for me. I have to admit, my skin picks up base notes, amplifies them, and tends to overwhelm with them. The base notes that give this scent it’s “shadow” are very prominent with my chemistry. I feel lucky.... And I love this one. If your skin is like mine, and cannot stand tuberose, gardenia, jasmine, too much patchouli, or too much fruity sweetness, this may work wonderfully for you. This is a deeply subtle and luxuriously complex scent. She never screams, there is no need. She smiles gently, caresses, then speaks softly, staying close to the skin. Although it is a dangerous smile...sometimes. It brings to mind the sober, iron hand of a bejeweled, voluptuous Medici queen swathed in a crimson velvet glove. Truly, a masterpiece. Gloria in excelsis Christine Nagel. Bravo Lalique.

Dark: This fragrance is the female counterpart of the Encre Noire masterpiece. Mystical. It takes you to places that are hidden in the farthest meanders of your imagination. Strong: Strong as a warrior, like Artemis, the goddess of hunting but in this fragrance I want to remember her as the goddess of female initiations. Different: Without any doubt this fragrance is different. Different from all those that arrive today on the market and even from those who were the great vintage. This Lalique paves the way for another kind of perfumery masterpiece. Sweet: There are queens that create terror but there are others that reign with sweetness just like the rose in this perfume but it is not over: The beautiful and delicious ambrette or musky mauve makes that sweet not heavy and very sensual, from the first night of the wedding. Wild: It certainly is not suitable for common personalities. There are perfumes that indicate delicacy and if with those we are in a flowery meadow here we are in a dark wood where the only light is dictated by the splendor of a beautiful but deadly lady. Forget the virile and powerful man of lyrics and songs. Here is the woman to give judgment. It is the woman who makes herself wish like never before. We are not on a bed of flowers, we are on a bed inside an ice castle where the man is to venerate his queen, his muse, his goddess. And at night ... I leave the conclusions to you. 10 with honors. Similarity: Narciso Rodríguez for her Eau De parfum (same nose).

I am not one who loves floral scents and even less rose scents. But Encre Noire pour Elle is special. It does possess a class of its own and what I like about it is that the rose note is vey discreet and natural. I hate artificial rendering of natural smells and even more so when the result is artificial. I ignore whether this scent employs absolute of roses or a chemical composition, but in my very personal and humble opinion the rose here is of a far better quality than in Joy. Is this heresy? I leave this to you. Joy used to be a grand floral, but in recent years it has suffered from the IFRA ban. If you want a grand floral, then Encre Noire pour Elle might be it. The rose in the heading slowly melts into woods and musk, like a body slowly creeping in a soft dress. It is beautiful, as sweet as a caress from your son, as delicate as a dew drop on a flower (a rose?), as assertive as a lighting in the dark. For me this is the scent of a woman, a self-assured, much confident lady, maybe not too young, maturity having come from experience and most of all from beauty of the mind. No frills, no fashion trends for her, she relies on her own style, which is exquisite albeit simple. Yes, an intellectual perfume for sure, a scent for a lady writing with a classical fountain pen, preferring this to her smartphone. Yes, that's why Encre - Ink.

Wow, this stuff is really tricky and creeps up on you unexpectedly. When I got it, i just spayed it on my hand for authenticity purposes, well after 2-3 different perfumes ( big mistake), and for the life of me I couldn't smell a thing. I gave it another spray ....still nothing. So I put it back in the box it came from and was ready to tell the seller I was returing it. The tester looked 110% authentic,so this nothingness really bothered me. What I did was I washed everything off and put it on like I usually put on a perfume: 4-5 sprays. 5-10 minutes later...wow, that was gorgeous. Yes,after all I would call it mysterious, but not in a gothic way. This scent is actually powerful and envelops you like a veil, but at the same time very airy and elusive and doesn't project like a majority of potent perfumes, because when you sniff your wrist, you can't smell anything in particular. Very beautiful dark rose, a bit soapy and powdery. Last for hours and hours without losing much of sillage. If you want to truly experience its mystery, put it on, and don't try to spray your wrist and sniff it....because all you will get is weak watery scent. It reminds me a lot of Rose Noire, but I can actually breath and enjoy Encre Noire wiout being smothered by chemicals.

Lalique really surprised me with its newest creation Encre Noir pour Elle! Iam very glad I gave it a try. This is really something I've been seaching for a long time : modern, fresh,unique and feminine scent . I don't find it masculine at all, just PERFECT fresh woody-floral .Very long lasting too. The bottle looks very mystical and I was expecting a heavy, or masculine scent, but the initial spray proved I was very wrong. My colleague even commented that it smelled very aristocratic LOL UPDATE: Im so suprised this is so underrated!!! I've added Encre Noire to my all-time favourites! I think it will stay that way for many years. I get bored very easily, and need much variety to pick up the right fragrance for each day , Encre Noir is one of those Im reaching for most often. It fits in every occasion and weather! Fantastic creation, I love it!!!