Matière Noire

I only have a sample of Matierie Noire, but I've used it at the store a few times too. I originally got the sample because I wanted to find a Louis Vuitton fragrance for my now ex fiance. I bought myself a bottle of Ombre Nomade, and asked the nice lady to give me some feminine samples. She gave me Attrape-Reves, Matiere Noire, and Rose des Vents. I ended up buying a full bottle of Attrape-Reves, but I ended up keeping it myself. I layer it with Ombre Nomade or Nuit de Feu. Matiere Noire is similar to when I layer Attrape-Reves and Ombre Nomade, but it's more subtle. The light, fresh top notes aren't as strong as the ones in Attrape-Reves, and the richer oud notes definitely aren't as strong as Ombre Nomade, but it's a really nice fragrance. One of the main reasons I chose Attrape-Reves was that it means dreamcatcher, and my ex has a tattoo of a dreamcatcher on her back. I miss her so bad. Matiere Noire probably would've been a better choice for her, but hindsight is 20/20. I've heard that Attrape-Reves is the scent for when you want to smell like a princess, and Matiere Noire is when you want to smell bewitching. I've seriously been considering buying that next. I really want Etoile Filante too, and L'immensite and Meteorè, and I really want to try the Extrait ones, like Symphony and Myriad. They don't have those at the store near me, unfortunately, and they're so expensive. I'm sure that I'll like them all, but I want to pick my favorite first.

As others have mentioned, this is the fruity and more airy take on LV’s Nouveau Monde. I find it more wearable day to day ie for office, family gatherings etc where I don’t want to smell offensive to anybody. Matiere Noire opens rather aquatic and upon first spray I was misled by this to feel disappointed...thankfully as it starts to dry down it morphs into a deeper blackcurrant-dark rose-smooth oud scent. The oud is very dialled down and not necessarily distinguishable as an oud but rather comes across as a general feeling of darkness that you could also achieve using leather, if that makes sense? The whole composition feels very tamed and no one note really stands out. I actually would have appreciated more oud and that’s probably why I prefer Nouveau Monde overall, but this one here is just so versatile and wearable that I’ll continue to use my bottle lovingly! I do feel it leans a little feminine because of the fruity floral airy touches but a man could still definitely pull it off. Signature scent worthy (it’s my signature scent 💗) Edit: got another bottle for a great deal. Just love this one for day to day wear!

Matière Noire is an exceptionally refined take on the gothic rose—dark, mysterious, yet surprisingly luminous. At its core, the rose note feels deep and velvety, almost shadowed, giving it that rich, slightly melancholic character you’d expect from a “noire” composition. But what makes it stand out is the contrast: alongside this darkness, there’s a clean, almost airy freshness that keeps it from becoming heavy or overly dense. The patchouli and oud nuances sit quietly in the background, adding depth rather than overpowering the rose. It never feels harsh or animalic—instead, it’s smooth, controlled, and elegant. There’s a subtle brightness running through it, almost like light cutting through darkness, which makes it wearable in more settings than a typical dark rose fragrance. Performance is strong: it projects confidently without being intrusive, and longevity easily carries through the day into the evening. It leaves a sophisticated trail—one that feels both luxurious and slightly enigmatic Juice gets darker with time

The initial fruity scent doesn't last at all, it could be that blackcurrant is used here more for the color of the parfume than for its scent. That is, unless Jacques Cavalier has put his hand on a kind of special black currant ... a possibility underlined by the very name he gave to this frag ("black matter"). I'd even classify this frag as a false gourmand one, where the initial blackcurrant notes are immediately relayed by the combination of patchouli-rose-jasmin which are the ingredients used by top parfumers to get a glimpse of LOTV. This scent is modulated by cyclamen, and somewhat amplified by a soft oud and encens (maybe a touch of vanilla, too, not mentioned in the composition). Vanni is absolutely right, among the 7 EdP of Vuitton, this is the most mysterious & amazing one, and I don't understand all of it's aspects yet. The balance between the oud and the floral notes is fantastic and surprisingly stable over the time of the lasting effect of this parfume - at least on my skin.

A beautiful dark experience. Matière Noire feels like opening a dusty wooden chest in an attic. It's beautifully strange. It reminds me of the English countryside at dusk. The roses aren't polished or anything but it feels darker, like petals drying in an old farmhouse. The woods are smooth but also shadowy and creaking-floorboard-like. The blackcurrant note of this is definitely not juicy or candy-like in any way. It's pleasurably dusty. Slightly watery. Like crushed berries on soil. There's something rural about it but refined. Like wearing silk in a place you shouldn't be wearing silk. There's just this romantic isolation about this scent, it's elegant but hauntingly eerie. "You don't belong here, but you'll stay anyway." I have the small one from the LV discovery set and it's by far my favorite. Hoping to get my hands on a full size soon, though I do enjoy the sensation of dripping it on my wrists rather than spraying. Lovely scent overall. 9.5/10