Anchor Black

I must admit, I was intrigued by Encre Noire and its flankers. Had been thinking about buying it or EN Sport for a while, but hadn't due to the polarizing nature of the reviews. Some folks say it's great; others trash. Not expensive by any means, but considering my 150-bottle (give or take) collection, I really didn't want to blind buy and waste $25 on something I might hate... but that didn't stop me from being intrigued. In walks Anchor Black. Amazon's algorithm suggests it for me. I do a minute's worth of research, and decided to take the plunge. Ended up being $13 (after coupon)... and with free shipping, I figured why not? It was waiting for me last night when I arrived home after work. Opened it up and gave it a spray. It smelled like NOTHING. I could barely detect any scent at all. Reminded me of my first experience with the Molecule fragrances. After a few wears, you start to detect the subtle nuances, and so long as you aren't expecting to be knocked over by it, you come to appreciate it for what it is. It is what it is. I sprayed it on before going to bed. Woke up this morning, and smelled nothing. Well, I could smell something. It was faint and dark. Like dirt. The reviewers were right. Not good or bad, still not sure what to make of it? One of the points I heard YouTube influencers make over and over again about EN was the strong Vetiver note... which I couldn't detect. Truth be told, I wouldn't know what vetiver smelled like if a half-ton of it fell from the sky and buried me. When I applied it again this morning, I decided to layer it with Fattan, which is a vetiver-heavy clone of Terre d'Hermes. This brightened it up. A lot. So I'm still not sure what to think about Anchor Black as a standalone fragrance... but I think it will layer well with any number of the fragrances in my collection. If you want to use it as a layering base, for 13 bucks AB definitely has its place. It's interesting, to say the least, and I will continue to go back to this. On its own, AB doesn't last very long and doesn't project very much. But it for sure smells nice layered with Fattan. I will try it next with Afnan Supremacy Noir. I notice this scent profile intrigued me. I kept spraying it on in the evenings around the house. There's just something about it? After a few wears, I realize I absolutely loved it! And so do others. Women I work with draw in close and take a deep breath. Often they don't say anything, other than I smell good (and they've never smelled anything like it before). So I went and bought the entire EN line (Sport, a la Extreme, and Indigo). All have gotten rave reviews! They're similar, yet distinct enough, to warrant buying them all without being redundant. As mentioned before, AB is a great layering base. I typically spray this on, then apply the other EN scents on top. Or use with vetiver or orange (Fattan/TdH), incense (Afnan Supremacy Incense), or Cypress (Afnan Supremacy Noir) to bring out the notes. The possibilities are endless here. Thanks, MA, for coming up with Anchor Black. This is a great low-cost introduction to this rather unique line. Definitely a fan!

Someone asked me to write a second review of this fragrance and compare it to Lalique Encre Noire, the original, not the flankers. First, I have seen old stock photos of Maison Alhambra Anchor Black, and it was indeed called Maison Alhambra Archer Black. I have a theory that there are brand, copyright or legal issues around some dupe fragrances, and changing the names can perhaps help the dupe creators to manage that. Just a theory I came up with when I saw Maison Alhambra Kismet Angel was renamed Kismet Magic. Onward. Anchor Black is strong and lasts longer than Encre Noire. Anchor Black lists "spices" at the top of the notes. Encre Noire does not. That makes sense, because Encre Noire is more forest and pine needle than Anchor Black. Both have the "dentist office" angle, a medicinal note reminiscent of the clove-derived Eugenol that dentist offices use as a disinfectant. Other sources attribute the dentist office scent to a combination of Eugenol and the scent of ground teeth. I think it's all just the Vetiver (English) or Vetyver (French). Same thing, just spelled differently. Here are the Encre Noire notes from Lalique's site: Cypress, Vetyver, Bourbon and Haitian Vetyver, Cashmere Wood and Musk. It's harder to pin down the Anchor Black notes. This site says: Spices, Vetiver; Kashmir Wood and Musk. Very similar on paper. Very similar in many other ways as well. Encre Noire is very inexpensive on discount sites, but I find the discounted bottles still cost more than Anchor Black. Vetiver can be smoky, earthy and damp. It can also be fresh and citrusy. Anchor Black smells more smoky, earth and damp with a "spicy" edge. Encre Noire smells a bit more fresh and citrusy. But at their cores, they are very similar. Both are herbal, woody, like a forest, as others have said. I love Vetiver, so I don't care if this fragrance causes me to have occasional flashbacks of having my teeth cleaned. The rest of the time I find it to be both comforting and sophisticated at all at once, a heady walk in the woods. I can see how the black bottle and packaging, combined with the earthy, damp forest might cause people to call it dark and gothic, especially if your walk in the woods is enroute to the cemetery.

This is a new one for me. Dark forest fragrance with vetiver, musk and wood. I do have a history of loving vetiver. Just because it's not sweet or floral doesn't mean it can't be loved and worn by a woman. I have seen this fragrance mentioned in lists of "goth" scents. I find that interesting and intriguing. I personally enjoy it. Moderate projection, last all day on clothing. I'm waiting for my Encre Noire A L'Extreme Lalique and Encre Noire Lalique to be delivered this week. We'll see how they all compare. Great price on this. Worth it for me.

I got this fragrance today. Idk if its a different batch but mine is a cylinder wooden cap. i cant find any difference between this one and the og. i miss this smell so much. i bought the og 2 times before but sold it. this is very good for the price. one way to describe the smell, a creature called mother nature digging some soil under the three looking for peanuts in a light rain environment. ahhh heaven

Oh come on! There is not much to criticize or defend here. This Anchor/Archer Black is close enough to Encre Noir original to pass for a flanker: sweeter, softer but not as extremely as L'Extreme, this one less expensive (both show up with unstable prices). I love it, but I will surely return to Encre Noir.