Philos Opus Noir

#783 in my "Tour de Fragrance" Okay, you know how I hate the soaring marketing blurbs for scents. This is going to sound like one, so I apologize up front. The last real vacation I took was really a stayover at a trade show I attended in Barcelona that had been scheduled for the week before the Festival of Saint Eulalia. I toured the Picasso and Dali museums, danced the Sardana, the Catalonian "Dance of Defiance," in the public square, and prayed in the Cathedral of Barcelona, which would be Eulalia's basilica if only the City of Merida didn't also claim to have her body in the basement of their cathedral (and in those days any arguments between the Spaniards and the Catalonians they ruled, the Catalonians lost). The interior of that cathedral, with all it's shrines, statuary and musty clothing on the statues dressed in fine silks, cloths and skins, all the exotic and very old woods, the earthiness of the stone, dampness of the crypt, all the flowers throughout the various shrines that lined the walls, it's a smell I've smelled in more than two dozen European cathedrals (and some summer castles) from Scotland to Hungary. I call it the "Dracula's Castle" smell. Philos "Opus Noir" smells like that. And to top it off, I went to bed last night wearing this fragrance, and to my horror dreamed I was joining a monastic order. This is car pool, elevator, office, nunnery and monastery safe. Business appropriate, especially for vampire's assistants and funeral directors. I love it, but I think this is one that only comes out at night. ; )

The person below me said it perfectly, this is a beautiful forlorn fragrance, perfect for all seasons, but especially autumn and spring, and especially rainy days. I don't know what it's duped from, and I don't care. I really don't, and neither should you. You should own a perfume based on its own merits, and this has that. It's a gentle floral-leather fragrance. The fruit is only a suggestion of sweetness that rounds out the ylang-ylang. To me, this is near perfect the way it is. It lasts about 6-7 hours on my skin, becoming a skin scent a wee sooner than I would like, making this a 9/10. If not for that, it would be my #1 favorite scent.

I was quite intrigued by some of the reviews I've read about this perfume, so I purchased a bottle (very reasonably priced). I like it so much, I bought a backup bottle ☺️. It's a very unique fragrance, but a really lovely one to me. Longevity is excellent (minimum 6 hours on my skin), and projection is really good to! I use it on its own or layered with Zara hypnotic vanilla, which makes a really pretty combination (I like experimenting with different layering combos 🙃). Definitely a keeper for me because of its uniqueness, and I'm glad it's part of my collection 😊.

This stuff is so dang sexy smelling, dark and primal with a sweet face. Maceration makes a helluva difference too. Ever see those old movie clips of Elvis fan girls screaming and fainting at the edge of the stage as he wiggled his hips at them? This. This makes me feel weak in the knees, especially when my husband is wearing it. Smells good on anything or anyone as far I can tell. Wowza. 10/10 I'm a fan girl of this formula. ♥️😭♥️

I was genuinely surprised by this one. It was very inexpensive, and thus my sites were set fairly low. But I love it! The turkish rose and fruits mix nicely together with the rose, not being too powerful. The dry down hits a little bit differently, which I like.And it's more of a masculine, dry down. Overall, I would recommend this for anyone who wants something a little different in their collection. Other than a bluefreshie

The drydown reminds me of Fleur du Mâle by Jean Paul Gaultier a lot. I own both and they have a very similar yellow floral sweet smell. For anyone that ever wanted Fleur du Mâle, I recommend this highly. My bottle of Philos Opus Noir was just opened so it is possible this will change in time, but without time to settle, the two fragrances are very similar.

This is an amazing scent, soft and elegant. For those of you who think it is leaning to feminine side, I layer it with Lalique Encre Noire and it gives it a more masculine side with an earthy touch from the reinforced vetiver and the cypress note. I have been complimented many times when I do this mix. I encourage you all to try it, you won't regret it.

This is oddle comforting, especially if youre into dark brooding scents. This perfume makes me think of damp fall leaves in the dead of night, cold winter winds and the dark. It is the perfect for the goth baddies who want to smell like they look. Its about as mysterious as Black Orchid without being as conflicting.

Love this one! Classy and unique. Reminds of church for some reason. Unisex leaning feminine but still can be pulled off by a masculine person. I like to layer this with Oud For Glory!

Very good fragrance for the price-Philos Opus Noir Long lasting and brings good compliments. Nice black velvet bottle .

Really good fragrance for winter and fall. It smells like rice in a really good way. It gave me a lot of compliments.

Hidden gem, so beautiful, unique, 10/10.... I would definitely repurchase! It's a love 🫶🏻

Perfecet perfume for funneral. Update After few weeks ...i am in love🫶

This is the favorite fragrance of Vampires. Fabulous!

This is extremely amazing! I'm on my second bottle!

Very good fragrance for the summer months

I didn't have high hopes for this, but this is a great Xerjoff dupe! It's pretty straightforward about that. Starts out with a flowery, slightly creamy blast of ylang ylang and rose, then immediately mellows out into a medley of all the notes at once, which is when the slight fruitiness appears. That fruitiness is what makes it pretty wearable in summer, unless it's scorching hot outside. Drydown is soft, sweet and just slightly herbal and spicy with that vetiver kick. The scent is very hard to describe in a way that would help imagine what it smells like. It is very similar to Ange ou Demon, there's that vanilla base and prominent ylang ylang. It's sophisticated, but not overwhelmingly "mature" or intimidating. I actually kind of disagree with the original Opera consensus that it's only for formal events and never for anyone who can call themselves young. You can absolutely pull this off if you have the right aesthetic - wearing something dark and avant-garde works very well. I also feel like it leans slightly towards traditionally feminine rather than being completely unisex - the base is quite sweet after all, which not all men might be ready to wear in public. Definitely not blind-buy-safe, unless you've already tried and liked the original Opera and/or Ange ou Demon.

I still can't make up my mind about this one, like others have said - I enjoy smelling it, but not necessarily want to smell it on myself. As a female, I wore it to the theatre for the Peaky Blinders show and thought it suited the vibe perfectly (I dressed up for the theme). I think this really is great for opera and theatre venues (and yes, funerals, like someone said below). I think I will keep it for the pleasure of sniffing it, and maybe will try to layer it with nice vanillas this autumn. If anyone tried a good combo for a female, let us know! Personally, I would love to smell Philos on a suave man, as a woman, I struggle to make it feel really sexy. I also have Givenchy Angels & Demons, which is similar to this but more vanillic (and more feminine), and originally I was planning to get rid of Philos for the sake of A&D. But let's see what I can do with layering combos. Lastly! I think this will be great for Halloween!

Smelling this I wonder when and where I could actually wear this fragrance. All I could think of was Church. Looking back at previous reviews I'm not the first person to conclude that. I have some other frags I would put in this category and they're a bit different, usually with smoke and incense as their primary notes. Instead this is more of fruity sweet although not in a gourmand way but more a laundry detergent or fabric softener kind of way. This stuff projects well on the open but then settles into a more moderate performance. Really great sprayer for a cheapie. Also the bottle is quite fuzzy and will probably catch a lot of dust. Very unique. Not sure if I'd call this another Maison Alhambra winner as it is a bit too niche in it's use and purpose to generally recommend. Although I can't say I regret buying it.

A very dark sensual fragrance, the other reviewers weren't kidding about this being a forlorn and Gothic fragrance; it makes me think of a funeral home but it's strangely comforting! It's predominantly rose, ylang-ylang, and leather with vetiver and nutmeg, the fruit only adds a tinge of brightness to this ambery floral fragrance like a dim candle in a dark room. I cant quite put my finger on it but it does make me think of a Tom Ford fragrance except this would be more wearable but nonetheless it's still pretty polarizing you either love it or hate it, but it certainly continues to grow on me. I cant help but wonder what maturation will do to this, but for 16 bucks I'm not mad this'll be perfect for the upcoming fall and for Halloween.