Volupté Noire

Volupté Noire mesmerised both myself and my partner at the PG boutique. We were both astonished by its complexity and it completely redirected my whole shopping list-no complaints! The honeyed dates take centre stage here. Then comes the amber and oak with force and a mindblowing oud accord to tie everything together. A fantastic creation that Pierre righteously set appart at this line.

Non-descript overload of sweetness, if you're going for sweet, there are tons of way better choices out there, if you're going for dates sweet, there are still better choices than this, simple pass...

Dates soaking in over-brewed black tea, astringent and mouth-coating, that dry tannic bite married to sticky, crystallized sweetness. Dark musky honey, earthy and animalic, refined in the way something becomes after a thousand years of being wild - it evolved, got that shit out of its system. Heavy like a weighted blanket, enveloping, calming rather than crushing or claustrophobic. This is the witch in the woods who turned out to be just a person whose heart was too good, whose reputation for darkness came from living apart, looking strange, choosing solitude. You went seeking magic or answers or maybe just got lost, and she poured you tea in a chipped Limoges cup, offered a shoulder to cry on, pulled out the good French biscuits kept for guests who never come. She wrapped you in a cashmere throw gone soft from years of use, pressed soft woolen slippers into your hands, gestured to the chair by the fire that's clearly the most cushy, cozy comfortable one. Abundance in unexpected places, richness where you thought there'd only be shadows. It makes you feel powerful and protected simultaneously, wrapped in care that looks forbidding from the outside, but inside is all velvet cushions and warm stones and things worn soft by love. The sweetness and bitterness work together, sticky dates and bitter tea conspiring toward comfort, quiet luxury in weathered textiles and secret stores of good honey, the kind you'd want to find if the world got too sharp, too bright, too much. A dark, warm space that welcomes without questions, that knows what you need before you ask, will hide the bodies in the best places.