Une Voix Noire

I have found in Serge Lutens perfume house a group of florals that are less complex , not hard hitting , resinous, spicy and more wearable . I truly appreciate Serge’s artistry and uniqueness . I’m in awe of his mastery but I feel I cannot pull off some of his quirky , well received masterpieces and this discouraged me from buying those fragrances . Not for the faint hearted and I’m in that group . However , in the last three months I have amassed 8 bottles and counting . I just can’t get enough of his simpler and softer florals . Saying that , I decided to sample Une Voix Noire because as a white floral lover and a die hard fan of SL’s perfumes, I owed it to myself to try his renowned Gardenia scent . Une Voix Noire opens on my skin with gardenia and a heavy serving of rum. So much so , that the booziness rather put me off instantly . However, I knew that with SL’s fragrances I own, the amalgamation of notes required patience, time and openness before the fragrances’ strange beauty shone through. I had to wait nearly 30 mins before the boozy, rum/ scotch merged with the gardenia and then the gardenia became the star performer. I didn’t get much Tobacco like a lot of reviewers mentioned . I was rather pleased at that, , as the thought of an ashtray filled scent didn’t seem very pleasant to me . I believe it was there in the background but not noticeable to my nose . This is such a beautiful gardenia scent . I find it very similar to Fracas but not as potent and sweet. It’s much more bearable . I own Fracas but I find I hardly reach for it as its a heavy hitter. It’s mentioned on other perfume platforms that the sweetness in UVN come from Concord grapes and pink strawberries . Whatever it is , I’m thinking of buying a bottle when I go to Paris next year . Once I bypassed the alcohol scent , it was all uphill for me . Stunning !

What a strange scent! I could not immediately decipher it, is so strong contrasts. As soon as I opened the box, with the bell still sealed, it seemed the smell of Tubereuse Criminelle. A drop on the wrist and understand that it is a composition very intense, that opens immediately with a real Gardenia, palpable, smooth, fleshy, carnal, with a little dreamlike and abstract background, as one of those beautiful professional photos which can be find of this beautiful flower. The sharpness of the image is distorted by the games of light and shadow that the duo Lutens / Sheldrake likes to create. Before the flower is shown in a context of extreme grace, a simpering cleaness but that doesn't lead in the detergent as some predecessors; after the gardenia is dragged between strong alcoholic and smoked effluvia, a dark tone which also expresses its indole side (elegantly indole, this is the part that I associate with Jardenia of JAR, but UVN is more complex. This alternation goes on and on, and the phases expand more and more how to undo the stitches of a fabric, will pass a lot of time but then Lutens will give us the solution ... quoting himself ... again. The candied cedar in base, is again a variation on the theme of the Bois, but that is revealed only at the end. A Bois de Violette becomes Bois de Gardenia with even a slight leathery. The color is once again the violet, which is tinged at times of pastel and sometimes obscure velvet. Sillage, longevity... etc... are excelent. One certainty: the Gardenia will never leave you, in sickness and health, for richer for poorer, till death separates you. Amen.

Une Voix Noire opens with a bright almost soliflore gardenia note, with some tuberose added in as well. The opening is not girly or sweet by any means but provocative and voluptuous. You feel the whiteness of the blooms and the fragrance wafting off them, scattered on the ground where they fell off a blooming gardenia bush. It smells as if a woman has picked up the fallen blooms and rubbed them over her bare skin. This sort of animalic background, musky and woody, creates a floor, a depth under the topotes but it is very difficult to pick out any individual notes at first. After a couple of hours the smell of tobacco is recognizable, faintly, like a woman smoking out of doors, not wanting to be seen or smelled smoking, the smoke mingling with her sweet perfume. I smell a bit of leather, too, maybe a car seat in a long white Cadillac or Edsel and something green and dark, impossible to say what except that there are dark green leaves and definitely woods as well. The woods waft up to your nose and smell divine. I think there is some high quality sandalwood there, a bit of vetiver and a spice or two. Beautifully done and just gorgeous. This is one strong gardenia that I proudly wear. It is not screechy, it has warmth and depth. I bought a bell bottle of this gorgeous juice and I highly recommend this beauty. At least try a liquid decant. The drydown is a soft voluptousness that is so fine and comforting. Each time I wear this fragrance again I am struck by its astounding beauty and artistry.

Gardenia is the most amazing floral note in perfumery, as someone who has always struggled with white florals, let me tell you that any time I smell a gardenia, it’s nothing like a typical white floral. Mushroomy, creamy, boozy, the note alone is a fragrance in itself, and this one makes no exceptions to that rule. I will forever love gardenia. I never had a bell jar scent before, I accidentally tightened it too much and when I opened it, a little too much juice came out, but it sure was intoxicating! There I was sniffing my fingers like some freak, inhaling the beauty of this fragrance. This is a fragrance I recommend to go a little heavier on with application because the fragrance opens up far more that way than if you lightly applied it. Well, it’s a gardenia scent in all its glory, including the mushroomy, creamy aspect which I find addicting. To me it’s a very linear scent with not much movement (which is rare for a Lutens) so I’d say if you like the beginning, you will like the fragrance in general. And being Lutens, this is like a gardenia being shadowed in darkness, black dripping off its white petals. You can definitely pick up on some of the boozy qualities as well if you inhale deeply. As someone who has always loved gardenia fragrances but never owned one, I’m glad this was my first. Don’t miss out on this beauty. Also, don’t associate gender with a fragrance, this is as masculine or feminine as you make it out to be. Unisex through and through.

Elegant, sultry gardenia. Serge Lutens has the most incredible floral soliflores in the surrealistic, gothic style. I have heard that this fragrance is melancholic like Billie Holidays voice. I don't get sadness. I get soulful, radiance with great depth, unapologetic womanliness. Neither the singer nor the fragrance have a fragile, victim vibe. Like his other soliflores, Une Voix Noire exaggerates qualities of the flower in a theatrical way. Boozy notes bring out the narcotic aspect of gardenia. Tobacco gives it roots. Musk makes it carnal. Flowers after all are first and foremost grand seductresses. What I love about Serge's dark flowers is the lack of indoles or that mainstream clean vibe. My complaint is that it is too subtle of a fragrance for the price point, an issue i have with many of the bell jars. They are mesmerizing and complex and I don't want to have to bury my nose in my wrist to smell them. I haven't smelled earlier formulations and I'm sure these have been watered down over the years. Serge Lutens gave me my favorite jasmine (Sarrasins) and now my favorite gardenia!

A dark, boozy and naugthty interpretation of the gardenia with a metallic edge. I find a lot of similarities with Isabey Gardenia, Mary Greenwell Plum, Fracas and Jardenia without the blue cheese note. According to Serge Lutens, the main notes are gardenia, tobacco and rum. The tobacco, rum and the metallic notes fade after a few hours, giving way to a lush and fruity floral scent. Not sure what the fruity note is... perhaps plum? Raspberry? It may not smell exactly as a true gardenia flower smells, but a very interesting and noteworthy interpretation of it IMHO. To me, she sings quietly; like Billie, no exaggerated expressions or emotions, but languid and luscious. That does not mean that she is demure or insignificant. Quite the contrary. She makes her presence known, confidently and a little slyly. Being a huge Lady Day fan, perhaps I'm taking this Lady Day associations thing too seriously, but at any rate, she's worth the attention. Has moderate sillage and very good longevity.

A daiquiri-like strawberry fizzes lively on top of a neon coloured jasmine at the cocaine filled heart of the Cotton Club as a jazzy mirage of a hazy and dopey gardenia lays naked and half drowned across an overflowing ashtrey amid puddles of spilled honey sweetened booze, rum and cognac. The concept of "noir" is well thought out here and exquisitely delivered even though the fruity floral aspects are pronounced throughout and there is no debating the dominance of the mostly unblemished white floral nature. But whilst Une Voix Noire looks impeccable amid the stage lighting there are subtle suggestions that all is not entirely well hinting at a mildly seedy underbelly; once backstage in the dressing room, underneath the diva's flaking make up, there are hints of excesses and emotional upheaval, tales of narcotics abuse and profound loneliness. But I'd expect that from a master of suggestions like Lutens. The Show Must Go On

At first, I was confused because it didn't resemble my impression of beloved Lady Day at all -- her difficult, tragic life, and painful death. So I put on some of her music to inspire me as I kept inhaling the fragrance, and then I realized that the perfume does really resemble, perhaps not her life and history, but her voice, and therefore, her soul. Une Voix Noire... Sweet, powerful, tender, but also melancholy and sorrowful too. I find an underlying sense of hope and longing in her voice, and I find it in the perfume also. This is the darkest and most mysterious, but at the same time most luminous gardenia I have ever experienced. I also love the dry-down, which lasts well into the next morning after an evening spritz. It's boozier than ever at the end-stage on me, and the fallen gardenia has fused with the rum left inside the glass the night before.

Wow. I've never smelled a perfume like this one: smoky at the beginning, then kind of raisin-y, then a little sticky & metallic, and now a tiny bit spicy/boozy and wholly lovely. And gardenia, gardenia, gardenia all the way through. Sillage is soft to moderate, and I can't speak to longevity, as I've only been wearing it an hour. Unless it takes a really terrible turn in the next few hours, I'm turning my sample in for a gallon of this stuff, post-haste. Update: it did not take a terrible turn, and having dabbed it on in the evening, I woke up the next morning and could still smell a ghost of gardenia on my arm. I do want a gallon, but I said that before I realized how expensive this stuff is. I'm working really hard to convince myself to get it, though, and I think I'm winning!

To me this a perfect gardenia fragrance and I have just finished my decant from years ago. It amazes me that SL never made a general release of this or something similar. I adore white florals and have classical gardenias in my gardens.I know there is no essential oil and the note is constructed and supposedly old fashioned. But the scent of gardenia is timeless and unparalleled and really seemingly unobtainable in modern perfumery. I doubt if I’ll ever get back to Paris to buy this whaaaaaaa, it’s so perfect...maybe gardenia is due a resurgence like tuberose. If only it really smelled like Fracas I wouldn’t feel glum, but it doesn’t really. Early in my decant career I did have a perfume that was quite real gardenia, the Elie Saab one. Maybe FK can do a remake of Diorama???

This is the fragrance I return to, again and again. I find it almost haunting - a wilting gardenia smothered in cigarette smoke and rum. It is not a happy fragrance but a strangely comforting one. And almost unbearably sensual. On me it fades softly; from an initial, near shocking sweetness to a soft, melancholy symphony tinged with a sour touch. It is not the easiest of perfumes to love. It teases with a whiff of the cleanest white floral only to instantaneously cover it with something akin to the sweet scent of decay: the flower is dead or dying. At the drydown Une Voix Noir grows almost discreet, almost demure - but with a slight darkness that speaks of sleepless nights and carnal lust.

It's opened me its heart half year later after our first few encounters. We went split and I got a decant of this beauty. To punish me for letting few samples go, I only just discovered how divine it actually is! Wait few moments and through a dusky smoke and fruity whispers, you will see a star Gardenia appearing on a stage. It's creamy voice is luring me, the closer I look the more I give in its charm: Lutens is an artist, this Gardenia is so breathtakingly beautiful, it's got all aspects of the flower including creaminess, mushroominess and it's 3D, however, not photograph, but his vision! I love it and I take my hat off to this masterpiece. I must buy a bell jar!

If I would have to choose between Beyond Love by Kilian et Une Voix Noire, as they are not unlike each other, the choice is easy: Une Voix Noire. UVN is more profound in its darkness and in its light tones and has better projection. Although being a rather subdued kind of perfume, it stands out, proud of its own character. In comparison BL stays quite muffled, which I consider very inconsistent with its name, besides being an unwanted quality in any perfume. UVN, to me, leaves "Beyond Love" behind and enters the stage to act a more vibrant part: "Because of Love".

White florals and Billie Holiday? Sign me up. I got myself a sample the instant I saw the description. My introduction to Serge Lutens, and this alone has propelled the house to the upper rungs of my list—it is one of the most intriguing scents I’ve ever encountered on my scent journey. What I can detect: fruity rum highly reminiscent of raisins performs most prominently on my skin, with a smooth and well-blended gardenia undercurrent. It reminds me of nail varnish at times, which is strange, but I like its strangeness. It’s so special and haunting.

Serge Lutens glorious tribute to the legendary Billy Holiday is an unabashedly feminine floral fragrance showcasing the signature gardenia she wore behind her ear. The perfume briefly opens with notes of strawberry, rum and tobacco before proceeding to a dense floral heart comprised of mainly gardenia but also hints of other florals such as jasmine, rose and iris. The perfume settles on a base of ambery vanilla. The feminine leaning perfume has moderate sillage and projection and good longevity. Beautiful and intoxicating and very classy. Enjoy!

After two years of searching for this discontinued gem in all corners of the internet I have finally found it. The almost full bottle of Une Voix Noire is now the most precious perfume I have in my collection. It is very hard for me to describe why exactly this is do special, but to me this is perhaps the greatest white floral ever created. Swampy, damp, boozy, dark, tragic and simply intoxicating. It still blows my mind that they discontinued it. This one???

Une Voix Noire is storytelling in a parfume form. Dedicated to Billie Holliday`s raspy voice UVN is gardenia dipped in rum and surrounded by a cigarette smoke. The gardenia flower is like a ray of light trying to come through the darkness of rum and smoke. It feels very velvety on my skin just like curtains that they used in jazz clubs back in the day. Beautiful, melancholic but full of hope at the same time just like Billie Holidays life.

I love it. On the first 5 minutes it's very similar to tubereuse criminelle without the menthol, then it turnes into a gardenia coffee, 10 minutes later the coffee gives place to tobacco and rum , 30 minutes later they give place to plum and spice and the whole concoction turns metallic, after that, the metallic note fades and all the others reapper, turning this perfume into a soft and creamy gardenia delight.

This is one of those fragrances that takes you to a place and time. Smokey, fresh gardenia. Photorealistic. As someone who struggles with heavy white florals, this is a dream. No indols, no skankiness. There is a musky, animalic quality, but it isn't the star. Same with booze - it's in there, but it's not overpowering. I think this is a masterpiece. A fitting tribute to Billy Holiday.

After a year of having this fragrance, it seems maceration has affected the notes for the better. There is now more of a caramel-laden like labdanum note, which gives it a dark, slightly sweeter yet still smoky drydown. I can't imagine there being a better Gardenia-focused fragrance than this.