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.

OMG! C'mon Serge Lutens!!! BRING THIS BACK asap!! It's creamy, sweet, and boozy tuberose/gardenia scent! It's like Fracas by Robert Piguet with rum & a hint of tobacco.... This could've been my signature scent! Oh, c'mon men Bruh!

This is so damn good, I want to be smelling this on my deathbed. Why, why did they discontinue this? It is as tragic as it is breathingly beautiful. Please message me if you are willing to sell this.

Heavy gardenia swirling in smoke, rum and jazz. It is a decadent delight.

If anyone is selling a bottle of this please contact me!

To me Un Voix Noire has a slightly purple feel, and in the opening the scent of powdery sweets/candy - a bit like grape-juice and sherbet, slightly violet-like But there's also immediately the scent of a rich white floral with a hint of damp soil, or even (oddly enough) damp cloth. Similar to tuberose (I think this has tuberose in it maybe) but not so heavily animalic It has a slightly old fashioned air. It recalls photos I have of glamorous female relatives from the 1950s on a beach in Florida - the photos are in colour so slightly faded and blue/green now. Is this because I see that kind of retro southern glamorous backdrop when I think of Billy Holiday? I'm not sure, but if I were now to discover a wooden chest owned by one of those glamorous relatives and sniffed one of their sun dresses or gloves, I think it might smell something like this, though I hasten to add it's not musty in the usual sense, just slightly damp in feel. It feels slightly woody, and with the hint of damp soil or cloth it's like the lightest touch of bitter mildew, or I suppose light tobacco. I can absolutely see a glamorous black lady wearing this, I can picture her with white sundress, hat and gloves, strolling in the sun, lady-like but langorous in the heat - but many decades ago in the American deep south, when the beginnings of freedom began to emerge on the horizon, this is the scent of a woman who makes her own destiny Oddly enough, it also reminds me of a friend of mine from Nigeria who I haven't seen for years, we used to go dancing, and she always wore one of those rich floral, slightly tuberose sort of scents, which really suited her. (It was similar to Parfums de Nicolai Number One) I've really enjoyed the associations this perfume has for me, retro, yet with a contemporary sweet powder, sunny, yet sultry with its subtle earthy/musky tones. Very feminine, womanly, a bit of a coquette maybe, but not innocent It doesn't have the heavily 'bluesy' element of Billie's voice, it's not exactly dark in that sense, though there's an enderlying sense of shade. But then Billie was young once, and full of romance - then thwarted by later disappointments as romantics often are I'd maybe wear this on a warm, sultry day with a 50s style dress, I suppose it's not entirely me, I don't walk around langorously enough (I'm in Scotland, you don't do anything langorously in this weather!) Soft sillage, good longevity.

To set the record straight. I personally contacted Serge Lutens and was informed directly that ALL SL perfumes are unisex and meant to be shared by men and women alike, so anytime you see them being sold for men or women that is only half right. As a gardenia and tuberose lover, I grow gardenia in my greenhouse and tuberose in my garden and when critiquing any tuberose or gardenia perfume I always use the living flower as a reference point. Well, with this one I did not have to even go out to the greenhouse because I know right away that it did not smell much like the blossom of the gardenia jasmoides at all, but then again neither does Fleurs de Gardenia from Creed. Yet, Lutens" Tubereuse Criminelle is dead on for smelling like the real live flower once the top notes have burned off. I am thinking that maybe this is a different species of gardenia, or maybe it's a perfumer's "concept" of gardenia. But in any case, it does not at all smell like the gardenia in my greenhouse. I am a huge fan of Serge Lutens' perfumes but I'm not exactly in love with this one but I do like it and maybe I will come to love it. It is not like most in that it does not change much throughout its life on the skin. Once it's on the skin for 10 minutes that is what it smells like and that is how it's going to stay which is just fine because it is definitely pretty enough. It is a sweet sort of syrupy floral that is not quite like any flower I have ever smelled. I have to say that if I didn't know it was gardenia I would imagine it to be some sort of sugary, browned convection that was dripping with syrup, because envisioning that creates the mental picture of that is smells like to me. It seemed to have good sillage since I did smell it frequently as I was wearing it and it lasted a good 6-7 hours, which is all I expect to get out of a floral eau de parfum. So I feel that it's a typical high quality Serge Lutens perfume that I'm happy to have in my collection. I have yet to fall in love with it, but I would not be surprised if I did.

Strangely enough, I don`t find Un Voix Noire particularly dark. With an aura of mystery and elegance, yes, but to me it is ethereal and has a brightness to it, from beginning to end. I get zest from berries and fruits . Strawberry in the beginning and as LadyMurasaki already has pointed out; a fruity note, maybe plum or peach later on. Although tobacco is listed, a lovely incense-note is what I get the most, along with a green Gardenia and the sourness of fruits.Lovely! Yesterday, when the owner of a wine-bar recommended me and my friend some new wines for autumn he suddenly said; "You know, I grew up in Singapore and your perfume reminds of the incense my mother used in our living room.." He also added that it was something else to it as well, something green, herbs maybe. Another favorite from Lutens/Sheldrake for me, but to be honest; it is quite a lot of them already.... I

This is an interesting modern interpretation of gardenia. It starts out a softly muted and demure gardenia that begins to develop about 10 minutes later by blooming into a spicy gardenia. Another 10 minutes later, a heavy metallic smell arises and joins gardenia, but they sit side by side not really blending together. Another few minutes pass and the smell of rum comes along and tries to bond with the metallic scent, and that's when spicy gardenia goes into full swing as all of these notes begin to compete for center attention. In the end, they all concede and finally mesh together into a lush, sweet and spicy gardenia with a boozy, metal edge. Its not traditional at all, but Une Voix Noire has a lot going on for so few notes, and you get drawn into its dark hypnotic aroma.

A boozy-fruity-floral. This is what it smells like to me, and I like it. Not my favouite among SL fragrances, but quite interesting and pleasant. I am not sure it really smells like gardenia since I cannot define its scent. But this is clearly a white floral fragrance which has elements of boozy-ness and a touch of being fruity as well. It is not very sweet to me though, which is good! Since it is neither too sweet nor too fruity, it works well on men too, in my opinion. Rather long lasting with medium projection. And it does not change much throughout its life on the skin.

A very heady, creamy Gardenia. I have not experienced the tobacco, booze, civet, or tuberose as other reviewers had. I have noticed other notes, a sweet fruity note, faint, underlying. Pineapple. Floral note other than the Gardenia - Jasmine. The Jasmine is not overly indolent. I find it lovely. Nice for summer or winter. A well blended concoction. Lovely enough for me to love, favorite, or purchase? No. IMO. I might seem cheap, or even classless, for a full out predominant Gardenia I would purchase Jovan Island Gardenia for a Gardenia craving.

the tuberose in it reminds me of Fracas. Smells boozy and dark, smelling straight from the bottle it smells like a flowery liqueur. As it develops I get a metallic note or something, no idea where it comes from. Smells fantastic in humid night air.

Not a very realistic gardenia (I don't think it was intended to be anyway), syrupy (intensely sweet boozy-fruity) and smoky-tobacco-y; it lives up to its name and inspiration.. Very sultry and slightly melancholy

very good parfum but too feminine for me. not as dark as I expected.but very elegant and classy scent.

Unfortunately, this fragrance doesn’t feel particularly special to me. I was really excited when I finally managed to get a sample, but upon first sniff I was surprised by how familiar it smelled. It feels like I’ve encountered dozens of perfumes with a very similar scent profile. The floral notes are just as strong as the tobacco and dried fruits, so instead of clean, distinct white florals, I get more of a mixed bouquet of different flowers. I'm smelling it right now and actually it's way more fruity (dried ones) to my nose than floral. I’m glad I had the chance to experience it, but I’m not even sure I’ll end up finishing my sample.

I actually get very little gardenia in this, some tuberose, and fruity-boozy notes. All of which are muted. It reminds me very much of Fracas in that it has that same plasticy, soapy, band-aid smell to it, a smell which overshadows what could have been lush, white flowers. While in Fracas I blame a miss-mash of floral notes that don't really blend well with heady, tropical white flowers, here I blame the smoky note. However, I will say that The description Serge Lutens gives is on the ball, as with all of their descriptions, which are scarily accurate despite being pretty short and sometimes non-specific. Here is the description off of the Lutens website, "Une voix noire : jazz, drinks and the night, and, beyond all that, a troubling line of white, gardenia-scented smoke." And that's exactly what it is, a gardenia flower lost amongst the smoke and liquor of a jazz club. If you came into the club smelling of soft, lush, gardenias, you'd come out smelling like Une Voix Noire. Only a whisper of your perfume would be left, covered by the soft, lingering stench of cigarettes and scotch. This is a perfect example of a perfume I don't like, but can very much appreciate.

This fragrance was not at all what I had pictured it (beautiful white flowers). In the opening I get a lot of smoke, incense and spices. Hardly any flowers at all. When the drydown begins it is still very spicy and smoky but I also get a slight metallic note. At this point I also detect a whisper of, oddly enough, the the same tuberose I know from Fracas. Only turned down a lot. This fragrance is to me Fracas toned down ten times, with dry incense and smoke amped up ten times and a slight metal note.

this is a fruity gardenia with something else that i can't place. the fruits are perhaps berries or plum. the other note smells like freshly washed hair/shampoo/hairspray but i have no idea what it is. maybe some sort of light musk? i wasn't sure what to expect from this, but it's pretty inoffensive and soft, just not for me, unfortunately.

Sweet, boozy, smoky, creamy gardenia. For a moment, I felt like I was at some artsy dive bar hanging out with bohemians and other creatures of the night. The boozy notes are fairly strong and almost made me sick so I had to scrub it off.

Boozy & a bit sharp fruitiness at first, then an 'almost turned brown' version of gardenia, I couldn't wear this one.

I get tobacco, civet and dirt. Instant headache for me!

Une Voix Noir is a stretched take on the gardenia flower, as if taking its heady white purity then twisting it with an unfamiliar comfort unusual for this style. This is a rich gardenia scent, untempered and unaffected by notions of typical soft femininity. What Fracas does to intoxicating tuberose flower is what Une Voix Noir does to the equally intoxicating white and grey tones of gardenia. Dulcet tones move to and from a Björk-like technical and robust array of belches, roars, and grumbles (Big Time Sensuality). Une Voix Noire is a take on olfactory volume rolled in butter and cream. The gardenia note is a subject, that when it is indeed made the focal subject, it lends itself effortlessly to different directions. It has a sublime greenness that is hidden underneath the quirky, earthy grey musk of raw mushrooms. In my mind, the mushroom note bares resemblance to hot steam irons, the industrial, and wet concrete subjected to rain. A warmth, yes, but done unusually and pleasantly. Une Voix Noire’s immense gardenia headiness is not tamed, but enriched with a wealth of other riches – together working at once, revealing itself slowly and slowly. Une Voix Noire is the patient person’s gardenia. One that if worn carefully the layers begin to unfold. On opening, Une Voix Noire bares a mild metallic salinity, with the contradictory freshness found deeply within rich white florals. For instance, I smell Fracas and it plunges straight into the base notes of tuberose, but one realises that tuberose itself is a perfume (not a singular scent, a clear distinction), and it has movements. A paradoxically fresh, blushingly verdant flourish on opening, moving swooningly into areas of depth and warmth rather than the initial freshness. This too is a paradigm that occurs with gardenia, and in my opinion, it is a treat. An immensely creamy scent, Une Voix Noir travels to and from white floral richness to white floral freshness. Greenery is imparted too by indolic jasmine, a welcome additional and typical note associated with the illusionary gardenia accord, but what’s most intriguing is the note of stewed, jammy berries, that Boisdejasmin identifies as strawberries. This is the beginning of the tropical thread throughout Une Voix Noire, which is akin to an intimate evening spent at an indoor tiki bar. As this movement progresses, one now receives creaminess of another sort: an earthy, almost dusty and dry cocoa-like note. Brisk purple colours swirled around our concrete and grey gardenia, nuttiness, and emblematic Serge incense: floating and clean. The additions are muted in this fragrance, as it delivers a graceful and fulfilling flatness: clean moves trepidatiously into soapy, fresh green moves onto harmonising bitter. Cigar smoke, soil, a new creaminess: vanilla, and difficultly defined musks move our fragrance into the oriental territory – and the gardenia takes it very well. Look through this wall of smoke and the animalic civet undulations and find a concoction of pineapple and coconut. With gardenia’s innately humid tropicality and the prior fruity vibrations of strawberry, Une Voix Noir gives us a picturesque view of what is tiki and tropical, a glamorised and romanticised Hollywood take on the exotic: vintage movie stars in white double breasted suits with their mouths chomped onto a cigar. Present throughout the life of the scent is honey too, and the manner in which it blends imperceptibly throughout the body of the fragrance lifts the sweetness in charming, caramelised and blonde directions, flambéed with a boozy, (dried) fruity brown spirit – Cognac perhaps? Rum? Perhaps even the warm gingerbread spice of Angostura bitters. Une Voix Noir is complex, and the long form is a testament to that fact, but I subjectively smell closely and find elements of decay, minute movement towards acridity, and a vanilla note I associate with the tropical vanilla of Havana Vanille (Vanille Absolument) from L’Artisan, I perfume I completely detest. The complexity cradles, the smoke warms, but the final result? Warm and salty tainted skin.

The universe exists in a dichotomous fashion; all things have their place, and their opposite. Man and woman, light and dark, happiness and melancholia. It is only to be expected, then, that perfume would also be bound by this universal truth. We have fragrances that are bright and joyous and evoke only the happiest of memories. We also have fragrances that are dark and forlorn, perhaps due to their composition, or perhaps due to the memories we have associated with them. The fragrance I'll be delving into today, occupies the latter niche. Une Voix Noire (or "The Dark Voice") is a fragrance from the house of Serge Lutens, and one that I've grown very fond of, despite it's heartbreaking characteristics. It was inspired by Billie Holiday, and the gardenia everpresent behind her ear. Billie Holiday was, and still is, a legend in the realm of jazz music, and it is, thus, only fitting that the perfume itself be built around that theme. Une Voix Noire is a gardenia soliflore, but hardly in the way one would imagine. There is much added to it, from a delectably fruity rum, to a smoky tobacco, which turn it from a young, white gardenia, to one that's been tempered by the passing of the years, and has the richness of full life, on the cusp of death. It opens on my skin with a beautiful fruity rum, almost as if there are muddled strawberries in the bottom of a drink I've been served, with the faintest whiff of smoky tobacco. However, within moments, the fruit fades, and the smoke intensifies, leaving the impression of an upscale cocktail, and a cuban cigar, luxurious, but perhaps unapproachable. Moments later, the gardenia appears, almost as if catching a waft left by Ms. Holiday's own. Far from the effervescent brightness of the immature flowers, it's petals are wilted, stained from the smoke of the tobacco, and dipped in the rum of better days, carrying the promise of a journey, and delivering layer upon layer to be unraveled and understood. It continues in this manner for a while, the rum receding, and the tobacco becoming softer and less smokey, allowing that aged gardenia to shine in all it's glory, the florals only lightly brushed with the faintest whisper of that smoke as an unmistakable vanillic undertone begins to appear. There is a touch of indole here, and perhaps an animalic facet there, but they are subtle and fleeting. And, with the passing of time, they fade, leaving behind a gauzy whisper, that smells faintly of flowers, and tastes of heartbreak. Une Voix Noire is truly the distilled essence of Billie Holiday. It is undeniably heartbreaking, hiding it's tears behind a veil of warmth and fleeting brightness. She sings the blues, and those blues are here. Each dab a reminder of Lady Day, and what troubled her so. Each waft a fresh pang of sadness. Une Voix Noire is not for everyone. In fact, I don't recommend many bother trying it at all. This I'd reserve solely for the darkest of days, when there's nothing to be said of joy, and only the faintest whisper of light can be seen. It is when I'm consumed by the most intense deapair, that I reach for Une Voix Noire, sitting upon her plum velvet throne, and allow it to consume me. Beautiful, but soul shattering all the same.

1st tried from a wax solid; Oh wow, interesting. It is- immediately- a cigarette smoke-laced gardenia petal in full richness of bloom, just as the edges of the flower brown in the summer heat. It is beautiful and dark. I was not expecting the smoky facet to be as powerful as it is (as the only note listed here is gardenia...) but lo and behold, they are equal to my nose. Reminds me of a (smoother, less sharp) gardenia version of Jasmin et Cigarette a bit. I am not a smoker but so help me this smells legit! I kind of crave that scent from time to time for the sultry aura w/o the damage, the bad girl vibe without the nicotine. I'm not sure if it's my cup o' tea, especially being so rare and pricey, but this is quality no doubt and a fascinating concept. Oddly it seems to put a knot in my throat when I sniff up close, &/or make my nose itch? I don't understand that reaction, am I allergic to it or hitting some repressed sad memory trigger? Never happened before or since with a scent. (Managed to squeeze 2 wearings out of my wax solid sample + traded for a 1ml liquid sample that I'm wearing as I update this.) It keeps luring me in only to *POW* punch me right in the sinuses =( P.S. This is also quite indolic, but is somehow kept from being unbearably raunchy by the very realistic cigarette smoke. Indole levels on par w/ Sarrasins & Noix de Tubereuse (right in between the two). Also burns a bit up close, as does smoke to my sensitive nose. P.P.S. It seems from reviews some people think indoles are what civet smells like ;) [updated 11.29.14]

I am in love with Gardenias and have been on a Gardenia quest for quite some time. After numerous samples and multiple decants, I am on solid Gardenia ground with 2 standout favorites: Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia for true and pretty gardenia; Tom Ford Velvet Gardenia for a realistic gardenia with the infamous mushroom note. Now we arrive to Serge's Une Voix Noire. I revisited it recently and realized that is in the universe of VG, but with perhaps reversed evolution. Velvet Gardenia opens with the most realistic gardenia I've ever smelled and within a short, few minutes transcends into the mushroom note and stays there. Une Voix seems to start with the mushroom accord and slowly evolves into the gardenia. Either way, it is similar to Velvet Gardenia and excellent on its own merits. This also being fortuitous since Tom Ford has discontinued Velvet Gardenia, and it is expensive and difficult (or impossible) to find. I wish now that I had spent more time with Une Voix, and I think it's going to be advanced up with top 2. I am so happy that I have rediscovered it. Final note: my favorite Gardenia perfume that doesn't really smell like Gardenia is Isabey Gardenia. This is a beautiful luscious perfume, but I smell more ylang ylang than Gardenia; however, I love it enough that I bought a FB.

Well, much as I expected, this perfume smells nothing like a gardenia. We poor gardenia lovers always get our hopes up when a perfume is advertised as such. It really is too bad, because I thought that if anyone would have the imagination to do it, it would be this house. Of course I realize that there are other notes in the fragrance, and they definitely do come through. If one wants to smell like wet woods and fruity hard candies, then this is the one for you. It is not an unpleasant scent, but certainly it is not dark or black. And tobacco?- not to my nose anyway. As for gardenia, well, many people are unfamiliar with the true scent of the flower, and are quite ready to accept any thing that reminds them of a generic white flower/fruity smell as gardenia. It seems that the fragrance notes listed above should be a little more extensive - perhaps including some woods and fruit or berry notes. This perfume, although very nice, is not a gardenia soliflore.

I recently found a bottle from a lovely seller at an incredible price. This was an immediate love for me - sad and gorgeous. I get dark rum, bunches and bunches of week-old gardenia, honeyed strawberries, cigarette butts and - strangely - metal scraps or dried blood. It smells like my favourite jazz club on a Saturday night, if it was a touch seedier. It really does evoke Holiday - specifically her performances of Don't Explain and Strange Fruit. I would absolutely recommend if you are a fan. It also reminds me of this passage from The Great Gatsby: He broke off and began to walk up and down a desolate path of fruit rinds and discarded favors and crushed flowers. "I wouldn't ask too much of her," I ventured. "You can't repeat the past." "Can't repeat the past?" he cried incredulously. "Why of course you can!

Update 2022. I lost most of my bottle to the angels due to a faulty stopper... Une Voix Noire arrived this morning. Immediate impressions are soft, buttery, velvety and feminine. Something chocolatey about it (best quality black chocolate). Tubereuse Criminelle without the menthol tang. Violet leaf or root in there too – dark and woodsy. Ten minutes in and the sweet rottenness appears. And a tobacco note, more blonde than dark – I expected dark. 45 mins in, becoming more metallic. I hour in, definitely metallic – helione (sucked silver spoon). Four hours in, woody and plummy. More Gardenia du Bois than Gardenia Criminelle. Very nice - I can see me wearing this one a lot.

Opens like fizzy Watermelon chewing gum. True. Those big green variegate spheres of gum, red inside, for children. A very exotic multifruits cocktail. After a few minuts beguin also a sort of coffee/monoi presence which persist beside of the fruity blend all time long. A little fecal I say. A weird summer fragrance. Tropical. Or TropiFecal I should say. I like a lot especially in the heart. Unfortunately the drydown is a sort of creamy banana vanilla flambe'... In a remote remote way it recall me Belle Bete by Liquide Imaginaires

The black, or perhaps dark, voice that named this perfume must belong to Billy Holiday. The white gardenia was her signature flower. And I think that this scent would have been to her taste. It has smoky notes as a memory from the nightclubs where Lady Day was the star and it has flowery tones from her favourite blossom. Yes, this is truly something that the greatest jazz singer ever would have appreciated.

gardenia, front and centre. and yes, a bit of a fruity, boozy something in the background, too...not quite sure what. i also get a frankincense, but just that 'top' part of it, the part that sparkles like citrus and is quite unresiney. i hope that makes sense... look, this is totally not my thing, but it is an intriguing scent. almost certainly NOT only gardenia. but, not too much else...