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FDSservi – :
Starts off super smoky, to the point it kind of irritated my nose a bit as it dried.
There is that distinct lavender dust smell so familiar to Encens et Lavande and Gris Clair, but wait. Somewhere a glimmer of softness begins to peek through the haze. The delicate touches of almond, tonka bean, and musk give life to the smoke. It makes a troublesome, dry, almost chokingly parched aroma, more palatable. Skinlike, even. I mean honestly, the best way I can describe Fourreau Noir is that this is the smell of a woman who walked through fire…and lived. Maybe she cracked a few dragon eggs along the way, too.
I can sense Lutens’ later explorations of fire baptisms in Fourreau Noir and this perfume makes my blood rush. This is that sort of emotional perfume for people who have been touched by hellfire in their life. Wear it with pride.
you da – :
While I don’t agree it smells like dad used to smell, it does have a classic twist to it, however I feel they added a modern twist to it. I like this perfume a lot and recommend it to people who like darker scents with hints of spices.
saalant – :
this starts off as a heavy, musky lavender which reads as traditionally masculine. after a minute or two the tonka becomes much more prominent and there is a smokiness as well. during the drydown it’s mostly just lavender and tonka, with hints of almond and smoke. the almond is pretty-it helps soften the other notes a bit, which are fairly strong on me. i like this one, but it’s not a love. i am curious to try this on my boyfriend though…
replicae89414 – :
I love this. Took me a while to work out it was lavender, though – it’s a very sticky, heavy lavender, like I imagine lavender ‘stroop’ would be, though I have never seen or eaten such a thing. Lavender very much in an oriental style rather than a fougère – not clean, not powdery, not sharp or herbal but heavy and resinous, filtered through the typical Lutens prism. I’d previously tried this in wax sample but to my mind the spray (vap tout noir) is quite different – more masculine and less creamy and voluptuous. It is to lavender what Une Voix Noire is to gardenia.
dianajbj – :
The second I put this on, I thought, “This smells like Dad did when I was a kid.” Someone mentioned in a previous comment that it was similar to Aramis which was my Dad’s favorite cologne for years! I don’t like this for myself. It’s too masculine for my taste and it just smells like so many basic aftershaves. It might be nice on a man. It doesn’t smell bad, it’s just very unremarkable.
GRALAL – :
Syrup lavender.
Tonka beans are quite sweetening the lavender overly well and leaves the blend kind of cloying. The lavender became kind of milky although it was already known that it is quite a calming and relaxing flower but now it became calm and tender.
Actually i find it a bit weird yet new, and i don’t know wither if it’s overly cloying or tiny cloying! it is just confusing cause the lavender weakens a bit after few minutes of applying which makes it an almond milk sweet blend yet you keep on detecting hints of lavender. It’s ok, but remains a weird blend.
ramancheg – :
Some nice lavender in the beginning smells clean and fresh with some citrus, but quickly turns into something herbal, musky and even a bit smoky. It’s even slightly powdery and slightly sweet. While it’s quite unique, it never feels “off” or niche in the way that ambitious new fragrances tend to be. It’s nice, more manly than I expected but with a soft feminine touch from the lavender. Really ideally unisex. The lavender is a real winning surprise here, dark and luscious, totally different than traditional lavender. It’s not my absolute favorite from Serge Lutens, but it’s still quite lovely. ~7/10
Insetsheess – :
It’s lavender, Jim…but not as we know it…
A softer, warmer, sweeter lavender that wraps me in a cosy, fragrant embrace. I find it almost impossible to isolate any other notes for several hours, but later on the sweetness increases slightly. At this stage I think I feel the almond a little, and still the pleasant spiciness of the lavender. A gentle spiciness, rather than a masculine aftershave one, which would make me keep looking over my shoulder to see who was behind me. I know, with this fragrance, that the good smell is me, not a stalker.
I do not ever find the florals, nor do I experience the “dirtiness” mentioned in other reviews. This is a rather chaste, old fashioned perfume to me, perhaps because of the lavender, which can be either masculine or one of those timeless scents worn by generations of women. In this case I find it very feminine.
Projection is at least good, in the early hours, and longevity is excellent. I am still very aware of the fragrance I am wearing, almost 12 hours after spraying.
I enjoy this fragrance and, with Gris Clair, it sets the standard for lavender perfumes on my shelves.
vladimispicy61 – :
I had no idea lavender could be heady and intoxicating. In this it is, totally. Sweet, syrupy, dark lavender. Sort of gourmand and sort of floral. Totally addictive and long lasting. Sillage is moderate, but that is a good thing, as this has a deep sweetness, that if any stronger might verge on the sickly. It does not become cloying. Comforting silkiness. I don’t get a huge amount of smokiness in this. Thumbs up Serge Lutens. Beautiful!
vehvfycr132011 – :
I was very kindly given a sample of this yesterday.
It has a warm lavender feel, to me lavender can often be cold, but paired here with Tonka it has become smooth and round. It smells like the colour of the juice so that is very fitting. I can imagine this on a man or a woman but the main image it conjures up for me is of the creamy skin of a 1920’s or 1930’s starlet, dark smoky purple satin, cigarette holder, smoke, dim nightclub.
chicago80 – :
I tried to find a note pyramid on Serge Lutens’ website, but there was none. Fragrantica says this perfume contains tonka bean, lavender, almond, and musk. Well, if I may say so, there has never been a perfume that was more straightforward because those notes are all I smell. What you see is what you get. It’s creamy, vanilla-like, with strong raw almond and just a hint of lavender. It’s hard to say a lot about a perfume that is so simple. I don’t see this as a masterpiece, but I certainly love it. The notes combine together beautifully, and it seems appropriate to wear just about anywhere. So the bottom line is that if these 4 notes appeal to you in combination with one another, Fourreau Noir is a safe bet.
Many thanks to SumoTigerCat for the very generous sample!
Zombik – :
It reminds me very much of Amouage Sunhine. Very comfortable, long lasting tonka bean-lavander combination, just like the two main notes in Amouage Sunshine. A must have for those who like that two notes. Nice blend!
Gornostay2 – :
i adore this – but immediately i realized..this smells exactly like Fragonard Grains de Soleil which I super love so i am fine with that! Sexy sweet that screams oriental and melds perfectly with my chemistry
I want to smell the lavender in it..will give it some time – I smell sweet almond mostly and tonk…dark and pleasantly musky
UPDATE: i sprayed my wrist again although it hadn’t faded, and I can smell the lavender this time…I am loving this somewhat complex scent more and more as the day passes
rmax – :
Fourreau Noir by Serge Lutens is dangerously addictive! Aggressively herbal, dried lavender notes crescendo into bitter almond and delicious tonka bean. Yet, Lutens saves the best for last: the powdery base notes of rich patchouli and incense are breathtaking and balance the initial lavender blast. Fourreau Noir is seriously seductive. This is the perfume that Basic Instinct’s Catherine Tramell would have selected for the infamous interrogation scene! It’s cigarette smoke, leather, incense, and opulence personified. Fourreau Noir mesmerizes everyone in its path. Sillage is high and longevity is astounding (6+ hours)!
jnp242JeomiWogkig – :
This is lovely stuff. A sweet smoky floral musk, dark and sweet, like molasses. Of my two samples, the older one was more musk and less sweet. The sillage is weak, so I used up my 2 wax samples on one day, but what a day… Love it, want it, gotta have it. I don’t find it as masculine as some scents; it’s a lot sweeter than Muscs Koublai Khan, for instance. It has everything that I like, I want to roll in it like catnip. A must-have, for me. 10/10
shwecz.gennady – :
Not for me due to too masculine but is my absolute #1 choice for men. Absolutely sexy gorgeous & would make any man very very huggable!
brabus9119 – :
This fragrance has grown on me considerably since its release some years ago.
Easily the most approachable of the three Lutens lavenders, Foureau Noir is essentially a fougere minus the green and herbal elements, and, in typical Serge-Sheldrake fashion, had a few gourmand elements added in. Lavender, coumarin, musk, almond, and anise are present to my nose, the lavender lasting quite deep into the drydown.
There are some links with the rest of line: a certain meringue quality in Rahat Loukoum and Vetiver Oriental is here, and the lavender has a similarity to Gris Clair. Also, with Chanel’s Jersey, though that one is far more demure.
A scent to visit if you’re looking for a warm, wearable lavender.
kazik9 – :
Didn’t expect to like anything with almond and tonka in a starring role, but cutting them with lavender and smoke does it! Scrumdidlyumptious – I want to eat my arm in small dainty bites.
diabbankeviveujb – :
Years ago, when FN was just new on the market I tried it amongst a couple of other perfumes in the amazing store of Palais Royal and thought that it was not for me…just too heavy, too smoky…it was somewhen in early summer. During one of my later visits there I received the entire collection of wax samples. After another long while I happened to open the one with the FN sample finally and…it was just stunning. I didn’t get any lavender or flower from it but the deep musky side of this scent reminded me right away on my dear black she-cat how she often used to sit next to me giving me company while I was lying on the sofa during long, cold and dark winter evenings…such a warm, cosy and comforting memory. It’s not that my cat smelled exactly like FN but her black warm hair was the first thing that came to my mind when this scent started to develop to something so familiar on my wrist. It took a while to discover FN for me. But now it’s one of my preferred scents from my SL collection. I just bought the bell bottle last this week in the store in Paris – my fragrance for cold weather. Can’t wait for autumn to come.
Long lasting on my skin with a polite sillage.
10/10
былмолод – :
This review is based on a decant. To my nose and on my skin, I get tonka bean and almond on top of musk. Reminds me of Tardes by Carner Barcelona and Lumiere Blanche by Olfactive Studio to an extent. Moderate projection and longevity on my skin.
afiget1977 – :
Lavender tends to be too strong, soapy or medicinal for my taste. In this perfume however, the lavender is a perfect background to the tonka bean and musk. It almost seems like there is a touch of maple in this. Slightly powdery on the drydown and smells like vintage cosmetics and face powder
It s very elegant and fresh enough that any woamn, any age can wear this anywhere. Definitely someone’s signature scent.
pirat55 – :
With one stroke, this satisfied my hunger for a lavender based scent as well as a tonka dominant scent, hence knocking Guerlain’s Tonka Imperial off my want list and saving me wads of cash. After an almost futile search of finding a lavender perfect for me in a Goldilocks fashion of none too herbal, none too sweet, this is my perfect lavender over L’erbolario (too herbal, too sleep aid but a true lavender) and also from the same house, Gris Clair, which a very very kind member here sent me samples of. This is a smoky, sweet and dark lavender on me and fits its colour very well. I smell everything all at once and yet I would not describe it as a linear scent. All the ingredients just seem to dance around each other in perfect step. Sillage and longevity are very good, but I have not had an issue regarding both when it comes to Lutens, to my great benefit!
Deman-911 – :
I like this one okay, but not quite as much as I thought I would based on the wax sample. I think I might be warming up to it, but my first impression wasn’t very enthusiastic.
Mecqj210InsuffBooni – :
I can’t resist…I tried a sample of this and it’s a knockout! I could probably pull this off. When I wear Fourreau Noir, I smell like a leather couch made of the finest, most exquisitely treated leather, with a bit of sweetness of excellently blended pipe tobacco smoke…just a hint! After about three hours, it softens into a creamy, sweetish leathery yummmm, and it stays with me as a soft perfume aura for the whole day. I do detect the small bit of lavender in this, which I was initially worried about as lavender projects in a masculine way on me, usually too masculine; the lavender in this brightened the mix so that I didn’t turn into a smoke bomb, but it didn’t overpower the other glorious ingredients. This one is very refined, and I tried Chergui recently (I can see how these two fragrances could be related), and wore that for a few days and I think Fourreau Noir works the best for me. That being said, if I do buy this (imho, this one IS worth the steep price tag) it will not be for me, but I will give it to my husband and persuade him to wear it. I want to smell this one on men, not on myself. This would be DIVINE on men!!!! Fourreau Noir said to me (I’m serious!), “Vanessa, I like you, but you’re not a man. I need a man.” I could just see myself following a man who is wearing this, and trying to reassure him: “No, no, I’m not a stalker! I just want to smell the Fourreau Noir on you, just let me follow in your scent wake!” All men should try this. Just think of what you could get away with!!!
hamyo2pd – :
Very elegant fragrance. When i wear Fourreau Noir i feel like i’m wearing the high heels even if i’m wearing my “New balance” sneakers.
Longevity is about 6 hours on my skin. It works better on my neck than on my wrist.
Perfect for the cold weather.
partyzan – :
Fourreau Noir makes me consider the possibilities of copying and repetition. Part of a series, variation on a theme? Uninventive, deliberate, derivative? Sequel, flanker, gender counterpart, homage?
However it’s come about, Fourreau Noir smells remarkably similar to Chergui. A little less raspy and a bit cooler and herbal from the lavender. It’s syrupy, sweet and woody. It’s a spin on the coumarin accord of Chergui, a range that Sheldrake and Lutens do very well. Sadly, it holds no surprise here, but then again, I’m not a great fan of Chergui.
Worse luck, Fourreau Noir has a large helping of the same masculine contemporary notes linking ‘freshness’ (I can’t quite use that word without qualifier) and wood that Chergui has. This capitulation is what turned Chergui for me, and it does the same to Fourreau Noir. It fact, this is where the similarity of the two is to be found. Sheldrake and Lutens manage to make many distinctive perfumes in what might seem a small range of spicy syrup (see Arabie, Cedre, Cuir Mauresque). But in both Chergui and here in Fourreau Noir, the perfume makers cede the middle ground to convention and, despite Fourreau Noir’s lavender, which could be a logical entree to the world of the contempo-homo (my stage name for the state of current perfumery for men), Fourreau Noir winds up fairly faceless and undistinguished like Chergui.
Clearly, I’m not hiding my preferences, but to take a step back, how are we to view Fourreau Noir? Lutens don’t group it with Chergui in their “Sudden Sweetness” series where Chergui is found, but the composition is similar. The generous thing to do would be to paint the two as a Bernard Chant/Estee Lauder gender pairing such as Azuree/Aramis or Aromatics Elixir /Aramis 900. Less generous would be to call Fourreau Noir a retread.
from scenthurdle
ssa.com.ru – :
This is a review of the wax sample. I had trouble reading the grey on dark grey lettering and mistook the name as “Fourrure noir”, then immediately compared it to vintage Weil Zibeline, a perfume by furriers and for fur. They both have that nearly toxic bitter almond note, which in both cases I took for heliotrope. Whatever. Fourreau noir is old school, and darkly glamourous.
aod033speagoessenda – :
Received a solid sample of this today.
At first sniff, once the wax had warmed up on my skin, very impressed. Smells like ‘my sort of thing’ in general.
Actually, it brought to my mind some cheap but gorgeous incense I bought some years ago in a ‘head’ shop – no idea what it was called, it was a weird one not commonly seen around. Not a Nag Champa or church incense smell, I felt about the incense sticks that maybe the manufacturers were using some old 1970s perfume ingredients – heavy perfumed but not ‘spicy’ or vanilla oriental. Argh, so hard to explain!
Anyway, Fourreau Noir smells to my nose very similar to that incense.
I straightaway put FN in my ‘want’ list in my Fragrantica profile (yeah right, once I win the lottery).
Then I went for it, applied to neck and wrists and wore it out and about in the cold air.
I know this is frag is termed ‘unisex’ and anything goes if you like the smell yada yada, but I strongly had the sense that I was wearing aftershave – some kind of nice 1970s era aftershave of a certain type (younger man smell perhaps?), but obvious aftershave all the same.
This fragrance smells totally ‘male’ to me, it reminds me s l i g h t l y of the original male Joop in its general feeling, I’ll remove it from my want list, would maybe be nice to smell on a man.
Deroxajpvq – :
A nice fragrance, but I think it is just an upgrade version of Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier…
Glowworm – :
Surely one of the most interesting releases among the “latest” Lutens. A dark gourmand that, while still maintaining a quite dense structure and presence, it never gets too sweet or heavy. Lavender on top joined by a bold tonka/musk base that’s powdery and slightly smoky at the same time. Not as groundbreaking as I espected but a completely enjoyable ride throughout…Very nice.
Good projection, satisfying lasting power.
One of the best names for a fragrance in years.
Downside: A little disappointment, if I can call it so, comes during the drydown where, most of the latest Lutens, verge towards crudeness.
Rating: 7/10
fenfen – :
I was in Paris last week on a perfume trip with a group of perfumista’s!!! I bought the beatiful bell bottle in the Serge Lutens Shop! The explanation about all the fragrances was so inspiring! The interior of the shop is stunning. We were invited to come upstairs where normaly mr Lutens only talks to journalists. The colors, the perfumes, it was breathtaking.
DiMoN11237 – :
A nice and very well done perfume, but too much Armani Code and La Nuit de l’Homme inside this…I feel it passe.
zlodey33rus – :
PERKINS PASTE!! For those of you that remember these pink/purple posts of glue (that never glued anything with sucess). I am trying really hard not tp lick my wrist….
Almonds, ground almonds rubbed together with lavaender (not the dried potpourri stuff). This is just amazing on me. Well hell on a man I would marry him on the spot. Never has lavender been sexy. This one has been sitting in his musty library (maybe smoking) and has come out to play a bit, first he has walked through a field of lavender.
I think I could swapp my whole collection for this one.
0vt0lst – :
This is one hard to pin down perfume. At first spray, I am bowled over by a darkly glamorous, very film noire-type scent. I picture a femme fatale wearing this, with deep red stained lips and a full length black mink coat – seductive and mysterious. The lavender is not too pronounced to me. I get more of a smokey, slightly sweet, gourmand aroma with a hint of radiant citrus that somehow reminds me of the bergamot at top of Shalimar. The scent is really stunning. At this point, this confirmed Lutensophile is convinced she has found a new favorite.
Ok…. that was the incredible beginning. I’m totally with kastehelmi that the middle phase of this perfume is not so appealing and is, yes, quite dirty in an animalistic and musky way. The change in the character of this fragrance is striking.
The drydown does lose that pronounced animalistic smell and mellows into something sweeter, but still musky and also with a certain murkiness. I like this phase of the perfume better than the second, but not as much as the first.
As with many Serge Lutens perfumes, Fourreau Noir takes you on a multifaceted journey to many places. I just would have prefered to spend more time at first stop.
0_35 – :
This is the dirtiest scent ever! I mean it in a good way. I have a feeling that not all the notes are listed here, because on me it is extremely animalistic, very musky and has the ultimate feeling of eau de dirty pants. When I just sprayed it on myself, I thought – aha…smokey smoke with a lavender suppressing an arrogant citrus, totally masculine.But after 15 minutes, running around the house I thought:”did I clean the rat`s cage?” the answer – yes, I did, In 5 minutes the abominable question popped in my mind again. I did, I did!!! really! It took me a while to understand that this unmistakeable musky, dirty, ratty scent is coming from my wrists and my sweater.
The lavender was still there, but it was a wallflower. Animals had their mayhem.
I don`t know if Furreau Noir played a bad trick on me, but guys – no vanilla, no tonka beans, period. I still think it`s a charming masculine for very, very brave men.
ksycha74 – :
This one buried me in a thick cloud of smoke and dried lavendel. I dont get any of the other notes. So sad.
The lavendel note is almost exactly the same as the one in encense lavande. nice, but not for me.
misterkadr – :
I bought a bell bottle of Fourreau Noir as soon as possible. I just love it. Its soft, smokey, sweet, just great! Ik smell tonkabean, almonds, lavender and vanille. One day the almonds are leading, the other day the lavender is on top. The drydown is so nice.
A masterpiece
insicribe – :
I’m a lucky owner of a bell jar of Fourreau Noir, and I absolutely adore it. I get a lot of tonka bean and vanilla on a smoky base. It does have some similarities with Chergui, which I like too, but I think I prefer Fourreau Noir.
viking872 – :
Yesterday I received a wax sample of Fourreau Noir and, as I suspected beforehand, I love it. I can smell the tonka, the lavender and the almonds, plus something slightly smoky, don’t know what it is. In my opinion it is rather bold to put lavender and tonka in one perfume, especially when they are both quite prominent, but surprisingly it works very well. Chapeau!
Edit: my bell bottle is already here :-D. But I have to wait until my birthday *sigh*…