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september880 – :
The mention of the beautiful and sensual OR NOIR
brings a nostalgia for me that was totally uplifting!
Thank you for the article and consideration to own a bottle to recapture a bygone era!
mason15061987 – :
I have a new bottle from Fragrancenet, the all-gold square bottle (like above), new in box. And it’s nothing like these reviews. Reformulation or total re-do of the scent? Nothing oil-oily or chypre here. Nothing similar to Paloma or Bandit. This is the EDP.
Anyways, so a total blind buy– but— my first impression is a HUGE like! It smells like vintage Chanel No. 5 cologne without the musty-antique-civet-aldehyde smell (which I like, I’m not doggin’ vintage No. 5). It’s thick lush flowers, soapy powder, overall very clean and lush floral smell. Weird, and unexpected- but I like it a lot! We’ll see how a proper wearing develops. This was a 1-squirt tissue test. Very soapy/creamy, like a gorgeous soap, or high-end cream/lotion.
I see other reviews on how climate/temp/weather changes this. And it is VERY floral and fresh/clean. But it’s a windy cold Spring day. So who knows. No oakmoss or clove to be found, unless this is really layered and won’t come out until the base. It’s still similar to No. 5 and so far the potency/sillage beats any current No. 5 formula! Too bad I seem to have bought the last bottle at Fragnet. 🙁 It was a good price too. This is something I’d always like to have. Classy, comfy, elegant, but fresh. Wow. I really was expecting some kind of dark, oily chypre!
I highly rec this, but as long as you know what you are getting. This is no chypre- fruity/soapy/powdery/huge floral is more like it. I will update if things change. 😉
Oh wait wait!! My tissue is now kinda funky/animalic/bitter IN THE BEST WAY! This gets better and better! I’m going to guess it’s the oakmoss (synthetic). It’s still so much like a better No.5– and that says something. I didn’t think No 5 could get any better. Highly recommended if this kind of ‘fume is your thing!! Xoxo!
I see others get No. 5 vibes.
This leans more toward current L’Interdit by Givenchy than No. 5 IMO.
kostuan krut – :
This came in a mini perfume “lot” that I bought on Ebay for the Trussardi and Jacomo Silences and as it turns out, this one is my favorite of the lot! A happy accident, as they say.
The opening on me is really earthy, like smelling a horse barn but WAIT it quickly mellows into a delightful warm woodsy floral and I do smell the gardenia faintly but it is all so well blended that it really makes one elegant note. I wish it were an EDP instead of an EDT so that it would last a littler longer than 2-3 hours. Moderate sillage – I do catch a whiff now and then and think, “oh! how delightful!”
This definitely makes it into my top 10 and I hope I can find more of it!
Dapsicieria – :
Chypre-floral and very classic Morabito`s Or Noir is somehow heavy from white flowers: jasmine, jonquille and gardenia.
One spray during the first April days and you know -the spring is coming:-)
Or Noir portrays all this buzz in the nature- green juices start to circulate and wake everything to life. A new cycle begins.It`s also woody and mossy but the most impressive element is a dance of spicy and flowery accents in the heart.
A hint of patchouli, vanilla and cloves added to all this white and yellow combo layers on luminous citruses.The scent develops gradually: from sharp, green and woody tones, through flowers until spicy edging.I love its complex nature: heavy from white flowers, uplifting due to green and citrus elements,enveloping from iris powderiness. Having EDT, vintage, numbered version I can`t catch any motor oil/petrol associations. Not for the beginners for sure, could be overpowering if applied strongly. Longlasting-up to 8-10 hours with a very good sillage so some drops are enough to be awaken and to enjoy it all the day!
v.i.k.t.o.r – :
Spray on: paper strip.
I’m a man. And I love this gem.
Masculine opening, woody, incense, but just average soapy drydown.
Table – :
Hard core Chypre lovers..this is for you. Its deep, earthy mossy and spicy with its florals. GIII, Imari earthiness, mossy spicy like nuit de noel, its zipped up and arranged tighter than the hair on a robert palmer girl in the 80s videos.
s5pb – :
I’ve been wearing a small amount of Or Noir on one arm every other day for about a week. It may take me even more wears to fully appreciate and understand this glorious fragrance.
Pascal Morabito is not a name I’ve been familiar with until recently. I’ve not sampled his other creations, but I feel that this must be his best work… it would be the best work of any perfumer!
Mostly, Or Noir has a feel of a vintage Caron to me. A bit of Infini, a dab of Nocturnes. But it’s as bold as very old Narcisee Noir, which I’ve only sampled, but when I did, was nearly knocked off my feet. This is powerful, heady, gorgeous, animalic stuff people!
Maybe it is the narcissis, ylang ylang, cassis combination, but I’d swear there was a grand old civet in Or Noir. There is a twinkling of vintage Chanel No. 5 to confuse us just a bit.
Or Noir is bewitching and beautiful, has a good radiance of sillage and lasts forever on me. I’m so very glad that I’ve had the opportunity to try this “could be vintage, could be a daring niche” fragrance. Now the hunt for a bottle of the original version begins!
Casl – :
Uh-oh, I was about to write about my experiences with Or Noir, but now that I see it is being made again, or at least SOME fragrance is being sold with that name, but the packaging is all different, I’m suspicious that this incarnation is simply a different juice altogether. I’ve experienced that plenty of times with scents such as Leonard’s Fashion, Lelong’s Indiscret, Yardley’s Oh de London, etc.
I loved the one in the black packaging, and fortunately, I am not even remotely close to being out of it! But not sure I should be writing about that prior fragrance.
sokil1 – :
11. december 2013
My review is for decant from the vintage black bottle, i also have a mini in a claer rectangular bottle, which i will test later and update my review.
LOVE IT!
OLD SCHOOL CLASS, WHICH IS NOT OUTDATED!
The opening after the initial spray is quite sharp and i can describe it as a floral soap. Kind of expensive floral soap, a kind of they used to produce along with the rest of the bath line for vintage perfumes. When i was young enough and couldn´t afford myself a full bottle of expensive designer fragrance i used to buy soaps: Cacharel, Armani, Nina Ricci Ferre, Lancome (they do not make them anymore). That soap had the essence of the perfume, yet still had that typical soapy smell, but for me it was pure luxury! The ritual of lathering the soap and applying the lather onto my skin was an ultimate luxury ritual (btw i still have the empty saop doses for nostalgic reasons and they still smell great). Why am i telling you all this? because the opening of this greta fragrance instantly reminded me of that ritual: lathering the luxury soap. Such a noble feeling! The opening is amazing and i love that soapy floral note all the way through all the stages of this fragrance. The great combination of oakmoss and ylang-ylang making wonders in here. And while the very opening s bit more citrusy, it later turns very quickly into the ore floral -citrusy.
Motor oil? Unisex??? No, i don´t smell that and don´t see it that way. Maybe the later formulation was altered and thatś where those allegories come from?
Feminine, classy, rich, floral, soapy (but not the kind of Chanel nr.5 soapy), highly enjpoyable! I have to have this in full size bottle. (i always loose the bidding on it, but there is a chance i might get that vintage bottle soon, fingers crossed)
This is not a kind of seductive scent, but the one, you want to wear to enjoy for yourself at first!
Wersoaltboara – :
Lush lush lush.
I agree with sweetnspicey: sometimes a heavy perfume works extremely well in warmer days. In winter this is a bit too saucy and oppressive for me (though I love overwhelming scents). Like Cuir Mauresque for example or Cedre de Lutens, heavy hitters, but in summertime they are surprisingly ‘clean’ and crisp!
All I have is a mini, and I guard it like a treasure.
The notes speak for itself: a Must Try.
freek1ll – :
I was too curious to give this Or Noir a shot that is why I hunted it for months until I found the cheapest deal and today, the bottle arrived.
Despite the heavy fruits with some floral kick on top that kinda reminded me of the opening in Chanel no.5, I can’t forgive myself for I was enjoying spraying all over my body and arms on and on, sniffing here and there. I even sprayed on my shirt. Why? because I really want to capture the essence of why it has been called as “the black oil”. This is Madness.
I even spray Chanel no. 5 on my other arm. Between these two, Chanel defeated my multiple sprays of Or Noir when it comes to projection. Chanel 5 is a beast. Or Noir was tamed although powerful when compared to other perfumes.
The opening of Or Noir was indeed heavy fruits. A very confusing impressions of hot and cold feeling, soapy fresh yet spicy, definitely woody and smokey. This beginning impressions is an outdated scent, a 70’s and 80’s deep, bold, dirty yet soapy. Too many impressions, made me more confused and the first few minutes is a disorganized but surprisingly, outstanding.
I also feel a slight vibe of Habanita by Molinard but Or Noir is much better, more pleasant and the scent keeps on changing depending on which part of my body I sprayed. The prominent note I detect that kicks in and out from top to heart is an oil-like feeling. So far so good, yes I am confused, but I got addicted.
It captured my tastes in a fragrance. I can say this can be a hypnotic evening and formal scent. A cigarette smoker may wear this perfume and it might add more magic to it. Carolina Herrera for Men and Aramis Havana was the perfect match for a smoker but as I smell Or Noir, CH and Havana has been dethroned.
Over the dry down, I can detect tobacco leaves and boozy notes. Maybe the mixtures of notes are bringing out the tobacco and booze impressions. I am amazingly drowned and high.
Or Noir is definitely a fruity woody soapy masculine on top, floral woody soapy feminine on heart, added with soft spicy and green on these two stages and the dry down can be unisex as vanilla, very soft powder feel, oakmoss, soft floral, more spice and smoke completed this beautiful olfactory journey that I have seriously experienced, fragrance transformations ..
This is what I am looking for in a perfume.
What a thrilling fragrance to my nose that Or Noir made me start with “Oh No!”, to end with “I am in awe!”. Another successful blind buy and an almost 10…
Beware! Or Noir is for a select few. You’re lucky if you are the right one to be awed.
kva1974 – :
I had to add that I took a risk and wore this on a hot day, about 80 degrees. I thought the clove and oakmoss would suffocate me. Instead, the opposite happened. Somehow the white florals and powder came out more than I ever could have imagined. The overall effect was a bit cooling rather than smothering. The scent became absolutely glorious–sweet, soft, fragrant, and clean. I might try and save the perfume to wear only on very warm days.
grooraccurl – :
As someone who likes Morabito scents this one was a head scratcher and a disappointment. I think the “urban living” comes from the rather unpleasant strongly chemical opening that veers between diesel fuel,bus exhaust and cheap brandy. It relatively quickly morphs into an intense white floral and if there’s any oak moss here it’s dressed for a costume party as something like Febreze. If there is any clove or vanilla I’m not smelling it. I’ve now tried light and heavy applications, winter and spring weather, and I’m impressed by how consistently this remains like an awful leaden sky day in November when the mud from October rain is starting to freeze. So sad, too bad.
Sillage: personal space, 1-2 feet
Duration: 3-5 hours
Fabulosity: mud flaps
Value to price ratio: I actually took it back
1/10
Shalun87 – :
A very dark floral chypre with loads of dirty jasmine and ylang ylang. This is close to being in the same category as Azuree Pure and Bandit, but is a little less animalic than those two, though there is a dark dense feel to this floral chypre. It lasts and lasts on my skin, and it definitely veers to the feminine with its huge florals. I am sniffing from a vintage mini, and the oakmoss helps give it a sturdy luscious long lasting base for it to work its magic and weave its spell long into the thick of night. For the sorceress in you or even the witch.
denukas97 – :
I inherited a bottle from my Aunt that she bought during a trip to Cinque Terre about 8 years ago, and she never used it. She gave it to my mother, who dumped it in a box and recently gave it to me. I can’t get past all the clove and oakmoss. At first it smells like it has motor oil in it! There doesn’t seem to be anything else in this perfume! It’s very dark and heavy, very much in the style of those strong 80’s perfumes that I generally find to be much too brash. I have an EDT, yet it’s so potent that it seems more like a parfum. I would not recommend this to anyone, man or woman, unless they love perfumes that many others find harsh like Opium and Paloma Picasso.
SansWara – :
It is green alright. A faint smell of motor oil (well, Or Noir means Black Oil) which gives it an interesting touch. This could be unisex. A sort of cool scent. It exudes confidence and belongs to sportive occasions or in a business setting.