Encre Noire

Gothic, bitter, distinctive, polarizing . Great value for an unique scent

smells like a rainy/foggy day in cascadia region. this can work year round if you live in the area

Imagine it’s 6am, the sun is just getting ready to peak over the horizon, but you wouldn’t know, because it’s overcast and dreary. You walk to the edge of your yard, just as your property transitions to woods, and you see a mound of dirt and leaves and brush. From the brush, a hand breaks through the dirt. You see a woman with jet black hair, black leather dress, and black high heels crawl out of the dirt like a a vegetal Elvira. That’s Encre Noire. A masterpiece. It’s both very masculine and very feminine. It smells lilije woods and the office. Like dirt and sex. Classic and Modern. Like 1993 and 2026. Prehistoric and the Future. Classy and Dingy. Your wife and an escort. Basically, it’s good stuff.

Instantly fell in love with this one. Reminds me of a freshly cut Christmas tree on a rainy day. This fits perfectly as an EDT because it is a pretty deep scent profile. I just wish there was a little citrus in the top to really cut through the cypress and vetiver. Can’t wait to wear this when the weather gets cooler.

Lalique Encre Noire - an absolute masterpiece that I can only smell from the flacon. This fragrance is an absolute paradox. When I just smell it directly from the heavy flacon, it is incredible. Very rich and masculine - pure art. But one single spray on my wrist, and it crushes me completely. The headache hits immediately. It is a destroying dry forest mixed with - you guessed it - ink. I have no idea whether I should love or fear it. A masterpiece? Yes. Wearable (for me)? Absolutely not. 8/10. Great asthetics, rich and unique scent - points deducted for my headaches.

A blind buy gone extremely right. This fragrance smells like a wood cabin in the morning after a fireplace has been burning most of the night but is now out. The vetiver is definitly the strongest part of this fragrance which is either incredible or horrible for people, for me its lovely. and will definitly be worn a lot in the winter

I happen to be among people who likes it. But I do not see myself wearing it in winter.I see nothing dark and mysterious neither.This parfum immediately transported me in the hot summer day, in my childhood, in the park with high cypresses in the both sides of the pass. The day is so hot that the cypress trees sap and oils linger in the air. The sun is strong , the grass is dry and yellow, and it crisps when you step on it. I almost can hear cicadas' songs. It's is strange how our brain works. I will definitely wear this parfum in summer and early autumn, and in any day I want to be transported in memories. EC Extremely long lasting, even with multiple showers. I guess I will not be using it on clothes.

when my pen exploded in my bag in year 8 everything smelt like this for about a year

Very heavy, yet not strong. It reminds me of a foggy forest covered in a lot of moss, right after the rain. When I was a child, my parents used to take me for walks in the forest alot (especially in autumn), and this scent really reminds me of those days. I wouldn't say it's a fregrance for daily wear, unless it's for very specific circumstances. Also, sillage is not very strong. On arm, it sits very close to the surface, but with 4-5 sprays it projects about an arm's length. Overall, an excellent scent for the price of a good restaurant dinner.

This scent costs about as much as toilet paper and laundry detergent, yet it’s a MASTERPIECE. This is what NICHE really is — a refined work of art, not some sweet jam donut from the Arabs. Something wonderful! Definitely check this scent out. Perfect for autumn, for lyrical people in long coats.

I tested Encre Noire and Encre Noire A L'Extreme at the same time, so this will be a bit of a double review. What do these scents have in common? The base and beginning are identifiable as dried bitter greenish-brown herbal base of Absinthe - wormwood, anise and fennel, a very naturally medicinal blend, pleasant. I wanted to write about Encre noire's slightly weaker projection and longevity, but it is quite possible that it depends on the skin type. That was the case with me. But it is not a problem and many niche perfumes have a much weaker projection, if you take into account the price-performance ratio of both, then these are absolutely amazing, stable and strong fragrances compared to how much you get them for. Encre Noire - drier, more herbal and greener, more alcoholic, within an hour fresh lemon appears which spoiled my impression a bit and also a loss of intensity, which seemed to return in the next hour with the breakdown of lemon into a more complex lemongrass - it gets better with time... Encre Noire A L'Extreme - fuller and sweeter, more opulent overall and after half an hour a more oily musk appears, slightly dusty a bit like oris root and a whiff of mustiness not unlike ambergris - beware it can be humid and not pleasant for everyone, probably like if you opened the shower door in a better gym - although clean, the remnants of sweat from the changing rooms linger in the background. Bit animalic. Both are suited for men who want to appear interesting not on first sight, slightly mysterious, serious and sophisticated.

I´ve had this fragrance since 2012. My best description would be the smell of earth after a heavy rain fall mixed with burnt wood. Here in Costa Rica it rains 6 months of the year so I´m kind of used to it. This is not a frangrace for everyone, nor is it a crowd-pleaser. All those bubble-gum, ultra sweet fragrance lovers will be in shock. People describe this as a dark fragrance but i disagree... I get more of a nostalgic and melancholic feeling. This reminds me of Satie´s Gymnopédie No. 1 if it was music...

Earthy, forest after the rain vibes. Very unique. And the price is just shockingly low. Props to Lalique, a great scent for the fall.

It's Terre d'Hermes' darker Gothic cousin that everybody secretly, anxiously awaits the call that they offed themself. It has that same beautiful, noble character, but without the brightness. It's a gorgeous fragrance, very high quality. A steal at the price. But definitely not mass appealing. It tickles old memories that I'm glad I have but would never want to relive.

i smell like i’m at my own funeral but in a good and dark gothic vampy way

if you want to smell like your grandfathers basement full of old furniture, this is the scent for u. I dont understand how anyone would want to smell like this daily - maybe in a specialized scenario. its just so sour. i dont even mind the scent itself if i had walked into a room and smelled it, but there is no reason i would want to smell like this in a world of better fragrances. maybe layer it with something sweet and i can totally see it viable.

straight up ink and dry rot, yet somehow it works?

Lalique Encre Noire is a really special scent, very unique. It has solid performance considering it's just an EDT. You'll have a hard time getting a compliment on this one, not because it doesn't smell nice but because it has an intimate projection but the longevity is good. The scent is finely blended and smells expensive. I use it at home after a shower and for my soul, as they say. I think I'll buy it again because it's different from the others... The scent that teleports you to the forest after the rain...

Genuinely smells like a wet graveyard on a very damp grey day. That’s the best way to describe it. I personally don’t enjoy it as it just smells like dark wood and 90% vetiver to me whitch isn’t my favorite note or smell. But it is very masculine and sexy to a niche crowd I personally can’t get over the vetiver and that’s why I find it unappealing to me as I would rather just wear other things I like better. 4/10 great price and very unique just not for me.

Boyfriend says this smells just like red plumbing flux, the paste used for soldering copper pipes! To be clear, it's not his perfume but mine. Luckily I am a lady that rather smells like a technical workshop than like a candyshop, so I am totally fine with this description :D He also says it smells significantly more extreme than Encre Noire à l'Extreme, which according to him is "way more tame and flowery."

I absolutely love Encre Noire because it smells exactly like an old-fashioned library. It has this fantastic, evocative vibe of dark ink, printer’s block, and antique oak furniture. What keeps it from becoming overly heavy or stuffy, though, is a subtle tartness from hibiscus and geranium that beautifully lifts the composition. Just bear in mind that it definitely isn't for everyone. There is zero modern sweetness here—it is strictly for those who enjoy very dry, austere, and woody scents. If you appreciate that kind of sharp, uncompromising style, it’s an absolute gem.

This reminds me so much of Hexensalbe for some reason????? Such a chic bottle... shes giving brutalist 😍

Now we come to that famous dark, somber scent of the perfume world—though, in my opinion, it isn't actually that way. After the disastrous opening—a mix of onion, Iso E Super, cypress, and alcohol—vetiver takes over; it is an acceptable, even likable vetiver, though to me, it smells like fresh ink. Naturally, it doesn't have mass appeal; you won't be repulsed by it, but you likely won't love it either. Those who prefer sweet, honeyed, or fruity perfumes shouldn't even go near it.

HONESTLY, not as bad as I thought it would be, I actually really like it. I ordered a bunch of frags and also got Hermès Parfum. This lowkey has some kind of resin that is also in that. It's way more aromatic than I expected it would be. The opening smells like "ashwagandha" or any kind of root, I guess, but in the mid, I'm getting tons of resin/aromatics and a dry woody scent. That may be what strong Vetiver or strong Cypress is, but I'll definitely buy a full bottle. Niche quality for sure, but very occasion-based, easier to wear than Interlude Man for sure. Dare I say it, I prefer this to Amouage Outlands!

One of the best value perfumes I've ever smelled. It's so affordable, and it smells better than some of the most expensive perfume I've smelled. It smells like cypress and wet soil--petrichor. I would say it's a fine blind buy because it's so inexpensive--but I imagine it's a love or hate scent. I will always have a bottle of this in my collection.

I blind bought out of curiosity and because at this price it doesn’t matter. I was curious about how “weird” and “dark” it could possibly be, given the comments. First off, I loved it instantly. It’s not “weird” at all - unconventional, maybe. But it smells complex and incredibly refined. I also don’t get the “rotting wood depths of a forest” thing. It’s earthy for sure. Slightly metallic (in a positive way). Like a mineral element to it. There is a freshness. If it was a colour it’d be a deep dark green, like an old pair of vintage leather driving gloves. I don’t think it’s confined to winter either. I opened it on the hottest day of the year and it wasn’t hugely out of place. Arguably it’d sit better in cooler spring / autumn weather, but I think it’s versatile. Something about it reminds me slightly of Diptyque Tam Dao EDT. A note or two from Terre d’Hermes too (maybe). In any case, it’s really very impressive. Particularly at such a ridiculously low price. Not intimidating or bizarre at all - masculine, pleasant, unique, classy and refined. Love it.

It’s a very good scent, if you enjoy the richness of vetiver oil, the strong freshness of cypress pine and smoky, sheep’s wool scent. It’s a rich fresh blend, not a light fresh scent. It’s not a pop scent, so it’s not going to be something many people will enjoy wearing. I used to wear it regularly, though struggle to finish the bottle as it’s not versatile or uplifting at times when you need a little light and sweetness in your world. I tried to avoid the D word, that’s the best I can describe the issue this scent has with the melancholy crowd and the I don’t get the melancholy it’s just a nice fresh scent wave that have come through in past few years.

In my opinion this is one of those fragrances that will evoke a memory for a lot of people; for better or worse. This reminds me of my childhood trip to Costa Rica which is really comforting. With that being said, I think I may struggle to pick this up going out the house. This is more of a comforting home fragrance to me or perhaps to layer 7.6/10

People keep saying it's dark, I don't see it that way. It's extremely woody in a rain soaked wood kind of way but it's rain on a sunny day, not a cold damp day. There is an inky accord and ink looks dark but doesn't smell dark if that makes any sense. I really think this a year round scent, it's vetiver, and it's vetiver with little to no citrus accords, but it's infused with cashmere wood, sandal wood, and other similar style of woody perfume molecules. This also reminds me of the wood section in a store like Home Depot or Lowe's for people in the US who are familiar with these stores. It's a wet plank of wood just being cut by a circular saw kind of smell... the plank has to be wet. This also has layering potential, although I don't usually layer fragrance, if at all, but you can layer it under a blue fragrance (non-sweet blue fragrance) or a citrus fragrance. Needless to say, I really like it.

You walk into a forest just after a wildfire. Some areas have been completely burned, while others somehow survived. The embers are long gone, but the fire is still fresh in the landscape. Then it starts to rain. You catch the smell of charred wood becoming damp, the scent of the earth as it begins to soak up the rain, and the green notes of the vegetation that survived the devastation and now breathes again under the rainfall. I don't find it dark or gloomy—just unpleasant. That smell of burnt wood, of a scorched forest, overwhelms and kinda ruins everything else. I definitely wouldn't recommend buying this blind. It has plenty of fans, but I am certainly not one of them.