Kate Moss, photo by Tim Walker for Vogue US, Apr 2012
If you are planning to rouse yourself from your Turkey coma and brave the retail insanity known as "Black Friday", you may need to fortify yourself with perfumes that will help keep you grounded and serene. Here are my picks for three dark beauties that happen to be delicious in chilly November weather and not so loud they will antagonize your fellow shoppers. Let the madness begin!
Miller Harris Rose en Noir and Photo by Bekah Jenkins for Fashion Canada, Oct 2012
Up first is Miller Harris’ gorgeous Rose en Noir, (composed by classically trained perfumer Lyn Harris), a gothic blossom with a sense of humor created for Liberty of London. A piquant raspberry note sparkles and smiles in the opening, juicy and sweet-tart as a dark purple-red rose opens, warmed and deepened by patchouli and tobacco. In the middle stages, violet leaf enhances the almost tactile feeling of velvet. The raspberry note sticks around, joined by a spike of black pepper, to tickle the rose every so often. The dry down is spicy, a bit green, powdery but with that raspberry note smiling through – the perfect scent to keep you upbeat up when you want to smack the person who just grabbed the sweater you were after. Notes: raspberry, violet leaf Egypt, petit grain citronnier, rose Turkey, poivre noir, nutmeg Java, patchouli Indonesia, vetiver Haiti, tabac noir France, ambrette seed.
Tiziania Terenzi Laudano Nero and Negro Profundo, photo by Benoit Courti
Do you crave an embery, woody scent with just the slightest touch of gourmand to block out the cold? 2014 Limited Edition Laudano Nero by Paulo Terenzi of Tiziana Terenzi will make you feel like chestnuts are roasting on an open fire near an incense burner and a bottle of aged cognac. The opening is deeply smoky, ashy, bittersweet with wormwood and incense. Next comes a plaintive note of old wood, the kind you might detect in an antiques shop. A cigar-like tobacco surfaces as amber and a spirituous cognac note warm up the composition, making it. Laudano Nero can make you feel like you are ensconced in an armchair, feet propped up by a smoldering fire, even as you brace against the chilly November gusts. Notes: wormwood, cognac, rosemary, tobacco, myrtle, amber, red rose, black locust honey, cedar, iris, sandalwood, ash, slate, cashmere musk, laurel, incense, camphor, agarwood, vetiver, oak, vanilla and labdanum.
Available at Barneys
Spices Photo by Filipe Lucas Frazão
Spicing up the sales is the new offering from Comme des Garcons, Blackpepper, (composed by perfumer Antoine Maisondieu) which opens with a perfectly pitched, realistic whiff of fresh-cracked peppercorns.
Adonis Bosso by Idris & Tony for Carbon Copy Magazine, June 2014 and Comme des Garcons Blackpepper
Before you think you’ve rolled in a spice rub, cedar sneaks up and jumps the pepper just as it reaches a pitch and settles it down a bit. Musk and tonka bean then start to smooth out the edges. The pepper and wood balance off each other perfectly, and the overall effect is gutsy but not overpowering –the kind of scent you want to splash on when you’re in a hurry to get to the latest iPhone.Notes: Madagascan Black Pepper, Cedarwood, Patchouli, Agarwood, Tonka Bean, Musk.
Available at Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary
Disclaimer: Rose en Noir from my own collection. Laudano Nero kindly provided by The Fragrance Group, USA distributors and CDG Black Pepper sample provided by Twisted Lily – thanks to you both. Opinions are my own
Lauryn Beer, Editor
Photo by Steven Meisel for Lanvin Advertising Campaign 2013
To show that Black Friday doesn’t have to be a whole lotta hustle and too much bustle, we have two draws for two readers
USA Twisted Lily have generously offered a $30 gift certificate for a registered reader in the USA to use online or in their Brooklyn store located at 360 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. If you live outside the USA you can use the GC, but shipping is not included.
WORLDWIDE: Our friends at The Perfumed Court are generously providing a 3ml glass spray vial of Rose en Noir for a registered reader. This fragrance is discontinued and rare.
To be eligible please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about Lauryn’s picks, where you live, your choice should you win and whether you are going to face the Black Friday sales or if there is Black Friday in your country. Draw closes 11/29/2016.
We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS feed … or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.