Antonio Alessandria Parfums Noir Obscur, image courtesy of Antonio Alessandria
“The long black nights, when the moon hides her face, when the stars are afraid, are not so black. The silence that dwells in the forest is not so black.”
Illustration for Oscar Wilde Salome by John Vassos via Wiki
Smoke rolls in as fog, billowing like a grey muslin curtain across the streets, down unlit alleyways where something always hides, into starless night. And hidden in its cloak, a redolence of pitch, of damp woods hidden in a sunless forest where huge-eyed animals watch with sunblind eyes. Rising and falling like a slow spectre, it spreads noiselessly, obscuring the shadows of buildings, of trees, of ourselves, till even the streetlamps and neon disappear into its grey shroud. Noir Obscur, from perfume storyteller par excellence Antonio Alessandria, slowly draws you inwards like a secret, as if a reckoning has come.
Image via Flickr
Originally created as Alessandria’s personal fragrance, Noir Obscur centers on some favourite elements, such as cedar, flowers, citrus and incense. “I selected the raw materials I liked most at that period and tried to balance the composition,” he relates. “Smelling the first trial I said to myself: ‘wow it’s totally dark, I have to close my eyes and think about light to explore this black, deep maze.’ Forgoing aroma chemicals that are typically use to lighten and aerate such as ISO E Super and hedione, Alessandria went all out with the formula for Noir Obscur, using 45% of expensive naturals for the final composition, which he describes as “baroque” with a “tactile sensual sensuality, like the feeling and sensorial pleasure you experience when you touch a piece of velvet.”
Image via Pxhere
While Alessandria’s Nacre Blanche and Nuit Rouge are dedicated to the moon, Antonio Alessandria Noir Obscur is the anti-moon of the trilogy, summoning a night absent of light “during which we can go deep inside our soul to discover something unravelled in the darkness that lets us hide … but also to the memory of light that illuminates our dark side. It’s also sweet, like a sin could be.” It begins with a short burst of davana and orange that quickly fade into bosky aromas of woody smoke, like a campfire dwindling in mist. The patchouli comes forward soon after, with earthy, mulchy and bitter chocolate aromas that underline the sense of damp forest. While the patchouli intensifies, rooty, dark green vetiver, incense and pencil-like cedar begin to drift in, accompanied by hits of pepper and clove..
Image via iStock
At this point, Antonio Alessandria Noir Obscur seems to be heading into traditional male territory. You might expect Noir Obscur to fade like a ghost into a penumbra of opaque scents as it heads towards its conclusion. But anyone familiar with Alessandria’s oeuvre will know that this is not the end of the olfactory tale, and instead, the fragrance turns down a road less traveled. The softness Alessandria mentioned starts to manifest through a subtle, gradual cascade of floral notes. At first, osmanthus is obscured by its affinity with the leather, but its bright fruitiness begins to peek from behind the veil. Eventually, I also smell the pastry-and-carrot scent of iris. The flowers never become pronounced or bright but add an elusive roundness to the composition. These notes, particularly the iris, intensify long into Noir Obscur’s development, drawing it away from the classic masculinity of its earlier direction. Some hours later, a slight bodily pong of castoreum slinks in, the iris melds with smoke and incense, and the perfume drifts from moody and introspective to quietly carnal. There are enough floral and animalic hints to make this accessible to anyone who appreciates a smoky, voluptuous scent. Antonio Alessandria Noir Obscur is the perfume of a nighttime in which Juliet awaits her Romeo; a midnight garden of loamy sensuality where darkness offers a haven from the garish day.
Notes: Orange, castoreum, tangerine, davana, rum, spices, Bulgarian rose, jasmine, iris, osmanthus, leather, patchouli, vetiver, cedarwood, frankincense, ambergris, musk.
Disclaimer: Sample of Antonio Alessandria Noir Obscur generously provided by Antonio Alessandria. My opinions are my own.
Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor
Noir Obscur, photo courtesy of Antonio Alessandria
Thanks to the generosity of Antonio Alessandria, we have a 50 ml bottle of Noir Obscur for one registered reader in the U.S. or EU. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what strikes you about Antonio Alessandria Parfums Noir Obscur, and where you live. Draw closes 4/5/2021. Bonus question: If you live in the US, which retailer or Etailer would you like to see carry Antonio Alessandria
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