Noir Exquis is the latest Bertrand Duchaufour production from L’Artisan Parfumeur. It's another gourmand, and was "inspired by an unexpected rendez-vous in a French patisserie" — it promises all sorts of delicious things, from glazed chestnuts to coffee to maple syrup.
And the start is delicious: a bright citrus top note disappears almost as soon as it arrives, then it's a lovely swirl of sugared chestnuts with hints of vanilla and roasted coffee bean, with mild fruity undertones. It's rich and warming, and perfect for the October chill. If I was trying it on a blotter in a store, I suspect I'd be reaching for my wallet, but be warned, the richness fades quickly too, and then it's a softer, somewhat less gustatory experience, with mild heliotrope and the lightest drizzle of something that could maybe be maple. It's nutty straight into the heart notes, and gets creamier (and more vanillic) as it wears; it's not, despite the notes, a true sweet-bomb. The woody base is dark-ish at most, and mostly clean. By now, perfumistas know better than to expect a big smoldering oriental every time Noir is tacked onto a perfume name, and indeed Noir Exquis is more likely to evoke your favorite fleece bathrobe than your sexiest black leather boots.
Verdict: Quite nice and easy to wear. If you're still looking for your cozy winter comfort scent, this could be a contender. I would certainly wear it if a bottle dropped from the sky, but if I was going to invest in a new gourmand from L'Artisan (and I'm not), I'd much prefer Havana Vanille aka Vanille Absolument (discontinued I think? I can never keep track) or Traversée du Bosphore, both of which I found more interesting than Noir Exquis. (It is also true that the prior two fragrances were, to me, more recognizably the work of Bertrand Duchaufour, but I have probably missed enough of his recent work that I'm not a good judge of what he's doing now.) But I will go on record: if L'Artisan releases all three in a gourmand coffret, 15 ml each, I'll buy it. If they throw in a nice box of chocolates, I might even pay full price.
The very quick poll: name your favorite cozy winter comfort scent.
L’Artisan Parfumeur Noir Exquis is available in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum. The notes include orange, coffee, maple syrup, glazed chestnuts, heliotrope, tonka bean, sandalwood and amber. For buying information, see the listing for L’Artisan Parfumeur under Perfume Houses.
Note: top image shows the Bûche fumée praliné et noisettes from Philippe Conticini, via Côté Maison.
Winter is Serge time! Santal Majascule or Un Bois Vanille. Noir Exquis really is a touch too quiet, but the more I smell it, the more I find myself enjoying it.
It’s enjoyable, but could use more of everything. I want to call it Beige Confort instead of Noir Exquis.
I adore Santal Majuscule. Mmmm.
Oh, I concur on the Santal Majuscule. I just wish it were creamier and less of cedar-pencil and resin-sweet. For Un Bois Vanille as well, only if it were not so rubbery in the coconut facet, I would not have to use it for layering.
I so agree – Serge Lutens is a master at the spicy wintery perfume and I for one am going to treat myself to a bottle Fille en Aiguilles….mmmmmmmmmmm This sounds lovely but forgettable and I do think that L’Aritsan are overpriced and not of the quality that they used to do say in the 90’s and even oh lord in the 80’s when they were just fabulous! I still have that first bottle of Mure et Musc and it still has a whiff of that blackcurranty sharpness that I loved….now thats longevity.
Mmmm right now my cozy winter scent is Felanilla. Of course, it’s still upper 80s here in Austin, so perhaps that will change as true winter weather rears her head!
Oh, that’s a nice one, and I always forget to wear it.
How’s the air quality today? I am so glad not to be home the rest of this month, since there is no chance I could smell anything with even a hint of smoke in the air.
It’s been much better. I was even able to get outside yesterday and set up my front-yard cemetery. So things are more or less back to normal, thank goodness!
SL Rahat Loukoum. Sometimes I put it on right before I go to bed. It’s so sweet that I expected to hate it, but I don’t. It is just fantastic. Sweet, yet not at all cloying or headache inducing. I just love it.
Yum 🙂
This is a bedtime scent for me as well. Very comforting.
Cozy winter comfort scents? Black Cashmere and SSS Winter Woods!
Much to my surprise, I quickly became a Noir Exquis fan (and can probably add that to my winter comfort scent list). It’s quiet, but I adore the creamy nuttiness (like, I want it to be pancakes, and I want to eat it). It feels like a winter sweater to me, and makes me think of the kind of perfect holidays that only exist in furniture catalogues. Definitely on my buy list, although your hypothetical L’Artisan gourmand coffret would be even better, and I’ll sign any and every petition needed to bring that coffret to life.
Me too! About the petition, I mean. I wish I could smell the SSS perfumes. They seem so respected and loved that I have to view it as a serious gap in my perfume education.
I feel the same!
It isn’t going to make my buy list, but my buy list is so theoretical it doesn’t matter. If I saw it someplace cheap, I’d be tempted. But sure wish there was more coffee or something else to liven it up a bit in the dry down.
Please may I have three favourites? I know that makes no grammatical sense, but it’s Saturday and my brain is all anyhow. So: for softest-jumper-and-often-washed-jeans sort of comfort, Rahat Loukoum, Traversee du Bosphore and Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum, at first equal. For comfort and a touch of sexy, Black Cashmere. For drop-dead-world-I’m-coming-through-and-I’m-comfortable-while-I’m-doing-it, Coromandel.
Of course, others can comfort for different reasons–19 for its reliable spine stiffening qualities, for instance–but they may not be comforting scents, if you see what I mean.
You may have as many as you like!
Black Cashmere is exactly the sort of thing you could reasonably call Noir Exquis.
Ah. Excellent. Thank you!
Oh No 19 EDT is a (summer) comfort scent to me, although others may think I’m crazy. It’s just that I’ve worn it for so many years.
I really love Pacifica’s Tibetan Mountain Temple, for its chai latte scent. I love the spice and the incense, and since I only wear it when the weather turns cool, I can only wear it a few months of the year. I also start wearing my heavier fragrances, and I also love Krazy Krizia and Bijan as it cools down.
Tibetan Mountain Temple reminds me so much of an orange-clove pomander. Definitely a happy holiday/winter scent!
I need to revisit that one next time I see it. I remember not liking it at first because I thought it was too clovey, but I think I’ve come around on clove.
Plus, cheap thrill! I keep meaning to try the candle.
I think the candle is worth a try. I actually like it better than the spray; the candle seems spicier and woodier.
Thanks!
Bois d’Armenie and L’Ombre Fauve (Parfumerie Generale) are two of my winter comfort scents.
I’m willing to try almost anything that lists coffee as a note, and I thought it was well done in Noir Exquis. It inspired me to re-try By Kilian Intoxicated (coffee and cardamom), which I found a little too weak or uninteresting the first time around, but now I’m getting a stronger dusty-spice thing from it and (except for the price!) it could definitely qualify as a comfort scent.
Agree it was well done, but I think after 30 minutes I barely noticed the coffee.
I have tried Intoxicated several times over, and can’t love it — I’m afraid I’m still in the “weak or uninteresting” camp, maybe because I love cardamom coffee to begin with.
Bois d’Armenie: I love the dry, luminous benzoin in the dry down.
I’ll go Guerlain, Tonka Imperial and Gourmand Coquin. Hermes Ambre Narguile isn’t sweet but still comforting winter scent to me.
And why not go Guerlain 😉
Ahhh Gourmand Coquin… Something I covet.
Comfort scents for me
Vanilla fragrances: Noir Pour Femme, Shalimar ode a la vanille
Sandelwood: Samsara
Nutmeg, honey…Amouage Journey Woman
Noir de Noir-chocolate dipped rose
Nice list!
My comfort scent par excellence is Organza Indecence, it’s the one that literally lives by my bed. Also up there, high on the comfort list, are Coco and Brulure de Rose.
OI is such a great scent — hope they never stop making it.
This is a definite try on my next trip to somewhere that stocks it and a likely buy. I think, actually that if I ever found it somewhere on the net, I’d buy it untested, such is the love it earns.
Can’t do just one cozy winter scent!
my current favorite is Or du Serail from Naomi Goodsir
long-time favorites include Santal Majascule and Un Bois Vanille from Lutens and, of course, Shalimar from Guerlain (preferably vintage extrait which becomes complete vanilla comfort in the loooon dry-down)
Or du Serail should have gone on my list too.
I forget to wear Shalimar in that way, but you’re right that it’s a great comfort scent.
I’m trying Or du Serail today for the first time. Amazing stewed fruit and tobacco. Very much a comfort scent and I like it a lot. Also great in that it lasts all day long.
I’d have to say Coromandel. So warming and delicious.
mmm camphorous patchouli smoldering and dry warm benzoin
Admittedly not one of my loves, but of course you may have it 🙂
Yes! Yes! That’s a great one!
Chanel’s Egoiste (original) is probably my favorite comfort scent. Cozy rose, cinnamon and vanilla. Can only wear it when there’s a decent chill in the air, though…otherwise even the smallest dab is suffocating to me.
Original as in vintage?
I have the like-reformulated bottle — not vintage, but before they have recently changed the bottle design again. I can wear 4 sprays in summer in open space!
My bottle is vintage. I’ve seen the redesigned bottle at duty free but was scared to spritz.
It could be just me, but I tried and thought that it was rather rosy and transparent. Not as voluptuous. No spicy blast of coriander.
I have so many! My current bedtime ritual consists of La Danza Delle Libellule, but my samples are almost gone and nobody seems to have decants so im going to either shove it into the number one slot on my FB list or find a new love. Others that I love are O Hira, L’Air de Rien, Vol de Nuit, and Korrigan.
Such a perfect name for a bedtime scent, too! I don’t think I’ve tried it.
It smells of fresh apples, mild creamy spiced oatmeal, and shampoo to me. Tried it on a whim and have grown to like it a lot.
Your description reminds me of Lostmarch’s Lann-Ael, one of the coziest scents I own. Have you tried it? Curious how they might compare.
That’s just what I was thinking…
Yes. The Lostmarch is much more lactonic (was that a word? Is now), and somehow gives me an icky, sticky feeling in my throat. I’ve no idea why and can’t describe it better.
La Danza etc. is fresher, which I actually like in this context. It has a freshly-scrubbed and ready for bedtime feel.
Tried La Danza recently and was quite fascinated. It reminded me of some of the Belles de Ricci series, none of which I have, but which I did like when they were around. I think they too were reminiscent of childhood but also not in that romanticized violet way – the way adults stick a hazy glaze over ‘childhood’.
I’ll sample this, but it sounds a bit too light for my liking. My favorite winter comfort scents are Ambre Narguile, Iris Ganache, Obsession, Angel, Spiritueuse Double Vanille, Strenesse, Geisha Noir and anything with loads of amber.
I do think it is lighter than any of those…
Interesting review. Thank you, Robin. I usually like both M. Duchaufour’s fragrances and L’Artisan’s, but never enough to buy them.
Favorite Winter comfort scent is Guerlain L’Heure Bleue. It’s always been a French blue cashmere sweater to me.
That saves money $ (the never liking enough to buy, I mean).
That is a lovely description. I need to get a decant of LHB so I can give it a better try than with a dab sample.
Black Cashmere is my bestest winter comfort scent. Also enjoy Un Bois Vanille and Chergui on those dreary days. 🙂
BC is perfect…wish it still came in the pebble bottle, but either way hope they never discontinue it.
Luckily I have a small pebble bottle, got it from one of the discounters several years ago.
Same here 🙂
I’m another lover of Black Cashmere and Un Bois Vanille, but the warm spiciness of Parfumerie Generale Un Crime Exotique makes it my top comfort scent.
Oh, another good one that I always forget! (The PG that is)
So many in this category but most recent likes are AG Sables, SHL 777 Une Nuit a Doha(also immortelle), 777 Khol de Bahrein, L’Ambre des Merveilles, Korrigan, and I just sampled Reminiscence Tonka which is a lovely honey, nutty, hay/tobacco. It verges on over sweet for a while so not sure I could make it a regular for me though. I’m curious to try the L’AP.
Sables — there’s some serious maple syrup!
I love how this fragrance starts, but as you say, it fades quickly… and what’s left isn’t as enjoyable to me.
Spot on review.
It was a real surprise how quickly it softened, esp the coffee. I wanted a second cup 😉
The description of this – orange into sweets into woods – reminds me of Omnia, are they similar at all? Omnia is also my answer to the comfort scents question!
No, to me, Omnia is a pretty straight up chai tea / musk, although it does have that little dusting of cocoa. This is nuttier, creamier, and not as spicy although it does have mild spice.
I really like Noir Exquis. I don’t feel the pure love that I have for Tea for Two, but NE is definitely cozy and easy to wear. I was particularly happy that it was not tooth-achingly sweet. I have many favorite cosy winter scents, in addition to Tea for Two, including Lostmarch Lann-Ael, Donna Karan Essence Wenge, LL Poivre 23, OJ Orris Noir, Burberry Brit Red, DSH Bourbon Vanille Intense, and my HG, Prada Benjoin.
Agree — did not want it any sweeter, just wish it had stayed deeper / darker, esp. the coffee which nearly disappears on me.
Am surprised no one’s mentioned Vanille 44, so I shall volunteer to shoulder that burden 🙂
I love this for anytime 🙂
Thanks for stepping up to the plate!
I love wearing Penhaligon’s Bluebell in the fall, esp at night- to bed.
It’s good to have a go-to bedtime scent 🙂
I love Vanille 44 and Korrigan, but for a cozy middle of winter scent, I think I would go with Les Nereides Opoponax. which has amber and vanilla besides the good resin notes.
Sounds lovely!
This conversation also makes me wish I had some Demeter Rice Paddy, which I think would have been better titled “Rice Pudding”. May well have to make that happen, but in the meantime it’s prompted me to put on some OJ Champaca for the first time in a long while, and that take on rice is not too shabby either 🙂
(For reference, here’s a very brief EauMG review of Rice Paddy–Victoria likewise reports a “rice dessert” feel, although she picked sweet sticky rice. I can see it! https://instagram.com/p/4DMCJTDgJV/?taken-by=eaumg )
(Haha when I say “may have to make that happen”, I mean… purchase some Rice Paddy, not have it renamed Rice Pudding. I think Ellebelle’s petition for the L’Artisan coffret sounds like a much more worthy exertion of fragrance activism! 😉 )
Oh, then I might need that one too! And it might layer nicely with Condensed Milk.
I didn’t think I’d like Noir Exquis from the description–glazed chestnuts made me doubtful–but the lovely Ari slipped me a sample, so I tried it, and while I’m not truly wowed, I’m perfectly happy to wear NE. My sample lists oak wood as a note, and I did hope for a tiny bit of SL Chene to show up, but no, the oak in NE is barely there for me. Wonder how the two would layer…
Ah, Chene…that’s a fantastic scent.
My favorite winter comfort scent is Les Nereides Imperial Opoponax and I’m also a big fan of Patchouli Antique. They are awesome layered together.
That’s 2 votes for IO!
Thank you for the review! I would still like to try it – I love the taste and scent of chestnuts. Of the L’Artisan fragrances I tried, my favorite is Tea for Two, which is also a great cold-weather perfume.
I anticipate wearing a lot of Tea for Two, Ginestet Botrytis, and Back to Black By Kilian this winter. Honey… mmmm.
Oh, absolutely do try it.
I had been lemming over Noir Exquis ever since I read Kafka’s review. I am going to Sniffapalooza next week and will play hooky after lunch and go to Barneys to have a sniff of this.
Given its overall lightness and not enough of anything, it sounds like it could make a good layering fragrance.
For my one winter comfort scent, I pick Guerlain Cuir Beluga!
It isn’t really light, just not as rich as “Noir Exquis” ought to be, or as rich as the other 2 BD gourmands I mentioned. It’s probably as strong as Cuir Beluga? You’ll see what you think 🙂
So it’s a case of over-promise (its name) and under-deliver in substance. Really kind of like the leatherless Cuir Beluga!
That’s mine too 🙂
My favorite winter comfort scent is Lalique La Parfum (its especially nice at bedtime).
I like it, too. It would probably be my #2 choice.
Oh, I must try the Noir Exquis, all of those notes sound perfect to me!
My favorite winter comfort scent is the original Givenchy Organza Indecence, followed closely by my favorite going-to-sleep winter comfort scent, Barbara Bui Le Parfum.
Hope you will love it! And wish they’d bring back the Barbara Bui.
Santal Exotique is a definite winter comfort scent–lots of real sandalwood and lots of baking spices equals coziness in a bottle. Am also in the Black Cashmere camp and Kalimantan is the perfect answer to grey dreary days.
Also, I have a bottle of Ambre Fetiche on the way, and I suspect J.Crew No.57 will continue to get lots of wear through fall and into winter
Hope they are going to do more J Crew scents…
Sometimes I think Duchaufour does himself no favors with his amazing top notes. L’AP Nuit de Tubereuse is an example of a perfume that I tend not to appreciate fully because I’m always crushed when the topnotes wear off, even though what remains is excellent. It’s like Whitney Houston opening “I Will Always Love You” with the crescendo, and then you never hear it again.
I’ll have to try Noir Exquis. I do love and own Traversee du Bosphore and Vanille Absolument, as well the latter’s glamorous sister, Frapin 1697 Absolu de Parfum. However, they are a bit too delicious, somehow, and I don’t wear them often. Something along those lines but less so might be useful.
Other warm, embracing comfort scents for me are SSS Tabac Aurea, La Via del Profumo Mecca Balsam, Pd’E Cuir Ottoman, AG Heure Exquise, AG Passion, and, in really cold weather, PG Cozé.
Ha…love the Whitney Houston comparison!
First, I want to say that this fragrance sounds divine! Wow! Second, I’m a fan of Bertrand Duchaufour. He is absolutely fantastic! So want to try this one.
I think one of my favorite comfy, winter fragrances would be another L’Artisan scent. That would be Amour Nocturne – another creation from Bertrand Duchaufour. If Noir is anything like Amour, I will definitely get a decant in the near future because it is definitely not in my budget!
Hope you’ll love it then 🙂
My two favorite winter comfort scents are Tolu and Jungle l’Elephant. Also good is Lumiere Blanche, but I can wear that in the summer, too.
Good to have a year round comfort scent!
It’s supposed to snow this week 🙁 but this chill has brought on a bunch of my cold weather scents
Mona di Orio Nombre d’or Vanille
Tom Ford Plum Japonais and Noir de Noir
Not a winter scent but I gravitate towards Mure et Musc Extreme when the temperatures drop for some reason
Chanel Coromandel
Snow, ack! It’s too soon.
It snowed here today in Montreal! Didn’t stick but it was pretty. I like lighter scents for bed so Noir Exquis sounds good for that. Other favorites are Bulgari Blu Notte and Dasein Winter, along with any variety of incense.
When I think cozy winter comfort, I immediately think Diesel Plus Plus Feminine. Milky, spicy, powdery….the nutmeg and muguet and coconut and cedar work together nicely on me, although I know it’s an odd duck on others. Dirt cheap, and the closest thing I can find to Fresh Mukki (which I still miss so much).
Oh, those older Diesel scents were great.
They really were! What happened? Sigh…
I think they switched their fragrance license to another company.
Roberto Cavalli Oro would be my #1, with Lalique Le Parfum and VanillevAbsolument as alternates. This poll reminded me of how many things I still need to try.
Always more for the list…
In winter I wear A*Men and A*Men Pure Malt by Thierry Mugler, also Egoïste, as mentioned above. I recently acquired a vintage bottle of Poison, so that’s another thing I’m anxious to try in the cold months.
Nice picks! I keep hoping I’ll run across a vintage bottle of Hypnotic Poison somewhere.
For winter, shifted to the front row are Hermes’ L’Ambre des Merveilles, Dior’s Dolce Vita (love the cardamom, the hint of gourmand behind a curtain of woods), Guerlain’s Mitsouko, a vintage bottle of Dior’s Hypnotic Poison EDT that I only spare in the cooler months, E&J’s Nirvana Black, Chanel Coco EDP, and Mugler’s Angel Liqueur de Parfum (a drop is all that’s necessary for that one). Though I find it oppressive in even tiny amounts in the summer, Shalimar Parfum Initial is so lovely, comforting on my skin in the winter. Wearing it now, though, it’s hard not to be sad. Out of all the recent Guerlain flankers, it baffles me how this one could be discontinued.
Yum. Wish I had a bottle of Angel Liqueur. Might have to spring for the L’Ambre at some point too.
I loved reading this list! It made me wish I lived somewhere colder than the Bay Area, so I could justify trying more of these 🙂 On the chillier fall mornings here, I get excited to put on Vetiver Tonka and Chergui. I am waiting for it to get a little cooler so I can justify wearing Tauer LADDM (though I am a little worried that might be too much for work) and Byredo 1996 (also possibly too much for work).
I am not feeling sorry for you, LOL…you can have all my winter cold 🙂
You have to wait until summer for it to get bone chilling cold in SF LOL
Casmir?
Of course.
Cuir Beluga for me! I like to experiment layering it with different florals. Had some hits and a few scrubbers, lol.
Oooh, do tell! What combination worked?
Let me preface by admitting my deep love of roses 😉
Rose Barbare – love
Gris Montaigne – love
Noir de Noir – eh, too chocolatey for my tastes
Iris Prima – very nice, unisex
Jasmine Rouge – lovely
Eau de Magnolia – nah, magnolia overpowers the leather
Bigarade Concentree – DIVINE! (not a floral, but orange and leather 🙂 )
I’m currently trying it with Balenciaga Paris, omg!! It is HEAVENLY! Might be my fav combo yet. Next up is Fleur de Chine, then Rosabotanica. If you try any of these combos, let me know what you think. I’m sure it would be fantastic with any of the Guerlain gourmands, but I love florals!