Black Name: Gothic Rose

Nombre Noir esníf:

Top: piercing aldehydes and bright damascones with a sharp, abrasive woodiness contrasted against a whisper of Osmanthus. The perfect rose. The rose of your imagination and dreams

Heart: after the seismic shock of the brief top notes (30 seconds), the buttery Osmanthus takes a hold. “1000” comes to mind here, another woody floral featuring Osmanthus only about a decade prior to Nombre Noir’s release. A fruitier rose waltzes haphazardly with the Osmanthus, pulling it deeper into a thorny scuffle.

I feel as if Knowing by Estée Lauder had to have been inspired by this, as it was released 6 years later and has competed with major brands (think of Cinnabar vs. YSL Opium). After the death of Nombre Noir at least we got a stunning mossy version of damascone delight.

A green, stemmy note comes through, reminding me of Une Rose by Malle (original) as well. While this is a “unicorn”, this is a fragrance that was copied and/or seen as a source of inspiration. A new age of woody florals came from this

Base: either I get anosmic to this easily or half a spray is too little. I do smell a plumminess and a cedar-note during the transition. My nose can never tell if this is extremely potent or invisible. The rose dies and the base emerges, plain, more fruity damascones take center stage and leave the composition feeling dry, synthetic, and emaciated. What an appropriate name for a gothic rose such as this

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