AREEJ LE DORE
AGAR DE NOIR

2020

PERFUMER
Russian Adam

Vintage Cardamom
Vintage Arnica
Vintage Calamus
Vintage Crataegus
Vintage Columba
Vintage Guaiac Wood

Laotian Oud
Indian Oud
Vintage Arabia
Vintage Violet

Peru Balsam
Benzoin
Labdanum
Tonka Bean

I went into this one blindly and I was instantly comforted by the ‘lightness’ and softness. Don’t get me wrong, this is a dark fragrance, but it’s really wearable, warm and quite sweet.

There’s the tiniest bit of barnyard in the opening, but it’s not challenging or fecal-like, more earthy and hay-like. And hay is definitely what I get from this the most; it’s a scent profile that I encountered a couple of times, with a honeyed hay and wood scents, for example in Francesca Bianchi’s work.

In the case of Agar de Noir, it feels rich, thick, almost chewy in texture and it’s it has a lot of nuances. There’s a hint of green, a hint of earthiness and a herbal touch. The chewy sweetness seems to stem mainly from the resins. There are ingredients in this that I have never heard of before like calamus and arnica. From what I can gather they are in part responsible for the green and herbal touches.

I’m notoriously bad at detecting coffee, and aside from some bitterness and pairings (cardamom), I don’t get coffee. Overall it’s more in the direction of a sweet resinous wood scent. As it develops the oud starts working it’s magic I think, with it becoming more smokey and dry, remaining very woody.

I absolutely enjoy wearing Agar de Noir. It’s not the most surprising or interesting scent from the 6th Areej Collection and I can see why others prefer some of the other releases in the collection, but for me Agar de Noir stands out as one that I’d like to wear the most.