Magie Noire Lancôme for women

I grew up with Magie Noire because my mother wore it, among others. Which may explain why - despite the fact that it is a very particular and very strong perfume - I like it.

Not on the first spray though. Too strong, too old. Overdose of patchouli and civet. But after this unpleasant moment, the smell attracts me. It is slightly balsamy, powdery, floral, earthy.

It has this something seductive and repulsive at the same time that I cannot define. It reminds me of a demon who would have been summoned from the bowels of the earth and who would present himself to me elegantly dressed, gentlemanly and seductive to better tempt me. I know that I cannot succumb but despite everything, he attracts me irresistibly. He exudes a dangerous, dirty, animal sensuality.

That’s Magie Noire. An attraction/repulsion, a deliciously repulsive evil.

N.B: Great staying power and sillage. A week after spraying it on my coat sleeve, the smell is still there. But now I find it smells much more masculine, woody and animalic. This perfume is incredible, I definitely can't understand it!

This has definitely been reformulated. This was the second dark oriental fragrance I had experienced after Samsara. Both fragrances blew my young girls mind. I remember it being more mysterious and shockingly arresting in the past, when there was a black plastic casement around the bottom.
I'm always hunting for the best patchouli fragrances and the old formulation was stronger on this note.
Still a wonderfully enigmatically spooky perfume but I would recommend the Russian perfume Tête-à-tête
for a good dupe of the original formulation.

Il fascino di Magie Noire dopo 46 anni è ancora unico e intramontabile. Le versioni vecchie sono incandescenti e suggestive,trasportano indietro nel tempo e portano a visioni inquietanti, rituali di stregoneria, di magia nera brasiliana,di streghe medievali e di notti di luna piena.
Non serve che faccia una nuova recensione ma parlare di questo profumo per me è un piacere che mi assale ogni volta che lo indosso.

Exploring the timeless Lancôme Magie Noire, I discovered a fragrance that defies contemporary trends. This classic emits a distinctly green aroma, a rarity without citrus undertones. Its green essence intertwines with powdery white florals, gracefully transitioning into a woody, incense-laden foundation. While the 80s may have labeled it as a women's scent, by today's standards, Magie Noire appears decidedly unisex. The composition exudes elegance and sophistication, standing out as a non-mainstream gem. A testament to the bygone era of perfumery, Magie Noire serves as a captivating reminder that exceptional scents like this are indeed a rare find in the modern fragrance landscape.

Magie Noire. One spray is more than enough. It has lasted all morning, well into the afternoon, and is finally calming down to the scent I remember from the 80s. My vintage bottle may have turned a bit; there was a slight "gasoline" smell for a while --but it went away -- and what is left is the original beauty. "She hurried through the darkening forest, padding along the mossy floor, carefully stepping over the gnarled branches that lay in her path..."

I just found the one. This is it. From the instant I dabbed it on my skin, I knew. I’ve been trying many vintage perfumes that contain oak moss-Mitsouko, Nuit de Noel, Gucci No. 1, Miss Dior, etc and have developed a deep appreciation for this lovely, slightly bitter note. But in my opinion, this is the best of them all. This perfume is not conveniently pretty, but it is so achingly gorgeous in a darker way. I’m sampling the edt and it is big, loud, beautiful. Within 10 minutes of wearing this, I already found a vintage 5 ml edt to tie me over until I can afford more. Such a dreamy oak moss, I am so in love with this perfume and have never had a reaction to a perfume quite like I have with Magie Noir.

I hate it… but I love it, can’t live without it!!!

I remember being a kid playing with my cousins in my aunts vanity room, she had a large dresser with a big perfume selection this was in late 90’s so I was accustomed to the fresh, green, floral modern scents of that time as I was skimming through bottles something caught my eye and low and behold was a half empty bottle of Magie Noire, it was the 80’s version, I spritzed it on my wrist and took a whiff and was blown, I instantly hated the fragrance but i couldn’t get enough of it , constantly smelling my wrist over and over again something about this fragrance kept drawing me back for more. lovely.

I remember the spice, creaminess, fizzy, soapy, animalic, dusty and also a faint manure tone in this fragrance, years gone by and I still would remember this fragrance, so I recently did a purchase of the new formulation and it did remind me of Magie Noire but if I would have to describe the current reformulation I would say it’s more of a modern rounder refined version compared to before, still a gorgeous fragrance but a little different, first thing I noticed missing is that it’s not as sharp, dry as before also the deepness is not as profound, the creaminess is lower in fat, the soapiness not as medicinal, the dustiness doesn’t tickle my nose, the fizziness isn’t as effervescent, the spice isn’t as hot, the animalic tone is vegan, also the manure is masked and refined, the new version is still a magnificent lovely fragrance and some notes have been heightened and some have been toned down compared to vintage formula so to me it’s a little less naughty less skanky, but it’s more seductive, much warmer with more waxy lit candle smoke. all in all this fragrance is a masterpiece and if I can linger to any memory it has from the vintage then so be it! I’ll take it! It’s better than nothing in my opinion. Please don’t ever discontinue this and please continue making it for the next generations to experience this masterpiece

Enough comparing this fine creation to your memories. This stands on its own!!! Lasts all day off my clothes and hair.
Nothing sweet to it, and a little bit of honey comes out very late in the game with a bewitching mossy-honey accord. Wonderful woody-floral-mossy chypre!

Review for the 1st edition:

Doesn't smell like any of its contemporaries: it's a green honeyed moss with an oriental flare and all done in grace. Very smooth, resinous and golden. Raspberry acts as lynchpin to the tempestuous Ylang and Cassis, something I complain a lot about Ysatis which gives me headache but Magie Noire is excellent. Absent is the sternness found in La Nuit or that bleeding syrup of Diva. This is by far the best rose chypre I've had.

Bewitches you over time.

The new version has nothing to do with the original.
Money for nothing.

This reminds me of my mom. I wish I could afford to get the originals of all the fragrances she wore when I was growing up. They were the scent track of my childhood.
My mother was a very witchy woman and very much a gypsy so this and original poison not to mention all the oils she wore were very much fitting for her wonderfully hippie hearted self 🖤🩸🧚🌬️🥀🍄

I feel like Magie Noire hasn't changed much, maybe we who love it have. We change, our sense of smell, our perception changes. I am very happy to own it again and recall the times long gone. I love her.

My bottle is from 1996. A spray. I keep trying to crack this perfume. I get mostly oakmoss. Galbanum is also very clear. I can patchouli, some civet, and myrrh, but I have never managed to sense any honey, spice, or fruit. It's cold and austere to me, but not as aloof as most other oakmoss bombs. I can tell that there is some warmth and complexity to the base, which sets it apart, but I always wish it were just a bit sweeter, spicier, balsamic. This reminds me of Charles Jourdan L'Insolent, except that one is cloying. I don't know what is in it that tickles my nose. Not the tuberose, which I barely smell in it, actually. I think the fruity notes don't play super well with something else in that one and make it seem much more strident and confused than Magie Noire, which while green and mossy is quite smooth.

Magie noire era ed è un vero profumo evocativo,intimo,connesso con l'anima e con la notte.
I suoi vari momenti sono il verde,aspro e boschivo,poi il blu notte,dato dallo storace,il giallo dorato del miele,narciso,il bianco della tuberosa,gelsomino,mughetto,neroli,l'aspetto piccante,speziato,gli incensi,l'aspetto mistico e meditativo,l'aspetto animale selvatico,felino,muschi di quercia e benzoino ma soprattutto quello che non viene nominato è la cascarilla,una corteccia pepata e secca dall'effetto stordente.
Magie noire è la riuscita perfetta di una formula alchemica,una ricetta di stregoneria medievale usata per scopi non ben dichiarati ma il risultato è stato ed è ancora strepitoso. Chi lo ha amato negli anni 80 lo cerca ancora e lo vuole tutto per se.
Un profumo che andrebbe salvaguardato tra i capolavori.

Wow, this has Wuthering Heights vibes! Both the movie version with Binoche and the book. 18th century Europe, a long dress, unbrushed hair, bare feet on a cold, mossy forest's ground. I don’t have a thoroughly formed opinion on this recent Magie yet (planning to update later) but it makes me excited just thinking about it. I can understand why some people may dislike it. It’s a no-nonsense, dark, green chypre. Honey is present but it’s raw honey with an edge. Addictive. Cassis is glorious here. I bought it based on the negative reviews - “skanky”, “sweaty”, “bitter”, and “sour”… Yes, yes... Come to mama!

Considering how crowd-pleasing Lancôme has been in the past 3 decades with its fruity pink creations, kudos to the house for putting this on the market. Whoever pushed this forward, thank you!

I like the minimalist aspect of the bottle. The lid is hard to take off and put back on though - I even emailed Lancôme to ask how to open it. They said to just put some muscle into it, haha. Love it.

If you love the 80s era - this is a must addition in your collection - I cannot described anymore of what’s been said about this stunning creation

It is absolutely worth seeking out a vintage bottle of any composition; I have a wonderful 80's EDT. I also have a new bottle like the one in the picture. It smells like La Panthere. (The new one.). Not bad at all, but not the same.

This used to be magnificent, seductive and mysterious. When I was 19, I felt confident and sexy, when I wore it with abundance, and my boyfriend called me Black Magic Woman. I adored this scent. Now it is a ghost of it’s former self. Anemic and much duller. It’s still wearable, but not in the same league.
By the way, Lancome answers customers’ concerns about reformulation thus on their website:
“It is possible that minor changes have been made in the formula of a product; however, the performance should meet or exceed previous results and may not be noticeable at all”
And: “There has not been a formulation change to this fragrance”
Well then, we must be mistaken, the lot of us

I just purchased this in the new bottle and I think it’s stunning. One light spray is all that’s needed.

Sexy.

I am so sad. My vintage from 1999 has turned, and the new one (new formula) is not as deep nor round as the old formula.

I must just admit that the true beauty of Magie Noire from now on just sits in my memories.

Don’t get me wrong, the recent formula is beautiful, but I would not fall in love with it the same way as I did with the original.

This brings back so many memories. I first bought this as a 19 year old back in 1981, I had just moved to live in South Africa. I felt so sophisticated wearing this… those were the days. Back then this was such a powerhouse of a scent, unfortunately this new interpretation is nothing like the original. The original was truly dark,mysterious the seducer of souls intensified under the African sun.I will keep this new bottle as a reminder of my time in Africa when I was young and starting out on life’s great adventure.

Ah my old love, Magie Noire. Myrrh, patchouli, spices in such a bequiling, layered, warm, inviting, mystical, alchemical potion. Beautiful perfumery. I love these late 70s early 80s rich, complex perfumes - they are like a Renoir next to pop art, compared to much of today’s commercial flat and boring perfumery. Or, in the case of Magie Noire, a Caravaggio. Maybe the one where Judith beheads Holofernes. I went through several bottles of this in my younger years and it still has not lost any of its deep, sensual appeal. Review for the original formula. EDIT: sadly the current formulation doesn’t cut the mustard- it has lost its mystique, the depth, the small subtle nuances which make the original so interesting. Perfume aficionados - you need to find the original in this case

My mother still uses her vintage 1980ies Bottle. It is still good but it gives ne headaches.
This new version is all the lovely shades of the OG black magic potion I grew up with minus the headache 😍
Love!!!
I can directly compare it and the formulation available in 2022 is just as good as the OG! (Bottle is not so pretty but, at least its still produced!)
Must try for every witchy person! It blooms in the cold and lasts for ages! 24+ on fabric 12+on skin! Amazing drydown! If you are in to sultary ambers, this is for you.

Stunning fragrance, love at first spray/sniff. Not a lot I can add that hadn’t been said below but this one is a keeper. Back up bottle worthy and just so divine. Loving it 🥰

I so wish I could try the parfum of this. A long time ago, a friend gifted me with a vintage mini collection of EDT and the first one I'm trying is Magie Noire. It's my birthday today, so figured I'd treat myself to testing some big voice perfume to bed. This called for the vintage mini collection to be pulled out.
I read about each one while sniffing them from the tiny bottles to decide which one I wanted on me, and based on all your awesome reviews, this one won.
I don't think I need to elaborate on it, it's been said many times below how powerful this one is. This is one of those late 70s 80s 90s bombs. Alas, mine is EDT so no matter how much I apply, it's never going to be parfum. It's not as intense as I was hoping, but I'm still loving it. So classy, clean and dirty at the same time, but in the best possible way.
Read the description above about how it resembles a figure 8 with the notes, it's interesting and accurately described as just when I think it's gone, I get an intensity from it, but for only a fleeting moment. It softens to something that is sweet smokey florals, wood and other stuff. It's not "in your face" but very mild after it fades, which doesn't take long. I thought this being vintage that it would last longer and be more concentrated as many vintages are, but it doesn't last on my skin.
Still lovely, not the slap in the face I was looking for, but a very pretty scent just the same.
I fell asleep writing this, so didn't get to see how this evolved. Will try again and edit this when I do.

Trivia: Whe Sarah Paulson portrayed Marcia Clark in AMERICAN CRIME STORY, she wanted to get into character by wearing Marcia's perfume on set... the scent she'd worn during the O.J. trial. It was MAGIE NOIRE. Sarah hated it, though... she said she bought a bottle of the vintage on eBay... and it smelled (in her words) "like sh*t". She reckoned it must've "turned" in the bottle... (Yet civet is a major player in MN, so I suspect she wasn't kidding when she detected a poopy note...)

This perfume has been calling out to me - I don't know how to describe it but I knew deep in my bones I needed to get to know it.

I've recently acquired a bottle of the vintage EdT at an unbelievable price - I thought I would risk getting scammed for USD10 for a 50ml bottle anyway, because... Why not? I haven't been able to find the latest formulation in stores to even catch a whiff so I don't even have a reference for this. I went in completely blind.

I've had a single drop on me for 2h and I'm not sure how that is the case but the intensity of the scent has been GROWING. I'm guessing this is the real thing because the civet and oakmoss are unlike anything I've ever perceived in other perfumes that I've been exploring around. Although not listed in the notes, I'm picking up some soapy, aldehydic notes dancing at the top. Deep, dark, magical on its drydown - this experience is incredible and I can't imagine what a bomb the Parfum would've been!

Vintage : very floral aldehydic with a green fruity top note and an animalic, patchouli and moss drydown. It reminds me of a cross between Cabochard and First but with amber notes. It has a distinct soapy, lotion accord on the drydown. Tuberose is a key player as is honey, oakmoss and patchouli. Almost reminds me some of Hugo Boss No. 1 for men. The newer version is less floral and more incensey.

Truly a magic potion that the iconic French perfume house of Lancome has created here. This could bring grown men to their knees. Think of this perfume as a tool to make you feel amazingly powerful. A chypre floral that is elegant, intellectual and ever so slightly brooding, this will awaken the natural talents and skills that have been laying dormant in you for too long. Do not hide your light. Use Magie Noire to transform into the mysterious and sophisticated witch you were meant to be. Become a master manifestor. Dab on the tiniest amount and watch magic unfold in your life.

A deep dark forest with whiffs of incense, musk, and aromatic greenness. Reminds me of Cabochard by Gres. You can wear this while strolling through a pumpkin patch, picking apples, or drinking hot cider on a porch. Has a masculine edge but otherwise for a strong, take-charge lady with earthy elements: earth mother, mountain woman, forest goddess. Bringer of goodness and light. Keeper of the knowledge of good and evil. She is young, old, and eternal.

Dark like the darkest autumnal night.
A witch making potions in the middle of the forest using herbs, dried flowers and incense, while the air is full of the smell of the wood used to light the fire. After finishing her job she perfumes her body and hair with essential oils that mixed with the aromas of her potion create a bewitching environment, enigmatic, haunting and irresistible just like her spells.
She opens the door and the moonlight guides her to her lover who is waiting for her to take a ride through the night.
That’s Magie Noire.

First of all, chypres are not for me. I respect them but I can't wear them. Except for a few perfumes, 2 or 3, one of them being Magie Noire. Mainly because it smells like honey to me! It is in the same line as Jardins De Bagattele for me. Its got lush greenery and delicious honey 🍯

I had Magie Noire when I was 27, I remember everyone was saying I smell like a grandma, only my mother was saying, what a perfume, what an expensive smell, sophisticated and delicate so different, yes it is very different not for everyone, very rich perfume, a real black magic witchy smell.
Honestly, I love it and will buy it when I'll be 50.

Inital impressions-This smells like holy temples.
I will update the rest

Edit: sold

Smells like my grandma. I always thought it was her armpits. Then again, she was as much of a witch as I can imagine there to be in the era she lived. Maybe she wore this.

𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄, is a chypre fragrance with a vintage character, which evokes the sophistication and mystery of bygone eras.

Its opening is herbaceous and bitter, with a floral touch of bergamot that gives it a slight freshness. Quickly giving way to an opulent and powdery heart, with a mix of flowers such as ylang-ylang, jasmine, tuberose and iris, which merge with cedar wood, creating a retro and elegant effect. Honey softens the bouquet, giving a sweet and sensual nuance to the fragrance. As the hours pass, the base becomes more oriental and complex, with notes of wood, moss, spices, balms, and resins that give it depth and warmth. The incense is responsible for enveloping the entire composition with a soft and seductive halo. While the animalic and musky chords give it a wild and magical touch, which lives up to its name.

The substantivity on my skin is eternal, more than 12 hours with moderate diffusion.

mystica said she can't imagine a schoolteacher wearing this. mystica has met the wrong sort of teachers and should stay away from stereotyping people. I taught physics for 17 years, but I'm a goth witrh Asperger's. I love this dark brooding animal.

At first sniff I was unsure. It was a blind buy and I had high hopes for this bewitching fragrance after all the reviews and felt slightly disappointed... until I realised I kept sniffing my wrist. Each time was different, floral, then peppery dry, then spicy, then woody. It is bold and different. I would wear this day and night and I don't think it is offensive for the office, although on me it smells quite fresh and I don't get any warmth or depth particularly.
It certainly is a grown-up scent and I must admit I haven't had any compliments on it. In fact my friend said it was "okay".
However - I wear fragrance for me and now I keep going back for more. It's very addictive and drew me in to its magic and I think now I understand what the other reviewers mean. I have indeed been bewitched and bedazzled.

It’s brilliant, but not for everyone, to be sure. Definitely not a safe one to gift or wear around the office. It’s addictive, though. I first smelled it on a coworker, and thought it was way too intense for me. She was much older, wealthy, well dressed, sophisticated. I realized I sought her out quite a bit, not only because she was funny, but because she smelled amazing. Ended up buying my own bottle. I don’t wear it often - but there are certain days and occasions that call for it. I like it far more than Paloma Picasso, although there is certainly some overlap on notes. Nothing better than coming home on a cold winter day, starting a fire, then spraying this one.

Yeah, it's a "stinky". I found a 40 year old bottle in a thrift store and I wear it once a year . Old school "green" . Not for everyone . Not a safe blind buy. Witchy and dark.

The way this dries down on me strongly resembles Tabu, which was a complete surprise but maybe shouldn't be, looking at the notes. I only think it resembles Paloma in the bottle (mine is probably from the 80s, a 1oz edt in a round, clear, splash bottle.) Once on skin it's a honeyed balsamic Chypre, pretty different from other chypres in my collection. If I make a comparison overall, I'd say Feraud Vivage is similar.

Not an automatic love, honey is a challenging note for me, cassis too, but I like this and the mood it evokes. I look forward to spending more time with it. It might not be the best time of year for testing this, either. It definitely has an autumnal air.

Update: Reminds me of Coty Chypre, moreso than any others, including Mitsouko. Magie Noire having a stronger honey note. If you can't get the O.G. Chypre because of the crazy price, get a vintage Magie Noire If you're interested in what it smells like.

I had to get a sample of the current Version, since I was curious if it really was almost the same as the vintage, as some comments say. Well, no. The new Version is warmer, more ambery, maybe also a tad more animalic, all in a sweet, warm and flesh-y way. The vintage Version, beside being suuuuuper strong in longvety and sillage, is sharper, colder, I can smell definitely more aldehydes, and the civet comes out a lot. If you know and treasure the old one, the new doesn't really live up to it, but it's fine, since many of the actual Magie noire witches seem to have found their Interpretation of the scent with thua. To me, MN vintage is a witches potion, threatening and impressing, where as the reformulation is the witches cozy blanket next to the fire stove. Also fine.

I love a good chypre. In fact, they have become my favorite. So happy I found this, thanks to Fragrantica. I tried the current formulation, and it’s a love for me. Can’t wait to get a full bottle. This is right up there with Paloma Picasso, Ysatis, and Halston…..earthy, herbal, animalic, exquisite! They all share the same chypre heart, but they are all utterly unique as well! This one is stunning. I put a little Magie Noire on my wrists, and a spritz of Dior Poison on my neck, and it was the most beautiful, vintage powerhouse concoction that I have made thus far. So happy this is still being made💜

I owned Magie Noire in the 90’s. It was never a favorite as it just did not work with my chemistry. I have been amazed by how lovely it smelled on others and wished it did on me. It was piercingly green and raw in the opening, simply turning to a ground herbs b/o dirty scent in the drydown. In my case it was a downside that it had such great longevity and massive sillage. I have always loved chypres. To me, the entrancing and beautiful Fendi Fendi was the best of them.

SuzanneS’s review of MN below is in my top five favorite fragrance reviews of all time.

I don't really understand this. It's scratchy dry and bitter. Like the smell equivalent of going for a walk through brambles whilst wearing a scratchy itchy grey wool jumper. Uncomfortable. When you get home there are brambles tangled into your scratchy jumper and you sit down with a cup of bitter tea that you made with leaves you found on the floor. Still uncomfortable. I don't get the witchy vibes, only the uncomfortable clothing and hard life vibes. I've described it with imagery because I'm not sure which individual notes I'm smelling, but if I had to guess now I've looked at the pyramid I would say: galbanum, oakmoss, civet +/- spice.

Magie Noire 2022.
This is a review of the current, reformulated edt currently available from the Lancome website. I really do think there needs to be an entry for this current bottle pictured and another for the vintage edt.

Current notes 2022:
Top Notes: Bulgarian Rose, Black currant Bud
Heart Notes: Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang
Base Notes: Amber, Sandalwood, Patchouli

No, this isnt the green deep slightly garbagy, honeyed animalic night seducer that was the 1978 version. That witch was perfect for its time, pushing back against 20% interest on your first home loan in the early 80s, gas rationing, soaring crime and times were tough. You needed a tough perfume.

Now in 2022, Magie Noire has been changed to a ghost of its former self, a smouldering reminder of the great she once was. Our modern times has had an unprecedented time of prosperity, minimal wars and technology explosion we only could have imagined in 1978.

I went to the Lancome site and was curious how the new formula was. Pages upon pages of screaming banshees
bemoaning the slaughter of the precious 1978 formula. Indeed, Lancome did to appease the accountant and Ifra gods. Gone was the stunning green acidic damascone rose, the animalic musks that growled at you...

The figure 8 magic was gone. All that is left is the whisper of Magie Noire upon a faint breeze. The blackcurrant is sharper and bitter, the sour rose is synthetically thinner, patchouli greener and more shrill. The woods and ylang try to calm the angular bones left of Magie Noire.

Its still green, sharp, bitter that reminds me of Cabochard or Bandit. A soapiness appears in the heart, as a compromise to the CK1 gods that declared everything must be clean from that moment in 1991 into designer eternity.

Im torn on this formulation. Its truly still a unique, affordable woody green fragrance. Its gentler for the times we find ourselves in. I quite like it as a diversion from the sugary excess that the majority seems to be gorging themelves on.

Its quite linear, an overall impression of the modern IDEA of Magie Noire or the whisps of a faded memory long ago of our prime coming of age in 78.

The saying goes, hard times breed strong men. Easy times breed weak men. Magie Noire 22 is the latter. On its own its a good buy. Dont expect the 78 version, you may like it.

However the tides are changing with interest rates rising, it may be time once again to use technology to resurrect the wicked queen once again. Time will tell..

Di Magie noire ne ho versioni di tutte le annate,dall 83,86,88,90,94,97,98,2001,2014...e devo notare che non sono tutte uguali.
Alcune hanno un tono più vellutato e blu, altre sono piu dorate,altre piu frizzanti, altre piu muschiate..
Ma magie noire è un profumo meraviglioso che ho amato fin dall'inizio degli anni 80.
Ha un bouquet unico,un filtro magico antico che ricorda le streghe,un calderone di erbe,fiori,radici,foglie,spezie e un filo di fumo di incenso mistico.
Ha anche una parte di note animali feline e selvagge,muschio animale e di quercia che si fonde con la pelle e ti fa sentire una pantera nella notte..
Fiori gialli e miele nel cuore,un'aura nebulosa,atmosfere remote,a volte chiaro altre volte notturno,silenzio e confusione..
Insomma Magie noire è sempre stato un profumo multiforme e mistico,sensuale e magnetico a cui non ho potuto rinunciare.

Wow, it’s beautiful. Comfortable scent. I have a funny relationship with chypre’s. I don’t exactly ever like them but I don’t dislike them. I can respect them for the earthy beasts that they are and were intended to be. This is the new version. It’s I’m sure the vintage was much stronger. In my head I thought ‘this smells like Paloma Picasso’ and yes a bit, but once I compared them side by side, this one is a bit sweeter and even more musky. I actually get the fruits in the opening of this chypre. Usually it’s all the base notes in chypre’s that you actually smell. Paloma Picasso smells much more leathery, almost new car smell in comparison to this one. If you’ve been curious about a chypre fragrance but are intimidated by the notes and reviews of them all, this modern Magie Noire is a perfect one to start with I’d say.

Was one of my sisters perfumes in the 80's...
At first remember it's now only in eau de toilette version, so ... but I must say that it's quit close to the vintage one and it lasts all day...
You can not compare this bottle to an 80's or 90's one...because an old bottle, even if kept in a cool dry dark place is still 30-40 years older and the components get old too...and some air gets in after all those years....
Please stop comparing old bottles with new ones it has no sens

Marketing must weigh heavily in people's minds; this perfume is nothing how I imagined from reading all of the reviews & taking in the general perception of others. For me it doesn't convey darkness or anything stereotypically witchy at all. Although I haven't had my nose on nearly as many scents as some of you out there, I've never personally come across anything that smells like this. It is one of the few perfumes that really feels like "me"; something that feels very close somehow, personal. It was love at first scent for me, but it is very unusual, unique & complex. Extremely sensual. Maybe that is why I love it so much; it smells human somehow & it's that human element that really makes me adore a perfume. Not like body odour but there is something alive here. This isn't just clean & pretty, there is much more going on; life is happening in Magie Noire. Heat, clean sweat. The scent of seduction, yes, but even more serious than that. This is when you feel your most alive, beautiful, passionate, powerful self reflected in another; making love with your Soulmate. The One. The only One. & The both of you know this. The slow-motion merging of worlds, hearts & deeply held, sacred dreams. Firey, divine, reality-shifting love. Finding Heaven on Earth. These are my feelings in the kaleidoscope of interpretation.

My review is based on the older version of Magie Noire. I acquired a bottle through a family member whose mother-in-law had recently passed away. She had a HUGE collection of fragrances going back many years, and this relative of mine couldn't use them all, so she gave some of them away. She intended for my mother to have this, but my mom was not interested in it. It wasn't her style. I had studied French in high school, and of course I understood what the name meant, and that is the reason why I was initially attracted to it. I found the name to be intriguing and I knew that it must have been an expensive perfume. So, I claimed it--despite the fact that both my mother and our relative thought that it was too mature for me (I was about 19 at the time).

I loved Magie Noire. I loved it right away. It was like nothing I ever smelled before. It was dark, mysterious, and alluring. Even at a young age, I understood that it was a nighttime fragrance that was best suited for fall and winter. I also knew it was more of a special occasion fragrance and not for every day use--though I did sometimes wear it to work. Some people didn't like it, but I didn't care. I loved it. It is definitely one of those fragrances that people either love or hate. There isn't much of an in between with this one.

I remember wearing it the college library once. I remember a student saying out loud "someone in here is wearing Magie Noire." I was amazed that she could smell it from across the room, and that she was familiar with this fragrance. So that told me that it was a real powerhouse....it had good projection. It also lasted a long time. I used to wear a lot of black back in the day, and I would spray this on whenever I'd go out on a date. It was/is a gorgeous fragrance, and I loved wearing it.

I hope to buy another bottle of this one day so that I can revisit it. I know it will bring back many good memories of bygone years.

This is my mother’s signature scent, I really love how it smells on her.
I never tried it on myself but I’m thinking of purchasing a 30ml to try it then I will write another review about my opinion.

The mystique in older formulation Magie Noire EDT is in its refusal to be reduced to its density. It is no assault to the nostrils, weaving an invisible tapestry of incantations around me as I wear it. For those who obsess over immediate gratification and a big block of a fragrance pummeling you into submission for the sake of performance, it may seem a bit lost in the shuffle. Fear not, my conditioned fragheads, scents that are nuanced and sly tend to be the ones that most enchant the wearer over time. There is no argument on whether Magie Noire 'performs,' because it transcends that. It's better than that.

Magie Noire can be the seducer or the seductress, whatever you prefer. The point is there is seduction. As it first hits the skin, we have the high timbre of galbanum and hyacinth shaded with a dusky panoply of spices, woods and musk that are the hallmark of the scent. There is a tint of raspberry tartness that also contrasts in the top notes, but it is the slightest touch, there is nothing sweet about Magie, I assure you. There is zero gourmand going on, and for that, I am happy. After all, gooey desserts, caramel, and maltol were not a "thing" for fragrance in the late 70s. This is the truest chypre in that it comports itself as confident, mature, wise, and not to be played around with.

The bracing opening transitions to a heart of an abandoned garden of flowers: narcissus that have been flanked with wildflowers and weeds, overgrown tuberose, a carpet of muguet that swallowed the more delicate flowers of the courtyard. This is no cacophony, but nor is it a Wagner drama....maybe its more a flute solo in minor key that builds as it dries down and we enter further into the deep, dark forest, with moss-smothered ancient trees and honeyed distant rays of the setting sun lending what little light that allows us to see in front of our face.

That's it, that's the dark magic of Magie Noire. I suppose that it was aptly named!

Had to give this one a few "wears", but I just love the way it makes me feel. Honestly and in short, to me Magie Noire smells like seduction and sex, so what's not to like(?)
I know MN has been reformulated, and with respect for those lucky ones out there, who have experienced and enjoyed the original, I just can't compare and would never claim that this one is "as good" as the original version since this reformulated Magie Noire is the one I've got.
All I know is that this one, to me, is sultry, dense, sexy, mysterious, spicy, sweet in a subdued not cloying and a very mature way, seductive, alluring, somewhat insisting and captivating. If you don't like attention, don't wear Magie Noire because even two sprays will provide a noticeable (and sexy) sillage, in my experience.
Early Spring, Autumn and Winther are the seasons I would recommend wearing this perfume in.

Could be my favourite, if not, definitely in my top ten. Addictive and has me coming back to sniff my own wrist throughout the day.
A damp forest on a winter night, bracingly sharp, gothic, mysterious. An undercurrent of warmth that is only revealed to those allowed in close to the wearer. Wearing this will make you feel powerful.

One of those aromas that define feminine. It feels like what a woman is - a smart, strong, dangerous animal.

I ordered myself a backup bottle of MN cause i feared an upcoming reformulation without oakmoss. To my surprise they already did. On the newest ingredients list they removed oakmoss completely. I didn't even open the box although i have to admit that i was very curious. Sent it right back and was able to find an older bottle from around 2016. The latest reformulation is very recent, maybe 2019/2020. So one should be able to find remaining stock of the older one containing oakmoss. Maybe someone here was brave enough to actually open and test this new formula and is willing to enlighten us with a first impression. Maybe the chemists in charge of MN found new ways to replace oakmoss without it suffering to much, who knows right? Oh and to my fellow gentleman: Give MN a chance. Its perfectly unisex and something Roja Dove would release today.

The current reformulation smells lovely, like a honeyed floral masculine cologne with just a hint of raspberry. But it’s weak and lasts just about two hours on my skin. For a tuberose-honey-patchouli-incense scent with green notes and way better longevity, I strongly recommend Rumba instead.

“Mmm....I need a bottle" involuntarily popped from my mouth as soon as the first spray hit my skin. Smells dark, beguiling, mysterious, witchy, goth, erotic, sexy, and romantic. It's Black Magic indeed! It makes me think of a deep, dark, overgrown forest at dusk. If literary characters had a scent, this is how Maid Marian would smell when she was abducted in Sherwood Forest. Or Rebecca in Ivanhoe. Or the Lady of the Lake. Or any other fictional enchantress - your choice. It conjures up dark, romantic images to me. Well, maybe what I envision when reading fables, classics, and fairy tales, as if this really isn't a perfume at all but a prologue to some epic tale for my imagination. Crazy, I know. But it is just lovely. If the reform smells this good, I can only imagine how wonderful the original version smelled. Oh-My-God!

Now I am really torn. Do I just stick to this travel sprayer to make sure I really like it? Nah, I adore it right now. So, the next question is: Do I want to risk getting a vintage only to be disappointed with spoiled top notes, or do I want the latest edition? Or do I get both? Hell, I only have one body, how much perfume do I need?! Oh, this is going to take some serious deliberation.

Edit 8/3 - I bought the new version because, tbh, it smells wonderful to me.

What a nasty dirty smelling nightmare this was on my skin. I bought it blindly expecting a sweet incensy situation, it turned out to be something else altogether. It starts of kind of rusty and weird and it just goes downhill from there, when it settles the patchouli and civet or god knows what else - really turn this into a pungent sweaty dirt cocktail to the point where I feel self conscious about how I smell to the people around me.

Black Magic Woman.

Magie Noire has such depth and such melancholic nostalgia, reminiscing back to an era that I long for, but have never experienced.
The dark glamour of Old Hollywood film noirs, the doom jazz playing in smoke-filled, dimly lit clubs, velvet gowns, satin gloves and a sense of mystery in the air.. the scent of Magie Noire.
From the first spray, she opens up her world to you.
She invites you in to her Divine Feminine universe; it's complex, it's persistant (she lasts for hours and hours... and I'm referring to both the current EDT and the vintage one- both of them last for almost 12 hours on my skin, and my skin eats even elixirs and intense EDPs and 'real' perfumes like it was body spray ).
She's so well blended. so balanced. The mossy, green, earthy and animalic accords are never masculine and they get counterbalanced by the hyacinth and bulgarian rose, which bridge the warm, spicy accords beautifully.
The incense, sandalwood and musk will be with you all day, wrapped around you like that expensive mink coat you once inherited or bought in that charmingly, claustrophobic Vintage boutique.
Magie Noire has depth like an enchanted forest;
Ever glowing in its darkness; welcoming and nurturing kindred creatures and beings.
Leaving some bewitchedly in awe, others repulsed by what they cannot fathom.

If you are a sister-witch in this forest, you should embrace Magie Noire, as she will embrace you.

I love Magie Noire - the current version. Others make a hobby of seeking some Holy Grail vintage of a fragrance..Goodie! I hope they find their Precious. Me? I don't care. There are too many perfumes in the ocean to worry about it. (The wrong metaphor, perhaps. But who has time to search for metaphors, or dusty, ancient perfume bottles on eBay, for that matter?)

To me, Magie Noire is an overwhelmingly earthy fragrance. At some points, I smell the other aspects - like the floral notes, which are delightful but slightly muted in comparison to the earthiness.

I consider for a few minutes what it is that makes Magie Noire feminine. Conclusion: It is not feminine. In my opinion, it smells like a dude's cologne. Trees, dirt, greenery, a few herbs thrown in and some flowers. Plus some other stuff that adds complexity.

But rest assured, Lancome says it's for women. So it won't create havoc with your menstrual cycle, or cause your breasts to be forested in a massive amount of body hair -- like the chest of the late actor, Burt Reynolds. But most women will understand this.

If only men understood that the label on a bottle won't cause their body to form boobs and to produce massive amounts of estrogen.

I guess I don't care all that much if others like or wear this. For one thing, I wear fragrance almost entirely for myself. However, I do want Magie Noire to be adequately supported by the almighty consumer dollar so that production won't cease.

It has quickly become a favorite of mine. Oh, and one last point: the longevity is excellent.

serious, very, very standard Chypre, smells more dignified than any Suit, like an old-fashioned suit, dignified and neat. Because too dignified, so that I have the complete opposite feeling ... sexy! Really indescribable.
Tidy and sexy, in fact, can exist at the same time.
Magie Noire's structure is so exquisite.
Its three notes change significantly, which is different from other Chypre, especially calm.
The Image is static. Visually, Magie Noire is a thick, deep dark green.
In the Myrrh and burning black smoke, the iris roots are accentuated with a mixture of roses and jasmine. The dark moss, and the smell of animals, became the hallmarks of Magie Noire.
I don't like civet, because there is more, there will be a smell.
Magie Noire's animals are just right, creating a slight "dirty" feel, mixing floral aromas that turn into something more appealing, like Ferromon?
All in all, it's not annoying.
All the consumers who have seen the ads, including me, almost believe that this is the witch's magic powder.
Dry, charred, and a little bitter.
This is Lancome's only great creation.

I never smelled the original. And I pretty well avoid EDT’s because they’re gone on me, pronto. So at least this one sticks around for a while. It mostly just boils down to an earthy, ambery honey with some flowers floating around in it for infusion. I don’t get soap or green or much spicy. It’s kind of like a nice vanilla-ish candle that actually smells good vs the vanilla candle that smells a little less deep and more waxy (that would be Rumba). I mean, I like it. It never projects and is essentially a skin scent. Nothing terribly magical. I can imagine how it could be, under diff ingredients and a parfum concentration. For half the price, it’d be nice cozy scent for occasional use when you need to have EDT low-level ops.
Earthy, floral honey. Creamy.
For more perfume-level ops, I’d do just as well with Serge Lutens Cedre to get a similar feel, albeit sweeter and a sharper tuberose aspect. Not saying they are the same scent. Just saying that the vibe ultimately given to me is similar enough, and I wouldn’t have to put wrist to nose to smell it. Essentially same price.
But I know some people just have different skin and nose and an EDT would be a better option for them…. I’m just not that gal.

I just received the new version. I’m very disappointed. It’s not even a shadow of the original Magie Noir. It’s more like a very bad dupe. Whyyyy, Lancome?..... I don’t understand why they ruined such a beautiful fragrance. It doesn’t have depth, it doesn’t have mystery, it’s a boring herbal concoction with something artificially sugary in the background (it smells like saccharine to me), very weak sillage compared to the original one, I’m pretty sure you can find something like that for £5. It actually smells like piss after a while.
I feel like crying, really.
Au revoir, Magie Noir.
L.E. After a while it smells like Kashmir, a £5 dupe of Sikkim, except that Kashmir smells better.
On the positive note: it has a good longevity, way more than 8 hours. On the hydrated skin it lasted about 12 hours, which is impressive. That doesn't compensate the boringness of this awful reformulation.

I cant exactly remember the exact scent of Magie Noir, but a girl I had a massive crush on when I was in University used to wear this, and it drove me absolutely crazy. She was a self professed gypsy witch, and had the look, personality (and scent) to match. I must get my nose on this, and see if my scent memory of her remains intact...

I own a sample.

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Yummy, smokey, full of incense. Different from other floral oriental woody resinous fragrances I tried. This one is almost sleepy in its incense smoke. There's something that reminds me of old hairspray mixed with dark woods, lots of heady white flowers, but the main point is incense smoke and resins. Sharp, smoky, enveloping, sleepy, warm and tingly. Like ASMR for the nose, if that's your thing.

I want it.

This is a “brand new” bottle, bought around last summer from Douglas, a parfumerie chain here in Germany.

Brand new, my bottle did not smell much like itself. It lasted, lord it lasted. But it was very sharp and green and thin feeling, and all out of balance. It behaved like a regular perfume, without the signature “figure 8” progression of Magie Noire where you smell the base notes first, then the mid, then the top notes, and then you work your way back and forth. Going from top to mid to base notes and having that progression stay constant is very unkind to the scent.

But I could smell it TRYING to do the right things at times, and I’ve tested bottles in store plenty, so I suspected I had an aging problem on my hands.

Today, I know for sure I was right. This isn’t a scent I tend to love in very cold weather. It’s more of a warm weather scent for me, and 9 months of sitting mean I have my lively, vibrant perfume back. It’s always different for me from wearing to wearing, so it’s not a scent I grab when I want consistency and comfort. You can never quite tell if it’ll be a rich ambery scent (very rare, DO NOT buy this expecting something sweet, even when this version shows up for me it’s strange) or a sunny green scent or a spicy leather scent in advance. But if you want an adventure in a bottle, this scent will give you what you want. Today’s version, I’m getting something I don’t remember getting, where there’s tiny wafts of a peachy aspect.

This isn’t a scent where I can easily pick out notes when it’s working properly. I’ve never smelled rose in it, or orris. Oakmoss, yes, in quantity but that’s the only bit that’s ever been a solid ID for me in this. It’s pretty heavy on civet by all accounts, but I’ve never been able to reliably pick that note out by smell, only by what it does on my skin. (Good things, for me civet is a reliable guide to things I’ll like to smell)

I can’t really recommend getting into this scent if you’re not already an addict as dealing with aging a scent yourself when it should be sold ready to use is not fun for most people. But if you are an addict and you’re frustrated with stalking vintage bottles, the current stuff does (eventually) settle into being itself, as much as this scent ever settles.

Oh, my. Reformulation, evidently, was not kind to this herbal, woody, honeyed potion. My EDT (current version) just arrived, a blind buy. It is, by definition, my kind of perfume and it is just stunning, "bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses" indeed. That is, in the first 5 min that I actually can smell it on my skin. It hardly projects and lasts on skin about and hour and about 3 hours on a woolen jumper. It is a ghostly shadow of what it must have been in terms of depth and performance in its glory days. I don't mind though and am not disappointed. I am out on a hunt with all guns blazing for a vintage parfum!

I found a tester of Magie Noire at a thrift store, in a plastic grab-bag of other samples from the 80s. Apparently it has been reformulated, so this is a review of the fragrance pre 1990:

It's very unusual and yet at the same time I feel I have smelled it before on many of older women. It's not a "grandma scent", but it's not young either. It has both novel and ubiquitous qualities. I don't know if I agree with the idea of it being "black magic". This fragrance smells like old money. To be more specific, balsamic wood with slight powderiness jumps out the most on my skin. I never understood how a fragrance could be balsamic, and yet this one taught me. The cedar, civet, spices, and incense dance. But it's vintage dance, one by a silver screen siren. Or a rich madam who has been through 3 husbands and carries around a cigarette holder. It is about as dated and luxurious as a fur coat. Brown mink, to be exact. In fact, there is something beaver-y about this scent. "Animalistic" and heady. Definitely a fragrance of a bygone era that is no longer fashionable. Despite that, it is intensely balanced and well-formulated. You can tell there has been much skill in how it was made. I am impressed, but can't see myself wearing it that often. It's a niche "special occasion" scent, like going to an antique auction where you want to intimidate.

this is THE perfume of Lancôme. I loved it from first sniff. I always blind buy the biggest full flacon. it is truly a classic.
with a girlfriend I did a test, what she smelled and, me. it was difficult. I definitely smelled the rose, jasmine, a whopping oakmoss and I love Civet which is beautifully macerated here. but I think that is what made it difficult to distinguish between the notes. it is a beautifully concocted perfume. oakmoss, spices, civet and jasmine: yes I could smell them distinctively. my girlfriend immediately smelled the fruitnotes. while I AM a 'fruit', I never quite smell them. a gay guy, so I am a man, I am not so fruit oriented. then rather the spices and civet, flowers and oakmoss. in the history of the perfume they had all beautiful flacons for this potion. I agree it is comparable to Poison, Coco, Opium, Shalimar. the 'now' flacon is brilliant. in this rectangular fiol a magic potion. lovely !

In my humble opinion THIS is a dark perfume, not the sweet, syrupy “seductive “ ones that are called dark, for some strange reason. It’s the only perfume that I can say that I truly love and there’s absolutely no discordant note in it, it’s perfect. I didn’t try the new formula yet, I’m afraid they ruined a masterpiece like it happened with so many good fragrances after they’ve been reformulated. Anyway, for those who are afraid to try it because of the raspberry note, don’t be, there’s absolutely no raspberry in it, at least I can’t feel any fruitiness or sweetness and I usually detect (and hate) fruity notes. This is the kind of perfume that you wear for yourself, not for those around you.

Questo meraviglioso profumo è stato creato in un periodo in cui si dava il meglio e si usava la creatività,lo spirito e l'anima per fare tutto.
Magie noire è un profumo dal bouquet estremamente ricco ed elaborato,composto da una miriade di ingredienti presi dal bosco,alberi,fiori,frutti,foglie,animali,muschi,resine,mescolati come un filtro magico delle streghe.
Quando lo spruzzo la partenza è un miscuglio nebbioso e turbolento di verde,giallo,nero,aspro e poi fruttato.
Poi cambia lo sfondo e i colori vanno sul blu vellutato,il cuore giallo oro,lo sfondo nero...
Insomma è un fluttuare continuo di note diverse,l'effetto è stimolante. Viene voglia di uscire e andare a fare le piroette per la strada.Un profumo che induce alla follia. Chi se ne innamora ne resta vittima e cade in un vortice dal quale non riesce e non vuole uscire.
Cambia molto a seconda di vari elementi e di fattori esterni, come clima e temperatura corporea e soprattutto umore.
Ho parlato delle versioni vintage anni 78/ 80 e 90 e anche 2000,che restano molto fedeli all'originale.

A winter perfume that makes you feel your wrapped in luxury.

I have the new EDT, it's so herbaceous and dark and just a little bit powdery. Magie Noire isn't for the witch that lives in a gothic castle that flies on a broomstick, it's for the witch brewing potions in the depths of a forest, planting magic herbs in her garden and enchanting lost travelers under her spell.

I remember spritzing a bit of this years ago on my jacket and it smelled amazing. I wasn't into perfumes back then but I still remembered the name: Magie Noire. It indeed put me under its spell. I was scared of the day the smell would disappear, but it lasted on my jacket for literal weeks! Amazing strength, even after reformulation, and perfect for the spooky season.

I looked forward to coming in contact with this divinity of the '70s, so I was very happy when I accidentally bumped into the unmistakable bottle in a store downtown and had a generous spritz on my forearm.

It was a cool rainy October day, so the weather felt appropriate for what I knew as a strong wintery scent.

The opening was short and strong, abstractly floral, like the idea of a flower drawn by someone who had never seen or smelled real flowers, someone who had been growing up in a very reclusive, dark place - a madhouse or a jail.
Then I got a whiff of disinfectant. Then came a crowd of undistinguishable greenery, not the kind of crushed stems you get in Vent Vert or the poisonous ivy from Bandit, here the accord was metallic, chemical, engineered rather than drawn, annoyingly flat and boring.
This green accord almost subsided after an hour and gave way to an acrid smell - your eyes burn from the chemical - that I could not scrub off hours after.

I have not tried the vintage version, but this surely has been reformulated to its bones and the change didn't do it justice. Total waste of time, thank God I hadn't bought it.

Update 11.7.20
I tried it again. Same cold, metallic, chemical muddled accord. Excessively green and above all PUNGENT. Men in my household recoiled upon smelling it and deemed it as too mannish and uninspiring.

Vintage Magie Noire

Def black magic

Spicy prickly herby oakmoss & woods, deep forest brujeria

My mother's signature perfume, since 1978. Since she was a teen... She wears it non-stop, day and night, always and everywhere! It's so fine and elegant, it leaves an indelible mark. On her skin, it leaves a sweet, yet woody feminine and seductive feeling and lasts 24 hours despite the shower. But when this perfume wanders in space, (since I can remember myself), I do not envision a dynamic independent woman, but my tender, adored mother. This perfume for me screams "mom"! I consider it loving, warm, precious, I have NEVER smelled THIS WONDERFUL ODOR to any other woman! I love it so much that I seriously think, when I become a mother, to make it my signature scent. Very remarkable perfume, top olfactory creation! Luxurious and timeless, not dated.

I'm so disappointed I'm not getting any of the wonderful notes mentioned in all the other reviews.

It smells just like your typical 80s perfume grandmas still wear today. Synthetic, black pepper-y, very perfume-y musk-y. It reminds me of White Diamonds, Shalimar and Anais Anais. Not because the notes are similar but because they all feel older, heavier, and again, very perfume-y.

There is nothing smokey, no incense, no mystery about it.

I def wore too much of this to a fancy party and the man who sidled next to me to eat almost choked on his food and ran off. Oops.

I love Magie Noire!! Obviously. Give me all the smoke and roses, all of them.

current formulation is still very good, but vintage is significantly better. It stills smells like the same fragrance, but the current is sharper and more detergent-like, a bit more synthetic smelling, whereas the vintage is woody, rounder, and deeper. The vintage is sooo gorgeous and intelligent. A masterpiece that truly lives up to its name (and with a name like Magie Noire, they had a lot to live up to). You imagine an intelligent witch working her magic - someone has deeply wronged her and she's coming for revenge.

I have edt in current version. I love this. It's very luxurious, classic, elegant, unique, so I don't use it every day. I like to keep a good thing for a good time 😀
All notes are very well blended. It's light, clean, powdery, a bit sweet.
It seems overpowering at the beginning but then tends to be sweet, powdery,and pleasant at the dry down.

The fragrance notes as listed on the website:
Top Notes: Bulgarian Rose, Blackcurrant Bud
Heart Notes: Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang
Base Notes: Amber, Sandalwood, Patchouli

What an incredible scent. My mother would always wear it on winter nights, when going to more formal social events in Southern Europe with my dad, and I will always remember being so fascinated as a kid by her energy: looking mysterious yet confident, wearing a dark lipstick, a fur coat, leather gloves, and Magie Noire.

Magie Noire will forever be reminiscent of this image. It's glamorous, dark, mature, and self-assured. The opening notes are almost frightening, a bit too strong but still enticing. And that's what makes it such a powerhouse of a scent.

It`s one of the rare perfumes which name describes it perfectly. It`s dark, heavy, mysterious, and I can say that If death wore a perfume, it would wear MN, I`m sure. It`s a good blend of all the notes, and it is a great perfume but I cannot wear it. I feel a great discomfort when I put it.It was my mom`s signature perfume for years and I hated whenever she put it. I preferred her Poison. Definitely not a perfume for everyone and not for blind buy.

Dark/ green /woody perfume.
Green but not fresh or wet.
It's bitter and earthy and has a dusty_dry atmosphere
There is a light floral acord in it and a little honey that makes it slightly sweet and warm.
Also woody spicy incensy composition that makes it oriental.
Magie Noire is an oldschool and nostalgic scent that reminds me of my childhood.
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مژی نواغ به معنای جادوی سیاه به فراخور اسمش فضایی تاریک و خشک داره.
عطر با رایحه ای سبز و گس از برگ انگور باز میشه. تیزه و کمی حس میوه ای همراهیش میکنه. اما رفته رفته حس سبز عطر خاکی تر و زمینی تر میشه.
بوی آشنای تلخ و خاکسترگونِ باریجه در کنار خزه و البته حضور پچولی با حس ترش و خاکیش...
سبزی عطر مثل بوی پوست گردو تلخ و گیاهیه. فرش و تر و تازه نیست. از اون مدل سبزی های آروماتیکِ غبار گرفته و کلاسیک و صابونیه.
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سایه ی نرمی از شیرینیِ عسلی گلی به مرور سعی در تلطیف فضای رایحه میکنن اما این گل ها هم در بحبوحه روایح سبز و خاکی از بروز شیرینیشون خجالت میکشن و سعی میکنن همرنگ جماعت بشن و بیشتر وجهه ی سبز و خاکیشون رو نشون بدن.
وزش این نسیم لطیف گلی بر پیکره ی عطر برای من به مثابه اسپری کردن یکی دو پاف عطر گلی روی بدن یک مرد خشنه تا کمی مهربون تر و صمیمی تر به نظر برسه!
چشم امید عطر برای حفظ اندک شیرینیش فقط به عسل با شیرینی گرم و سنگین و کمی حیوانیشه.
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حس چوبی ادویه ایِ عطر که حضور مهمی داره کمی صندل گون و برنج ماننده و انگار چوبش زیر نور آفتاب داغ شده و کمی حس سوختگی گرفته. ترکیب ادویه و چوب در کنار حس صمغی بُخوریِ تلخ ، در شرقی شدن رایحه هم تاثیر داره.
نهایتا پرونده ی عطر در فضایی سبز، چوبی، بخوری و ادویه ای بسته میشه.
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🗝کُلیت رایحه خطیه و تغییر چشمگیری نداره.
مژی نواغ پر از روح کلاسیک و نوستالژیه اما گویا نسبت به نسخه قدیمی خیلی ساده تر شده و محکوم به از دست دادن پیچیدگی ها و برخی زیبایی هاش.
ضمنا اصلا گزینه ی سیف و عامه پسند و حتی شاید خوش بازخوردی نیست.

This is my childhood memories, the scent of my moms hug when she was coming home, mixed with her leather coat scent. After all this years I can still imagine every aspect of this perfume. It will be always special for me.

Magie Noire is timeless. Why? Because it's a classic chypre that is also somehow unique. It feels luxurious and yet it's day-wearable. It's warm and yet it's fresh, even soapy. It's sexy and yet it's not a sugar bomb.

First, let's talk about the oakmoss. Nowhere can we find, at least in the Magie Noire vintage version, an oakmoss this deep and real that's backed up by civet, galbanum, and cassis in this manner. While it can sparkle like Chanel No. 5 and come off as clean or even sharp, after the narcissus wafts a while Magie begins morphing into an herbal honey-spice-myrhh concoction. The oakmoss is still there and stays throughout yet never gets cold or wet. Magie Noire stays heated, as if it has an energy or inner sun of its own.

Magie Noire's not for those who enjoy something light, floral, sweet, or citrus. It's for the true devotee of orientals and chypres, man and woman.

I see why Dita Von Teese says Magie Noire (by Lancome) is her favorite fragrance. Ordered a travel size (before committing to a full size) from frangrance.net, what a great experience (the travel falcon is secure, arrived quickly, came with other samples)! This is an elegantly refined, sensual and mysterious fragrance. Magie Noire invites you to lean closer to appreciate all its subtle complexity. It's rare to find a fragrance which doesn't share a similar profile to another established cologne, or parfum. Magie Noire is distinctly memorable (which one hopes for when seeking a signature fragrance to buy). To mmind, the notes of Magie Noire are similar to the original Coco by Chanel. Whereas original Coco is almost androgynous (with a Bourbon-like quality), Magie Noire is voluptuously feminine, and darkly mossy, with emphasis on the hyacinth (which seems more akin to violet to my nose). Both fragrances have noticeable heart notes of ylang ylang and patchouli, which I enjoy. I am very thankful this scent is not powdery in effect, the only cloying notes are the moss and hyacinth (the hyacinth is subtly recognizable). Votes here of silage and longevity seem correct. Magie Noire is a must for a unique woman who enjoys the combination of these enchanting scents. This fragrance brings to mind a beautiful, mysterious woman strolling through a dark forest. I highly recommend Magie Noire by Lancome, she is a sublimely enchanting fragrance.

Alas, this is not the signature scent I have been seeking. I am looking for a clear, voluptuous rose (Bulgarian, or Arabic) with a compatible blend of warm, exotic spices. Seeking a fragrance with depth, no greens, no orris root powdsry effect. Please, do recommend if you know of one! The closest I've come to is the discontinued L'Occitane, "Trois Roses."

@vanillastorm
To be very honest with you being a real big time fan of Magie Noire theirs really nothing like Magie noire she shines absolutely on her own but if you cannot get your hands on this Bewitching beauty and cannot afford don't be afraid to buy the reformulated version squared bottle or try another perfume that's really close to MN notes Dilis Classic Collection No. 2 by Dilis Parfum is a Chypre Floral fragrance for women. Dilis Classic Collection No. 2 was launched in 1998.

And I totally agree with @nakedcity Aromatic Elixir is no wear close to Magie Noire MN is to me a Green Floral Chypre absolutely Magical.
MAGIE NOIRE LANCÔME IS A MASTERPIECE!

Peace love and happiness be safe y'all!

@vanillastorm
No, MN does not resemble AO at all, in fact Aromatics is all patchouli and forest floor, no brightness and very moody. Magie is bright with a raspberry note that, although it sounds out of place, I assure you it’s what makes this fragrance the masterpiece it is. It’s not oriental per se, it’s more chypre than AO for sure. I’ve tried and have most chypres, old and new, and there’s nothing like MN. Get a mini and try it for yourself, but again, don’t expect an oriental.

After reading the notes, this seems like it might be a scent like Aromatics Elixir. Can anyone tell me? I'm so interested in this!!! Anything witchy is right up my alley, Poison, Opium, all the heavy hitters. I'm 41 years old and this was made in 78 n I was born in 79. Can anyone tell me if I'm right to think this may smell like Aromatics Elixir?

Looking back, I have had the same bottle for almost 7 years and can be considered still full. We do not get the cold weather here in the south.
Wearing this today as our "Winter", a freezy 60 degrees in the daytime, calls out for Magie Noire.
One spritz divided among the wrists and elbows , a small spritz on each side of your hair, and you are DONE!! You will smell this all day, on and off.
The colder it is, the better this frag gets, so when that southern Winter temp drops to a polar 45 degrees at night over here(lol), it is nice. The longer you wear it, the more herbal it gets.
To me this is more chypre than an oriental.
Maybe after the long journey through the oak mossy forest of pine needles on the forest floor mixed in with some rose petals and distant billows of smoke, you may see a pagoda in the distance smelling wafts of it's incense, but you never get there.

Oooohhh I like the new version in summer! Lightly misted over bare skin is light soapy incense with patchouli/earth. Incredible longevity too. Very clean in a dirt way. :)

I also wore to work/daytime very lightly (this won't be airy and light if over applied) and my co-worker loved it. She said it was so spicy clean.

Thanks to Fragnet selling cheap barely used bottles on ebay, I have about three bottles of new Magie Noir, it's a good one if it works for you, and you aren't disappointed in the reform.

I do treasure about 1 oz of vintage toilette that is really much thicker and greener. Nothing really airy or soapy. I agree they aren't the same scent. You can see the ancestry in the new formula but teen MN ain't going anywhere trying to use her mom's old college ID. :)I

Speaking of MN right now makes we want to over-apply in winter tomorrow. Richer and cloying and closer to the original (honey comes out) when wearing the new MN heavily.

But I think I'll wear my vintage because tis the season to indulge! :)

@xpaperdoll: Yes, this scent has been "defanged" over the years and is a much tamer version of what it used to be. It was always very unusual and bewitching. Definitely a winter or evening scent. I don't wear it in the summer. I still like it but it's not the same. And yes, the bottle is impractical and annoying (for the perfume). Try to find a vintage bottle, it'll be worth it.

A dark, dark forest, the type that must have inspired every Grimm Brothers tale, shamrock and cassia green first, crushed pine needles and fresh spruce camphor into the pyre later, sulfur and smoke wafting around a narcissus that flickers about like lighted torches circling an impending ritual. Within, dried rose petals and bitter briar fruit ripened until slivered mush lying over the moss floor skimmed by the brush of a black velvet cloak shrouding something growing fur, fangs and thorns. Magie Noire must have been some dark, rough brew used by medieval witches to bring down kings or where Cleopatra dissolved her pearls invoking one of those ancient godess-priestesses of the helenic world with the power to rise and stamp out men, turning flasks of honey of every good intention, curdling them with malice and offering its fermented fruit hexed with some long-lost sorcery to Ulysses and his men. Circe´s vengeful spell brushing the earth, alluring and imminently dangerous.

Bewitching and spellbinding? I could see that, when a lady wears it.

On my skin: this latest formulation smells like a masculine hidden gem from the 80s. I'd put it in the same category as Quorum, Ted Lapidus Pour Homme, etc. - with a niche-ish twist. It's brooding and intense, with layers that you can let your nose page through. I really like this.

Magie Noire. Enchanting, indeed.

Magie Noire, for me, is a beautiful and contemplative fragrance.

It’s a floral-chypre, but also incensey-amber and so lightly honeyed...a chypre-oriental? Whatever, I’m pretty smitten.

Oakmoss, incense, red red rose, galbanium, civet and honey-colored amber. It makes me think of harvests, lengthening cooler nights, and moonlit meetings in autumn forests. Something about the note combination really reminds me of crunching through fallen sunset-colored leaves. Makes me want to let my hair down in the wind on a country walk, then get home and pull out my tarot cards and listen to Kate Bush. “Waking the Witch,” if you will.

“I myself being strange and unusual,” (to quote Lydia Deetz), I had been interested in this potion since discovering its existence. I have a current bottle and a vintage sample, both EDT formulation. I love the current one, it’s still singular—but the vintage does seem more complete, earthier, muskier and more potent.

A couple sprays and it billows around me all day in pleasant little gusts. Casts a spell on me, anyway.

I have finally been able to compare a sample of the vintage, against a bottle from 2017. I'm not sure if the vintage was perhaps past its prime, but the newest formulation was much better. The new one is pure oakmoss, a note I have always loved, and one that seems to have pretty much vanished. The vintage was smoother, less sharp, but performed less well. The name certainly suits this beast, black magic in every sense, one of Lancome's best.

Lasts about eight hours, and projects well, the oakmoss never goes, it's there throughout, the honey comes through, as does the herbal, woody tone.

Less is more, not much is required as it's still potent.

I was on the hunt for a perfume that smelled like The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and had this recommended to me.

I bought a mini bottle on ebay, a clear glass bottle with a white mushroom cap. No idea which formulation this is.

I have no idea what I think of this perfume. I can see where the Haunted Mansion imagery came into mind but it's also not what I was looking for at all.

Oakmoss, oakmoss, oakmoss. That is all that is hitting me. Vintage, stinky, abandoned estates. Then a slight whiff of something a bit sweeter. Raspberry? I have no idea. Now it smells like the game room of this old pizza place I used to frequent growing up.

I think I might be too young to appreciate this classic. Or my nose is off. Or it just doesn't match my taste? Or I don't have the right skin chemistry for it?

It's also the middle of summer and daytime, the exact opposite of when I am told this should be worn.

Gosh. I have no idea. I'll have to come back to this one.

Chanced upon a tester in a big city, I finally got to try this, at least the latest formulation. It was truly spellbinding, with oakmoss and all those other bygone notes. Of course they were tweaked somewhat to appeal to the newer generation, and it worked, at least on me. Dark and earthy, reminiscent of forest dryads and moonlit spirits. The bottle is so chic and stately. Also a great retail price, so get it while you can.

Ohhh!! I finally got to try a vintage!

The initial tissue test was heavy acetone but after it settles it smells like:

A masterful lil kid who made a dirt (earth) castle and used honey to make the dirt stick together, and then he added a pine needle roof to his creation. That is the image vintage Magie Noir gives me. (Oh, and a small animal may or may not have peed on this dirt castle)

I like this. I can't wait to test on fresh skin. (I'm wearing Creed today)

I have the modern version too, which I like very much. The modern version smells "newer" in a thin/lighter way. (Modern MN still has great sillage/potency) And the modern is quite a bit more soapy. Vintage has a thicker feel- which I wonder is from the formula or just perfume aging?

More GREEN in vintage too.

Idk how the original Magie Noir smelled. Id love to compare that and the one they are selling now. This is a fragrance I've always passed over for some reason. I think it's really different and sultry as is. Sorry, I know everyone says the new formulations are ruined, but maybe only if you know what to compare it to? I love the woodsy resin and lightly bitter greens and a dark undertone. Not sure this should be worn in summer but I probably would.
It also reminds me of Dune for some reason though the notes are not really the same. Current Dune... again I only know the newer formulations.
It's not a scent Id typically wear but I can see the appeal of a slightly dangerous, narcissist perfume every now and then.

corkscrewcurly's review is dead on, what's sold as Magie Noire now is an atrocity. Even the bottle is ugly compared to the vintage. Why put something so inferior on the market? Well, for money of course, but I wonder if it weren't better to retire some fragrances rather than spoil the wonderful memories of the vintage original.
The original MN was wonderful, one of a kind. Mysterious and yet approachable, MN was loved even by many who didn't usually care for perfume. What's been done to this iconic fragrance is appalling. My advice: try the vintage, it's worth the search and money.

I loved this perfume when I started wearing it in the 80s. It was rich, deep and seductive. It was sexy and self-assured and smelled... sophisticated. Unfortunately, my adopted mother (some 45+ years my senior) decided she really loved it and started wearing it; as a result, I stopped!

I hadn't worn it for years and the negative associations have gone... and I've been revisiting lots of favourites from my youth. I bought a new bottle (I now can't remember the manufacturing date) of MN about 3 years ago... and was bloody horrified. I accept that some perfumes have been altered because of concerns about their constituents, which have been discovered to be harmful since their release... but Magie Noire was tragically different and unrecognisable. I swapped the bottle away. The worst of it was that I didn't know if I'd mis-remembered the fragrance, if my nose was screwed... or... what?

A month or so ago I took a chance on a 100ml tester for sale at £120 sterling on eBay. checkcosmetic.net dated the bottle's code to 1986, and - despite the comments on this page about vintage MN's tendency to turn - I bought it.

My bottle is almost perfect. It's clearly been stored well and it smells - almost exactly - as I remember it; this proves that:

a. My nose is working,
b. My memory is accurate, despite my advancing years, and
c. What is sold now as Magie Noire is a bloody travesty.

I've had a think about Magie Noire and Opium (which I conducted a similar experiment on) and believe that manufacturers should gracefully retire perfumes which they can no longer make due to new IFRA regulations... or they simply can't afford to maintain the original's quality due to the expense of the ingredients. If they don't want to do that, they should (at the very least) rename the perfumes - "Magie Noire 2" should do it. At least that would save lovers of the originals money (and doubting our senses).

To summarise: If you loved Magie Noire forty years ago, don't buy it from a department store; seek out a vintage bottle. It's worth it.

MAGIE NOIRE- For the emotional female vampire that sucks you dry of energy. The career oriented, controlling boss who steps on everyone to get what she wants.

Alone at night, she weeps, tears rolling down her face for fear of being alone, feeling sorry for herself..
The next day, she's filled with renewed strength, ready to do what she always does.. using her powers of manipulation..
By day, eccentric and vengeful, by night, shadowy and fearful. This is Magie Noire - the controversial fragrance for the two faced woman who fears no one.. but herself....

**From 2014**

Magie Noire is difficult to talk about for several reasons:

1) It's so weird that you're unsure if it's actually supposed to smell like that or if your sample has gone off.

2) There's a good chance that it has gone off, because it's not a fragrance that seems to preserve well.

3) It was reformulated so many times even before the real heavy-hitting IFRA restrictions of the 00s that each iteration of it smells wildly different.

That said, I've owned roughly seven different bottles of Magie Noire over the years from many different eras, so I feel like I have a pretty good handle on it. The really good stuff, that preserves the best and smells the most expensive, comes in the original orange and black bottle. It is a mind-blowing trip and should be smelled in 3-D under the influence of marijuana for maximum effect. It smells evil, and it's not just the marketing. It is disturbingly vegetal in the way that Yatagan is, but draped in feminine opulence-- stewing vegetables in an evening gown. Every real animalic in the book is present in large quantities, creating a rude honeyed dog foot effect. There is an addictive industrial gasoline cast to it all, like something it's unhealthy for you to be smelling.

Magie Noire wasn't considered that glamorous or highbrow a fragrance in its day, which seems unbelievable to us now. It was common for suburban mothers to smell like this (what I'd give to go back and inhale that air...). It was sort of a knock-off less expensive Opium that places the resins and spices and musty mystery of that fragrance on the framework of the more prevalent sour green chypres of the 70s. It borrowed Opium's image of oriental languor and added to it a satanic angle, with dark, ghoulish, wonderful advertisements and a package design that incorporated foreboding hieroglyphs. Considering the recent ubiquitous popularity of putting satanic imagery and goats and pentagrams on everything, even clothing for unremarkable hipster good girls, Lancome was ahead.

The subsequent formulation with the black plastic mushroom cap is still excellent but seems slimmed down and cheapened. It is more peppery and conventionally woody, but still disturbing in its vegetable sourness. There is also a weird formulation packaged in a black plastic flask; do not buy this. Because of the cheap packaging, none of them have kept and they have all gone completely off. You will see reports of this anywhere there is talk of vintage Magie Noire.

After this it was briefly discontinued and brought back in a still-interesting version in a clear bottle that smells not unpleasantly like a drugstore knock-off. It's all sneezy black pepper and sour rose and, like everything else from the 80s that's still in production, doesn't have base notes to speak of. This version is still easy to come by and gives you a hint of what the real stuff was like, and it can be appreciated as a sort of "If you like Magie Noire, you'll love Sexy Magic" body spray.

As with Aromatics, I once thought Magie Noire was my signature scent. I spent untold dollars amassing vintage bottles of it on eBay to wear for the rest of my life. I quit wearing it cause I smelled like a lunatic. It makes an exciting appearance in Working Girl, the perfume-lover's dream movie. Melanie Griffith is sitting at Sigourney Weaver's vanity and applies extrait from the black and orange bottle.

I wore this in the 90's and adored it. I wanted it again but I can't afford the vintage bottles so I bought a 2018 bottle that said l'eau de toilette and I'm so happy because it smells very good. In fact this bottle the juice is darker than my moms recent bottle so I don't understand the difference except to say the newer bottle is better than the earlier ones in the new packaging.

To me this smells exactly or close enough to the early 90's bottles I've enjoyed. I was also able to find a huille parfum at a reasonable price so I'm really excited. So for me im really happy. This is my scent that I wear all the time and I have always gotten compliments on it.

Btw the longevity on this lasts till the next day I was so happy about that. I only apply a tiny spritz to my wrist and neck and my mom remarked oh you smell like me as she wore this in the 90's and I always thought she smelled so good! This is a classic sent that's not for everyone but as I said I always get compliments on this it was the perfume I wore on my first date with my Sig other and that was 21 years ago and he still loves this on me. :)

I always loved this scent and am very happy I can still get it. It smells like nothing I've ever had. To me its the best and I will continue to love this.

This is a mesmerizing chypre! Unique because of the perfect harmony of notes. Not one note shows off in the mix. To me the opening is galbanum, oakmoss and myrrh which makes the composition already warm and approachable, the heart is a slightly honeyed explosion of herbs and flowers, in drydown I get again myrrh, cassis, narcissus and raspberry, a bit of patchouli. Many hours after applying I get hiazynth, narcissus and tuberose dipped in honey. Continuously amazingly changing notes... just as they describe it. Totally surprising and interesting. I met this beauty only a few days ago and I am so in love. It's unlike any chypre I met before. Mitsouko and Prada Amber almost equal it in terms of interestingness. I like this new version a lot and think the old one could have been too much for me. Longevity could be better on skin (3-4h), on hair and clothes is much longer.

Chez Lancôme la vie est belle seulement avec magie noire ;)
Chef d'oeuvre!

OMGGGGGGG. So I have a winter sweater/pullover that smells like Magie Noir. I wore it a month ago, and it still has Magie on it... a soapy woody incense. Not rich, very light, but undoubtedly MN.

Today I put on that sweater and put on original Prada Infusion D'Iris over the old MN. Perfection. I'm in heaven. PID'I has pitiful potency/sillage, so the two meshed together is fabulous!

First sniff....yuck.
Drydown...grassy, herbal, but not in a good way - at least, not for perfume. It's more likely to make me want to cook than anything else.

I don't have enough of this dirty-sexy-animalic beastess to wear regularly, but wow, is she fun! Probably the naughtiest perfume I have, I feel like a completely different person when I wear this. Very earthy, exotic, a bit spicy, but also becomes soft, warm and comfortable. I have no idea what the reformulation smells like so can't compare, but I'd probably be disappointed, so what I have remaining in my vintage bottle is like liquid gold. I don't care for much from Lancome, but this is a masterpiece.

Retro glamour in the bottle!

When you want to imagine classy lady using palette of fragrances, that would be Magie Noire.

Background of this scent is typical for the scents from that period, oakmoss and some earthy dark notes, but on the other side, this scent has some modern vibe, with bit of sweetnes and other notes which makes Magie Noire more wearable than others oldschool scents.

Classy, modern enough, great perfomances, certainly niche quality (and more than that).

I prefer woody perfume over fruity scents so when I saw this compared to La Perla and Paloma Picasso I thought I would try a sniff. Boots had £10 off voucher so I bought myself an early xmas present. This is just what I have been looking for! The incense comes through strongly but does not overwhelm. I don't want to repel those around me. In the late 1970's everyone was going mad for Opium (including me) and I overlooked Magie Noir perfume. I am so glad I have discovered it now as it falls into that Oriental group. It is the perfect Christmas/winter scent.

This is quite a big departure from my usual Angel, Opium, Angel Muse or Tobacco Vanille I wear. This is woody and "green", but still an Oriental (which is why I kind of love it probably).
Magie Noire is one of the scents that really should be marketed as Unisex, or at least bottled in a "Cologne" bottle for men that are afraid or not manly enough ;) to buy a "women's" perfume.
Magie Noire is woody enough to smell amazing on a man, yet enough of a "feminine" scent to smell incredible on a woman!

The initial blast I do not like, but within mins it softens and yet deepens. On my skin, it is like a cyphre Estee Lauder Beautiful, even though this is Lancome.

Longevity is strong, but not a powerhouse like, say most Tom Ford scents. Sillage is respectable. I think this is one of those 2-3 sprays is optimal kind of scents. More and it might be too "Much".

The pure parfum of Magie Noire is exactly that, dark magic. The galbanum, rose, honey, hyacinth, civet, ylang ylang, musk, patchouli, incense, oakmoss all work together on skin to weave a beguiling, beautiful spell.

Unfortunately, I do not have the same experience with the eau de toilette, of which I own a vintage 80s bottle. It causes my throat to close and stomach to turn. After experiencing same reaction to Guerlain's Mitsouko and Chloe Nomade, I now realize it's the oakmoss. Magie Noire edt is an oakmoss bomb on my skin. If you love oakmoss, Magie Noire is liquid heaven. I cannot wear it but keep the edt if only to remove the cap and inhale. It is truly one of a kind. There is no other scent that can be called a "dupe" of Magie Noire. None. It's a beautiful reminder that perfumery is art.

The more I wear this, the more I love it. I wrote a review back in October of 2017, and though the review was extremely positive, I found I rarely ever wore Magie Noire, even though I liked it. Now, though, I find myself reaching for it at least three or four times a week. All my children and my husband like it; they say it smells clean. It makes me feel like fall is approaching. If I find myself wearing this as much as I think I will, it might replace one of my Top 5. Love it.

One of my absolute favorites, EVER. The 1970s-80s original was staggeringly powerful in its chypre-leather ferocity, the current iteration much less so (thanks to the banning of oakmoss and civet, etc).

However, Magie Noire in its 2018 form is just fine with me. It shares enough of the soul of the original (while being more wearable) that I'm happy to have a well-used bottle of it in my collection.

While Magie Noire shares a bloodline with Paloma Picasso, Aromatics Elixir, and Cabochard, it is essentially everything I love about those other fragrances (the tangy honeyed topnotes, the leather, the woodsy clean vetiver + patchouli) minus everything I don't like about them (fecal/urinous/"ashtray" notes). Therefore it is my #1 chypre of all time!

Today, I thought I was getting away with 6 sprays of the current EDT because it's relatively "light," but around lunchtime I was reminded that this stuff still has plenty of waft and throw and I might want to relax my trigger finger a bit in the morning :) But I absolutely adore Magie Noire, and if you're a classic dark leathery chypre lover you MUST NOT pass it up.

Totally unisex. A man would smell devastating in this.

I've always loved 'Magie Noire'. it has a supple complexity that lets every reductionist description falter. I guess foremost you smell the moss, vetiver, patchouli, galbanum, myrrh, sandelwood, orris.
this makes it predominantly a woody perfume. but, but. it is definitely a ladies' perfume. onwards come powdery notes and softening agents (orris, civet, a distant rose). ylang, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley and even tuberose are, as in a witches' stew, all saturated in each other leaving a wonderful flowery sheen over the forestrial impression. still a long time within the cloche one gets this delicate, sophisticated trail which always comes with civet-laced perfumes. the perfume overall does remind me at the several
almost mystical perfumes of the Maison Oriza L.Legrand: Marions Nous (hyacinth, civet), Jardins d'Armide (iris, rose, carnation), Vetiver Royal Bourbon (patchouli, species of vetivers), perfumes with Muguet, Oeillet, Violette, the [in]famous Chypre Mousse, this daring perfume as when one walks the forest floor and a robe is schlepping along the tar, peet, leafs and rot. la Princesserie Sinistre. such scent didn't left my nose upon applying Magie Noire several hours ago. it is a complex, rich, noble perfume. perfume for some Grande Dame. niche and nichiste perfumes wouldn't be without her while she also formed the path for her loud and indecent but oh so alluring 80s sisters Poison, Giorgio, Obsession, Knowing, Coco, Moschino, Nahema, Pheromone, Passion, Fidji, Volupté, Ysatis and Amarige. perhaps Magie Noire covets some more decency still yet never shunned the spotlight. it is a tincture, concoct, concentrate which dances around me now and so there is something truly magical around it. We can be glad that there are still so much mysterious and richly layered perfumes in our near-past. perfume makes happiness.
there are also definitely reminiscences with Dusita's Issara here.

ILOVE the smell of this juice when its in the bottle....unfortunately for me, on my skin, the deep rich rose goes away & I'm left with blackberry pie, over some strange dank undertone that I just want to wash off. Sigh...still looking for that wonderful warm winter perfume of my imagination.

They should of called it Gaggy Noir... horrific scent it induced my allergies. Smells like old dust.

I've read from some reviews that this could be also a men's fragrance...i can't test it before buying so any info would be appreciated.

My review is for the current formulation sold in the clear rectangular brick shaped bottle with the gold cap.

It's reminiscent of the original formula. When I unwrapped the cellophane from the box, I could smell the fragrance and it was familiar. At first spray, it smelled like what I remembered from the 80s.

But as it settled in and began to dry down, it changed into something different. Still a chypre, but "milder". And it has a spicy, kind of cinnamon-anise note that I don't remember the original having, and that isn't listed in the description. It smells like an impression of the classic formula.

And I like it a lot, for the fragrance it is now.

Edit: As it currently is, I feel it can definitely be unisex. It's listed as a chypre floral, but I find it more of a spicy and incense-y chypre. Heavy on the dusty mossy notes.

You are welcome! PM me anytime! I can't wait to hear how it turns out for you!

MN is a changer! My co-worker loves it because she says it smells clean. My first tissue test from 1+ week ago, is still a wonderful soapy incense. Very clean and classic. No leftovers of the dry-earth. It's a spicy-ish/incense/wood soap. MN is hard to describe! But it works! The good ones always leave you speechless. ;) Truly black magic! ;)

I love all the classics. They make me feel "old world" and fancy. I think you were on the right track, if you mixed a base of Aromatics Elixir with Youth Dew- you may be onto something! Except MN is smooth and classy and clean/fresh, but still dark/earthy/mysterious. There is absolutely no sweetness to MN. The only one I can say that comes close IMO is Bill Blass Black.

mschnabel666: thank you for taking the time to help explain and compare. You have pushed me over the edge! Taking a leap to the earthy mysterious side!

For me: Nostalgia!
30 years ago when I was a kid, it was my mother's signature scent!
those days it had great projection and longevity. I sprayed it on my teddy bear and after many years i could smell it.

Gr8belief--

I have all the perfumes you have mentioned. It's nothing like the sweet incense/loudness of Tabu or Youth Dew. And it's not quite as mossy-dry-dark-deep-earthy-green-unisex as Aromatics Elixir. Some scents like Diva or Creation have the earthy vibe of MN, but their florals have the center stage. Bill Blass Black also comes close, except none of those get it right like MN. I find Paloma Picasso very masculine, so not like MN. There is a honey-incense airy sillage to the drydown of MN that is so divine. Not like Opium either. Opium, like YDew and Tabu has an amber sweetness-thickness that MN does not.

Magie Noir is in a class all by itself. A lot of perfumes are in the same vibe/vein as MN... but to me- MN is THE scent for feminine floral-earth-incense. It's earthy first and foremost, with a smoooooth masterful floral (rose) that plays in the background. It's hard to describe, but wears so well! I'm so happy with MN!

I only can review the current smooth rectangular bottle, in the L'eau Toilette. I had a sample of this version and finally got my own full bottle.

I was heavy handed with my sprays, and it's by no means cloying or overpowering, but the sillage is big and perfect IMO.

I don't exactly get the greens, but I can tell it's in the earthy-ness. This isn't TOO earthy. It's not wet/damp, it's dry and smooth. It's not sweaty or hippie patchouli either. It's also not oily/gasoline either, but it does have a dry "oily" feel on drydown. It's the best earthy scent for me. There is some beautiful soap/laundry musk that FITS here (unlike Youth Dew where the soapy notes clash IMO) making this so unique and smooth and still wearable to this day. I wore it to work today, even tho I mostly save my vintages/oddities for home use. It does have a "dusty" aspect to it that makes it smell "old" but honestly-- that is another reason why I love it. Something very light/small is animalic like Animale- nice. :)

My first day tissue test 24 hours later is powdery/soapy incense! I love it! I am ignorant to the original smell-- and I prob will stay that way. This version is wonderful IMO!
And my mid-day body wearing is earthy incense with some smoky dust and powdery florals.

I’ve been on the fence about buying this for so long. I keep reading all the reviews here trying to picture the scent. I keep coming up with a combination of Yourh Dew, Tabu and Aromatics Elixir in my imagination. Can anyone tell me if I’m close? I can’t find a tester anywhere so if you can help me with a comparison I would appreciate it! Thank you!

I like the scent of this old bottle , but I did not like the reformulation in the new bottle

I made my review before about the current version, which I like very much (not knowing the vintage).
But after that, I found online a Darth Vader bottle from 2006. I bought it thinking Mushroom cap = vintage and best formulation.
But I find it harsh, the incense is too prominent, suffocating all the other notes.
Does anyone know why is this? Are there bad mushroom cap editions?

Magie Noire edt has the same smell of Natura's body oil Séve Amendoas Doces Intensas. Which is great as they both smell divinely well :)

Cassis, galbdanum, bergamot – soury, a bit dusty, oakmoss.

Oakmoss, incense. Earthy.

Oakmoss is simply beating most of the other notes in this one for me. Nothing against oakmoss, but I prefer better executed one. The way it's showed here it reminds more of an ashtray than a perfume.

Magie Noire is enchanting. Oakmoss is the star of this perfume and I love it. Oakmoss gives fragrances such a soft and lush forest earthiness. The green galbanum blends wonderfully with the oakmoss, the honey provides warmth and a touch of sweetness, and spices linger in the background. An absolutely bewitching fragrance!

This was my Christmas self-gift.
I had sampled it before in the store and HAD to go back on saturday and get it, because I kept thinking about it for weeks.
I love its 80's vibe, I love how it's so different from the modern best sellers. I love how it makes me different from everyone else, without smelling "old-ladyish".
I can only image the greatness it must have had back in the old days, because I didn't know it then. I just purchased the new EDT (2016 batch).
Sadly, I think its perfomance is poor. I expected something strong, based on the character of this perfume and also the longevity and sillage rating here in Fragrantica (which I always take in consideration), but a couple of hours after applying it's already fading.
I'm so sick and tired of this problem, don't know where else to look for a good perfomance perfume, like the ones I used to wear in the 80s, when 12 hours later you could still smell them very well on yourself.
Anyway, I think it's still worth it, very nice and original, for a woman with personality, I feel it boosts my confidence.

Beautiful parfum for Halloween for me to wear with black dress and costume. I have the eau de parfum. This smell at first of a sweet raspberry remind me of Dior Poison with tuberose and jasmine also powdery iris flower. Then smell of green notes galbanum is called and patchouli. I smell incense woods notes sandalwood civet leather and honey. Smell as good as Poison and also Opium by Yves Saint Laurent. Is very 1980s and strong powerful magic perfume. Make me feel so confident! This parfum is rich sexy smoky dark mysterious leathery earthy very complex. Is my most complex and strongest parfum. In Europe is still very popular especially in France and Russia. I have only one other friend that wears this. Is unisex and some men can wear this too with leather coats jackets and pants. The color is black and goes with black clothes and black make up nails eye make up hair. Is very sexy very dark and Gothic.

First time I wore this I was taking a night class in college.I had gotten a sample from Cherry&Webb,and honestly I hated this scent it was so strong and woody I couldnt wait to go back home and take a shower.Mind you I was still a novice with fragrances and couldnt fully understand the beauty and depth of this fragrance,until now.I had purchased a small bottle of this on ebay,the batch code is from 1998.First spray was ok and after a few minutes I couldnt stop smelling my wrist."Wow,this smells amazing,so unique",I thought.To my nose I can detect civet and honey,galbanam and wonderful oakmoss and a lot of incense.I was curious to try the newer version and compare it to this one from 1998.So I purchased a new bottle from ebay,this time the batch code is from 2016.After the first spray I noticed the difference between the two.With the older version the notes are more intensly pronounced.As with the newer one there more subtle and softer.Older one,projects far,I was at work when I sprayed myself four times and my coworker who was standing about ten feet away could smell me.Newer one,about arms lenght unless you spray more.With older version the scent stays on your skin a long time and even longer on clothing.Newer version I got maybe an hour on my skin,but clothing I havent tried yet.To me both older and newer versions smell almost the same but not exactly.Bottom line if you want try this fragrance and experiance its breathtaking beauty go with a vintage first and then try a newer version.

What can I say about Magie Noire? I happen to really adore chypres, so the darker and more bitter, the better, and she is dark but not bitter. MN has been obviously reformulated — I have an edt from 2017 — and it is a little diminished from what it was; *however* it is still gorgeous! Rose, a realistic oakmoss, bracing galbanum, a golden touch (it smells a little like warm hay, which is how patchouli reads on me), and a little honey to lighten everything. MN lays on my skin like a rich veil of scent, flowers and herbs mingling in a symphony worthy of Bach. The honey comes in waves, lending a unique dimension that plays a lilting melody over the floral mid-notes and the deep bass of the oakmoss, civet, and patchouli.

Is Magie Noir dated? I think not. The reformulation has smoothed out some of the more unique edges, which while many of us feel took away the perfume’s individuality, it probably does make it more approachable to the consumers of today. Magie Noire is far from banal, though. While I wear it for an every day perfume, others may not be so comfortable and reserve it more for special occasions.

I’m normally not of fan of Chypre Florals normally they have to much going on for my little nose to handle. I have never smelled the vintage of Magie Noire only the current (2014) and let me tell u how I adore this scent it’s gorgeous, I’m not fan of heavy Rose notes but in this it’s Majestic and Groundbreaking. This is forever staying on my perfume tray. Phenomenal rose scent. I rate this a 20 on a scale 1 too 10 it’s that good buy it u won’t regret it I know I didn’t .

Beautiful dusty Rose. Gorgeous!

Dear @Cerise Noire
I just loved your story, and I am so very sorry that you had that experience.
Maybe better luck next time?

I really fear that I've ruined this fragrance for myself. Like I'll never be able to wear it again and it's all my fault.

I wore it one day before a fairly long car ride. I still sometimes get sick in cars if the trip is too long. I had to go to a far away cemetery to visit the graves of some relatives. So it was a cold, dark day, the occasion was a quiet, melancholic one and I thought, ok...Magie Noire it is. But man, that car smell mixed with this perfume made my stomach even more sensitive. Btw, I did not overspray but on my skin this is a bulldozer. Then when I arrived at the cemetery, my stomach already hating the world. It got even worse because of the smell of the lit candles and candle wax everywhere. My God. Then I had to suffer the car ride back home. I at once felt sick like I'm about to throw up and like my stomach was tender cause someone punched it.

I did wear Magie since then but very little. And although I wasn't 100% on board, it was nothing like this. I thought as time passes I will start liking it again. Today though, my entire body is not having it. I can literally feel how I felt that day. I actually took baby wipes and tried to wipe it off myself. And they might be a match for many things, but they are no match for black magic. It's still here. I don't know, friends. Don't wear it in stuffy cars. Save yourselves.

I have been flirting with this fragrance since the early 80's.
So this review is for the original..I must try the reformulation.

Having said flirted, I mean that though I find it intriguing, I dont love it. It does have intetesting elements, but somehow I feel that after a while it gets on my nerves, like I am wearing someone elses clothes.

I think it simply doesnt suit my personality.

Am curious about the new.

I can understand how some would love this, and one of the great things about it is tjat it is not like the other mass sugar, fruit bombs out everywhere now.

Worth a try for sure.

I am posting a separate review because I have done a complete 360 degree turn on this...somehow Magie Noire has cast a spell and entranced me. I am having trouble choosing another fragrance over this one, I love its woody, musky dark nature...completely captivating. And this is the new stuff, I can't imagine how much better the vintage was, and I am not even going to attempt to find out!

I guess it's not really surprising that fragrances can be dynamic, considering they started life as living organisms.

It is a kind of magic. I love this so much, such a gorgeous fragrance. I really like galbanum in the scents and this is absolutely beautiful. But this is very unusual, probably unique, maybe not for everyone. I can say that it changes according to the weather. For me Magie Noire is sometimes fresh, clean, powdery and comforting, but sometimes very spicy, sensual, wild and sexi. I think that for me this can be an excellent fragrance for all seasons, because every kind of weather reveals different sides of this magic potion. So, definitely my favourite scent for all the seasons.

I had both the 1980s EDP and EDT versions of Magie Noire, a truly magical fragrance. My late mom used to wear this on special occasions and I would sneak a little spray when she wasn't around. I recently purchased a new bottle, it's the square one in the black box. I've had such bad luck with reformulations lately so I was expecting this to be a disappointment too....

My 1st testing was horrid! It was so feint I could hardly smell the Magie Noire I knew. Yesterday I decided to give it a proper go - 3 sprays on the neck and 2 per wrist. I figured I'd have to spray that much Just to smell it!!

Oh good Lord! What a wonderful surprise! Within about 5 minutes my childhood memories came flooding back. This is every bit the Magie Noire I used to know. It lasted 12 hours! I floated in the most beautiful cloud all day. Now I know how much I need to use to get the original effect and I will happily oblige!

I never had the original version so I'm speaking of the newer one out now. I was amazed as this went on-it was so spicy, bold and delightful, but after the dry down it became too sweet, lost its spiciness and turned into a very soapy scent for me. I don't think I'll be wearing this at all, sadly.

What a scent! I didn’t know about it until recently. It did not get the fame it deserved. On that time there were many scents that dominated the market and this little star had no space to shine. And it shines. It has a little green opening, and then the greatness of the perfume appears. It is a flower-honey smell mixed with oakmoss, vetiver and incense. A wonderful combination with a subtle warm sensation. Given by the spices. It covers you with its warmth and touches your skin like a delicate sunshine. Yellow and warm like the sun.
There is no room for black magic (magie noire)! There is only the magic of this scent. No voodoo – only bright mood and shinning skin.
Honey is not a note that I usually like in a fragrant, but here it only reminds me of the sun. It is not an overwhelming honey smell; it is temperate by patchouli and vetiver.
Great scent that lasts very well and remains full of grace till it vanished. A must try!!!!

There is a lot of fragrances I like, but this is one I loved. It was a fragrance that revealed itself over time.

I wore it for many years. I use to love its bitterness
Now the reformulated one is a shame.

I have not smelled this in about 30 years. But i still remember it as yesterday. It was my mothers first perfume that i remember. We were on a family vacation in Spain when she got herself a bottle. It was August 1988 and crazy hot.
Patchouli, rose, sandalwood.
Deep, exotic, mysterious but also not too heavy.
A real 80's powerhouse.

They don't make stuff like this anymore. Possibly Tom Ford.
Wonder if the re-formulation is any good. Have to check it out. And if it smells anywhere close to the original i think i will get my mom a small bottle as a gift :)

@RB2002 the reformulation is someting else. Not a bad scent, different from the candy/sirupy disaster mass nowadays, or the suffocating plethora of oud. It is a mature and well blended fragrance with a discrete vibe of the old Magie Noire. You can find a file from MN "history" smelling the...atomiseur. Once sprayed, the notes are sharper, bit metallic, strong in a weird way and different from the original one. The ingredients are from the classical IFRA "Book Of Destructios", so, waiting to find the real oakmoss or galbanum is a waste of time...
In the dry down you cand recognize something from the old one but avoid to have great expectations, the vintage MN (from the all editions I have, I love the most the black shoulder bottle edition) is something gone forever. So, assume when you buy a new Magie Noire, to have a new stuff in your hands and not a bad one at all.

My first perfumes at age 11 & 12 were Love's Baby Soft, Love's Lemon, Love's Musky Jasmine, and Anais Anais at 13. Then, the summer I was 14, I bought Magie Noire in a Lancôme gift set, in France. No more kid or girly stuff, it was right to the sultry, heady stuff for a few years after that.

That summer ('86) I wore this deep, spicy, bewitching scent in the heat, and loved every minute of it. It just goes to show you how different things were in the 80s, that 14 year olds were spraying themselves in the middle of summer with scents like Magie Noire, without a second thought.

Recently I bought a vintage on Ebay, the exact type of bottle that I used to have (orange on the bottom, black on top), and it does not quite smell the same. It must be true that the top notes don't keep, because unfortunately, the bottle I have smells like it "turned" and gives off a “spoiled” smell. I'm curious now after reading some of the reviews to try the reformulation. But this stuff really was glorious in the 80s.

^thank you for the info on the reformulation, Gatsby!

After reading this entire page (whew!) my interest in Magie Noire was piqued !
Months later -- after not being able to afford a full bottle at the time- I found a half full bottle at a local thrift store today for $14.99 ! Sadly it's NOT the older bottle with the black plastic adornments - but the conventional newest incarnation.

I am not an expert in "Oriental" perfumes but I know Dior Poison and YSL Opium as examples.

This is a complex one that unfolds after you spray it! It twists and turns - and that is the fun part folks. I am a gender bender with fragrances and I think MOST men can pull this off.

Great deal for $14.99 !

A classic, very elegant scent for an independent, strong personality. Many friends who have come accross this say it's suitable for special occasions, which I agree; but I can imagine wearing it on a normal day

On the other hand it s a little bit strong for me.

WOW! I can't believe how much I love this one, and how little I've heard about this one. I feel like I'm oozing spicy sexy woody honey. It's just beautiful. So balanced. Nothing sharp or off-putting about it. Definitely Black Magic. I'm in love! Where has this been all my life? LOVE

I wore this way back when, way back when. I recently revisited it for fun and fell in love all over again, and purchased the formulation currently available, which smells to me like it used to. I know this has gone through reformulations that I have read were bad, but by most accounts, people's opinions are that it is currently mostly back to it's old glory. They really don't make them like this anymore. It is hard to describe - looking at the accords and the notes won't help you get an idea of what it smells like, you just have to try it. It is a little sweet, but the green and something slightly bitter and smoky tones it down enough that "sweet" is not how I would describe it. I probably get the green and woody notes the most, but I wouldn't describe it that way. It may be easier to describe with imagery. I would say it makes me think of taking a walk in a deep forest at night where a fire is burning somewhere far away, while sipping some strong, fruity sort of liquor. I love the types of perfumes are so well blended that I can't even pick out anything specific - and this is one of those. Don't blind buy this - sample it first because it is so unique and weird that not everyone is going to like it - it's definitely not a "crowd pleaser", but that just adds to it's allure for me, because a lot of times, as we all know, crowd pleasers can often be rather dull. So if you're tired of the same old, same old offerings, give Black Magic a try. Perfectly seductive, but if applied very lightly, can also be worn during the day.

So bitter,so strong! Love it!

A typical chypre, oakmoss, patchouli, vetiver, incense - whatever it is it is slightly bitter and serious on me. Just like Soir de Lune. I need time to grow into this kind of scent it seems.

I remember trying this when I was in high school and I fell in love immediately. Lancôme Magie Noire is one of those scents whose impression never leaves you; an absolutely distinctive, sensual, and mysterious fragrance with woods, incense, musk, civet and deep rose in the base. After a few hours, I also detect the crisp cool greens of galbanum although it's not over powering at all.
I wore the body products and pure perfume through high school and college, I'm fortunate to have an older bottle of the perfume and an older bottle of eau de toilette. I wish they still made the body cream, it was so luxe! I've seen reviews of Magie Noire that call it haunting, and that is so spot on. Magie Noire is elegant, austere, and confident.

Haunting.This is such a mysterious, one of a kind, dark green scent. A walk in the enchanted forest.
I had to visit quite a few stores until I found one where I could sample it. Then I convinced myself that I don't need it since I have Bandit and Cabochard. But they are different: to me, Cabochard is the young lady who rides horseback much better than any man, and doesn't give a damn about what people think, just does whatever she likes, and Bandit is the uninhibited, devil-may-care bad girl wearing leather and smoking at places nobody is supposed to, and riding motorbikes with questionable but beautiful, rebel-without-a-cause boys... and Magie Noire is the badass but always elegant and refined lady who always surprises and even shocks you when you realise how no-nonsense she is. So, much later, I bought it from someone who probably received it as a gift or something and didn't like it so they offered it for sale.
I hardly have the words to describe this witches' brew, and even if I had, other reviewers have already done it perfectly. Unfortunately, I will never get to know the original formulation, but I find the new one very complex and captivating. The name "Black Magic" suits it so perfectly... black and green like the mist over the heath where Macbeth meets the Three Sisters. It is also strong and long lasting even in its current form so I think the reformulation cannot be that bad after all.
I have a number of complex fragrances but this is really so rich and multifaceted. Something to wear on special occasions as it is both elegant and powerful, almost brooding. Not a pretty little simple type of scent but one that suits a mysterious sorceress, or a strong, independent woman or man. Complex and bewitching.
Whenever I need inner reinforcement I reach for Opium because it embraces me like a cloud, it awakens something in me, the part in me that always knows what to do, is secure, driven, it has preternatural knowledge and instinct, it is not afraid and it simply does what it has to do, and keeps me safe and triumphant. Magie Noire will be my other potion which gives me this kind of power. When I wear it there are no obstacles.
Haunting.

I wore this in the 80's and 90's thanks to my mom who had the edp, edt, and oil. Gosh those were the days I only needed one spritz and wherever I went people loved it. I remember walking down the hall in high school feeling like a mature woman at 16 lol. I think that Magie just evokes that confidence and sexiness. My boyfriend at the time would lay in my laundry and sniff my clothes because he couldn't get over how good it and I smelled.

I have to agree with a lot of reviewers who think this isn't the same as the older bottles. My mom just purchased it again and what used to be one spray has turned into many for the same effect. I always remember my mom saying no more than one spray because really that's all you needed. This scent was like a narcotic to me and made me feel older than my years at the time. I want to go back to it but I think I'm so used to the older versions I might save up for a vintage bottle.

I saw a set with the spray, powder, and oil for $600 on eBay and I can see why. To me it's just not the same strength. but this fragrance is a fantastic scent that gives me such good memories. This scent is a classic and to me is a wonderful timeless scent.

I have recently reviewed several scents that contain the word 'black' as part of their name: Chanel Coco Noir, TF Black Orchid, YSL Black Opium, MFK Lumiere Noire, and my current signature FM Noir Epices. However, none of them is really 'black' to me, and the same applies to Lancome's Magie Noire as well. If I should pick a colour for this fragrance, it would be forest green, because this scent is gorgeously woody and mossy. On my skin, the green notes (oakmoss, vetiver, patchouli, cassia, galbanum, spices...) absolutely overpower the flowers, which is just the way I like it. To me, this scent is totally unisex and I would love to smell it on a man. But why the name 'Black Magic'?! I guess, if I turned on my imagination, I could imagine a witch's hut hidden behind a huge oak tree in a deep dark forest; and the said witch might be brewing some magic potions inside the hut... But honestly, if you're thinking of blind-buying this fragrance, just remember that it's as green as can be. :)

I just got a vintage miniature bottle of Magie noire and wow! This scent definitely has a sensuous and mysterious vibe, but I don't know how someone could dislike it. I can pick out some nice honey and civet with a balanced oak moss note. I'm hoping to smell the current version soon. I've heard that it's still pretty good (just different from how it used to be).

If it's anything like the one I have now, it'll become a staple in my wardrobe. This perfume really is wonderful.

Magie Noire means apparently Black Magic and it's actually quite an apt name for the scent.

Did you know that the original packaging for this perfume -when it was to be first released- has later been altered on the grounds that it had certain symbols on it used for the purpose?

Namely, they eliminated the symbols which they later deemed as potentially dangerous, and re-designed the packaging before the perfume hit the shelves.

*Migraine safe in general.

@Duskfall ...what a perfect review. I smelled the cap of the new formulation and I found a vibe from the old masterpiece. I said well, it is not all lost. I sprayed on my neck, hand, arm. And I waited..and waited and after one hour i was convinced that the new magie Noire has nothing in common with the drydown I know, I love and - thanks God- I still have it in few old bottles. Such a shame and loss for the new generations, they will never be able to know what Magie Noire really was! Otherwise...the new formula it is not a bad fragrance, it is still different from the bonbons and fruity mass, but it is totally something else. The magic from the Magie has been lost forever.

I hate to moan about reformulations because it's pretty pointless, but in this context it's hard to avoid. I apologize. So, here we go... My mother had a "shoulderpad" bottle of Magie Noire in the late 80's/ early 90's and I used to steal a spritz every now and then. It wasn't exactly a perfume for teenagers, but I loved it! Magie Noire of that time was an extremely deep, dense and mysterious blend. Pure seduction and elegance. I'd describe it as an oriental with chypre-like qualities.

Fast forward to 2016. I spotted a good deal on the current formulation (2014 batch) and decided to give it a go. My bottle arrived and I could smell something very familiar by sniffing the atomizer, but to my dismay, it failed miserably on my skin. Magie Noire of today is predominantly a very green chypre; it can be recognized as the same perfume, but it has lost most of its character. The base is quite anemic and there's a weird dusty/powdery note present for the first hour or two. It's also a lot sweeter than it used to be. I'm guessing that the weakening of the base has altered the balance and thereby the "lighter" notes are more pronounced now. In the later stages of the drydown it becomes darker and better, but the road to that point is too rocky for me. Most of the time I feel like I'm desperately trying to wear somebody else's perfume. It has always been a "mature" scent, but astonishingly they have managed to make it smell much more dated now than it did decades ago!

If you have no expectations and you're looking for a dusty and fruity old-school rose chypre with a good performance (it still packs a decent punch), the current Magie Noire might be worth checking out. However, those of us who are expecting more than a fraction of Magie Noire in its former glory will be sorely disappointed. I sold my bottle with a heavy heart. Oh well... I'll always have my fond memories of the true Black Magic. :)

I stumbled onto this fragrance through a sample in Vogue magazine in 1984. I was 17-years-old. I loved it and wanted to buy it, but I couldn't afford it.

After discovering it, I couldn't go back to my assortment of much less expensive drug store brand fragrances. My boss even gave me several sample bottles of high end fragrances as a thank you gift for helping her move. They were nice, but I preferred not to wear any fragrance at all, if I couldn't afford Magie Noire. Every time I went to the mall, I'd stop by the Lancome counter at the Bon-Ton to spritz myself with Magie Noire.

I was finally able to purchase a bottle of EDT in 1986 with a gift certificate for the Bon-Ton that I had received as a Christmas gift. I was so excited to finally be able to get an EDT bottle.

At that time, the EDT was much more potent. One spray on the neck/chest was enough. It had wonderful sillage--it wasn't overpowering, but it was there. The EDT also lasted a long time on the skin even after showering. All my clothes and bed linens started to pick up the scent, which I did not mind; because over the course of time, the bouquet seemed to "ferment" like a fine wine.

Around that time, all the other girls on my college campus were starting to wear Liz Claiborne (nothing against Liz Claiborne; I still love that one.) I was different, though. I got all sorts of compliments from men and women of all ages. Everyone wanted to know what fragrance I was wearing. It was my signature scent. I had lost a scarf at a party one evening. The person, who found it gave it to the host, who recognized the scent on my scarf immediately and knew the scarf belonged to me.

Again, the EDT was more potent back then. Even though I wore it nearly every day, that first bottle lasted nearly five years. I didn't buy my second bottle until around 1993/94. It just didn't smell right to me. It smelled really powdery on me, but it also smelled as though something was missing, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I was really disappointed. I felt as though I had wasted $80. At the time, I didn't know that producers often changed the formula to some degree or another. So, the bottle just sat in one of my vanity drawers for a few years. Meanwhile, I was experimenting with several different fragrances including but not limited to others by Lancome. I found many that I liked, but none that I loved. I actually settled on Ghost Myst by Coty and Elixir of Love by Caswell-Massey for a couple of years. (I still really adore the latter.)
Anyway, my friend was visiting me just before her wedding in the late 1990s. She fell in love with Magie Noire during our college days, too. We were getting ready for our last girls' night out together with some other friends. Knowing that I loved Magie Noire, she asked if she could use some of mine. I told her that I had some, but that I never wore it anymore because I thought the bottle was bad from the time I bought it. She just laughed at me and said that Magie Noire needed to ripen. I thought she was nuts, but she sprayed herself fairly liberally anyway. Surprise!!!! She was absolutely right. She smelled like a combination of a sweet bouquet of flowers and something mysteriously spicy and deep. She still swears by letting a bottle "mature" for anywhere from four to seven years. I just untapped a bottle I bought in 2010 that smelled too peppery, when I bought it. Now though, it smells nearly as delicious as that very first bottle of EDT that I bought in 1986.

LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI

JOHN KEATS

"She found me roots of relish sweet,
And honey wild, and manna dew,
And sure in language strange she said—
“I love thee true.”

She took me to her elfin grot,
And there she wept, and sigh’d fill sore,
And there I shut her wild wild eyes
With kisses four.

And there she lulled me asleep,
And there I dream’d—Ah! woe betide!
The latest dream I ever dream’d
On the cold hill’s side.

I saw pale kings and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They cried—“La Belle Dame sans Merci
Hath thee in thrall!”


This is a mysterious evening cologne that always called to me from the Lancôme perfumer department.

This was around the time I also wore Paco Rabane (forgive my misspelling) La Nuit which is a similar dark night perfume.

This is really sublimely beautiful.

It is a perfume that stands out in anyone's collection. I recommend the vintage miniature splash or dab-on bottle from the date of it's release which I believe is from either 1978 or 1979 and the minis sold throughout the 1980's.

How can I do justice to this amazing fragrance with mere words?

Oily, leathery, woodsy, musky, and smoky are just adjectives. This fragrance has been called "evil" but it's a sweet kind of cruelty.

There's a raspberry, honey, and a rose, like the witch in Hansel and Gretel tempting children with sweet smells. The patchouli, galbanum, woods, the oak moss, and the incense prevail.

This scent is like a sorceress' potion she made for herself, not as a love potion, but as a transformation.

Rather like the Evil Queen in Snow White.

It's like needing desperately to wear this perfume when you need to feel confident, when you need a boost, when things in life have gone downhill and you need a pick-me-up or a reminder that you're still a beautiful and seductive woman.

I wore Magie Noire when I was divorcing my 2nd husband.

He never liked this perfume on me and said it smelled like vinegar. I wore the hell out of it to spite him and bathed in it.

I kept buying more and more bottles and deliberately put them all over the house so that he wouldn't miss them. The divorce was long and bitter.

He betrayed me with a former friend who went on to become a professor of Western Philosophy at Oxford. She was tall and blonde, I was short with black hair. She came from money, I came from a family of plumbers.

This woman was the Camilla Parker Bowles of my life. She was always around my husband. When the divorce came and went, I was left with nothing but bitterness and hate.

There was even one incident in which I poured the contents of Magie Noire down the sink of the bathroom he used in the house we were fighting over so that he could always smell it for days.

The fragrance is a beautiful perfume outside of my bad associations with it. If you like dark, oily, woodsy fragrances and if you have a good enough nose to appreciate the notes listed: ranging from sweet to dark - raspberry, cassis, honey, rose, narcissus, jasmine and tuberose, lilies, galbanum, patchouli, incense, musk, sandalwood, civet, ambergris and moss, this fragrance will devour you in it's gorgeousness.

It's one hell of a perfume.

I would indeed call it mature but it can be worn by sophisticated young ladies who like chypres or Orientals. If you have worn Coco Eau de Parfum, Occur by Avon Passion by Elizabeth Taylor, Opium, Teatro Alla Scala, Chanel No. 19 and Ivoire de Balmain, chances are you'll like this fragrance.

This is a fragrance that is rich, not very floral despite the tuberose, and has a lot of camphor, and moss, as well as the little nocturnal civet with it's musky aroma. Easily unisex and males can wear this too.

I have gotten over the ex but I do have memories that stab me like daggers whenever I smell this perfume. I mean I was using Magie Noire as a weapon against him.
I even went as far as spilling this stuff on his T shirts LOL Today he's no longer married to that same blonde and I don't know what became of him. I never took alimony from him and went on to become a music teacher in London.

Magie Noire I keep around whenever I feel like wearing it to art galleries, museums and to dinner parties.

This is still a perfume of such great beauty and it stands tall as one of the greatest chypres of all time.

Profumo immenso, speziato, forte e prepotentemente notturno e misterioso.
Top assoluto!

<3

A blend of that 70's sharp, soapy green with lush, sexy animalic. Green fragrances were typically seen as being for young women - Jontue and Anais Anais are good examples - but here it's done in a sensual, womanly way. To be worn with satin and furs… or perhaps body hugging jeans and cowboy boots. Either way, this dark red lipstick of a perfume will sing it's siren song.

My thoughts of Magie Noire don't involve witches or cauldrons. Instead it is my Peter and the Wolf fragrance.

I was in uni in the late 80's with a girl who wore Magie Noire. She was confident and very attractive. She skipped classes and expected catch-up notes. Refusal might be met with fangs (the Wolf).

I enter stage left, gaily tripping, lightly skipping in some floral by Crabtree and Evelyn (Peter).

I can't wear Magie Noire without this mental image and so it doesn't feel like my sort of fragrance. Nevertheless I do enjoy it - but not in winter. In the cold it turns too dry on my skin. When I wear Magie Noire she needs warmth and sunshine to balance out her dark side.

Magie Noire is like Paloma Picasso and Ivoire de Balmain had a beautiful, beautiful love child. It is simultaneously green-sharp-woodsy, and animalic-narcotic-sensual. I have a vintage EdT, and I can only yearn for the glory of the full parfum formula. I very much doubt the moderns can hold a candle to the vintage; the classic oakmoss and civet here are essential for power and mystery, and we just can't get them anymore due to the modern regulations.

It will take me a long time of contemplating this mesmerizing elixir before I can properly analyze it, but my first impressions are these: Deep-swirling oakmoss, yes! Sharp-green galbanum, yes! Sexy-sweaty-musky civet, oh, yes! Woody black currant dances with intoxicating florals: hyacinth, lily of the valley, tuberose. There's a hide-and-seek of raw, sticky honey and fresh spices: strange woody herbs still growing on the plants.

This fragrance is a voodoo priestess in a New Orleans swamp, and she will turn you into her zombie slave.

This is not a perfume that you want to wear every day. It is a shocking scent that you want to save for just the right occasion and dress. It absolutely conjures up black magic, sensuality, and the little black dress.

Very intense and 'heavy' in my opinion. It takes character to suit the fragrance. Used it when I was younger and wore a lot af black. Strong earthy, woody and spicey character. Today I don't like it anymore.

I started wearing Magie Noire back in the late '80's just after I graduated from college. A woman came into the store where I was working and her perfume was so remarkable I actually chased her down and told her I needed to know what she was wearing. Magie Noire. My very first 'bought for myself' high end perfume. I had been given several Chanel scents by my aunt for various occasions but they weren't completely to my taste. This. This scent was it. I wore it almost exclusively though the rest of the 80's and well into the 90's. Then, I stopped. I don't even remember why. I might have run out and not been able to buy any right away and just sort of wandered off.

Anyway, fast forward to 2016. After not wearing it for close to 20 years, I looked it up on this site and all the memories came flooding back. How much I loved it. How good I felt wearing it. It is definitely not a scent for wall flowers but I am generally pretty confident. I started feeling serious nostalgia for my former signature fragrance. I was concerned when I heard it had been reformulated and afraid that my old friend might not be what I remembered. Also it has become very difficult to find in stores so I ended up having to order it on line. The bottle finally arrived looking nothing like its former self. Now, I was really worried.

With the first spritz I was transported back to my 20-something self- confident and ready to make it happen. After 20 years away, I can't tell what might be different in the new formulation but it is close enough for me. I think the longevity might be down a bit and the sillage is lighter but then it was a monster back in the day so tuning the volume down a bit isn't really a bad thing.

I'm afraid my nose isn't sensitive enough to give you a break down of all the components and their relative strengths. I can definitely say that Magie Noire retains its unique character. A bit dark. A bit sensual. A scent to be worn with confidence. Still lovely after all these years.

Where do I start? It's an incredibly nice scent. Every time I spray it I think of walnuts. Raw, green walnuts. I know it's weird. I love this juice, it's so unique and lasts for a few hours. I would love it if it stayed with me for a lot longer. I still think Lancome made some beautiful fragrances back in its heydays. Today? Not so much.

I wore this when I was 17 in 1990. I've always been an old soul, now Im just older, haha! I just ordered a vintage bottle from Portugal. Hopefully all goes well and it gets to me ok. Im soooo excited, in my memory this was class in a bottle and my mother was very proud I had great taste, lol, may she rest in peace, while she was with us she was all about style, grace and refinement and she knew I was onto something! Cannot wait!!!

@napabird synthetic?? It can be if you tried the nowadays edition (which is quite okay comparing with other reformulation disaters) most of today s ingredients are chemicals - this is the world we are living in. BUT try the vintage one, if you have the posibility, and you ll be mesmerized. My bottles (1990, 1997 and 99 editions) are among my treasures...I never thought, in my early teen years, I will love so much a "women" scent - this concept, after all doesn t exist. Moreover in this case, the vintage formula is quite unisex. The new one well... good but light years away from the real Magie Noire.

Absolutely one of a kind. Very feminine in a deep, mysterious way. Does its very own dark and witchy dance of daring, spicy allure. Not for the faint hearted.

This perfume is just beautiful. I first encountered it as a small child when my Mum had the Darth Vader bottle as pictured. She oozed this scent and I would pick up her bottle and sniff the vaporiser with such glee. I was always too scared to spray it myself as it smelt like something for grown ups only! This scent is grown up only, it's not frivolous. It is sexy, warm, seductive, dark, mysterious.
I forgot about it for many years but my Mum and I, both as adults now, share a love and passion of perfume. I remarked during one of our conversations how I loved her magie noire. She said "there's a bottle upstairs" I got very excited and tried it. It was the round clear bottle but I loved it that much I searched on eBay. I won an auction for a Lancôme box of never used cosmetics plus 30ml Magie Noire EDT (again in clear bottle). The box came in its original box! None of the makeup had been touched, the potions of creams all untouched but I was only interested in the perfume. Compared to my Mum's the perfume was an amber colour whereas hers was a pale straw colour. Uh oh I thought. When I first opened it there was a gassy smell and again I though oh no. But then something magical happened. I put it on later that night after airing it and oh oh oh it's just divine! Now when I compare it to my Mums in the same style bottle, hers smells synthetic and harsh. Has my bottle aged like a good wine? Was mine a different formulation that has been preserved in 2 boxes for years? Or do I smell good in perfume that's gone off? Who cares! I love the aura of beautiful aroma when I dab this on and I'm addicted to it.
I've not tried the new formulation but I'm going to test it soon to see if it evokes so much sensory pleasure in me.
Magie Noire suits my skin so well, its chemistry with my skin shocks and enthrals me.

Update - tried new formulation today. I was already wearing Magie noire vintage on wrists and neck so I sprayed it on my elbow (as you do in these situations). Liked it. They've managed to keep the oakmoss but it's synthetic and I can tell. The longevity is poor compared to vintage bottles but I must admit I'm impressed. However I shall be hoarding vintage bottles rather than buying new

Magie Noire is Unique! A Masterpiece Definitely not for the Shy...this is very much a daring Brew that some Beautiful Witch wore to Seduce her man or woman?. Bewitching Magie Noire in French Black Magic' Beautiful memorable Chypre if you like Oakmoss Civet Raspberry Honey and Spices this is IT!!I'm a man and I wear Magie Noire! I dare u guys to wear this Potion you won't regret..Magie Noire old and reformulated is still good with the reformulation not having too much Civet because of regulations.. This Beast of fragrance will stand the test of time as The One and Only of its kind.. If you want compliments Magie Noire is it.. The projection extraordinary
The longevity is Awesome..
This Mysterious,Exotic and enticing fragrance will Wrap anyone Man or Woman...Animalistic Magie Noire Thanks for Being in my Life..rack up this beaut it will soon disappear like so many Beautiful fragrances that have been discontinued..

Sweet, heavy, very cloying and linear. Much too noticeable for me, I felt self-conscious to wear something so strong! Quite synthetic, to my nose anyway. Not a winner.

Grimoires and wands. Potions and philtres. Enchantments and charms. Spells and incantations. Imprecations and anathemas. Allure and enthrallment. Metanoia and lethe. Arcane and occult. Mesmerising and narcotic. Soporific and empyreal. The nemesis of light, the triumph of darkness.

Pernicious and wrecking for Hermione Granger. Salubrious and hale for Bellatrix Lestrange.

One to pulverise Harry Potter and his likes. One to resurrect Lord Voldemort, only with a full-blown nose this time so as to inhale even the faintest waft of its bewitching nefariousness.

Now kneel before the Queen of Fiends...

I fell in love with the dark, mysterious, sensuous, titillating, exotic animalistic scent of this back in the early 90's in the department store. I loved it so much just spraying it in the air, I didn't bother to try it out on myself.
Big mistake. Although I am drawn to most of the ingredients in this, for some reason the scent on me was more like an outhouse exploded all over me. The acrid scent screamed and never really died down. It was totally nauseating and it just crushed me. Fortunately, a gal I worked with loved this and wore it at home and was thrilled to death to get this bottle from me. Live and learn. I haven't tried the newer reformulated scent yet..it may go better with my chemistry.

It's interesting to read all the comments about this being a mature woman's fragrance because when it first came on the market I was in high school and fell in love with it. I first smelled it on a classmate. She was that mid-80s version of the "mysterious girl" who was that distinctly and somewhat rare 80s combination of preppy goth - not the Madonna cheap material girl boy toy and not the snobby Buffy in the button down oxford and Vanderbilt jeans. She was fashion forward without being too punk or avant-garde. I wished I could be like her (most of us can remember that girl we wanted to imitate in high school). It amazes my teenage daughter when I tell her about how in high school we "dressed to impress" with our blazers and skirts trying to look like our moms going to work. Anyway, Magie Noire became my scent too even though I didn't quite carry it off as well as my classmate. I really hate that it has been reformulated and am afraid to try it now.

I love this evil witch! Her earthy herbs and spices are powerful and unapologetic. She seduces through her strength and confidence, she is no soft purring kitten!

Of course this perfume does not appeal to the general public nowadays and that is fine, it makes it all the more special.

Btw, I must disagree with the negativity directed towards the new formulation, I find it brilliant, high-quality and untamed.

I don't know the vintge, but I am disappointed with the reformulation. I expected this to be a sillage monster and what I got is moderate sillage. The scent is nice though, but I imagined Magie noir as an animalic bomb, while this reminds me of Madame Rochas - it's green and aromatic. Classic loud and retro perfume, tamed by its recent reformulation.
Update: The drydown is gorgeous.

I love big 70-80s scents.. I recently bought a vintage edt like the picture above.

Everything about a mossy green witches brew the reviewers have mentioned here is correct. Its unlike anything I have ever encountered. I'm not sure if I would wear this in public with my chemistry....but I think due to the animalic notes the dog wouldn't stop following me around .... More power to those that can tame her....

Maggie noire scared the hell out of me!

Def NOT a girl perfume,i don't know why,but mostly cause i've smelled it on mature women over the years.Tried it from my aunt as a little girl(in a former comunist country a french perfume was a sin,something more like punishable with prison if the militia caught you having stuff like that in your house)and loved it,probably because i was not used to smell anything except soap and the very rare Rexona ,but after the comunists were down and i was all grown up and had the chance to sneak out and steal puffs from mom's perfumes i tried Magie Noir and wasn't fit for me at that age,even though mom was wearing it and was gorgeus on her.i don't think i could even use it now,but i'm pretty sure will love it later on.I see this fragrance on a real grown up woman,a career lady,very confident and serious.A lawyer or a doctor.

I like this better than Opium. My mother wore Opium in the 70's and she recently bought a vintage Opium on ebay out of nostalgia. I smelled it and tested it out on me. It's powerful stuff. But it smelled like a man's cologne, very masculine. It was a heavy aromatic masculine tobacco smoky patchouli. It has 31 notes and I don't care for that many ingredients in one perfume. Magie Noire has a lot of notes too but it's more feminine and far more wearable. I can totally smell the raspberry at the top. It's sweet but as we all know this is a black magic fragrance and it doesn't stay sweet. It's not floral either. It has a ton of patchouli and galbanum. There is an aromatic oily and green scent that dominates the fragrance like being lost in a forest and you can never get out. It's not easy to describe this fragrance. It's just aromatic, a chypre. It's woodsy very woodsy. However for me the raspberry note stands out like it's wafting in the air high over the tree tops in this dark mysterious forest. It's witchy, sweet but strong. It has a lot in common with DIOR'S POISON. If you like Poison you'll like Magie Noire. They're in the same family - sweet but deadly. It's a fragrance for the night time and to wear when you want to seduce someone or to provide an air of mystery as you walk in art galleries, or cocktail parties where you're meeting someone new for the first time. A fragrance is a great way to make an impression. This one says "I'm mysterious, a bit dark, very complex, but there's a little touch of sweetness coming from a raspberry so I'm not that bad!".

This is a review for the reformulated version (EDT)

Magie Noire surprised me. I blind bought it per recommendation on this site. I was looking for something classic but unusual, "signature worthy"

This, I couldn't ever deem as a signature because it's just not "me" but nonetheless I do enjoy wearing it once in a while. It's an experience.

First of all, it's strong. One spray fills a room, which is always a plus because I like to smell my perfumes! The initial blast is very...mature smelling, if you catch my drift. Very old perfumey kind of smell... that kind of smell where you can't even really pick out the notes, it just smells a little like Bank of England...The dry down however, I enjoy much more than the initial blast. It lasts on my clothes for days and once it's settled down and is less harsh, it's a very enjoyable vintage smelling kind of scent. The civet is obvious as can be, from start to finish so you better like that note if you want to give this one a try!

I also get incense and spices ... spray a little too much and you might be sneezing!

I can't quite explain my attraction to Magie Noire, but it's just a cool and funky scent if you're looking for something a little different. It's like a tradition that's passed the test of time, so I can respect it for that.

Hey y'all just got a new "vintage" bottle the tall bottle with the black shoulder pads. The edt which is the one I wore from 1985 to early 2000's. When I found out they reformulated it I was actually sad. Now that I have my beloved bottle back I am going to try and have a mini magie noire collection i.e. The vintage perfume and the vintage oil. Any suggestions would be welcome.

I guess I just have to live with the fact that I am so used to and comfortable with nuclear strength perfumes that fragrances such as these punctually underwhelm me.

Don't get me wrong, the current Magie Noire I tested is lovely, from the cheerful cassis opening to the slightly sweet, green but warm resinous base, but it's more white magic than anything darker. Definitely nothing animalic comes out to play on my skin.

Still, very nice, and I would probably wear it on a Spring evening if given a bottle.

PS: Lasts over 12 hours on the skin, quite impressive

I finally tried (current) Magie Noir today. After 30 minutes I recognized this fragrance - I have been smelling this gorgeous scent on strangers and family members for decades.

Magie Noir has quite an intense "senses are heightened" opening for me, with punch from leathery galbanum and sour cassis. I felt an onset of anxiety with the first sniff, and it reminded me of my party days and the times I've waited for the effects recreational drugs to kick in - very excited for the ride and a wee bit scared. There is a bit of devious fun in Magie Noir.

After 30 minutes this fragrance settles into a spicy green ("oily" green, not "fresh" green), woody beauty with a haze of smoke in the foreground. I sense the light, powdery coolness from orris and the density of resins. There is a minute honey sweetness present, buried underneath the more overt notes, that reminds me of the narcisse note used in some of my favorite floral-chypres. I like the sharpness in Magie Noir because of the dense smoky cloud that surrounds it; without that diffusion it would be one of those galbanum fragrances that I simply fail to wear beautifully (due to body chemistry and a clashing personality m'thinks).

One of my favorite commenters on here, FruitDiet, digs Magie Noir - I can absolutely envision this smelling enchanting on a man. Good stuff.

At first I'm thinking oooohh nice rose. Then slowly I think "what is that? Could it be? Sweet woody goodness with a bed of flowers? Yes, I think it is" Bam! Suddenly I'm getting visions of Alice in Wonderland. Why? I don't know but that's what this brings to mind. This goes on for hours and I can't get enough. I can't wear this in public because I can't stop smelling myself.

I'm reading all the reviews that state the re-re-formulation of Magie Noire is much improved, and I'm getting excited to purchase yet another bottle from Lancome. This was one of my favorites years ago, but the unfortunate reformulation broke my heart too much to buy it regularly. Has anyone had luck buying this improved formulation on any of the discount sites out there, or is it best to go directly to the source?

Moonlight And Magic In A Dark Forest

Magie Noire The Magic Perfume

I purchased a vintage Magie Noire miniature in the crescent moon shaped or shell-shaped splash Eau de Parfum. It dates from the time of the fragrance's release 1978 or between 1978 and 1983. And let me tell you this is the most hauntingly beautiful fragrance of the night ever made. Magie Noire was formulated by Gerard Goupy for Lancome. At the time, the biggest selling fragrance was Opium by Yves Saint Laurent. Women bought it like crazy, as it was the defining fragrance of the 1970's. It epitomized drugs, sex and decadence. It was advertised as a perfume that gets you high, that puts you in the mood to put on your sexiest most provocative clothes and go to Studio 54 and dance and get high to your heart's content. Surely Opium's fragrance made it into Studio 54. But Magie Noire came out at about the same time and became a sort of alternative to Opium. Whereas Opium was selling as a recreational drug perfume, Magie Noire was a magic potion. Lancome was not as luxurious a brand as Yves Saint Laurent, but it was no less French as it produced cosmestic and fragrances during the 60's. Today it exists as L'Oreal. So Magie became an evening fragrance selling not to the wealthy Vogue magazine fashionista crowds, but to suburban middle class mothers. This is what a teacher would wear, or a secretary, receptionist or even dental assistant or nurse - on her night out on a romantic date. Magie is pure magic. But like all good classic frags, it has been reformulated and exists in different versions. You have the original vintage from 1978. This one comes in a black plastic box and is a minature, usually about a one fourth ounces. The colors are black and orange, but I noticed that it appears to glow in the dark! The stopper is shaped like a small mushroom and made of glass as is the whole bottle. The liquid is actually lime green but turns orange when exposed to bright lights. There were two reformulations. In the 80's, beginning around 1982 and selling through 1989, there was an eau de toilette spray. This one is black and yellow with the liquid being a pale yellow and the spray's stopper looking like Darth Vader's helmet. This one is very similar to the vintage, except it's lighter and less concentrated. It sold very well in the 80's and was wearable even as a casual day time frag. The last reformulation is a larger size spray glass bottle with no real charm or distinctive qualities and has nothing in common with either the parfum or toilette. It is dreadful and has lost any of the characteristics of the original. So if you want to experience the "black magic" all over again, buy the vintage parfum and toilette. They sell on amazon.com and on ebay but you'll have to bid on auctions for the vintage and pay upwards to or over 50-70 even 90 bucks. For some people who are on a budget, this is too much to pay for a fragrance, and one that is considered a vintage. I adore vintages and love to collect them. So you have to be a fan of vintages to be excited about Magie. This was indeed a magic perfume, and it cast it's spell. Magie Noire was advertised on television twice. The original 1978 ad shows a woman in a dark black gown summoning lighting and thunder and out of the flash of light emerges the miniature perfume crescent moon shaped bottle. The other TV ad (in the 80's) shows a woman in a white gown descending a large staircase in a mansion, and looking out into a long view of green gardens with a breeze blowing over the gossamer curtains. This ad was for the eau de toilette. Magie Noire sold very well in it's time. It is one of two fragrances that make a cameo in the 1988 movie WORKING GIRL starring Melanie Griffith Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver. The mini Magie Noire sits on Katharine's dresser as she takes some valium to calm her nerves when she discovers the dress she is about to wear that belongs to her boss costs 6 thousand dollars, and it "ain't even leather". The other fragrance that appears in this film is Guerlain's Shalimar, when Kathy applies it on her skin while seated on her bed. Magie Noire will truly fulfill your craving for a vintage. It has stood the test of time as a beloved fragrance.

NOTES IN LANCOME'S MAGIE NOIRE

Head Notes: Cassis, Cassia, Raspberry, Galbanum, Hyacinth, Bergamot, Bulgarian Rose

Heart Notes: Honey, Tuberose, Orris Root, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Lily of the Valley, Cedar, Narcissus,

Base Notes: Spices, Sandalwood, Amber, Patchouli, Musk, Civet, Oak Moss, Vetiver, Myrrh Incense

This is a rich, heavily layered perfume. With this many notes, it's hard to single out each one, and there are some that don't even bother to make an olfactory cameo. Of the top notes I do get the green notes of cassis and cassia. It's like slowly entering into a forest where you see a lot of green plants and green leaves. But you're still in the safe part of the forest and it hasn't even gotten dark yet. There is supposed to be a red rose (Bulgarian Rose) but I wish I had been able to smell it. To my nose there was no rose or the rose had already wilted. You keep smelling and smelling and the progression is frightening. Suddenly you're getting deeper and deeper into the dark forest. There is no sunlight and it's completely dark. A crescent moon sheds a silvery beam of light over the dark foliage. What I found to be the most prominent note of all was patchouli. This is a real green patchouli, and it's layered with amber, musk and incense. The incense is like black smoke. These notes are found in the base notes. It makes the fragrance very powerful indeed. There is also leather but it's not listd in the notes. The dark leather gives it a cool elegance, but combined with the musk and patchouli, makes it somewhat greasy and oily. Other notes that don't seem to be listed but which have to be in here include asafetida, used in medicine and Indian cooking. There is ferula and galbanum. This appears to make the fragrance smell as if it were extremely toxic, poisonous and very evil. This fragrance reminds me of Greek mythology. It made me think of Circe in the Odyssey who was a ravishingly beautiful witch who seduces Odysseus (Ulysses) and turns his men into pigs. It also brings to mind the John Keats poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci The Beautiful Lady Without Mercy, a romanticized depiction of Death as a very beautiful woman who lures a gallant knight into her arms of death. It also seems to wear like a fragrance for The Evil Queen in Snow White, who was very beautiful but vain and with an ugly heart. It's a fragrance for the evil sorceress Morgana Le Faye who was King Arthur's own sister in the Arthurian legends of Camelot. This is a fragrance of beautiful witches and enchantresses. The fumes gave me visions of a crescent moon, a dark forest, and of a man trapped in the woods, caught in the tendrils of climbing plants and vines. He is the victim of a magic spell, a woman who has lured him into her fatal embrace. This is absolutely beautiful. Gothic. Dark. Mysterious. It's a fragrance you should wear only once in a while, for Halloween, or for a romantic night out, an evening formal fragrance. You can definitely wear this with black clothes: black leather, black coats, black dresses and black evening gowns. This is like somthing Anjelica Huston would wear (think of her in the role of the Grand High Witch in The Witches or Morticia Addams in The Addams Family/AddamsFamily Values ). This is a perfume Morticia Addams would wear. When I wore this fragrance for the first time to test it out and how it smells to others, a guy friend said it smells like the "80's", like the inside of a woman's leather handbag in the 80's. It has a lot of leather and as such smells like something that could also be worn by a woman who is into black leather outfits, jackets, even a motorcyclist. This has a lot of patchouli that still sells big and is favored by the young crowds of today. So don't look at this frag as "old lady" or "vintage old" it's wearable in our time because of the patchouli. And the patchouli on here is very large. So is the civet, the animalic note, but don't let that scare you. It makes the frag warm and cozy, and with the honey in this it adds a lot of warmth. It's definitely a fall and winter fragrance. In the spring and summer this fragrancee would not smell as good. This is such an enchanting fragrance. It affected me deeply and I love it but can't wear it out too often. This one is a special perfume, a magic potion to be used only on the right ocassion. I must tell you that this frag's leathery and musky aroma is totally unisex. This can smell just as good on a man. I love it. You'll love it too. But I would not recommend this as your first fragrance or a blind buy. You can't jump from Coco Chanel Mademoiselle Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker Wonerstuck by Taylor Swift or Paris Hilton Tease or any other celebrity fragrance light skin scents big on sugary sweetness. This is not even much of a floral fragrance. If it had to be classified I would put it under the category of FLORAL CHYPRE. The flowers are muted but make a brief apperance before overwhelmed by the darknes of woods, incense and patchouli. The wood notes on here: sandalwood, cedar, oak, make it a chypre. But it's not an Oriental at all. It's a straight out chypre. Let Magie work it's magic on you and unleash the darkness and the night in the most beautiful, elegant way possible.

I can't add much to the wonderful reviews about Magie Noire; this is undeniably a beautiful, unusual, sophisticated scent. I sprayed some on for my husband to smell, and he really liked it: "Mmmmm, nice. Very elegant. VERY elegant. Wear jewellery with this." (Lol!)

About the reformulation:

I just bought a bottle from Lancome's website, and am very, very pleased with it. I owned the original formulation of Magie Noire when I was younger, and although it was very badly reformulated in the 2000s, I think they've RE-reformulated it recently, because it smells fine now.

Compared to the original version I had in the 80s, the current version is brighter and more citrusy, but it seems the original base of Magie Noire has been somewhat restored (the 2000s reformulation had all but stripped its original drydown to some boring soapy thing).

So now it smells fairly close to what I remember Magie Noire to smell like, a little less mossy and animalic perhaps, but still close enough for me.

This is the first Lancome perfume I want...desperately... very comforting and mysterious... lingers forever and ever... a high-class and signature scent 10/10

I imagine that this is the perfume the witch in hansel and gretel would wear while waiting for her prey. it is the darkest part of the woods where all the creepy creatures like to hide. perfect for halloween if you plan on dressing up like a wicked, evil witch, her long furling nails painted blood red with a half-snarling grin and a bulbous mole on her crooked nose.

And in the heart of all this darkness there is a drop of rose and maybe a clove cigarette. couldn't help but compare it a little to animale animale in how it takes rose and makes it unpalatable, almost indolic.

The review is based on a vintage mini edt with the round, transparent glass bottle and the transparent, glass chevron stripes.