Pasha Noir Absolu, a men’s parfum launched by Cartier in 2023, takes the Pasha line, born in 1992, into darkness. Mathilde Laurent, the house perfumer, wraps the line’s historic fougère in a cloud of charcoal and spicy burnt sugars; Cartier sums up its signature as an accord of burnt wood and caramelized sugar, in an ultra-black, refillable bottle.
One signed reading: in 2024, Eddie Bulliqi finds Pasha Noir Absolu a smoky, spicy perfume that blends vintage and contemporary motifs, highly avant-garde and unsettling, which he likens to an alien in antiquated clothing.
What critics say
Eddie Bulliqi, Fragrantica
On January 23, 2024, Eddie Bulliqi finds in Pasha Noir Absolu a balance between vintage and contemporary motifs, leaning toward the former. He notes a retro air and an old-fashioned spicy florality, whatever flowers the formula may or may not contain.
The smoke suggests to him less a log fire than sizzling charcoal that blackens the palate with soot and ash. The opening reminds him of the cigarette stubs and ashtrays of Habanita and Tabac Blond, with a green, shiny edge he attributes to carnation.
He describes a bitter caramel, faux leather and waterlogged oak, along with images of rubber Halloween masks and a wax museum, which he does not find pleasant. Yet he sees a highly avant-garde work, with an unsettling shadow, unlike anything in commercial perfumery.
He offers another reading, that of a supple suede in the manner of Knize Ten, and describes a finish of clove-peppered fudge garnished with carnation and a touch of violet. He concludes on a perfume torn between past and future, “an alien in antiquated clothing”.
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