Datura Noir

Datura Noir, released in 2001, does not depart from this rule of the perfumer-artist. Beneath its initial appearance as a dangerous poison to be reserved only for expert women, it reveals itself to be far tenderer and more sun-kissed than one might have imagined. Could this be one of the many powers of attraction that only Lutens holds the secret to?

Datura Noir, or the dream of a poisoned night?

By naming his new fragrance Datura Noir, one can hardly deny Serge Lutens's intention to astonish. In the usual, classic—sadly classic, the master would say—way, a fragrance is named to evoke the positive, joy, love…

Who said that Serge Lutens was classic? So he does not hesitate, once again, to break with this tradition by naming his mysterious fragrance after a powerfully poisonous, even deadly, flower! And he states it loud and clear by presenting Datura Noir as the devil's little wisp of smoke in Paradise. For this rather pretty datura flower is powerfully hallucinogenic and is indeed used by shamans to send their subjects into trance… A drug considered highly dangerous in many respects.

In the old days, when a witch was burned, a small Datura shrub was planted on the ashes of the pyre so that its roots would absorb the last malevolent energies… Serge Lutens for Datura Noir.

So, of course, one cannot resist drawing a parallel between the fabulous 1980s success of the Dior house, Poison, and this mysterious Lutens fragrance born in 2001. If, from a commercial standpoint, the idea seems similar, the comparison stops there. For at its core, Datura Noir has nothing of the oriental opulence of Poison, aside from a light camphor note at the top. Indeed, Lutens creates nothing but the unprecedented.

Datura Noir, from shadow to light…

As is customary, Serge Lutens uses only the beautiful transparency of his sober, understated bottle to let us glimpse his delightful fragrance. And the beautiful amber color of Datura Noir already evokes, of course, some bewitched or malevolent magic potions.
Yet while the top notes of Datura Noir are lightly camphoraceous, they are clearly marked by the vibrancy of lemon and mandarin, paired with pretty floral and fruity osmanthus notes. Then this delicate and very pleasant sensation of warmth and monoi continues into the heart thanks to ylang-ylang paired with coconut, plunging us directly into an exotic paradise. Tuberose, with its sun-kissed and honeyed facets, married to bitter almond, extends this journey into an enveloping, milky comfort. Finally, the powdery depths of heliotrope and white musks join with gourmand vanilla to wrap our senses, utterly bewitched by this thoroughly addictive fragrance.

With a Lutens fragrance, one should never trust first impressions, and this is perfectly the case with this Datura Noir, which announces itself with the air of a malevolent sorcerer while being, at its core, absolutely nothing of the sort! No curse or venomous, heady spell for Datura Noir—quite the opposite, in fact: a love potion with the pleasant taste of sunshine and vacation. Beware of appearances!