Matière Noire is one of the seven perfumes with which Louis Vuitton returned to perfumery in September 2016, all signed by Jacques Cavallier Belletrud. The house sets two dark woods, patchouli and agarwood, brightened by blackcurrant, against the whiteness of narcissus and jasmine. The critic Kafkaesque smelled mostly narcissus in it, and almost none of the announced oud.
At its release, Kafkaesque found a light, linear bouquet dominated by narcissus, where the announced oud barely shows, pleasant but unsurprising for its price.
Olfastory’s review
Kafkaesque, September 2016
On September 20, 2016, Kafkaesque opened a review of the collection with Matière Noire. On skin, the perfume started with berries, fruity patchouli and blackcurrant, before a fresh, watery cyclamen and a narcissus that quickly took over.
Narcissus made up three quarters of the bouquet by Kafkaesque’s estimate, hay-dry, green, smoky. The agarwood almost never showed, perhaps reduced to a synthetic trace. The perfume stayed vaporous and discreet, and lasted barely more than six hours.
Kafkaesque did not find it bad but unsurprising: like the whole collection, a simple, linear perfume, aimed more at the brand’s clientele than at enthusiasts, and expensive for a scent that fades so fast.