Hey Posse. I’ve just spritzed a shitload of Magie Noire by Lancome. This is my last vintage bottle. At one point I think there were 5 backup bottles here. I used my one up, started on this and the others have gone on to homes that wanted or needed them more than me. I think I sold two and one of my besties Scott has two. My bottle is the much loved black shouldered beauty below.
Magie Noire by Lancome 1978
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Galbanum Cassis Cassia Hyacinth Bulgarian Rose Raspberry Bergamot
Heart: Honey Narcissus Cedar Orris Root Ylang-Ylang Tuberose Jasmine Lily-of-the-Valley
Base: Oakmoss Spices Civet Incense Patchouli Amber Myrrh Sandalwood Vetiver Musk
PHWOAR! That’s a bloody kitchen sinker if ever there was one. Magie Noire is a floral chypre. It’s a style we are seeing less and less of due to lack of base notes. So many have been banned or regulated out of noticeable levels. While the modern captured molecules try their best it’s a watercolour representation in so many cases.
I don’t get all these notes though. What really comes through is the galbanum, honey, an amorphous bouquet of bulbs and oakmoss. Lashings of oakmoss!
I happened to notice Magie Noire is HALF PRICE on Surrender To Chance right now! So if you’ve never smelled it this is the perfect time to get your sniff on.
You can still get a modern iteration at Lancome counters. It’s still good but not AS good.
BY THE WAY! Christmas is exactly ONE MONTH away!
Do you Magie Noire?
Portia xx
My Magie Noire experience is a very different one: back in the day it was worn by a then-boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, who was still living in the apartment as one of his roommates. She was French and petulant with it, wafting around the place in her underwear and Magie Noire. Let’s just say that we did not get along.
Every time I smelled Magie Noire after that I’d be filled with (sometime unconscious) ire. The mild-mannered reformulation of it the following decade was a relief, really .
OH AnnieA,
That must have been bloody awful. Scent memories are real; good or bad.
Glad the new version makes you smile instead of scowl.
Portia xx
Love love love Magie Noire
Especially in that Darth Vader bottle
so much moss! It really is magical
Whenever I wear Magie Noire YOU are the person I think of.
Portia x
I love Silences (though I rarely wear it, which is stupid) and am pretty fond of Niki but never really ‘got’ Magie Noire. I should revisit!
xoxo
Hey Musette,
They are all different but tied together with galbanum & oakmoss. I wonder if you’d love it now?
Portia xx
Holy carp Portia. This post got me nosing the tinterweb, and what have I found? A bottle of extrait, that’s what. I’m meeting seller on Saturday to sniff to make sure it isn’t spoiled. Fingers crossed. I don’t know whether to thank you or curse the fact that I’m probably buying MORE vintage perfume.
OMG! The extrait is bloody amazing!
Fingers crossed it’s in perfect nick and you can have this unicorn. WOWZAS!
Portia xx
This is a kitchen-sinker that I feel like I SHOULD have loved, and somehow it never smelled “right” on me although I’ve caught whiffs on others and loved it. I bet it smells amazing on you!
Hey March,
Totally surprised you didn’t love it.
HA! Yeah, I think it smells pretty darn lovely on me.
HUGS
Portia xx
OH I have a vintage decant in my arsenal!! I savor it and wear it on very special occasions. Totally witchy and full of feminine power!!! Truly one of a kind.
Heya Mindy,
TOTALLY witchy! You are spot on.
Portia xx
I’d also like to mention that I find similarities of this perfume style in Liz Moore’s creations.
Yes, 100%.
Did you also love Silences and Niki de saint Phalle? I know we’ve discussed this before but I can’t remember.
Portia xx
You smell fabulous Portia! I have a little bottle of vintage Magie Noir and love it. I will spritz today, haven’t put my nose on it in awhile. I also adore Silences and Niki de Saint Phalle.
One month until Christmas! Wheee!
ONE MONTH TILL XMAS!
Shit Kathleen, that came around fast!
You smelling fine today!
Portia xx
I certainly do Magie Noire. I have the same bottle as yours, plus in a mini and a tiny extrait. It will have to do me for the rest of my days. I also have the new formulation but to me it is a sad affair. It gets used when I spray inside my wardrobe.
WOW! I love that you spray your wardrobe.
If this bottle gets to half I’ll buy a new one and do 50/50 spritzing.
Portia xx
I tried MN decades ago (when it would have had loads of the now blocked base notes) but it just didn’t quite work (ironically, most Lancome makeup doesn’t work for me either). Which made me sad. I wore YSL Opium till it was reformulated. Now, that’s something I wish I had bought backups for.
Cinnamon,
My vintage Opium horde might make you cry. It was my BFFs Mum’s fave perfume and I collected an enormous amount. Sadly she died before she could use it all. Going through over 100ml a year for more than a decade, it started to get REALLY speedy towards the end.
Portia xx
Haaa, I should burgle some of your Opium stash. I’ll split the haul with Cinnamon. Then there’ll be happy faces all round.
HA! Except mine, obviously
Vintage Magie Noire is one of my all time favorites. In fact, I think I need to wear it to bed tonight so I can wake up with whiffs of it’s glorious base notes.
That sounds like a terrific plan Carolyn!
Slep tight.
Portia xx