Best The Noir 29 by Le Labo Alternatives & Similar Perfumes

A milky green fig oozing sweet musk.

PERFUMER
FLORIAN GALLO

Perfumer: Jordi Fernández (the nose behind the white floral wonder of Latin Lover).

Beso Pasion is like a sweet summer breeze caressing a Mediterranean island. A breeze infused with sea salt, the delicious aroma of fig trees, and fragrant grass cured by the hot sun.

The sun stands still. The air shimmers. Time dissolves. You are alone — but not lonely. Skin. Silence. Isleta is the echo of an island within you — a moment without direction, carried by light and warmth. A daydream in summer. Hold onto nothing. Just be.

Isleta is an extraordinary fragrance that shines with the generosity of summer. This bright green floral weaves a delicate dance between fresh grass and sultry jasmine sambac, savory fig and aromatic white tea.

Rest in the blissful shade of an orchard in the humming city of Pompeii: the year is 195 BC. Inhale the sweet aroma of ripe figs and the local pomegranate leaves heated by the sun; these entine spicy incense being smoked in the nearby temple. So anciently refreshing!

This is a beautifully rounded fig on the mellow end of the spectrum. Bright bergamot, cardamom and galbanum open the fragrance with confidence, leading into a smooth fig accord layered with iris, cypress and soft floral nuances. The earthy, woody base glows with subtle musk.

Perfumer: Ralf Schwieger

L'espérance est violente.

Mirabeau, what a pretty word, peculiarly Parisian, suspended above the Seine. It composes a memory, joins another bank, and returns by following its trail of sandalwood, pink bay and cedar. In the heart of the City of Light, on the way to the twilight of the day, there is a bridge, a poem and a perfume.

A discreet and symbolic bridge, of the master-builder spirit which transcends borders, becoming better by coming together. Those solid foundations of cedar, sandalwood and orcanox span love and musk.

A poem as slow as it is violent, expressing the brutal and desirable hope of the one who would like to believe, of the one who wants to love. Vanilla, I write your name on the water, with muffled traces of incense and violet green.

A perfume to save us, fish us silently out of the water, bringing us above the Seine, our spirits on the water of our essences, bergamot and pink berry mingled with fig in a glass bottle, fiercely reuniting bodies in unison with souls, coming back to her by following her wake.

This is a fantasy interpretation of the long-lost scent of the musk monkeyflower, beloved in Victorian England for its delicate yellow petals and rich musk smell. That is, until the turn of the twentieth century, when the flower suddenly lost its odour. This biological mystery continues to stump botanists and windowbox gardeners alike. So until the monkeyflower rediscovers its mojo, Stora Skuggan has created an imaginary version, a sunny meadow of flowers and herbs. Gently fruity chamomile and fig swirl through a landscape of comforting hay and musk. A sunscreen accord suggests bare skin warming in the late afternoon heat. Mellow and uplifting.

A Mistpouffer is an unexplained natural sound, a sonic boom like distant cannon fire that seems to come out of the fog over large lakes or rivers. It has been recorded all over the world throughout history, and is the source of many legends. Despite scientific attempts to understand the sounds, its source has still not been identified. Possible explanations include solar winds resonating in the atmosphere, underground earthquakes or gas bubbles being released from the deep. Others believe it is the work of extraterrestrial or subsurface civilisations.

Rendering this mystical water thunder as a fragrance was as elusive as the sound itself. We spent four years and hundreds of iterations before finding the right balance between being distinctive and inexplainable. The honeyed hay of immortelle dapples sunshine across deep green siblings vetiver and cypriol. It’s foggy but not aquatic, smoky but not heavy. Natural, but in equal parts supernatural.

Even intrepid voyagers exploring outer space to its outer limits need to keep calm at their core, which is where Tu Te Calmes comes in. Inside your spacesuit, you’re smelling a clean blend of fig leaf, cardamom, citrus and cedarwood. Guarantees a safe splashdown.

Gothic balsams: smoke of the ritual fires, quiet splashes of jasmine, moist earth, frankincense, deep woods. ​

Starring

(these fragrant materials reanacted the Dark Side of the Goddess  story):

Myrtle e.o.
Bergamot e.o.
Juniper berry CO2 extract
Frankincense e.o.
Frankincense abs
Benzoin abs
Patchouli e.o.
Cedarwood Atlas e.o.
Vetiver e.o.
Myrrh e.o.
Cassia abs
African wormwood e.o.
Nutmeg CO2 extract
Ylang-ylang e.o.
Jasmine sambac abs
Jasmine auriculatum abs
Castoreum tincture
Cinnamon e.o.
Tagetes abs

Important notice:

Anna Zworykina’s blends are olfactive smellscapes (but neither aromatherapy, nor ‘spray-and-go’ perfumes). Her blends are sensory experiences, closer to works of art created in the scented plane (rather than, say, visual or audio).

Certain essential oils and absolutes that are used in her 100% natural perfumes may potentially cause allergies in some people. Please spray Anna Zworykina’s blends on fabric (on sleeves, scarves, etc.). This said, Anna Zworykina has acquired a huge fan base over many years and people interacted with her blends for quite a while now. We are not aware of any reports of any skin reactions so far.

However, Anna advises that those who are prone to allergic reactions, pregnant and nursing women, as well as people with chronic illnesses to be extra careful. Before trying natural blends, study the list of ingredients and consult with a doctor if you are not sure or a had a history of allergies. If you do decide to put these blends on your skin (unable to resist the temptation) always test the blend on the inside part of your elbow first and wait.

Do not spray these blends liberally as a cloud in the way you would spray a conventional perfume. Anna’s smellscapes need to be… carefully applied and experienced. Be mindful that some oils can also make your skin hyper-sensitive to UV.